2017: For the Birds and Bird lovers CAUTION LARGE PHOTOS

Should I relax the Image Rules for this Thread

  • Yes, with a warning about large images

    Votes: 5 100.0%
  • Yes, but in the way I will explain in a post

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No; standard AW image rules are fine

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    5
  • Poll closed .

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,881
Reaction score
7,167
Location
Virginia
Nice photo, krashnburn! It's always exciting when birds come that close.

Helix, that bomb whistle is the funniest thing ever. I love owls but have only seen one in the wild (a burrowing owl, near the Salton Sea in California).
 
Last edited:

Helix

socially distancing
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 31, 2011
Messages
11,695
Reaction score
12,077
Location
Atherton Tablelands
Website
snailseyeview.medium.com

Helix

socially distancing
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 31, 2011
Messages
11,695
Reaction score
12,077
Location
Atherton Tablelands
Website
snailseyeview.medium.com
Blurry Wing Smears is the name of my new band!

Today's new species is the brown gerygone (or brown warbler, although they're not related to the North American/European warblers). These guys are small and not very exciting-looking, but they are lovely to listen to when they move in small flocks through the undergrowth, looking for insects.

Although there's only one brown gerygone pic on this site, I'm linking to a whole page, because it shows some of the other birds from this area (Atherton Tablelands). The gerygone is the sixth photo down.

ETA: Here's the gerygone photo on its own: http://www.raywilsonbirdphotography.co.uk/new_images/2016/Australia/2016-09-22_O9A6761.jpg
 
Last edited:

krashnburn

I've gone to pink!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 28, 2012
Messages
1,914
Reaction score
319
Location
NY
That's a good website, Admin. Thanks. I've been trying to identify one little guy at my bird feeder, also going just for the sunflower seeds, and he reminds me of the nuthatch. He's got a black and white striped head and a blackish-gray back. I wasn't sure if he was a variant on the dark-eyed juncos https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Dark-eyed_Junco/id I have, or something else. I'll have to check and see if he has any more resemblance to the nuthatch next time I see him.

Wow, you have a lot of birds by you, Helix. It must be nice to see the variations. I've got the same 3 kinds every day.
 

AW Admin

Administrator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 19, 2008
Messages
18,772
Reaction score
6,285
Thanks. I've been trying to identify one little guy at my bird feeder, also going just for the sunflower seeds, and he reminds me of the nuthatch. He's got a black and white striped head and a blackish-gray back. I wasn't sure if he was a variant on the dark-eyed juncos https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Dark-eyed_Junco/id I have, or something else. I'll have to check and see if he has any more resemblance to the nuthatch next time I see him.

I suspect that it's either a Downy or a Hairy WoodPecker. Males have a red dot on the back of their heads. The difference between Downy and Hairy is mostly size; the Harry is larger.
 

Twick

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 16, 2014
Messages
3,291
Reaction score
715
Location
Canada
Also the bill - the Downy's is a cute li'l bill sort of like a cartoon chick, the Hairy has a longer and slenderer bill. In general, the Hairy Woodpecker looks like a less cute and more adult version of the Downy.
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,881
Reaction score
7,167
Location
Virginia
If you can get close enough, the Hairy also has black markings that extend over its shoulders, kind of like epaulettes. But it's the bill length that's the giveaway (and the lack of the Downy's utter cuteness).
 

Helix

socially distancing
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 31, 2011
Messages
11,695
Reaction score
12,077
Location
Atherton Tablelands
Website
snailseyeview.medium.com
That Cornell All About Birds site is fantastic.

Today's new bird -- quite unexpected because it tends to prefer open woodland rather than closed forest -- is a pale-headed rosella (108kb). There are two forms -- the more widespread white-cheeked form and this one, the blue-cheeked form, which is more common on Cape York Peninsula, N of 15[SUP]o[/SUP]S. I guess we must be somewhere in the overlap between the two types.
 

krashnburn

I've gone to pink!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 28, 2012
Messages
1,914
Reaction score
319
Location
NY
You guys, I'm so lost with this bird stuff.

It's not one of the woodpeckers, though those were good guesses with what little info I gave. He stopped by the bird feeder this weekend, but he was gone so quick, I couldn't get enough of a look. What I can say is that he has a black cap and a wide white stripe around his eyes. I was looking at the black-capped chickadees (even the carolina one, though I don't think it comes far enough north), but my guy had a skinnier neck/body, not so full-looking. Ugh. I don't know.

Then I had some kind of pigeon-ish, dove guy for a moment. Probably a morning dove, but it was darker gray with a little blue, maybe.

I stink.
 

Helix

socially distancing
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 31, 2011
Messages
11,695
Reaction score
12,077
Location
Atherton Tablelands
Website
snailseyeview.medium.com
You guys, I'm so lost with this bird stuff.

It's not one of the woodpeckers, though those were good guesses with what little info I gave. He stopped by the bird feeder this weekend, but he was gone so quick, I couldn't get enough of a look. What I can say is that he has a black cap and a wide white stripe around his eyes. I was looking at the black-capped chickadees (even the carolina one, though I don't think it comes far enough north), but my guy had a skinnier neck/body, not so full-looking. Ugh. I don't know.

Then I had some kind of pigeon-ish, dove guy for a moment. Probably a morning dove, but it was darker gray with a little blue, maybe.

I stink.

Nah, you don't stink. IDing birds is hard.
 

Alessandra Kelley

Sophipygian
Staff member
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 27, 2011
Messages
16,874
Reaction score
5,189
Location
Near the gargoyles
Website
www.alessandrakelley.com
I've picked up A Field guide to Mesozoic Birds and Other Winged Dinosaurs by Matthew P. Martyniuk.

After a long section on how we know what we do and details of anatomy and where feathers came from, the rest of the book is laid out more or less in the form of a Peterson's Field Guide.

It's kind of mind-blowing.
 

Albedo

Alex
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 17, 2007
Messages
7,363
Reaction score
2,924
Location
A dimension of pure BEES
I've picked up A Field guide to Mesozoic Birds and Other Winged Dinosaurs by Matthew P. Martyniuk.

After a long section on how we know what we do and details of anatomy and where feathers came from, the rest of the book is laid out more or less in the form of a Peterson's Field Guide.

It's kind of mind-blowing.
I've had my eye on that book. How is the art?

I've added a (probable) brown falcon, helpfully posed for pics, which I'll upload this evening.
 

Alessandra Kelley

Sophipygian
Staff member
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 27, 2011
Messages
16,874
Reaction score
5,189
Location
Near the gargoyles
Website
www.alessandrakelley.com
I've had my eye on that book. How is the art?

It's much like I remember the Peterson Guides' (though it has been decades since I pored over them on summer vacations): In a style I would call more graphic than photorealistic, perhaps even a touch old-fashioned (although I think these are computer art, not gouaches), concentrating on silhouettes and feather masses. It also uses the Peterson Guide style of little arrows pointing to significant anatomical points, and includes in-flight (occasionally swimming) silhouettes and size guides compared to a modern male human silhouette.

The coloring is, I think, mostly hypothetical. There is an interesting discussion early on of how colors manifest in feathers, and why these early birds probably did not have really bright yellow, orange, red or green feathers, or bright red, orange, or yellow beaks.

The book is print-on-demand on matte paper, so the colors are somewhat subdued. They do look more natural that way.

It is really interesting to see a page of related creatures all together. What I find really interesting are the not-even-remotely-birds (*not* a technical term and probably rather unfair to the creatures). I had wondered how feathered dinosaurs would look and there is something pleasantly "of course" about these.
 

swachski

checking the 'reset' box
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 10, 2010
Messages
32,543
Reaction score
11,113
Location
The Abyss
I've been enjoying all the wonderful stories and images this morning, especially the Australian birds. They are so exotic! I'm an amateur birder from Michigan, currently living in Virginia, but moving soon to Florida. I can't wait to explore the coast and marshlands down there!

Some of you may remember Silver King, who started the Charlie and the Nature Factory thread in the AW Break Room. He posted some amazing images from the area I'm moving to, and I highly recommend checking out that thread.

My bird count for the year is limited. Daily visitors to the feeder are tufted titmouses, purple finches, blue jays, carolina wrens, dark eyed juncos, cardinals and some sort of sparrows.

Now that I know this thread is here, I hope to take some pics and post them soon.
 

Albedo

Alex
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 17, 2007
Messages
7,363
Reaction score
2,924
Location
A dimension of pure BEES
I've been enjoying all the wonderful stories and images this morning, especially the Australian birds. They are so exotic! I'm an amateur birder from Michigan, currently living in Virginia, but moving soon to Florida. I can't wait to explore the coast and marshlands down there!

Some of you may remember Silver King, who started the Charlie and the Nature Factory thread in the AW Break Room. He posted some amazing images from the area I'm moving to, and I highly recommend checking out that thread.

My bird count for the year is limited. Daily visitors to the feeder are tufted titmouses, purple finches, blue jays, carolina wrens, dark eyed juncos, cardinals and some sort of sparrows.

Now that I know this thread is here, I hope to take some pics and post them soon.
heh. Likewise I'm enjoying seeing some N. Am. wildlife. Blue jays and juncos and cardinals are exotic! so are squirrels, for that matter. I went nuts when I saw squirrels in a park over there.

It's much like I remember the Peterson Guides' (though it has been decades since I pored over them on summer vacations): In a style I would call more graphic than photorealistic, perhaps even a touch old-fashioned (although I think these are computer art, not gouaches), concentrating on silhouettes and feather masses. It also uses the Peterson Guide style of little arrows pointing to significant anatomical points, and includes in-flight (occasionally swimming) silhouettes and size guides compared to a modern male human silhouette.

The coloring is, I think, mostly hypothetical. There is an interesting discussion early on of how colors manifest in feathers, and why these early birds probably did not have really bright yellow, orange, red or green feathers, or bright red, orange, or yellow beaks.

The book is print-on-demand on matte paper, so the colors are somewhat subdued. They do look more natural that way.

It is really interesting to see a page of related creatures all together. What I find really interesting are the not-even-remotely-birds (*not* a technical term and probably rather unfair to the creatures). I had wondered how feathered dinosaurs would look and there is something pleasantly "of course" about these.
I think I'm sold. The idea of a Mesozoic field guide for avian dinosaurs seems so obvious you wonder why it hasn't been done before. I'd dig one for pterosaurs, as well.
 

JimmyB27

Hoopy frood
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 29, 2005
Messages
5,623
Reaction score
925
Age
42
Location
In the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable e
Website
destinydeceived.wordpress.com
I'm so enjoying these photos of birds outside my usual range.

Last night I fell in love with the kakapo of New Zealand. I stumbled across a NatGeo documentary on this species, which still exists at the brink of extinction in spite of mighty efforts to save it. I think I know where my next charity dollars are going.

Have you seen Last Chance to see wherein Mark Carwardine is shagged by a rare parrot?

This is one of mine, really need to go back and try harder with this fellow some day.
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,881
Reaction score
7,167
Location
Virginia
And he DOES look happy! And what a lovely, patient photographer to endure that.

Thanks for sharing, JimmyB27.
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,881
Reaction score
7,167
Location
Virginia
Midway through my first week living in midtown Manhattan, and the only birds I've seen are English sparrows, European starlings and the ubiquitous Rock Dove (i.e. city pigeon). I'm subscribing to an email alert for rare species and apparently there's a Red-headed Woodpecker causing a flutter in Central Park up around E. 66th, and a single Ovenbird that's been sighted at the IBM Atrium on 5th Avenue. If the weather is decent and I'm not too brain-dead on my day off (Sunday), I may go for a stroll and see what I can see.
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,881
Reaction score
7,167
Location
Virginia
Last Chance To See is well worth a look by the way. Both the original book by Douglas Adams, and the TV series the above was taken from with Stephen Fry.

I read the book years ago (I think I still have it) but don't believe I've seen the series. From the looks of that clip, I think I'd enjoy it.
 

swachski

checking the 'reset' box
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 10, 2010
Messages
32,543
Reaction score
11,113
Location
The Abyss
Have you seen Last Chance to see wherein Mark Carwardine is shagged by a rare parrot?

This is one of mine, really need to go back and try harder with this fellow some day.


Look's like someone put viagra in Sirocco's bird feeder. :ROFL:


Seriously though, I love to see examples of animals behaving in unexpected ways. Not because of anthropomorphism, but because it proves we understand so little about other beings besides ourselves. Turn the thinking around and state that WE are displaying characteristics of THEM.
 

ElaineA

All about that action, boss.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 17, 2013
Messages
8,555
Reaction score
8,431
Location
The Seattle suburbs
Website
www.reneedominick.com
Seriously though, I love to see examples of animals behaving in unexpected ways. Not because of anthropomorphism, but because it proves we understand so little about other beings besides ourselves. Turn the thinking around and state that WE are displaying characteristics of THEM.

LOL, funny, since January 20 I do feel very much like a hummingbird