Bird of the Week Page 3

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Bird of the Week Page 3

1John5918
Editat: maig 9, 2022, 10:10 am

Since we've already passed 150 posts and it was getting very slow to load all the pictures, I'll start a new thread for my second May Bird of the Week. I'll showcase another bird I saw on my little wildlife safari which I described last week, the White-bellied go-away-bird (Crinifer leucogaster), a type of turaco. That wasn't the first time I'd seen it - indeed I have seen it at our own village dam - but although it's classified as "Least Concern", I can't say I've seen it often.

It's quite a big bird, about 50 cm in length, and its colour scheme and crest are very striking. Males have a black bill, females a green one, and the females are slightly heavier than the males. It's found in open woodland, bush and cultivated land up to about 2,200m in Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and southwards into Tanzania. They feed primarily on plant matter such as fruits, flowers, nectar, seeds and buds of acacias, but are known to eat some invertebrates, such as winged termites found when foraging. They are very agile at climbing in trees.

They have more than one different call, but they get their name from one in particular, which reportedly sounds a bit like "go away". I've never heard them make any sound at all, so I can't confirm that personally - certainly I've never been told to bugger off by a go-away bird! I've also never seen one in flight, only perched majestically in trees.







Photos from Wikipedia and eBird, text based on Wikipedia and Stevenson.

2elenchus
maig 9, 2022, 12:27 pm

That simply looks like a large bird! Interesting to see such size in what isn't a raptor.

3TempleCat
maig 9, 2022, 5:10 pm

>1 John5918: Oh, I love that tail! It looks like a commercial aircraft design. :-)

4NorthernStar
maig 9, 2022, 10:58 pm

>1 John5918: lovely bird!

5Tess_W
maig 10, 2022, 2:21 pm

>1 John5918: beautiful bird with an interesting nick-name!

6John5918
Editat: maig 18, 2022, 9:44 am

The Purple grenadier is a beautiful little bird which I don't see too often, but I've seen it in my garden a couple of times in the last month so let it be my third Bird of the Week. This is one of those birds which has changed its identity. My 2014 edition of Birds of East Africa by Terry Stevenson calls it Uraeginthus ianthinogaster and classes it as a type of waxbill, while Wikipedia and eBird call it Granatina ianthinogaster, with the former describing it as a type of estrildid finch and the latter as a waxbill. Further online research tells me that waxbills are a type of estrildid finch. You live and learn.

The Purple grenadier is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, in open woodland, cultivated areas, savanna, bush and semi-arid land up to about 2,300 m. Its status is "Least Concern". Males are more colourful than females. It's about 13 cm long, and its diet comprises mainly grass seeds and insects like termites and small spiders. These birds prefer to feed on the ground.



7Tess_W
maig 18, 2022, 12:35 pm

So colorful!

8elenchus
maig 18, 2022, 1:27 pm

Love the mask and hood colouring.

9John5918
maig 19, 2022, 9:21 am

And I've just this minute seen another one, sitting on the fence of our kitchen garden.

10Gracie_Freeman
maig 19, 2022, 9:32 am

hi, im new.kinda. and does anyone wanna talk

11John5918
maig 19, 2022, 9:35 am

>10 Gracie_Freeman:

Yes, about birds.

12Gracie_Freeman
maig 19, 2022, 9:37 am

>11 John5918: i like any birds

13John5918
Editat: maig 19, 2022, 9:44 am

>12 Gracie_Freeman:

Good. Then you might consider joining this group. We all like birds and we talk about them a lot.

14Gracie_Freeman
maig 19, 2022, 9:45 am

oh alr

15John5918
Editat: maig 23, 2022, 5:23 am

For my last Bird of the Week for May I've chosen a bird which is rare in my area and which I saw for the first time ever this morning. While I was cooking breakfast I heard an unusual bird call which I hadn't heard before. I'm not good at remembering bird calls in order to identify the bird, but I can spot unusual ones. As I rushed to the window I caught a flash of yellow as it flew to a nearby tree. I rushed upstairs, grabbed my trusty 'noculars, and watched it for a while before it flew away, and as it did so, a second one joined it and disappeared off into the sunrise. Red beak, black head, yellow body, black tail feathers - a striking bird. Instinct told me it was an oriole of some sort; the field guide told me it was either an African black-headed oriole or a Montane oriole. The call had been very distinctive, so I reverted to the eGuide to Birds of East Africa app on my phone (which I only managed to reinstal a few weeks ago after it had died quite a while ago) which has recordings of bird calls, and it was clear they were Montane and not African black-headed. Very exciting.

The Montane oriole (Oriolus percivali) is also known as Black-tailed oriole, Mountain oriole and Percival's oriole. It is found in central and eastern Africa from eastern DRC to central Kenya and western Tanzania, and is classed as "Least Concern". It's about 20 cm long and its natural habitat is montane forests. When I entered it on eBird they challenged my identification, as we are right on the edge (or perhaps a little off the edge) of its normal range, but I'm convinced as a result of the call - it was so different from the only other contender, the African black-headed oriole. Stevenson's Birds of East Africa states, "common and largely replacing Black-headed within highland forest from 1500-3000m". We're at 1900m, so that fits.



I couldn't find an image that really does this bird justice, seen in the bright early morning sunlight.

That's me done for May. Tess, I think you're up for June. Once again I repeat the invitation for others to present Bird of the Week, maybe starting in July. You don't need to be an expert, as all the details can be found online and in your local field guide books, just someone who wants to share with the rest of us some of the birds that you see in your locale.

16Tess_W
juny 1, 2022, 3:00 pm

June Week #1, Backyard Birds of Ohio
According to most bird sites, there are only about 40 common birds in Ohio. (US midwest) I hope I'm not repeating!

This week's bird is the tree swallow. I may have seen this bird once, but was unable to identify it. I have seen it's cousin, the chimney swallow many times. The tree swallow is a small bird known for its chirping habits. The tree swallow is found in Ohio primarily between March-November.



Tree swallows are very acrobatic, performing "stunts" in mid-air to catch insects. They also eat worms and larva. When migrating, their flock can number in the hundreds of thousands.



Sound bite for tree swallow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-gkVmQgQoM

17NorthernStar
juny 1, 2022, 6:50 pm

>16 Tess_W: I love swallows, and live in the tree swallows summer territory.

18John5918
juny 1, 2022, 11:38 pm

>16 Tess_W:

We have various types of swallow here, but your tree swallows look particularly bright and striking.

19John5918
juny 4, 2022, 11:25 pm

>16 Tess_W: their flock can number in the hundreds of thousands

Not swallows, but this reminded me of the murmurations of starlings that can sometimes be seen. I've watched them at Brighton pier in southern England. This morning I came across a story about them in the Guardian. It contains some beautiful photos and videos.

A fragment of eternity’: the mesmerising murmurations of Europe’s starlings

20Tess_W
Editat: juny 10, 2022, 5:07 am

June Week #2 Bird of the Week

This week's bird is the American Kestrel, also called the sparrow hawk. It is the smallest and most common falcon in North America.

They eat mostly insects, but also rodents and other birds. Their favorite meal is scorpions and spiders. They have been seen attacking/killing squirrels.

They do not use nesting materials such as grass, etc. Kestrels find an already used spaces, such as woodpecker nests, cavities in trees, caves, ledges, etc.

Kestrels are often seen sitting on utility wires waiting to see something to pounce on. During mating season, the male feeds the female.

Kestrels have lost 50% of their population between 1966-2019 thus rating "Continental Concern." The dwindling population has two root causes: destruction of habitat (forests and hedgerows) and pesticides (which kill spiders).





Its breeding range extends from central and western Alaska across northern Canada to Nova Scotia, and south throughout North America, into central Mexico and the Caribbean. It is a local breeder in Central America and is widely distributed throughout South America. Most birds breeding in Canada and the northern United States migrate south in the winter.



The typical female lays 4-5 eggs yearly at one time, about 24-72 hours apart.



Migratory raptors native to the United States are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, so American kestrels are illegal to possess without a permit in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Great video showing kestrel nest and vocalizations:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTe8cd_OVTU

Here is also a mini-documentary on the kestrel (5 mins):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOu5__c-usA

21elenchus
juny 10, 2022, 11:39 pm

>20 Tess_W: They eat mostly insects ...

That would seem to involve almost constant hunting for a creature of that size.

22perennialreader
juny 11, 2022, 6:58 am

>20 Tess_W: One of my favorite birds.

23ZacTench
juny 11, 2022, 7:40 am

S'ha suprimit aquest usuari en ser considerat brossa.

24Tess_W
juny 16, 2022, 8:10 am

June Week #3 Backyard Birds in Ohio (midwest US)

This week's bird is the house finch, oftentimes confused for the female cardinal, although much smaller.

Native to the Southwest, they are recent arrivals in the East. New York pet shop owners, who had been selling the finches illegally, released their birds in 1940 to escape prosecution; the finches survived, and began to colonize the New York suburbs. By 50 years later they had advanced halfway across the continent, meeting their western kin on the Great Plains. (Audubon Field Guide)


ebird.com

The male is subtly colored and the female is not.

Project feeder watch



House Finches eat almost exclusively plant materials, including seeds, buds and fruits. Wild foods include wild mustard seeds, knotweed, thistle, mulberry, poison oak, cactus, and many other species. In orchards, House Finches eat cherries, apricots, peaches, pears, plums, strawberries, blackberries, and figs. At feeders they eat black oil sunflower. (All about Birds)

Some populations have undergone a steep decline since January 1994, owing to a disease called mycoplasmal conjunctivitis. The disease causes respiratory problems and red, swollen eyes, making them susceptible to predators and adverse weather. House Finch conjunctivitis was first observed at feeders in the Washington, D.C. area, but has spread rapidly through the eastern House Finch population and into the West. (I found several dead blue jays in my yard, apparently from this disease.) Here is more about this disease: https://feederwatch.org/learn/house-finch-eye-disease/?__hstc=75100365.9f3884f5e...

House finches are rarely seen alone. They like to perch high in the trees and on power lines, although they do come perch on my deck ledge, occasionally.




Nestwatch

A clutch is usually 2-6 eggs.

Nestwatch

25John5918
Editat: juny 28, 2022, 12:27 am

Am I right in thinking that it will be NorthernStar's turn to do Bird of the Week in July?

And let me repeat my plea for anyone else who is interested in taking on Bird of the Week for a month to contact me or Tess here or as a private comment.

26Tess_W
juny 28, 2022, 12:00 am

Sounds good to me!

27NorthernStar
Editat: juny 28, 2022, 2:03 pm

Are you doing one this week Tess? I can do July, but my timing may be a bit erratic, as I may be out of internet reach a few times.

I like the house finches, but they don't come this far north. We do get purple finches, which are similar, though.

28Tess_W
juny 28, 2022, 7:01 pm

I'm going to have to pass this week. Teaching a class and I'm exhausted! If we skip a week, that's ok! Erratic is ok!

29John5918
juny 28, 2022, 11:22 pm

No worries, either of you. Bird of the Week should be a pleasure, not a chore!

30NorthernStar
Editat: jul. 2, 2022, 3:44 pm

For my first July bird of the week, and inspired by Tess's last, I present to you the Purple Finch, (Haemorhous purpureus), a bird often confused with the House Finch she presented.

The purple finch spends summers in my area, and across much of Canada, but can be found along the west coast and across most of the eastern US and south eastern Canada in the winters. Very similar in size and shape to the house finch, purple finch males are not what I would call purple, but more of a raspberry pink, with darker pink on the head, chest and back, fading to paler down the breast and undersides. The wings, back, and tail have more brown colouration. The bill is thick and strong for eating seeds. The female has no pink, but is a pretty striped and streaky brown and white. They love black oil sunflower seeds at feeders, otherwise they eat mainly seeds, buds, berries, and fruit, with some insects. In summer they are often found in coniferous or mixed forests. They have a very pretty, musical, warbling song.

I had a few pairs still visiting until about a week ago. I suspect they may be nesting now, but I haven't seen either male or female recently.


male Purple Finch

female Purple Finch, distribution map
photos and map from All About Birds, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Purple_Finch/

31Tess_W
jul. 2, 2022, 8:43 pm

I don't think I have a good enough eye to distinguish between the finches--they move so quickly!

32NorthernStar
Editat: jul. 12, 2022, 1:42 am

This week's bird is the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus varius. A colourful member of the woodpecker family that winters in the south-eastern US as far south as central America, and summers in the north-eastern US, and from eastern Canada, north and west through the boreal forest as far as the Yukon and Alaska.


Male with sap holes, female.

Males and females have similar colouration, except for the male's red throat. The yellow belly that gives them part of their name varies from a faint wash of cream, to a strong yellow.

Sapsuckers get the other part of their name by their unusual feeding habits. They drill rows of holes in the bark of trees and feed on both the sap that wells out and the insects that are attracted to it. They have a reputation for killing trees with their sap holes, but may in fact choose already sick or wounded trees. They favour trees with high sugar concentration in their sap.

They nest in tree cavities, laying 4-6 eggs on a bed of wood chips inside the cavity, which may be 25 cm (10 inches) deep, with a 4 cm (1.5 inch) diameter hole.

Sapsuckers visit one of my willow trees regularly, it has lots of sap holes. Also, a few years ago, a friend and I went looking for the cause of some very noisy bird sounds and found a nest hole with babies peeking out, about 6 m up in an aspen tree.

map and pictures from All About Birds. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-bellied_Sapsucker/

33John5918
jul. 12, 2022, 4:37 am

Amazing how similar different woodpeckers look across the world. That could easily be mistaken for some of the woodpeckers we have here.

34Tess_W
jul. 13, 2022, 4:45 am

>33 John5918: I might have identified this as a woodpecker, especially from a distance.

35NorthernStar
jul. 19, 2022, 2:00 am

For this week's bird, I've chosen a bird I've never gotten a really good look at. I've recently been using the Merlin bird app's sound identification feature to try to learn more birds by their songs and calls. A few days ago I heard some small, noisy birds calling from the top of some aspen trees, and decided to try Merlin on the calls. I also got my small binoculars out to try to get a good look at the birds. The app identified the birds as Red-Eyed Vireos (Vireo olivaceus). I wasn't able to get a really good view with my binocs, as the birds were moving around a lot at the top of the trees, but they matched in size, shape, and behavior.

Red-Eyed Vireos are small songbirds which summer mainly in eastern North America, but they can be found west as far as the coast of Washington state and southern BC, and north as far as the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories. They winter in the Amazon basin in South America. Their diet is mainly insects (especially caterpillars) in the summer and insects and fruit in the winter. They spend a lot of time in the tops of deciduous trees. The males and females have similar colouration: Olive backs, white undersides, a grey cap, with a white line above the red eye, and a grey line through the eye. Immature birds have brown eyes.



So, will I be able to identify these the next time I hear them? Well, that's a definite maybe. If I've got the app, my chances are much better.

Picture and map from All About Birds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-eyed_Vireo/

36Tess_W
jul. 19, 2022, 3:45 am

I can honestly say that I have never seen or heard of this bird!

37John5918
jul. 19, 2022, 11:46 am

I've heard of Merlin but I'm not sure exactly what it is. Can you explain in simple words for someone who is not too tech-savvy? It sounds useful.

38NorthernStar
jul. 19, 2022, 5:00 pm

>37 John5918: - Merlin is a free phone app - available for both android and apple. It was developed by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, who also does All About Birds, which I use a lot. It is also connected to ebird and Birds of the World. You can now download bird packs for different regions all around the world. It looks like Africa is still not completely covered, but they are adding birds and bird packs all the time.

I've used Merlin since it started. It originally was pretty primitive, and didn't have many birds in it's database. It's original bird ID starts by you answering three questions - size, colours, and behaviour, and Merlin would come up with a list of possibilities. They've since added Photo ID (upload a picture, and it will try to match) and Sound ID, which will record right in the app, or you can upload. You can also just go in and browse birds - for instance, if you know it is an owl, you can look at all the owls in your bird packs. It has pictures and information, range maps, and sounds for each bird. You can also add to your life list and ebird.

It gets better all the time. I hadn't used the sound ID until recently, and am really liking it. Great fun for someone who has always struggled with identifying what I hear.

39TempleCat
jul. 20, 2022, 2:12 pm

>38 NorthernStar: I have two apps on my phone that can be used for identifying bird calls - Merlin and BirdNET, both from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, but I tend to rely on BirdNET almost exclusively. It's an AI developed by postdoc biologists and engineers.

The app records the bird call, sends it to the neural network the developers have created for analysis, then reports the result. Merlin as a great all-around app for bird identification through their plumage, physiognomy, habitat, season, calls, etc., and I use it a lot, but I like BirdNET for identifying birds through their calls mostly because that is its entire focus and all of the people involved in its development are mainly interested in the linkage between animal acoustics and environment.

Its downside is the need to transmit the recording to an AI server external to the app. If one doesn't have an internet connection, the analysis of the call will have to wait until a connection is established.

40NorthernStar
jul. 21, 2022, 12:50 am

>39 TempleCat: I haven't used BirdNET, but think that connectivity would be an issue for me. One nice thing about Merlin is that once you've downloaded the bird packs you don't need to be online. It also seems to be improving all the time.

41John5918
Editat: jul. 21, 2022, 12:54 am

Thanks for all this advice. I have bird calls on my Birds of East Africa app, but you have to more or less identify the bird first in order to listen to the recording of its call for confirmation. BirdNET sounds good to me, despite the connectivity problem, as it would allow me to identify the bird without seeing it.

42NorthernStar
jul. 21, 2022, 1:01 am

>41 John5918: so does Merlin

43John5918
jul. 21, 2022, 1:31 am

Ah, so I need to try both! I'm not very tech-savvy so it'll take a while for me to dip my toe in the waters!

44NorthernStar
jul. 24, 2022, 2:10 am

For my next July bird, I've chosen one I've been hearing at night lately, the Common Loon (Gavia immer, also known as Great Northern Diver), calling from the water reservoirs at this end of town. They are a large and handsome water bird, and their echoing call, heard around northern lakes in summer, is unforgettable. Their summer plumage is a distinctive pattern of black and white with iridescent greenish highlights. They are strong swimmers, chasing and catching fish underwater. They are also strong and fast in flight, but can be seen running along the surface of the water to get enough speed to get in the air. Because they are slow and clumsy on land, due to their legs being set very far back, they usually only come ashore to nest. They spend summers on northern (mainly Canadian) lakes and ponds, and winters close to shore along the North American coasts. They are also found around Greenland, Iceland, and parts of Europe, mainly western. Their winter plumage is grey above and white below.
Loons make a wide variety of calls. Here is a link to one similar to what I've been hearing: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/195281331#_ga=2.181241191.1726577473.165863968...
And this page has a variety of different sounds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Loon/sounds
breeding plumage on left, non-breeding (winter) plumage on right

Canada's $1 coin, introduced in 1987 to replace our $1 bills, has a loon on one side, leading to it being commonly know as the loonie.
Pictures and map from All About Birds. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Loon/ Loonie picture from Canadian Coin News.

45John5918
jul. 24, 2022, 2:51 am

>44 NorthernStar:

Thanks. I've always loved the name "loon"!

I'll do Bird of the Week in August, then we'll be looking to Tess again in September unless there are any new volunteers.

46Tess_W
jul. 25, 2022, 5:41 pm

Ty for the info on the loon

47NorthernStar
Editat: ag. 1, 2022, 12:14 am

I got back today from my camping trip, and thought I would do one last July bird of the week. I've chosen the White-Winged Crossbill, Loxia leucoptera. Most mornings while I was camping I could hear a distinctive bird song that I didn't recognize. (There are so many I don't recognize!) I used the Merlin Sound ID, and the first time it didn't pick up anything that seemed to match, and of course the birds stopped singing about that time. I tried again the next day and the day after, and it identified the White-Winged Crossbill, which seemed to fit. I never actually saw them up at the tops of the trees (not this week - I have seen them before), but the area was perfect for them. There were lots of spruce trees full of cones. Crossbills use their twisted beaks to pry open spruce and other conifer cones to get at the seeds.

male on left, female on right

Map and pictures from All About Birds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-winged_Crossbill/

48John5918
ag. 1, 2022, 12:31 am

It's so annoying when you're in a forest and you can hear birds all around you but you can't see a single one! Well done for identifying it.

49NorthernStar
ag. 1, 2022, 12:35 am

>48 John5918: Yes, that's where expert birders really shine. They can tell you what is there just from the songs and calls. I'm working on it, but I don't think I have a good memory for birdsong. I am enjoying using Merlin for sound ID, even if it doesn't always work.

50John5918
Editat: ag. 1, 2022, 11:01 pm

I'll start the August Bird of the Week with the Sacred ibis, Threskiornis aethiopicus, if only because I saw a flock of forty of fifty of them last week. I was driving past a small farm that had cattle and pigs, and there was definitely something about the pigs' area which the ibis liked! It's a very common bird throughout sub-Saharan Africa and is classified as "least concern". I often see small groups of half a dozen or so flying overhead. It's quite a striking bird, white and black, reasonably large at about 80 cm, with a heavy bill. It is associated with ancient Egyptian god Thoth, although ironically it no longer exists in Egypt. It likes grasslands, marshes and damp forest edges as well as cultivated areas up to 3,000 metres, and indeed can often be seen in gardens. It eats mainly insects, worms, crustaceans, molluscs and other invertebrates, as well as various fish, frogs, reptiles, small mammals, worms and carrion, and occasionally seeds. Interestingly, African fish eagles reportedly prey on the Sacred ibis.

Wikipedia tells me it is very closely related to the black-headed ibis and the Australian white ibis. There are other common species of ibis here, but none of them are white and apparently they are not quite so closely related.

51NorthernStar
ag. 2, 2022, 11:56 pm

>50 John5918: Nice! It does look familiar from ancient Egyptian art.

52Tess_W
ag. 8, 2022, 3:54 pm

>50 John5918: TY for the info on the ibis! I've read about them in fiction, but, never have seen or learned about the bird.

53John5918
Editat: ag. 9, 2022, 10:08 am

For my second Bird of the Week in August let me offer the Ostrich. It often gets forgotten, which is odd considering it's the largest bird in the world, but I think because of its size a lot of tourists think of it in the must-see "big game" category with lion, cheetah, leopard, giraffe, buffalo, elephant, rhino, hippo, etc, and completely overlook that it is actually a bird. The one I see most often is the Common ostrich, Struthio camelus, but there is a second species, the Somali ostrich, Struthio molybdophanes. They are common in the wild. I have seen ostrich on my property, albeit a few years ago, but I only have to drive a few kms to see them roaming in the bush by the roadside. They can be quite aggressive, and they are certainly intimidating when you get too close. Their conservation status is "Least Concern".

They are found in Africa's Sahel belt, and in East and Southern Africa, not so much in West and Central Africa, in a range of open arid and semi-arid habitats such as savannas and the Sahel. Both species are found in Kenya. They're fast - they can run at up to 70 km/hr - and big, reaching 2.5 m in height. Their eggs are huge - an ostrich egg usually ranges between 1,100 and 1,950 g, averaging 1,600 g. An average-size egg is around 15.5 cm long, 13 cm wide, and about 45 cm in circumference. Ostriches typically eat plants, roots and seeds, but will also eat insects, lizards, small tortoises or other creatures. Males are more distinctive with black and white feathers, while females are a dull grey-brown. The male Common ostrich has pinkish or grey-brown neck and legs, the Somali male has grey.

I've never had the opportunity to eat an ostrich egg - it must make a good size omelette! - and the eggs are now protected by law, but I've often eaten ostrich meat. They are farmed commercially ("ranched" might be a better word). The meat is very much like beef, albeit a bit leaner and drier like most wild game meat. I've never seen an ostrich bury its head in the sand, and in fact this is a myth. They lay their eggs in holes in the ground and occasionally stick their heads in to check on the eggs and move them around.



Common ostrich, a male and two females. Note that this male does not have pinkish neck and legs (Wikipedia)



Male Common ostrich (PBS)



Male Somali ostrich (oiseaux.net)



Ostrich egg compared to a chicken egg and a US dollar bill (Wikipedia)

54TempleCat
ag. 11, 2022, 5:02 pm

>53 John5918: I've had ostrich meat. It's good - tastes like steak but, as you say, leaner. I don't think it's as flavorful as beef but it is a lot healthier. It used to be marketed in some areas of the U.S.; it might still be, but I haven't run into it in the past few years; but then, I haven't looked for it either. They are surely big animals! Are they aggressive to humans?

55John5918
ag. 11, 2022, 11:53 pm

>54 TempleCat: Are they aggressive to humans?

Someone I know was recently chased by one on his bicycle. Several years ago, a friend of mine had a similar experience and in the end had to throw his bike at the ostrich to scare it off. I've always treated them with great caution. They've got powerful beaks and feet which can do damage. It's not that they go deliberately hunting for humans to chase, but if you get close to them they can be unpredictable. Like all wild animals, better to enjoy viewing them from a safe distance.

56John5918
ag. 14, 2022, 1:02 am

And just by chance, yesterday morning I spotted an ostrich crossing the road in front of me a few kms from home. Which calls to mind a variation of the old joke, why did the ostrich cross the road?

57NorthernStar
ag. 14, 2022, 6:50 pm

>53 John5918: The ostrich is one of those birds that really do look like living dinosaurs.

58TempleCat
ag. 15, 2022, 12:53 am

>56 John5918: Cuz he wasn't chicken? ;-)

59John5918
ag. 15, 2022, 12:54 am

>58 TempleCat:

Damn. You've heard it before!

60TempleCat
ag. 19, 2022, 1:17 pm

>59 John5918: No, I hadn't - 'twas just a lucky (and obvious) guess. It's a good joke, regardless! 😄 Keep 'em coming!

61John5918
Editat: ag. 20, 2022, 11:57 pm

Following the culinary theme of my last Bird of the Week, with ostrich egg omelettes and ostrich steaks, let me offer another bird which is good to eat, the guineafowl. The most common one is the Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris), which is found in abundance pretty much all over sub-Saharan Africa. I see it often, around our home and elsewhere, often in flocks of up to fifty birds. They're highly gregarious, foraging, chasing and dust-bathing together in grassland, woodland, savanna, fields, forest, cultivated areas and bush. They like to travel behind herd animals and beneath monkey troops, where they forage within manure and on items that have fallen to the ground from the canopy. They play a pivotal role in the control of ticks, flies, locusts, scorpions, and other invertebrates. They pluck maggots from carcasses and manure. Their height ranges up to about 65 cms. Although they spend most of their time on the ground, they can fly well. They're very noisy, chattering away, especially when alarmed. Their status is "Least Concern".

Guineafowl are good to eat, reminding me very much of the British pheasant, and indeed the two birds are believed to have been related in the distant past. Like many game birds, you need to hang it for a little before butchering - we once ate one which had been killed the same day and it was a bit tasteless. It's probably illegal to take wild birds, but guineafowl are bred commercially. The normal practice is to put guineafowl eggs in with the chickens, and when they hatch they appear to believe that they are chickens and they don't try to escape. We plan to raise guineafowl (and chickens, ducks and geese) when we get round to building a secure henhouse, to protect them from eagles, snakes, mongoose and baboons, which leads me to another story which is irrelevant to the topic at hand but one or two of you have made the mistake of saying that you enjoy little anecdotes from Africa, so here goes.

Baboons are a real pest. There's a troop of thirty or forty which lives off to the south of us but often passes through our property to go foraging to the north. When we first moved here we tried keeping a few chickens in a makeshift henhouse, but the baboons took several of them and we gave up until such time as we can build a proper one. As the current drought makes them hungrier, they are getting bolder. Last week our dogs treed three of them, a big male, a female and a baby. For some reason they decided it would be a good idea to come down from the safety of the tree even though there were four large dogs underneath it. Our Rhodesian Ridgeback matriarch saw off the big male, chasing it until it escaped over the fence, while two of our other dogs tore the female to pieces. Interestingly they didn't attack the baby, presumably recognising it as a "puppy"; we put it over the fence and eventually it wandered off and rejoined its troop. Big male baboons can be vicious, and will kill a dog, but four large dogs are more than a match for them. We did have five, but one was killed by a cobra a few months ago, but that's a different story.

Back on topic, there are several other species of guineafowl. The one I have seen in Kenya, on only one occasion, is the Vulturine Guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum). It has a much more localised range.



Helmeted guineafowl



Vulturine guineafowl

Information from Wikipedia and local field guides, photos from Wikipedia.

62Gracie_Freeman
ag. 20, 2022, 6:19 pm

hey i know i havent been on in a while but i will be now

63John5918
ag. 23, 2022, 10:15 am

Amazing how often I notice a bird which I have recently posted as Bird of the Week. This morning I saw a small flock of 18 helmeted guineafowl as I drove out of my gate. Next week I should post a rare or unusual bird and maybe it will suddenly appear?! Dodo, Great Auk, Ivory-billed woodpecker?

64elenchus
Editat: ag. 23, 2022, 11:44 am

>63 John5918:

Yes! Tempt the heavens! Maybe start smaller -- what's not yet on your life list but long sought after?

65John5918
Editat: ag. 27, 2022, 6:43 am

My last Bird of the Week is the Crowned Lapwing (Vanellus coronatus), which is also sometimes known as the Crowned Plover. I get very confused between plovers and lapwings, which seem to be very similar. The UK Royal Society for the Protection of Birds tells us that "Lapwings have broad, rounded wings, plovers have pointed wings", but seems to me they still look and behave very similarly, and I believe they are all known as plovers in South Africa.

This is a bird which I quite often see locally, singly or in small groups - I saw a group of four last week. It's a dry country lapwing; there are also wetland lapwings, which one often sees in larger groups when one is birdwatching in wetlands. The Crowned Lapwing is a striking bird, about 30 cm tall, brown-grey with a white underside, yellow eyes, and with a black cap and white crown ring on the head. Legs and the base of the bill are variously described as red, orange or pink. It's found throughout east and southern Africa, in bush, grassland, fields, fallow land and wooded areas up to about 3,000m. Wikipedia describes it as "an adaptable and numerous species, with bold and noisy habits", and it is classified as "Least Concern". Their diet consists of a variety of insects, but termites form an important component. Termites are, of course, also eaten by humans, and are delicious!

Lapwings and plovers lay their eggs in nests on the ground, and when danger approaches they try to distract the intruder, including humans, and lure it away from the nest. They don't actually attack, but they often make a show of doing so. They make a loud noise which in South Africa gives them their Afrikaans name, kiewiet, just as a Northern Lapwing's English name is "peewit" as a result of its similar call. In Africa many birds get their local name from their call.





That's me done for Bird of the Week in August. Tess, I think you're up for September. Once again let me repeat my appeal for others to take a turn at Bird of the Week. You don't have to be an expert - all the detailed information is available online and in field guides, and Wikipedia is your friend in this regard! - just someone who loves birds and has some favourites from your own region that you would like to showcase for us. Welcome!

66NorthernStar
ag. 27, 2022, 1:42 pm

>65 John5918: Thank you for another beautiful and interesting bird! Although I was hoping for a dodo sighting.

I'd like to add my encouragement for more participants to join us here, especially if you are in another part of the world! You don't need to be an expert, in fact you will probably learn a lot doing it. I know I have.

67John5918
Editat: ag. 28, 2022, 2:15 am

>66 NorthernStar: I was hoping for a dodo sighting... my encouragement for more participants to join us here... you will probably learn a lot doing it. I know I have.

Me too on all of those!

68Gracie_Freeman
ag. 28, 2022, 8:13 pm

how do yall put pics on here?

69John5918
ag. 28, 2022, 11:20 pm

There's a very good thread called "The New How To Do Fancy Things In Your Posts Thread" at https://www.librarything.com/topic/177029# which tells you how to do all sorts of fancy things including pictures. Almost all of it is in the first post on that thread. Good luck!

70Tess_W
Editat: set. 2, 2022, 4:58 am

The first bird for the week of September is the yellow-bellied sapsucker. It caught my eye the other day. At first I thought it to be a red-headed woodpecker of some variety, but as I kept observing I noticed that it's breast was yellow. The sapsucker is classified as a woodpecker Yellow-bellied sapsuckers will drum on metal surfaces such as signs, gutters, or vents to increase the resonance and more broadly proclaim their territory.

Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are omnivorous and eat a wide range of foods, including sap, insects, fruit, berries, nuts, buds, and seeds.

They mostly live in coniferous forests and will migrate far distances to find softer wood.

Because the primary food of these birds is sap, they do prefer their sweets! They can be seen at hummingbird feeders and can enticed by jelly or donuts--however not good for them!

Male

female





Until about the 1950's, many sapsuckers were killed by those who grew sugar maple and pine trees because of the hole (well) these birds drilled in the tree. It was thought that it would damage the tree. However, for the most part, that idea was debunked in the 1960's.

You can watch their mating dance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6Bycy1X_oM

These birds are abundant in North America and there is no cause for concern at t his time.

Pics from Audobon and Birdsadvice.com

71Tess_W
Editat: set. 8, 2022, 6:52 pm

2nd Week September Bird of the Week



This week's bird is the purple martin. The purple martin is one of the largest swallows to inhabit North America. They live almost exclusively in man-made "boarding" houses, where 3-4 families live at once.

They feed on insects only while flying through the air. They also get their water by skimming ponds and lakes and lowering its bottom bill.

Putting up martin houses used to be so common that John James Audubon used them to choose his lodgings for the night. In 1831, he remarked, “Almost every country tavern has a martin box on the upper part of its sign-board; and I have observed that the handsomer the box, the better does the inn generally prove to be.” (All About Birds) Starlings and house sparrows sometimes push the timid martin out of their nesting homes and take over.

Native Americans used to attract purple martins by making their homes out of gourds.



Some purple martin condos:



I could not find out how the bird got its name.

Literally 99% of the purple martins east of the Mississippi are totally dependent upon man for their housing. West of the Mississippi they live in vacated woodpecker nests.

72NorthernStar
set. 9, 2022, 1:16 am

>71 Tess_W: My dad built a martin house. I think it got left behind after my parents split up and the house was sold. I don't think they come as far north and west as I live now. We used to get nesting martins most years. They were lovely to have around and they eat tons of insects.

73Tess_W
Editat: set. 22, 2022, 7:57 am

3rd week of September Bird of the Week ....to be honest, I have run out of idea for birds of my area or birds I have seen! This week I'm going to post about the Elf Owl, which is on the endangered list. The elf owl lives in southern California, Arizona, and Nevada most of the breeding year. In October they migrate to Mexico, returning to the US in March-April.

The elf owl is a small grayish-brown bird about the size of a sparrow found in the Southwestern United States, central Mexico, and the Baja California peninsula. Their numbers used to be larger, but the owls have lost out due to development, water diversions, and invasive plants. Their favorite nesting location is inside a Saguro Cactus or an abandoned woodpecker nest.

It has pale yellow eyes highlighted by thin white "eyebrows." The Elf Owl has no tufts and is about the size of a sparrow. This owl is the tiniest in the world.



To avoid being eaten or having their nests raided, small birds often gang up on larger birds or other predators. The behavior is known as mobbing, and it works because the predators are typically chased away. Elf Owls in groups of 3-6 have been known to mob Great Horned Owls, which are 35 times heavier, as well as gopher snakes and raccoons. In return, robins and gray warblers often mob the elf owls.

The main diet of the elf owl is moths, crickets and beetles, scorpions, and centipedes.

The elf owl was placed on the endangered species list in 2004. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation launched a program to restore native plants and animals, including Elf Owls, along the river valley of southern California. Two of the goals are to create no less than 1,784 acres of Elf Owl habitat and to install lots of nest boxes. The work is on-going.





Interesting trivia: When captured, this tiny owl will play dead until all danger has passed.



Great video highlighting the elf owl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7RWVdANXb4

Info from: Cornell Bird Labs, Encyclopedia of Life, All About Birds, Owling.com

74Gracie_Freeman
set. 23, 2022, 9:48 am

im sorry idk how to upload photos. The link John sent to me doesnt help me at all

75John5918
set. 23, 2022, 10:20 am

>73 Tess_W:

I think my biggest problem will not be running out of birds but trying to remember which ones I've already done!

76John5918
set. 23, 2022, 10:21 am

>74 Gracie_Freeman:

My apologies. I always found that linked thread useful. Hopefully someone else can give you a clearer description.

77John5918
set. 23, 2022, 10:23 am

Coming to the end of September, i think NorthernStar is up for October, and I'll do November, unless we get some new volunteers. I'll be travelling during November so I might be a bit erratic, but I should be able to post four birds during the month. Thanks, Tess, for September.

78Gracie_Freeman
set. 23, 2022, 10:48 am

>76 John5918: can you tell me how to do it?

79John5918
Editat: set. 23, 2022, 1:21 pm

>78 Gracie_Freeman:

It's very difficult to explain, which is why it's easier just to look at in the first post in that thread I linked. It's the fifth item in that thread. The sixth item gives you options to resize the photo.

(greater than symbol)IMG SRC="web address of the photo"(less than symbol)

If I actually type those two symbols you won't see them because the system will think I'm trying to post a photo.

80Tess_W
Editat: set. 29, 2022, 8:06 am

The last bird of September is the whooping crane.

Prior to 1870, about 1,400 whooping cranes lived in North America. Their number declined to a low of 15 individuals in 1941. Breeding in captivity and releases into the wild have built up three flocks. The largest group, totaling 237 birds in early 2007, nests in Alberta's Wood Buffalo Park and winters in Texas at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. It is estimated the total count for whooping cranes in Canada and US is 800. The sandhill crane is a cousin of the whooping crane but is not on the endangered species list.







The whooping crane was so named because of the sound it makes. A short video with cranes making noise!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObfBG35DWRM It is America's tallest bird (about 5 feet tall) , but only weighs in at about 15 pounds when fully grown. A great video here showcasing the whooping crane, but also several other birds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMRsRDrAIrc

The best place to find Whooping Cranes is during winter at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas. In summer, this population breeds in remote Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada. During migration, you may find Whooping Cranes at classic stopover sites such as Nebraska’s Platte River. Look for Whooping Cranes among much larger numbers of Sandhill Cranes.

Predators include American black bear, wolverine, gray wolf, cougar, red fox, Canada lynx, bald eagle, and common raven. Golden eagles have killed some young whooping cranes and fledglings. Due to their large size, adult birds in the wild have few predators. However, the bobcat has killed many captive-raised whooping cranes in Florida and Texas.

Cranes are omnivorous, but prefer meat or protein such as crustaceans, mollusks, fish (such as eel), small reptiles and aquatic plants. Potential foods of breeding birds in summer include frogs, small rodents, small birds, fish, aquatic insects, crayfish, clams, snails, aquatic tubers, and berries.

Louisiana has had an extensive breeding and reintroduction program that has not been successful due to illegal hunting. Over a 2 year period 100 cranes were introduced and of that number at least 10 (and probably more) were illegally killed by hunters. Evidently cranes (both US varieties) are nicknamed "ribeye of the sky" and quite tasty. Some of the hunters have been caught and prosecuted usually with a fine ($500) and the suspension of hunting license for 1-5 years.



Very sorry if I have repeated myself----after several years I can't remember what I've posted!

Info from Cornell Bird Labs, Wikipedia, and Current Resources.com

81perennialreader
set. 29, 2022, 9:55 am

>80 Tess_W: During winter, 7,000-10,000 sandhill cranes congregate at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in Decatur, Alabama. Last year I spotted 6 whooping cranes in among the gray sandhills. Pretty exciting to see the bright white of the whoopers.

They have an observation building that has a clear glass wall and bleachers so you can watch them. Not as many in other parts of the country but for those farther east, maybe easier to get to.

82perennialreader
Editat: set. 29, 2022, 10:05 am

Aquest missatge ha estat suprimit pel seu autor.

83Tess_W
set. 29, 2022, 11:08 am

>81 perennialreader: Fortunate to spot those!

84NorthernStar
oct. 17, 2022, 12:26 am

Oops - I've been busy, and sort of forgot that I should be doing October. I guess I need to post at least two to catch up!

So my first October bird is the Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus). I've been seeing a lot of these when I go walking my dog in the forest. Duncan loves to chase them, but since they fly up into the trees, he never comes close to catching them.

Ruffed grouse are well-known for their drumming in the spring - a deep thumping sound that carries a long distance, created by the males with their wings as part of their courtship display. The males also erect their feathers to show a dark ruff around their neck as part of their display (like a black Elizabethan collar). Aside from that they are a well-camouflaged mix of grey, brown, rust, and cream with a distinctive dark band on the tail. This time of year there are often flocks of females and young, other times of the year they tend to be solitary. In the winter they roost under the snow for warmth. A few times I've been startled by them exploding out of a snow bank along the ski trails.


Male in full display, adult - when not displaying, it is hard to tell the sex

pictures from All About Birds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruffed_Grouse/overview
If you're interested, here is a link to a video of a male drumming: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruffed_Grouse/photo-gallery/471753

85elenchus
oct. 18, 2022, 10:01 am

>84 NorthernStar: exploding out of a snow bank

I would count that as a very, very successful walk were that ever to happen to me.

86John5918
oct. 18, 2022, 10:40 am

>84 NorthernStar:

I'll be in a similar position next month, travelling a lot with intermittent internet access, so I might not post my first Bird of the Week for November until halfway through the month.

That's an interesting looking grouse.

87Tess_W
oct. 22, 2022, 7:25 am

>84 NorthernStar: We often find grouse tracks in the snow here in Ohio in the winter. I guess you can eat them, but we don't! Others say they taste a lot like pheasant.

88John5918
Editat: nov. 15, 2022, 7:15 am

Apologies for the late start of November's Bird of the Week. I was travelling in Europe with only intermittent internet access. While I was there my elder sister died, so we extended our trip in order to attend the funeral. RIP.

I'm struggling to remember which African birds I have previously posted (and I'm wondering whether we should once again ask ourselves whether Bird of the Week has run its course and it's time to stop?) so let me post a few birds which I encountered in Europe.

I'll start with the red kite, Milvus milvus, which I saw in both Berkshire's Maidenhead, UK, and Bavaria's Weilheim, Germany. A very beautiful bird, I think it perhaps fills the niche which the rather dull black kite (Milvus migrans) and yellow-billed kite (Milvus aegyptius) occupy in Africa. The red kite is found over much of Europe and even spots on the African Mediterranean coast, and its conservation status is "Least concern". It likes semi-open habitats - woodland, farmland and moorland with hedges and wooded patches, even locally in urban areas - and feeds on small mammals and birds, a wide variety of carrion, and earthworms. It's 60-70 cm long with a wingspan of around 175 cm. They can live up to 25 years. It's an elegant bird, often seen circling gracefully, with easy languid wingbeats and lazy glides.





Pictures from BBC and Wikipedia.

89Tess_W
nov. 15, 2022, 8:09 am

I hope you enjoyed your travel! I'm also struggling with trying to remember what birds I posted previously! Maybe in the New Year we should do bird of the month, instead of the week?

90John5918
nov. 15, 2022, 8:12 am

>89 Tess_W:

Yes, let's give it a try starting January 2023!

91John5918
Editat: nov. 22, 2022, 11:14 pm

My next Bird of the Week is one which I didn't actually see as they were hidden in the trees, but it was identified for me by an Italian colleague last month in Rome, where it is a common, and noisy, bird. The Ring-necked Parakeet (Psittacula krameri), also known as Rose-ringed Parakeet, is native to Africa and South Asia, but has been introduced locally around the world, from Europe and the Caribbean to Japan and Hawaii, including Rome, which has a growing population of them. eBird describes it as "raucous and social, often appearing in noisy groups giving sharp screeching calls", which pretty much sums up my experience of it in Rome. Unsurprisingly, its conservation status is "Least Concern", although it appears to be decreasing in numbers in some of its native habitats. It adapts well to disturbed habitats, including urbanisation and deforestation, and also to cold climates.

I won't try and describe it, as I didn't actually see one, but I've posted a picture. It's about 40 cm long with a wingspan of up to 17.5 cm. They feed on buds, fruits, vegetables, nuts, berries, and seeds, and will forage in farmland, orchards, gardens and other human habitation. Apparently they mimic human speech and can be taught to speak.

I can't help thinking of the famous Dead Parrot sketch from Monty Python. Beautiful plumage!



Photo from Wikipedia

92John5918
Editat: nov. 28, 2022, 5:01 am

For my last Bird of the Week in November I choose the Pheasant, a quintessentially English game bird which is actually native to Asia but which has been widely introduced in Europe and north America. In October and November I saw many Common Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in Devon in the south west of England. Although there are wild birds, many are reared for sport shooting. I believe the shooting season is between the 1st October and 1st February, but it didn't occur for two years due to the COVID pandemic. We saw large groups of the birds, and my niece in Devon was surprised that there was no sign of shooting going on this year - normally they see and hear a lot of it. She has a couple of acres where she keeps horses, chickens and Indian runner ducks, and pheasants often seek refuge on her land where of course she doesn't allow hunting.

Pheasants are found in farmland, scrub, and along the edge of forest, and often give a loud, abrupt rasping call that draws attention to their presence - as Wikipedia says, "like a rusty sink or valve being turned". I can add from my own observation that they are also found along English country lanes, where I saw dozens of them. Males are brightly coloured as in the photo below, while females are a dull mottled brownish colour. They eat mostly seeds, grains, roots, and berries, as well as insects, fresh green shoots, spiders, earthworms, and snails. In the UK they are a threat to endangered native adders.

An irrelevant little story which I found amusing. While discussing pheasants with my niece, she asked me if I would like to see a video of her beaver. Imagine my relief when she brought out a camera trap and showed me a video of a furry little beast frolicking in the stream at the back of her field.



That's me finished for November. Only three birds this month, I'm afraid. Tess, I believe you're up for December, then from January 2023 the suggestion is that we reduce to one Bird of the Month rather than four Birds of the Week, as we've all posted so many birds that we've forgotten what we've already posted. I'm willing to do the first Bird of the Month in January. If there are new volunteers who find one Bird of the Month less intimidating than four Birds of the Week, please let me or Tess know on this thread or by private message and we will be delighted to give you a chance.

93NorthernStar
nov. 29, 2022, 12:18 am

>92 John5918: lovely birds!

I apologize for October. I have no real excuse for only posting one bird, but I was busy and avoiding my computer.

I am willing to try again in the new year, especially if there is only a commitment of one bird per month.

94Tess_W
des. 6, 2022, 7:27 am

Well, I started a new very part-time teaching job and it has kept me extremely busy preparing since I pitched everything when I retired in 2020. So....I'm taking the easy way out for December. My first entry is: a partridge (in a pear tree)



There are several dozen type of partridges and they are spread on 4 continents. They are native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, and found their way to North America, being introduced as game birds. Partridges are often grouped with pheasants and quail, but they really are a less distinct bird of the pheasant family, however different genetically than a pheasant. Partridges are mainly raised as game birds, however, they do exist in the wild.

Partridges are ground-dwelling birds that are indistinct with grey and brown coloring. They eat seeds and insects.

According to Greek legend, the first partridge appeared when Daedalus threw his nephew, Perdix, off the sacred hill of Athena in a fit of jealous rage. Supposedly mindful of his fall, the bird does not build its nest in the trees, nor take lofty flights and avoids high places. (Wikipedia.com) In the Medieval ages, doctors believed quail to be the "food of love."

The first gift in the 12 days of Christmas is a "partridge in a pear tree." It is highly unlikely that the partridge would be in a pear tree, so music historians are not sure why the French song writer would write this, but it's probably a corruption of some other phrase.

The quail is the "national" bird of the Kurds.

Red-legged parrtidge (wikipedi.com-


Gray Partridge (Natureworks.com)


Crested wood partridge (Lincoln Park Zoo)

95Tess_W
Editat: des. 11, 2022, 10:04 am

The December bird for week 2 is: Two turtle doves!



Since the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was originally a French song, the turtle doves mentioned in this song are European turtle doves.

Turtle doves are the UK’s fastest declining bird species and they are threatened with global extinction. (Operation Turtle Dove) The staple food of the turtle dove are wildflower and sunflower seeds as well as crop grains that have fallen to the ground. Turtle doves are the only long distance migratory dove species in Europe. The UK has 14,000 breeding pairs, mostly in the SE, according to the last population census. There are 5 other species of turtle dove living around the world, out of a total of some 350 species in the dove and pigeon family alive today; 17 species of this family have already faced extinction, including the dodo and passenger pigeon. (Operation Turtle Dove) The turtle dove's name has nothing to do with the reptile, but is a corruption of the Latin sound for its cooing.

The turtle dove winters south of the Sahara.

According to a 2001 study cited by the European Commission, between two and four million birds are shot annually in Malta, Cyprus, France, Italy, Spain and Greece. (Wikipedia)

In Roman mythology, the turtle dove was one of the emblems of Fides, the goddess of trust and good faith. (Encyclopedia Britannica)



Turtle doves are a very tiny species of dove (140 grams, about 1/3 pound).



96Tess_W
Editat: des. 20, 2022, 5:44 pm

You guessed it! This week's bird is: three French hens. The identity of the French hen is not as easy as I thought. There are literally several hundred options as to what actual bird the French hen is and which one would have been mentioned in the song. I'll give you the "tops" of what I have found:

The following pic is from the Ornithological Society (but after gazing at it, I think it may be a painting?)


It seems that the French hens were highly prized for meat and usually one of the first courses served during a celebration. La Fleche is also an ancient French breed from the Loire region of western France, and was renowned for its delicate flesh. During the 16th century hens from France were a luxury import from France. The roosters were believed somehow to be "magical."



This is an older English stamp (I could not date it from the 7pence cost) and the 3 French hens do look like the others mentioned at the top here:


Also, French Hens (from Barry the Birder)


May your holidays be blessed!

97Tess_W
Editat: des. 26, 2022, 12:25 pm

You had to guess correctly, the 4th week in December: 4 calling birds!

There is a debate in England/France as to whether it is four calling birds or four colly birds. Turns out both sides are correct! When the song was written, (1790) it used the phrase "calling birds." Calling birds is just a general term for a songbird, in this case probably a blackbird, as "colly" is Old English for "coal." So, it would appear that both versions are simply referring to a blackbird. The debate was so intense that many studies have been done on this discrepancy and I found a chart of the results that will probably explain it better than I!



The blackbird is a common thrush in England and Europe and was often made into pies......remember Old King Cole and his 4 and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie? The blackbirds of the US are varied and not the same family as in Europe.



Hope you enjoyed a bit of fun and history with some of our feathered friends during the month of December. Happy New Year!





98John5918
des. 27, 2022, 10:33 am

Thanks, Tess. You might find this amusing - 12 Days of Christmas, Irish Style, Frank Kelly (YouTube)

99NorthernStar
des. 27, 2022, 11:29 pm

Thanks Tess! I never thought about the blackbirds being a different family than the North American ones.

100John5918
des. 27, 2022, 11:43 pm

And on that happy note, I think we agreed to end Bird of the Week, and I'll kick off Bird of the Month in January 2023.

101Tess_W
des. 29, 2022, 9:00 pm

>98 John5918: too funny!

102varielle
març 18, 2:10 pm

When you need another bird 🦢 of the month let me know. I live in exotic bird land and there’s always some feathered avian squawking outside my window waiting for a cameo.