Birds

[guppiecat]

So I took photos of birds when I visited my parents over Christmas. The set is here.




Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) - Up is so far away.


Junco (Junco ...) - I think he looks a little like Churchill, don't you?


Sparrow? - Knowing the sparrows, even frozen jungle sparrows, tend to lack machetes, I knew I was safe from attack.


Chickadee (I've given up on scientific names for common woodland birds) - "I has a meal!"


Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) - According to Wikipedia "They make a variety of different sounds, most having a similar tone quality." Now, how on earth is THAT a useful statement?


Junko (Junko ...) - He could be perching on the bits that aren't frozen, but he's not. Feet must be insulated.


Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) - Perfectly backlit.

Comments

[trishtrash.livejournal.com]

The tufted titmouse pictures (especially the last one) are astonishing. Very nice stuff :)

I'm going away now before I remember how much I envy Americans for your bird population.

[pameladean]

I envy you the tufted titmice. They're like a perfect amalgam of cardinals and chickadees. But my own cardinals and chickadees stubbornly refuse to amalgamate. They prefer to be independent small businesspeople.

P.

[guppiecat]

No tufted titmice in Minnesota? Is it too North or too West?

[pameladean]

They are only just expanding into central Minnesota. I'm not sure how much they like urban areas, either. I've seen them in rural Wisconsin.

P.

[ororo.livejournal.com]

Very nice shots. My favorite is the blue jay, which in my observation is often a bully to smaller birds. This one is actually adorable.

[guppiecat]

As far as I can tell, the entire point of being a bigger bird is so you can be mean to the smaller ones. Blue Jays, Crows, Ravens, etc etc etc (maybe it's just that all Corvae are assholes).

I prefer kitties. :)

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Yes, mine lord it over each other by size, but the biggest, mourning doves, still get out of the way of the squirrels.

[guppiecat]

Well yeah. Squirrels have teeth.