July 2015

Avian Sanitation Workers, the Vultures

Driving down the highway the other day I observed a number of road-killed skunks, deer, raccoons, and unidentifiable blobs of fur and muscle attended to by large blackish birds with red heads. These often misunderstood creatures are our friendly Turkey Vultures, filling their role as avian recyclers. Although some consider them ugly and their habits unappealing, …

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Hummingbirds

  East of the Mississippi there is one species of hummingbird. West of the Mississippi you may find six or seven species of hummers. It takes a bit of knowledge to tell them apart, especially the females and immatures. That challenge pales in comparison to trying to identify hummingbirds apart in Colombia, which has over 300 …

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Do Ducks’ Quacks Echo? And Other Bird Myths

I receive all kinds of questions from around the world via my website, ornitholo.wpenginepowered.com. I have been contacted by newspapers, magazines, radio and TV shows, Hollywood producers, authors, artists, scientists, architects, and even a fighter pilot in Iraq, asking about some aspect of birds. Mostly they are straightforward questions about identification, bird houses, feeding, behavior, …

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