Bluebirds, family Turdidae, belong to the genus Sialia, from the Greek meaning “a kind of bird.” Not a very helpful description. The three Sialia species, all North American, are the Eastern Bluebird, Western Bluebird, and Mountain Bluebird, semi-descriptive but not very imaginative names. At 7 inches long with a 13 -inch wingspread, they are small […]
I saw a few Cedar Waxwings the other day, such elegant and poised birds. In their small genus Bombycilla are two other waxwing species: the Bohemian and Japanese Waxwings. Similar in size and shape, all waxwings possess a tapering crest, a black stripe through the eye extending over the beak, usually waxy-appearing tips on the
Parthenogenesis means birth without fertilization. In other words, a female gives birth to offspring without having been impregnated by a male. This phenomenon occurs normally in some plants and a number of invertebrates like nematodes, some scorpions and mites, aphids, some bees, and parasitic wasps. It also happens among all vertebrates except mammals – yes,
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According to The Illustrated Book of Poultry Queen Victoria was captivated by watching her seven chickens in their custom enclosure. While royalty are not known for admiring poultry as do farmers, in 1842 Queen Victoria started what would become an international craze for fancy chickens, just because they were beautiful to look at. These were Cochin chickens or
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Fidel Castro was the dictator of Cuba who was also known for his love of birdwatching. Although there is not much written regarding his passion for birding, it’s widely known that it was one of his passions. He probably had an interesting life list as there are several endemic bird species in Cuba and it’s
The swans, the largest of all waterfowl, are known for their beauty, elegance, and grace. Of six species of swans in the world, four are found in the northern hemisphere, mainly North America and Eurasia. and two in the southern hemisphere. The four northern species, the Tundra, Mute, Whooping, and Trumpeter Swans, have all white
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Here’s an award-winning grand prize photo. Photographers from all over the world entered more than 22,000 images into the Bird Photographer of the Year 2021 competition. Alejandro Prieto won this year for his poignant image of a Greater Roadrunner stymied at the U.S.-Mexico border wall. He took the photo at Naco, Arizona, a border town
Roadrunner- Meep Meep Read More »
I was on an ocean cruise several years ago in the Indian Ocean. As we approached the island chain of the Seychelles I looked over the horizon and saw a very prehistoric-looking bird, nothing I recognized. As the distance between the ship and the “bird” closed, I discovered it was a giant fruit-eating bat. It
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Mousebirds, sometimes called Colies, and found only in sub-Saharan Africa, are so named for their mousy color and their behavior as they move gingerly through the vegetation searching for food and scurry along the ground between bushes. Slender greyish or brownish birds with soft, hairlike body feathers, crests, curved claws, and stubby bills, mousebirds are
The word kleptomania is from the Greek words κλέπτω (klepto) “to steal” and μανία (mania) “mad desire, compulsion”, meaning a compulsion to steal. In birdy news lately is the term kleptotrichia, referring to the behavior of birds stealing hair from mammals to line their avian nests. But some birds steal feathers from other birds in
