Feb 28
This beautiful bird is a year-round resident in the East and Midwest and a frequent visitor for sunflower seeds at winter feeders. It is unmistakable with its bright red plumage and crest. The female is duller but with reddish tinge. The area behind the beak is black, while the beak itself is red. It derives …
Feb 24
I thought it would be fun to explore some trivia most of us do not know about birds in general. For instance, did you know the Sword Billed Hummingbird’s bill is longer than its body? There are over 9300 species of birds in the world and 2/3 of these species live in the tropical rain …
Feb 23
This bird of the far north is rarely seen in the lower forty-eight states, except those of us who watch Nature on Public Broadcasting. This bird, the largest of the falcons, is the official bird of the Northwest Territories in Canada. Gyrfalcons generally stay in the north in winter, but with some regularity, if not commonly, they …
Feb 06
The Eastern Bluebird, like its fellow member of the thrush family, the American Robin, is often viewed as a harbinger of spring. The Iroquois believed that the Bluebird would scare off Sawiskera or Flint, the spirit of winter (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluebird). However, either bird may be seen in winter in more southern parts of its nesting range. …
Jan 30
One question many people might have about the American Robin is this: is there another kind of robin that is not American? I will come back to the answer in just a bit. The American Robin is one of the most familiar birds, indeed, to Americans. They nest in yards from coast to coast. Connecticut, …
Jan 28
The Purple Martin is the largest North American swallow (Family Hirundinidae), with a wingspan of 18 inches, length of 8 inches, and weight of 2 ounces. It is about the size and appearance of a starling in flight and can be confused with it. (In both species, the purple is due to iridescence of feather …
Nov 28
The Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl has a long name for such a small owl, standing only seven inches tall. “Ferruginous” refers to the characteristic rusty coloration on the back and fine bars on the relatively long tail. The birds have a white circle of feathers around the eyes and in the facial disk, and fake, dark “eyes” …
Nov 12
We often think of owls as fairly large birds that are capable of eating mice and larger prey. The smallest owl, appropriately named, is the Elf Owl. It is less than six inches tall, with a wingspan of 13 inches, and weighing one and a half ounces. It is speckled gray with a brown facial …
Sep 28
Pigeons are those cooing birds you see on tall buildings in the midst of busy city sidewalks. Think of Home Alone and the bird lady rising up out of the brush in Central Park. She was covered with pigeons. Pigeons have been known to congregate where people are, and in fact the relationship between pigeons and human …
Aug 01
The sun is shining brightly over the edge of the woods and over large patches of weeds. There is a beautiful song toWEE toWEE toWEEto tweer tweer tweer, and then, as you approach, comes a frighened ti ti ti ti ti di di di, as a burst of yellow joins the sunlight in the sky. This is the American …
