officialweezerelections

[officialweezerelections]

Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), chick, family Casuariidae, order Casuariiformes, found across most of Australia

photograph by Fat Hen Farms

[officialweezerelections]

A singing contest between an Eurasian Wren/gärdsmyg and a Pied Flycatcher/svartvit flugsnappare. Värmland, Sweden (May 3, 2025).

[officialweezerelections]

Tarsiger robin/bluetail

[officialweezerelections]

Agami Heron (Agamia agami), family Ardeidae, order Pelicaniformes, Colombia

photograph by Andrés Posada

[officialweezerelections]

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps), BLARGHHGGHHH!!, family Podicipedidae, order Podicipediformes, found across most of North America

photograph by Bryan Kiel

[officialweezerelections]

EXPLANATIONS:

Anhinga

- Pollrunner note: Nobody submitted this bird, but I decided to enter it!! Because these guys are WEIRD! They swim around with only their heads out of the water (kind of normal all things considered), and spend most of their daylight hours just drying off their wings because for some fucking reason (it makes them better divers) their feathers aren’t waterproof. When wet, they can’t fly. They use their long beaks like spears while fishing and they don’t have nostrils. This is the reasoning I’d given for their entry last time I ran this bracket, and I think I’m sticking with it. I’ve got a soft spot for these weirdos now, and I’m hoping that this can be their redemption!

Sociable Weaver

- Sociable weavers make really fun but also fucked up nesting colonies

- Pollrunner note: seriously look at these guys. They are bees. These are some kind of bugs. Open this Wikipedia link.

[officialweezerelections]

EXPLANATIONS:

Magnificent Frigatebird

- Sea bird that eats fish and squid but can't swim; their feathers aren't waterproof and their legs are too short to paddle, but they do have webbed feet; they have a 7.5 ft wingspan (larger than a bald eagle) and the largest wing to body size ratio of any bird; can withstand near-hurricane force winds; have a bright red throat pouch that males inflate (inflation can take up to 20 min) during mating displays (they mate every other year); they steal regurgitated food from other birds by holding the other bird's tail in their (the fregata magnificens) beak or feet and shaking them (in mid-air!) until they throw it up; steals and eats eggs and chicks from other birds; their chicks stay in the nest for 167 days after hatching and are fed by their mothers until they are one year old

Hoatzin

- they eat exclusively plants, and they have the digestive system of a cow. they have specialized bacteria in the front part of the gut that break-down and ferment the foliar material they consume, which produces methane that they expel by burping. they smell like actual cow shit (sometimes called "stinkbirds"). the babies (which are SO fucked up looking btw) have claws on their wings they use to climb trees. the nests are built on branches hanging over water, so when the babies are threatened, they leap down into the water and then use their wing claws to climb back up into the nest. they're like dinosaurs.

- This bird, known as the Hoatzin, is very odd. It's babies have claws on its wings when they're little because it helps them climb. And the claws eventually disappear, but it's still very interesting. Another thing! It's sometimes called a stinkbird because the food they eat starts to ferment during digestion. This causes them to smell! Really bad! They're interesting birds.

[officialweezerelections]

EXPLANATIONS:

Vampire Ground Finch

- common name vampire finch: despite their cuteness they are fucked up because they will feed on the blood of other birds. usually boobies. they will peck at the booby's skin with their sharp little beaks until they draw blood and then they feed on it!!!

- Pollrunner note: I would’ve disqualified this for violence, but boobies don’t resist the feeding, and they feed more on blood during dry seasons. They have vampire phases, that’s weird! They also eat eggs, breaking them by stealing them right after they’ve been laid and rolling them into rocks.

Oilbird

- Nocturnal cave-dwelling freaks alone in their genus, family, and order. They have the eyes of a deep-sea fish and huge whiskers. Their feet barely function. They echolocate but not to find food. They eat nothing but fruit. Their flesh is so oily they were made into lamp oil like sperm whales.

- Pollrunner note: what if a bird was a bat.

[officialweezerelections]

EXPLANATIONS:

Hooded Pitohui

- POISON BIRD! This bird is coated with a potent toxin in its skin and feathers! Don't even THINK about eating it or even touching it, or you'll go numb!!!

Kiwi

- Weird feather texture that lowkey resembles fur

- Closest relatives were elephant birds which is wild considering the size and the geographical space between these two

- They have nostrils at the end of their beak when most birds have them at the base

- also they have whiskers

- While most other birds have terrible smell and rely on eyesight, kiwi rely primarily on smell. Having terrible eyesight by bird standards (or being blind in some cases) does not negatively affect them.

- They have the largest eggs proportionate to body size.

- Despite the genus name they still have wings- which are just really really tiny. These wings have claws on them.

- i saw a model of this bird's skeleton with a model of an egg inside it and jfc. i just. girl, where. how. your organs. how do you even get that thing out of you and survive. jfc. jfc. jfc.

[officialweezerelections]

A robin scouting for bugs

Thursday, May 8th 2025 7:43 p.m.

[officialweezerelections]

Eurasian Black Vulture or Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus), family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes, India

photograph by Hetal Parekh

[officialweezerelections]

Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina)

These guys sing So Loud. At the start of this season I couldn't identify their song to save my life and now I know exactly who they are. They have a three part song which is buzzy and jumbled, but the third part is a loud, steady buzz similar to that of a Chipping Sparrow.

I don't exactly know too much about these birds, but I can tell you this one is a female. She's got the gray cap and eye line typical to the species, but her yellow face sets her apart from the crisp, white-faced males.

All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey's BBL. Permission to share images was granted by Phillips Tract Banding Station (PTBS).

[officialweezerelections]

[officialweezerelections]

Today’s bird is this house sparrow sunbathing; when he was warm enough on one side he turned to warm the other and it was adorable

[officialweezerelections]

birds that look like fruit <3