BIRDS

African dry season means few flying insects.

Also

House Martins, Swallows, Swifts FITE!

the first swifts of summer = awesome

gonna give that FITE to house martins because they were my favourites aged 6 or 7 - such awesome li'l critters, but tbh all three of those birds are some all-time brilliance

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/righteouskate/bird.jpg

found this pretty little guy on the sidewalk outside my work :(

I'm kind of sure it's a tree swallow, but haven't been able to find an exact match in my id books. I live in Florida so we get a tooon of migratory birds this time of year.

dear baby moorhens near my flat, you are rad, and i am a little sad/concerned that last time i visited i could only see one of you, whereas before there were three

dear heron who is sometimes seen under the bridge STARING, have i seen you in 3 different places over a half-mile stretch of river, or are there 3 of you?

dear baby ducks, where are you? is it not duckling season yet? there were only 2 of you last year too, in '07 or '08 there were loads more, i worry

dear birds who aren't waterbirds, i never see you, so you get no love from me until you become a little more visible

I'm not saying it's not one, but that bill looks wrong for a swallow and the wings look quite short as well. xpost

yeah, it doesn't quite look right. I didn't want to stretch out the wings to get a better look at their shape.

http://springvalleypark.org/assets/images/black-throated-blue-warbler.jpg

^ okay I'm guessing it's one of these.

Black-throated Blue Warbler btw.

yessss perfect! thanks!

btw yesterday evening as I set out was a lovely, incredibly warm evening...I looked up into the darkening sky and yes that cry resounded...the first swifts of summer

Louis check out the picture of the long-tailed tits here omg mad cuteness:

http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?mode=potw

per previous post elsewhere, teh lyrebird <3 <3 <3:

http://skola.amoskadan.cz/s_aj/esc/images/Australia/LYREBIRD.jpg

http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/image_content/AlbertsLyrebirdPrinceoftheMountain.jpg

http://i.pbase.com/u16/trevor_quested/large/39074755.SuperbLyrebird.jpg

imo it's not a hipster peacock

long-tailed tits are awesome, they often come through my garden (although more a few years back) all going zee-zee-zee and flocking around in groups of 10 or so, they bloody love going about in gangs, all hyperactive flitting, flashes of purple and the undulating bounce of quick-flight between twigs on adjoining trees - oh yes, the long-tailed tit

torresian imperial pigeon

http://image59.webshots.com/159/9/46/46/2262946460012889947sVkefB_fs.jpg

http://64.17.184.245/images/1-a/Torresian%20Imperial-Pigeon%20-%20Australia%20-%2011-19-2007%20-%20014.JPG

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Environment/Pix/columnists/2010/5/28/1275039850678/long--tailed-tit-feeding--006.jpg

see it bigger here

been seeing a lot of red-winged blackbirds hanging out on cattails lining the shore of a park pond across the street. i enjoy their conservative use of color, they're not all obnoxiously slutty about it like some other birds WHO SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/3738/redwingblackbird.jpg

also, a few weeks ago this scene unfolded at the same pond, apparently some geese produced a gaggle of goslings and then when i tried to photodocument the goslings the geese hissed at me but did not comically peck at my crotch like so many geese have done throughout history

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/6297/photolp.jpg

I've been seeing a lot of red winged black birds lately too, they are stunning!

Took this a few weeks ago. They saunter leisurely across the street in the late afternoon, stopping in front of cars to peck at little items of interest:
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/righteouskate/peacock.jpg

what, those roam wild where you live? do you live in...thailand?

As soon as I find a copy of the book here at work, I'm going to share a quote about peacocks and their displays vs evolution....

Florida. The release and subsequent adaptation to the wild of exotic pets is incredibly common down here.

Laurel, I hope you find it! Are you thinking about how the trains of the males are more of a hindrance than a leg up on mating because the weight of the tail slows them down making them more vulnerable to predators? I read recently that the decorative trains (specifically size and color variation) have been found less effective in mating than calls and other physical displays, which is pretty interesting.

lol best use of username ever

I'm not really obsessed with peacocks...

do you ever find dead peacocks in the road, peacocks

haha actually, no! It's a little street between two parks and I like to think, despite their wandering primarily during rush hour, that people are so pleasantly suprised to see them that they stop right away and wait patiently for them to pass. The females are gorgeous.

Although... the ranger for the two parks is really on top of his game so there might be some hit and runs that are picked up before anyone notices. I hope the former is the case.

all staring down their noses at the other birds

they must think themselves the landed gentry of their domain

aduh:
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/righteouskate/30-rock-203.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/05/27/article-0-09C73668000005DC-994_634x421.jpg

take the silhouette of that and you have a very bizarre creature indeed

That pic is from a DM article - [url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1281970/Swooping-150mph-golden-eagle-really-knows-meaning-fast-food.html]Swooping in at 150mph, this golden eagle really knows the meaning of fast food.[/url

I'm pretty sure they don't travel at 150 mph?

hahahahaha methinks the Mail have their raptors confused

The symmetry is amazing but it's the look on his face that kills me. "Yes, I am going to eat you, bwahahaha..."

at that angle it looks like it's a slightly sympathetic, pitying, amused expression

o lowly vole, if only you could fly like me

flying dinosaurs, how do they work

http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ifwis/ibt/userfiles/image/photos/800/olive-sided-flycatcher--tom-munson.jpg

Bird ppls have decided the olive-sided flycatchers call is saying, "Quick, three beers!"

flycatchers are incredible birds

some of my favourite memories involve watching them at primary school

I saw a hawk in downtown Toronto today, a fucking hawk (roughly 2 feet in size, too).

Golden Eagles definitely swoop at around 150mph, fastest is the Peregrine Falcon at around 200mph

in neighbours garden finishing off a pigeon.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/4568033551_d8b10a9d87.jpg

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l69r5jj3zT1qak053o1_250.gif

This bird has a RUMEN!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62Q-himJgaU&feature=related

They are all feathered dinosaurs but particularly that one.

poor smelly bastards

better one, sorry, temporarily obsessed will stop now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18582_zqzF8&NR=1

I mean now.

worth watching gets even more amazing towards the end
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH-groCeKbE

Wow, thanks for posting that.

Had just come on here to ask "Where is good for watching migrating starlings?" and it turns out it's two miles up the road ... Marvellous.