ABCs of birds - Letter V

[MAK]

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.

[Annette]

Varied Thrush

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

[Annette]

Vega Gull

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

[MAK]

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

[Annette]

Verditer Flycatcher

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

[anneintoronto]

Violaceous Coucal

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

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! 

Anne in Toronto

[MAK]

Cool red eyes and an interesting name too! 

[~Ruth]

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

[Patti from Kentucky]

Veery      (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

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

[Patti from Kentucky]

Veery      (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

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!

[dale]

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

I posted one, only.   dale

[dale]

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

[Annette]

Variable Wheatear

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

[gayle]

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

[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