Rfalconcam Forum

Violet-crowned Hummingbird...this delicate beauty was hanging out at some feeders in southeastern Arizona.

My collection of V birds is almost as pitiful as my U birds, which were non-existent...

And...some closeups of a bird you really don't ever want to see close up!   :scaredblue:

Turkey Vultures

These lovely specimens were on the side of a road in a wildlife refuge we were traveling through.  We slowed to a crawl to give them a chance to fly off safely, but they just sat there calmly, so I snapped a photo.  Nearly broke the camera!

OH! what a lovely hummingbird!!!

OK, let's go for maximal contrast, then:

Here are what seem to be two baby Turkey VULTURES.
I have no idea where I got this thing, but it makes me nervous.

Dale

Now that my hiccups from looking at baby turkey vultures have almost subsided,
let me venture that perhaps...

V is for the VERY HIGHEST and LOUDEST THING in the NEIGHBORHOOD

there are a number of birds in this family; two examples:

One is a banded Very-High Laridae showing off in Prague; the other, a Cardinalis cardinalis cardinalis cardinalis (cardinalis...) birdie birdie birdie birdie birdie - photographed right where he makes us look at him, by John Mosesso, Jr. (wiki)

dale

Faces only a mother could love...but I suppose that's equally true of the adults.

Awwww... don't you think this would sell Coke?

(photo from http://www.eaglevalleyraptorcenter.org/rehabilitation.asp)

Least Bell's Vireo

http://www.fws.gov/sacramento/es/animal_spp_acct/LB_vireo_kf.htm

photo of baby vireo removed from nest for banding, as well as a chipped french manicure,
by Po-Hon Liu for the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Service

dale

Turkey Vultures

Each winter, thousands of turkey vultures migrate through California's Central Valley.  Up to 30,000 of them have been counted.  Here is a kettle of them soaring over our motel in Willows.  While searching for the census data, I came across this unattributed photograph of a huge kettle from the Kern Co. Vulture Watch.

Gayle

OK, that one is almost cute, I'll admit.

Patti

Cute for a bottom-heavy dinosaur, huh.

V is for American Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) Corygyps means "raven-vulture", so you know that this is a bird to take seriously.  Wingspan is a bit under five feet (1.5 m) and weight about four pounds (2 kg) so it is not small. They hang out in big flocks and can take over a carcass from the larger Turkey Vultures by using teamwork.  Unlike the Turkey Vulture, these birds are predators to some extent and will take eggs, nestlings, or young or injured mammals.  This sometimes gets them in trouble with ranchers and others.   Last year, I found a very dead Black Vulture about a half mile from my local peregrine nest, and I suspect it may have been a casualty of nest defence.

I took this picture at my airport while waiting to take off. It shows Black Vultures waiting to take off.  It's early on a frosty autumn morning.  The spread wing pose may have a number of purposes, including drying the wings, warming the body, and allowing the sun to kill off bacteria.  It's quite impressive to see a flock of fifty or more individuals do this in perfect unison. 

Paul

Violaceous Coucal

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=1273 (http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=1273)

Violaceous Euphonia - a very colorful bird

http://www.avianweb.com/violaceouseuphonias.html (http://www.avianweb.com/violaceouseuphonias.html)

Don't ask me why, but I have this sneaking feeling that it may smell funny too. And I'd probably pay admission to see them do this on the same field as a rookery of penguins cooling themselves off.

On the other hand, what do we think about the band name, Fifty Drying Vultures?

Thanks, Paul!

dale

V is for Vanga:

Helmet Vanga

The Helmet Vanga Euryceros prevostii is a distinctive-looking bird of the vanga family, Vangidae, with a huge arched blue bill. It is the only member of its genus. Adults mainly eat large insects, but food items brought to young in the nest may be more varied , including snails, lizards, spiders and crabs.



Wiki

Veery      (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

Diet

Eats beetles, caterpillars, spiders, centipedes, snails, pill bugs, ants, wasps, and tupulid flies. In the fall and winter eats more fruit-spicebush, strawberries, juneberries, honeysuckle, blackberries, wild cherries, sumac, and blueberries.

Behavior and displays

    * Sings from a concealed perch in the lower canopy or understory, otherwise usually seen on the ground.

    * In conflict situations the bird holds its body in an erect posture, also may flick its wings and tail.

    * In high conflict situations, usually between two males fighting over a territory, the males will raise their bills and then snap them forward at one another. Males will also chase other intruding birds from their territories.

Courtship

    * The male pursues the female in flight around his territory, becoming less aggressive as the pair bond becomes stronger.

    * Female may sing a duet with the male as part of courtship. The entire process generally lasts 3-4 days.

Varied Thrush

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Varied_Thrush/id (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Varied_Thrush/id)

Vega Gull

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

Very pretty pic of the Varied Thrush on that website. Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Verditer Flycatcher

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

Love the red eyes!!  They stand out nicely against the blue-black feathers  I wonder just how hung-over those two are, to have their eyes that red!  :hysterical:

Anne in Toronto

Cool red eyes and an interesting name too!  :clap:

Did anyone mention the Vireo yet?  There are several types of these birds.

MAK reminded me that I wanted to post the song of the Veery, which is one of my favorite bird songs to hear in the woods.  The bird is often so well camoflaged against the leaf litter on the forest floor, that I don't actually see Veerys often, but their song is what makes them special, so it doesn't really matter.  I hear them fairly regularly hiking in the Smoky Mountains in spring.

This is actually a video that shows the bird singing...I think the song gets even nicer toward the end.  It's another example of what Dale mentioned...the bird can produce two sounds at once.
http://www.youtube.com/v/cK1gaTqBRRk&rel=0;autoplay=1

Follow up the Veery song...the original page where I found the video is here: http://www.musicofnature.org/home/veery_thrush/

If you scroll down the page there is another sound recording that is even more wonderful!

I posted one, only.   dale

I listened to all 4:25 of that. It is breathtaking. Thank you

Variable Wheatear

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=6701 (http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=6701)

Vultures

In Africa, there are many species of vultures.  In the area that WildEarth explores, the first vultures on the scene are the White-backed Vultures.  Others, such as the Cape vultures, may join.  Various species have slightly different shaped heads or length of neck.  They become specialized feeders.  Here are screen captures of White-backed vultures from safari.tv.

Gayle

Vultures

On safari in the veldt, the first sight of vultures is in trees.  They await the departure of large carnivores such as lions to get a turn at the carcass.  They compete with hyenas and both species are often on a carcass at the same time.   As the hyenas also eat bones, the two species are efficient scavengers.  In the case of Cape buffalo, all that remains is the skull.  As a side note, giraffe are often seen licking the bones to extract calcium.  In the case in the attached images, the carcass was that of an elephant that had died of natural causes.  Screen captures from safari.tv.

Gayle

After being out in the cold, with snow blowing in my face, it is absolutely delightful to sit back and listen to these sounds of warmer moments!!  Thank you!
Anne in Toronto

Not to mention all the other bird songs in the column to the right!!  I'm going to feel warm and happy all evening!!  Thanks, again!!
Anne in Toronto

That second recording...wow!  I think I just discovered I have wood thrushes in my backyard!  I've heard the background/counterpoint song often, though I've never seen the bird.

Ei

 :2thumbsup:  Good for you Ei!   ;D