Rfalconcam Forum

I wish I had seen all this in the feather, but here it is anyway...

BOAT-BILLED HERON

from wikipedia: 
Cochlearius cochlearius, - colloquially known as the BOATBILL - is an atypical member of the heron family, and was formerly thought to be in a monotypic family, Cochlearidae. It lives in mangrove swamps from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil. It is a nocturnal bird, and breeds semi-colonially in mangrove trees, laying 2-4 bluish white eggs in a twig nest….This species feeds on fish,mice,water snakes,eggs, crustaceans, insects and small amphibians. Its calls include a deep croak and a high-pitched pee-pee-pee.

speaking of which, gotta love the "song" - a least its momma probably does…

 http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/BHRXQZEQFL/10a2.mp3

Bateleur - a bird of prey.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bateleur (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bateleur)

B is for Barn Owl

Molly's babies


The Barn Owl is one of the most widely distributed birds in the world, found on all continents except Antarctica, and on many oceanic islands as well. It has been introduced by people to some of the few places it did not already occur, namely Hawaii, the Seychelles Islands, and Lord Howe Island.

Blue-faced Booby
They have long pointed bills,webbed feet,and pointed wings for plunge diving from great heights into the ocean for fish.They nest on steep sea cliffs and rocky islands, and sometimes in trees.

  B is for Bobolink


A distinctive bird of open grasslands, the Bobolink is the only American bird that is black underneath and white on the back. This coloring makes the male stand out while he is performing his displays. After breeding he changes into a drab, camouflaged plumage to spend the rest of the year.

B is for Baltimore Oriole

The Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) is a small icterid blackbird that averages 18 cm long and weighs 34 g. This bird received its name from the fact that the male's colors resemble those on the coat-of-arms of Lord Baltimore. At one time, this species and the Bullock's Oriole, Icterus bullockii, were considered to be a single species, the Northern Oriole.

[The Baltimore Orioles, a Major League Baseball team in Baltimore, Maryland, were named after this bird. It is also the state bird of Maryland.]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Oriole

Anne in Toronto

Boobies

I have long been interested in the reproductive strategies employed by various species to maximize their odds for survival.  Boobies lay two eggs.  The strongest chick, usually the oldest,  gets more food, becomes even stronger, and ultimately commits fratricide by kicking the weaker out of the nest.

Blue-footed boobies in the Galapagos.

Boobie with egg.

Boobie with chick.

Boobies being eyed by a marine iguana.

Blue-footed boobie portrait.

Gayle

More boobies from the Galapagos.

Red-footed boobie.

Masked boobie.

Gayle

Black-legged kittiwake

The black legged kittiwake is a small to medium sized gull common on the northern Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America.  It breeds on cliffs and is pelagic in winter.

ID photograph from Cornell Lab.

Kittiwakes resting on ice berg off Labrador.

Gayle

Addendemum

The black-legged kittiwake is the predominent gull in many parts of Alaska.  They hang out at the mouths of glaciers.  When an iceberg calves, it stirs up the water and brings prey to the surface.

Brown Pelican

When I first moved to California in the 60s, there was not a pelican to be seen.  They had been as decimated as their Louisana relatives.  I first saw them in a small rookery on an island off Baja.  The population rebounded but now faces new threats.

Brown pelican in the Galapagos.

Many pelicans on the roof of a fish packing plant, Bahai Magdelena, Baja.

Gayle

I was going to comment on what good birds people were choosing - and then I realized I would be hard put to name a "bad" bird.
Well, except for when my parrots would chew up books.
And the robin that sings in my tree all night all spring and summer.

I'm lovin the snow...can't wait!

Hey guys,
we seem to have gotten a day ahead of Aafke's proposed schedule, in which she suggested two days per letter.  Is the consensus that one day is enough...or should we try to get back to her schedule?  Here was Aafke's schedule:

For Monday, November first and Tuesday, November second we have the letter A
For Wednesday, November third and Thursday, November fourth , we have the letter B
For Friday and Saturday, November 5 and 6, we have the letter C
For Sunday and Monday, November 7 and 8, we have the letter D.

Well, I never did follow directions very well. I just follow!

And I thought it was wednesday already. :confused:

It's fun to learn about all those different birds.I never heard of a Boat-billed Heron,or a Bateleur.I love teh Barn-Owl especially Molly,and I love the Boobies.

The Brambling is a special bird to me,every winter I have them for a short period in my garden.

Because its after midnight ,It's wedenesday for me and I go for Beauty

Greetings carla

This is a very cute little bird!  ;D

I love the pic of all the pelicans on the roofs edge!  ;D

B is for Black-billed Magpie...taken in the Colorado Rockies, but could be from just about anywhere in the west!  Very gregarious and capable of stealing your picnic, like other members of the crow/jay family.

This photo has a Bonus (three birds, including two separate species)!

This is a Brown Noddy riding on the head of a Brown Pelican.  I took the shot in the Galapagos, where our guides tell us that the Noddy often does this to try and scarf up any stray fish that fall out as the pelican is emptying the water from its beak.  Note the second Brown Noddy in the air.

Barrow's Goldeneye...we took this photo on a bitterly cold, sub-zero day in Yellowstone in February.  Why these silly birds don't come live in Kentucky during the winter, I don't know!

Broad-billed Hummingbird...from Southeast Arizona.

I'm sure you're tired of me...but I'm still on a roll!  How 'bout a Blackburnian Warbler?

Another warbler who is just too pretty to pass up...this is a Black-throated Green Warbler.  I took the photo during spring migration in Northern Ohio (the shores of Lake Erie).

Barred Owl - this photo taken in Western Kentucky in winter.  They are very common here and it's not unusual for us to see them during daylight hours, and we hear them calling at night almost everywhere we camp in Kentucky or Tennesee.

B is also for Barn Swallows...these two are fledglings, which may be why I caught them in the rare act of sitting still!  They're probably waiting for a food delivery.

OK...you will be glad to know that though I have not run out of personal photos of birds that start with B (Bald Eagle, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Barbary Dove, Band-tailed Pigeon, Black-headed Grosbeak, Burrowing Owl, Black-throated Sparrow, for example), I have run out of energy! 

So here is my final entry in the "B" category:  Blue Grouse

We took this photo in Glacier National Park.  Usually, grouse scare the bejeezus out of us by flushing as we hike by...however, this female stayed her ground because she had several chicks in the flowers below her.  She calmly cooed at them while we snapped a photo and then gave her some space.

patti, you have great birds! love the grouse, too...

and BARN SWALLOWS HEY! I have those!
These were from the 2005 and 2006 nestings under my back staircase!

B is for Bluejay



The Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) is a passerine bird, and a member of the family Corvidae native to North America. It belongs to the "blue", Canadian or American jays, which are, among the Corvidae, not closely related to other jays. It is adaptable, aggressive and omnivorous, and has been colonizing new habitats for many decades.

and scream non-stop!

I am just catching up and on to this game you all are playing, didn't see anybody name

                         BLUEBIRDS
See them only off and on in our yard in Northern Indiana, come in morning and dusk so lighting not right for pictures! 

sorry, it was I who jumped the gun. I was just so darn anxious to post that boat-billed heron I forgot the rules. Does that ever happen to you, with boat-billed herons? Also, I have no idea what day it is.

B - Blackbird   I like the red wing blackbirds with the dab of red and dab of yellow on males only. The female is dark brown.  They eat seeds and bugs.

speaking of which, look at what I recently learned - THIS is the juvenile male RWB!!

Broad-winged Hawk
A small, stocky, forest-dwelling hawk of eastern deciduous forests, the Broad-winged Hawk is hard to see on its nesting grounds. It becomes more conspicuous on migration when it congregates into flocks and passes by hawk migration lookouts in the thousands.

B is for Butcherbird: Butcherbirds are insect eaters for the most part, but will also feed on small lizards and other meat. They get their name from their habit of impaling captured prey on a thorn, tree fork, or crevice. This "larder" is used to support the victim while it is being eaten, to store prey for later consumption, or to attract mates.

Thanks for all of the interesting B birds!

Gayle

All the time!  I think there's a place you can go to get help with that.   :laugh:

Bananaquit
These are a tropical bird visiting the Bahamas to southern Florida. They have curved bills.

B is for Black Stork
It's a large and very nice bird. I saw my first one in 2002. It was in Czech. We walked through a stubblefield to come a little bit closer to them, there were 2 birds.
I only saw then in Czech, I think it's a good reason to visit Czech.
Greetings Aafke 

BUTTS of Bewick's swans, Aafke. Great photo - that's my favorite way to see a swan; with the biting part underwater. They look like icebergs: one dirty, one clean.

Boat-tailed Grackle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boat-tailed_Grackle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boat-tailed_Grackle)

Brandt's Cormorant

The Cormorant is one of my favorits


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandt's_Cormorant

Brown-headed Cowbird

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-headed_Cowbird

Bronzed Cowbird

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronzed_Cowbird

Both are brood parasites,laying their eggs in other birds'nests.The BHC female lays up to 40 eggs per season and impacts several endangered species ,such as Black-capped Vireo and Kirtland's Warbler.
They are not one of my favorits.
Greetings Carla

more burrowing owl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TL8pSFd-hQ

 ;D  So cute! Thanks!   :gum:

That is the cutest video! Love that Owl!