ABCs of Birds - Letter N

[Patti from Kentucky]

N stands for Northern Parula, a lovely warbler I was blessed to see, among other places, in the warbler migration haven that is Ottawa NWR on Lake Erie.

[Patti from Kentucky]

N is also for Northern Harrier (there are a lot of "Northern" birds that could appear under the letter N, as well as by their common "last names").

I took this photo in Cape May; it's a juvenile Northern Harrier soaring over the marshes there.

[Patti from Kentucky]

And my last "Northern" bird:  The Northern Mockingbird...which already appeared under the "M" list, but I just dug these photos up!

The first is a photo of a fledgling I took while my sisters and I were birding a local wildlife park; the second is a photo I took in the backyard during the last severe ice storm.

[gayle]

Three beautiful birds!  Thanks, Patti!

Gayle

[Patti from Kentucky]

One more "N" entry:  Nuthatch!  Despite having plenty of White-breasted Nuthatches in Kentucky, I've never managed to take a picture of one.  I do have this photo, which is of a Pygmy Nuthatch, taken in Bryce Canyon National Park.

[Annette]

Nightingale, Common

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

[dale]

that northern mockingbird is beautiful!

I posted 2 NIGHTJARS back in "F" - but I want to add that

NIGHTJARS and NIGHTHAWKS are called Goatsuckers (their Latin name, Caprimulgus, means goatsucker) because of an old legend that they suck milk from goats.  

I see nighthawks sometimes at dusk by Lake Michigan.
They have a very distinctive batlike way of flying.

Common Nighthawk photo by Christian Kappelmann.

[Dumpsterkitty]

One more "N" entry:  Nuthatch!  Despite having plenty of White-breasted Nuthatches in Kentucky, I've never managed to take a picture of one.  I do have this photo, which is of a Pygmy Nuthatch, taken in Bryce Canyon National Park.

One White-breasted nuthatch coming up!

[Annette]

Northern Flicker

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

[Paul Hamilton]

N is for Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus).  This bird is the size of a large goose, which makes it is one of the largest North Atlantic seabirds.  It catches fish with a spectacular plunge dive from the sky into the sea.  Normally, these birds stay far out over the ocean.  My daughter and I found this juvenile on a remote beach on Ocracoke Island five years ago and contacted the local wildlife rehabilitator.   She reported that our bird was hungry, dehydrated, weak, and loaded with parasites, but otherwise OK.  It was later released.  

I took the second picture from a ship in the Carribean just before Christmas of 2007.  It shows what adult plumage is like.  They make a huge splash when they dive into the water, as do their relatives, the Brown Pelicans. I hope that our gannet is out there living like this.

Paul

[anneintoronto]

Northern Flicker

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

Thanks for the flicker post, Annette!  I just love Flickers!!  I remember seeing quite a group of them on Manitoulin Island in Georgian Bay, when we rented a cottage up there one long ago Summer...  They were the noisiest, busiest hammerers I'd ever heard -- can still hear it in my head!  By the way, here is what a group of Flickers can be called: a "guttering", "menorah", and "Peterson" of flickers.  If anyone can tell me what on earth any of those names mean, in regard to a bunch of noisy flickers, PLEASE tell me!!

Thanks again, Annette!!
Anne in Toronto

[annieinelkhart]

I finally got the Mac connected and see you all are on the N's!  All I can come up with is Nuthatch!  Loved watching them with the seeds in the tree bark to open them!  With the traveling and such feel like a nut-hatch!   

[Annette]

Night Heron, Black-crowned

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-crowned_Night_Heron

[Donna]

N is for Northern Cardinal...I think they are beautiful

The Northern Cardinal is a mid-sized songbird with a body length of 21 centimeters. It has a distinctive crest on the head and a mask on the face which is black in the male and gray in the female. The male is a vibrant red, while the female is a dull red-brown shade. The Northern Cardinal is mainly granivorous, but also feeds on insects and fruit. The male behaves territorially, marking out his territory with song. During courtship, the male feeds seed to the female beak-to-beak. A clutch of three to four eggs is laid, and two to four clutches are produced each year. It was once prized as a pet, but its sale as cage birds is now banned in the United States



(Wiki)

[gayle]

Northern or Kentucky Cardinal

On the flight from the mainland to Hawaii, I read about the flora and fauna I might expect to find.  I got excited about the possibility of seeing the ‘I’iwi, a bright red forest bird.  At one of the first stops on Hawaii, sure enough, there were flashes of brilliant red!  When the car stopped and the binoculars came out, the Northern Cardinal came into focus!  What a surprise!  Like many other species in Hawaii, the cardinal had been introduced and is now common on all islands.  Here an adult feeds a fledgling.

Gayle