[Jacana]

Jacana

The jacana has huge feet and walks around on floating vegetation.  Once the female lays the eggs, her job is finished and the male takes care of incubation and chick rearing.  This is a Wattled Jacana in Costa Rica.

Gayle

[Java Sparrow]

Java Sparrow

It is also known as Java Finch, Java Rice Bird and Java Temple Bird.  Like many birds in Hawaii, The Java Sparrow is an introduced bird.  It travels in large flocks.  I found them on the Kona Coast on the big island where the hotels have set up feeders.  In their native Indonesia, they wreak havoc on crops, particularly rice.

Gayle

[Jay]

Jay

I will add the jays that frequented my feeder!  Both are welcome, if raucous, visitors.  The scrub jay has a rounded head and the Steller's has a glorious dark crested head in its breeding plumage.  I often found peanuts buried in planters.

Gayle

[I is for Ivory-billed Woodpecker]

I is for Ivory-billed Woodpecker

The last confirmed sighting of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was in 1948.  This largest American woodpecker was spectacular!  The birding and non- birding world alike were caught up in the excitement of a possible sighting in 2005 in the Big Woods area of Arkansas.  A few seconds of video tape blurred images renewed hope that the bird had escaped extinction.  Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and two universities mounted lengthy explorations, but no confirmed sightings were made.

While not related, the Ivory-billed woodpecker resembled the Pileated Woodpecker.

The story of the search can be found here:  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ivory-billed_Woodpecker/id

Wikipedia has interesting information:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_billed_woodpecker

Illustration is a painting by Audubon published by Wikipedia.

Gayle

The entire series was splendid!  It consists of four episodes plus one on how it was made.  It will be rebroadcast next Sunday on the National Geographic channel.

Gayle

[Chestnut-bellied Heron.]

Also from Tortuguero, the Chestnut-bellied Heron.

Gayle

[H is for heron, Bare-throated Tiger Heron]

H is for heron, Bare-throated Tiger Heron

I photographed this magnificant heron in Tortugueros. Costa Rica.

Gayle

[A is for American Black Duck]

A is for American Black Duck

I just found this lurking in an obscure folder on my computer!  Most raster bird ranges extend to the Rockies, But in one of my books, it shows the black duck's range ending at the Mississippi River.  Not to worry, I made this photograph on the east side of the river in the backwaters.  The black duck produces hybrids with the mallard.

Gayle

Dale, I did not know that the hoopoe was considered tref.  I shall remember that when next I prepare a kosher meal!!

Patti, your photographs are terrific.  It is not easy to separate a bird from its surroundings in a rain or any other forest.

Annette, that harpyie is one ferocious looking bird!

Gayle

[H is for Hammerkop]

H is for Hammerkop

The Hammerkop is a sub-Saharan wading bird  It gets its name from the hammer shape of its head.  It feeds on fish, tadpoles, small crustaceans.  These images are screen shots from safari.tv.  It frequently roosts on hippos and hunts from that perch.

From Wikipedia:  "The strangest aspect of Hamerkop behavior is the huge nest, sometimes more than 1.5 m across, comprising perhaps 10,000 sticks and strong enough to support a man's weight. The birds decorate the outside with any bright-coloured objects they can find."

The entire article is interesting:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammerkop

Gayle







 

since we're on GREAT, here's a GHO I drew. At least it was a GHO when I started drawing. Then it got grumpy.

It may be grumpy, but it certainly is great!

[G is for Great Egret]

G is for Great Egret

For me, a most elegant bird is the Great Egret.  When bedecked in breeding plumage, it is truly splendid!  It is found nearly everywhere in the United States.  The first image is from the Sacramento Wildlife Reserve.  In the second, there are two "G" birds.  The Great Egret is joined by the Great Blue Heron in northern California.   This association is common.  There is a community right on San Francisco Bay where some of the canals are drained each winter.  The egrets gather en masse to feed on the tiny creatures left behind by the departing waters.  In the third image, a snowy egret is in the foreground with the great egret in back.

The Great Egret has an interesting call:  http://macaulaylibrary.org/search.do

Gayle

[Great Frigatebird (Continued)]

Great Frigatebird (Continued)

The frigatebird is also known as Man O' War due to its aggressive behavior.  It practices kleptoparisitism.  It chases other birds, principally blue-footed boobies and tropic birds in the Galapagos, and forces them to regurgitate their food which the frigatebird them steals.

Here are a female great frigate bird and two chicks from Genovese.  I refer to the chick in the third photograph as a teenager!
Gayle

[Ferrugnious Hawk]

Ferrugnious Hawk

The Ferrugnious Hawk is the largest American hawk, with a wingspam of four feet.  Its range is west of the Rockies.  Its name comes from iron reflecting its rust color.  It prefers open areas and perches on solitary trees or poles.  This bird seems to be claiming a sanctuary on a sign post in the Kamath Basin!

Gayle

The sign says "Pheasant hunting only!"

Egret
A medium to large heron of shallow salt water, the Reddish Egret comes in a dark and a white form. It is a very active forager, often seen running, jumping, and spinning in its pursuit of fish.

I have also seen the Reddish Egret hunting for fish  while still with its wings outstreched in something of a mantling postion.

Gayle