May 04 2023
From the red flash of a Northern Cardinal against winter snow to the haunting call of a Barred Owl in an Appalachian forest, Kentucky offers extraordinary opportunities to experience birdlife throughout the year. The Bluegrass State’s landscapes are far more varied than its nickname suggests. Western Kentucky contains wetlands, broad rivers, and bottomland forests. Central …
May 04 2023
A soft, wistful coo drifts across the backyard just after sunrise. A moment later, a slender gray-brown bird settles onto a fence, its long tail tapering behind it. When it suddenly takes flight, its wings produce a surprising whistle that seems almost too loud for such a gentle-looking bird. This familiar visitor is the Mourning …
May 04 2023
A flash of orange against a backyard tree, fence post, or woodland trail can make an unfamiliar bird surprisingly memorable. But an orange chest alone does not always reveal its identity. American Robins, bluebirds, orioles, grosbeaks, thrushes, and several smaller songbirds can all display shades ranging from pale peach and cinnamon to brilliant pumpkin orange. …
May 04 2023
What Bird Eggs Are Blue? A small blue egg in a backyard nest can immediately raise an intriguing question: What kind of bird laid it? American Robins are famous for their unmistakable blue eggs, but they are far from the only birds that produce them. Bluebirds, Gray Catbirds, House Finches, Blue Jays, Northern Mockingbirds, and …
Nov 01 2022
There are two families or subfamilies of owls, depending on the authority. In either case, there are the “true” owls with nearly all the species, and then all alone in the other category is the Barn Owl, a distinctive-looking animal. There are several genera in the so-called true owls. In this article, I will discuss …
Oct 28 2022
The owl may be my favorite bird of all. Most people are fascinated with owls but they don’t want to venture too close. While we have gotten more used to owls by reading and watching Harry Potter and the beloved Hedwig, that owl is nothing like the typical owl most of us see in neighborhoods, …
Jul 10 2022
Are sparrows really common? Sparrows are in the family of small passerine birds. Passerine birds are perching birds and songbirds. They include more than half of the world’s bird species. A house sparrow is a bird in the sparrow family that is found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird with …
Jun 27 2022
And Other Flight Facts The short answer as to why birds don’t usually fly in the rain is really the same reason as to why people don’t do much outside in the rain. It just isn’t practical. Birds are conserving their body heat and hunkering down in trees and near their nests during rain storms. …
Jun 14 2022
The Northern Oriole is better known to most people as the Baltimore Oriole, especially, no doubt, in Maryland, where it is the state bird and provides the name for the baseball team. Authorities have differed on whether it is the same species as the more western Bullock’s Oriole. The high point of unifying the two …
May 07 2022
When you have time to watch the different birds in your area, think about how different the beaks are from bird to bird. From a hawk or an eagle, to a robin or a wren, the sizes and shapes of the beaks are so varied. What about the beaks of the humming birds or the …
