May 04
Not everyone loves the Blue Jay. But you cannot deny its pretty blue color. Larger than the average song bird, the Blue Jay has a bad reputation for disrupting the nests of other smaller birds in the area. While this is what we think of when we think of the Blue Jay, the actual evidence …
Feb 28
The Green Jay belongs to a very distinctive family of perching birds. The family of the jays, magpies, and crows, the Corvidae, is widespread. They are generally large, often noisy, and intelligent, especially in their ability to obtain and store food. The Green Jay is green on its body and tail with yellow sides and …
Feb 28
The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is related to cardinals and buntings, all characterized by stout beaks adapted to seed crushing. Grosbeaks, as implied by the name, have especially large beaks. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak nests over the northeastern and central states and north into Canada. Although they winter in the tropics, they are early arrivals in the spring …
Feb 28
The Northern Cardinal is a backyard favorite of many bird watchers. This popular bird lives in the Eastern parts of the United States. Because of the male’s bright red color, they are perhaps the most colorful visitors we have who eat at our bird feeders and swim in our birdbaths in local yards. Some believe …
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 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 …
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 …
May 15
Purple Martins are members of the swallow family. They are almost 8 inches long and have a wingspan of just over 15 inches across. Of course the species of birds got their name from the beautiful color of the males. The males have a deep purple bluish color on their feathers and their feathers seem …
