H.J. Ruiz – Avian101 – Page 684 – "My Backyard Visitors" – All about birds

Panoramic View of Birds

Eastern Towhee — Click on image to see enlargement —-

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ANSWER TO SUNDAY PHOTO QUIZ

Can you ID this bird?

ANSWER: Female Red-winged Blackbird

Female Red-winged Blackbird

The red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, and northwestern Costa Rica. It may winter as far north as Pennsylvania and British Columbia, but northern populations are generally migratory, moving south to Mexico and the southern United States. Claims have been made that it is the most abundant and best studied living bird in North America. The red-winged blackbird is sexually dimorphic; the male is all black with a red shoulder and yellow wing bar, while the female is a nondescript dark brown. Seeds and insects make up the bulk of the red-winged blackbird’s diet.

My personal appreciation and thanks to all the readers that participated to ID the bird! – HJ

Tags: birds, nature, photography, photos of birds, Red-Winged Blackbird

Sunday Photo

CAN YOU ID THIS BIRD?

Drop a line with your answer or comment in Comments Box below.

THANKS AND GOOD LUCK!

The ID of this bird will be published tomorrow.

Tags: birds, nature, photos of birds

Memory Lane

MAY 2010

Northern Flicker — May 2010

Tags: birds, Memory Lane, nature, Northern Flicker, photography, photos of birds

Cowbird Migration?

Seeing larger groups of Brown-headed Cowbirds making a stop in my backyard it means that they are somehow starting to make a move to the further south. Is this Summer going to be a shot one? It might be if the cold weather of the Arctic starts moving south to North America at early time.

I’m just saying this just hypothetically based on the sudden moves of blackbirds, it’s rather early to be flying in large groups.

They stayed for approximately one hour and then they flew off all at once. That was another clue for thinking they’re on the move, they didn’t stay long as they usually do. In fact I was surprised to see they had left seeds for the local birds! That’s a first!