ABCs of birds - letter R

[Annette]

Roller, European

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

[Bobbie Ireland]

My "R" is... RAT-on-my-peanut-feeder! Eeeeeeee-uuuuuuu and BIG ICK! 

Does this make it a bird? What's the thing from Philosophy class?

Some birds feed on peanut feeders.
A rat is on my peanut feeder.
Therefore, this rat is a bird.

[Donna]

My "R" is... RAT-on-my-peanut-feeder! Eeeeeeee-uuuuuuu and BIG ICK! 

Does this make it a bird? What's the thing from Philosophy class?

Some birds feed on peanut feeders.
A rat is on my peanut feeder.
Therefore, this rat is a bird.

I miss your wit Bobbie, that was good!! 

[annieinelkhart]

How about Raven?  ONLY THE RAVEN KNOWS!  LOL!

[dale]

Annette, splendid picture of a European Roller.

I did an image search to find the photographer and found the photo in a terrific gallery of shots of birds and other animals in the act of being predators (i.e., eating folks). Great gallery!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lalassie/galleries/72157622889302240/

Dale

[Carol P.]

those spoonbills are so science fiction.

Here is a drawing I did a number of years ago, from a TERRIFIC photo by Chad and Chris Saladin - a confrontation between a RED-TAILED HAWK and a peregrine falcon.

Dale

Love this picture Dale!   

[anneintoronto]

R is for Rock Dove (pigeons hiding behind a fancy name!)

Well, you requested more squab (baby pigeon) photos, and after looking at a lot of them, I decided that Day 12 of Fortuna and Snapper's life was a really fine day.  Dale had the...privilege...of naming these two (if you want to name future squabs let me know and I will add you to the list!    You've already seen Aafke's Piet Hein -- the apartment raised squab. So Nora in Iowa is next!!  But if you want...)

Anyway, Snapper, with the dark beak was the fierce protector -- any time I got near with camera or finger, he would snap viciously!  He was too small to cause any damage, but I really admired his ferocity!!  Fortuna, named for the Italian word, that suggests having a pigeon poop on your head is good luck (Dale...not me!!  ), was passive, a real scaredy-pants!  Was always behind her brother, cowering...  Anyway here are a few photos.  I've also included a pleasing photo of Snapper spreading his wings, at a later time.  I guess, if anyone is really interested, I could make up a Kodak album.  There are just too many -- but maybe these will be enough!!  I'll leave it up to you -- my ability to decide such things is affected by how much I adore these wonderful creatures!

Anne in Toronto


Snapper puffed up, ready for the attack!



The BIGGEST eye I ever saw -- scaredy-pants Fortuna!



Just look at the feathers on my back!



Handsome Snapper!




What a beak!  Has no cere yet.



My favourite photo!  Snapper at his finest!


I hope these photos stay where they are -- with my last post, various ones come and go...  Perhaps in honour of the elusiveness of individual pigeons...  Nah!  Just the wiles of the Internet! *grin*

[anneintoronto]

R is for more Rock Doves  Adults this time...

Babies are cute -- even when they are ugly!  But adults are so pleasing...to me anyway.  Just a few photos of various adults that have crossed my path.

Anne in Toronto



Rocky, my first and still most loved... father for 4 years!



Georgette (proved not to be George!!  Which was good, because George got eaten by a Red-tailed Hawk...) on the cold, snowy balcony...  Yeah, I fed her -- I'm a pushover!



Present resident parents -- Black Dove (mom) and Squiggles (dad) -- in the evening sun...



A most interesting situation. The pigeon on the left is Black Dove, mother of Peaky and grandmother of Cappy, the middle one is Cappy, born elsewhere, but brought back by mother, Peaky, who actually left her to the very loving care of her grandparents for a whole week, despite the fact that they already had eggs, and the right hand one, Peaky, born July 2009, and still around...some kind of separation anxiety?  Who knows...  But she refuses to leave despite huge hints from mom & dad!!

[dale]

I never do get used to the way those squabs look. It's just too weird.
Thanks for posting more bizarre-looking babies. Sheesh.
dale

[dale]

those spoonbills are so science fiction.

Here is a drawing I did a number of years ago, from a TERRIFIC photo by Chad and Chris Saladin - a confrontation between a RED-TAILED HAWK and a peregrine falcon.

Dale

btw Chris tells me that the peregrine here is Hillary from the Hilliard Road Bridge nest site. they have been watching her since she first came to that site as a first-year bird.  She'll be 9 years old this year.

[Dumpsterkitty]

While looking for more info on the umbrella bird, I found this fellow...a Royal Flycatcher...



Photo by Daniel Martinez

From A.M. Costa Rica
"Bird-banders don’t forget their first royal flycatcher. In the hand, the bird waves its head around with the colorful crown fanned and gaping orange mouth in a mesmerizing “cobra� show.

This display has been so rarely observed in nature that its function is not known with certainty, though presumably it is a display of aggression or sexual attraction. Both sexes do it, with the color of the crown feathers slightly duller in the female.

Otherwise the bird is an inconspicuous element of the understory avifauna of lowland rain forests and riparian growth on both slopes of Costa Rica. It ranges widely in the American tropics, though recent taxonomic classification changes have divided it into several species, of which the Mexican and Central American populations are considered northern royal flycatcher Onychorhynchus mexicanus.

The crest is usually closed and imparts a distinctive hammerhead appearance. Gray and buff spots on buffy-brown plumage make good camouflage in the dim light of the forest interior.

The appearance is very slender with a length of 17 cm but a weight of only 21 grams, about three-quarters of an ounce.

Diet is flying insects like butterflies, dragonflies, and wasps. These are beaten against a perch to remove wings and stingers.

The nest is also highly distinctive, a slender pendent at least a meter long, invariably over a stream in the forest, and made of woven plant fibers and rootlets. Despite the long tail, the nest pouch is part way down the pendent with a narrow slit for an entrance."

Ei

[Donna]

While looking for more info on the umbrella bird, I found this fellow...a Royal Flycatcher...

  LOL   WOW!! Thanks.

[Patti from Kentucky]

While looking for more info on the umbrella bird, I found this fellow...a Royal Flycatcher...



Photo by Daniel Martinez

From A.M. Costa Rica
"Bird-banders don’t forget their first royal flycatcher. In the hand, the bird waves its head around with the colorful crown fanned and gaping orange mouth in a mesmerizing “cobra� show.

Ei

If I had that thing in my hand I don't think I'd forget it either!

Patti

[dale]

If I had that thing in my hand I don't think I'd forget it either!  Patti 

I don't know what to say except that someone had a few tall ones before designing that, and had a blast designing it.

[anneintoronto]

If I had that thing in my hand I don't think I'd forget it either!  Patti 

I don't know what to say except that someone had a few tall ones before designing that, and had a blast designing it.

With that display up front and personal, I'm not surprised this bird has such wide open eyes!!  Must be an effort to even contemplating opening them without going wild-eyed!!  Thanks for the introduction, Ei!!  That is quite a catch!!

Anne in Toronto