#mimids

[na-bird-of-the-day]

BOTD: LeConte's Thrasher

Photo: Tony Morris

"As pale as desert sand is this wraith of the arid saltbush flats. It seldom flies unless closely pressed, instead running about with great speed on the open ground, its tail cocked up above its back. For many years after its discovery, Le Conte's Thrasher was considered a rare bird, because it lives in desert so barren and forbidding that few people would have thought to seek birds there."

- Audubon Field Guide

[spinus-pinus]

Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottus

3/4/2023 San Diego Zoo Safari Park, California

[podartists]

Gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)

Plate III | Die Nordamerikanische Vogelwelt (1891)

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

How many songs do you know by heart? Whatever the number, it probably isn't as many as the brown thasher! This little bird has at least 1,100 songs in its repotoire, with some studies indicating the number might be well over 3,000. Many of these calls are mimics of other species, which males use to impress and woo females of their own kind.

(Image: A brown thrasher () by Burline Pullin)

If you like what I do, consider leaving a tip or buying me a kofi!

[everydayesterday]

while chipping sparrows have ...one... "song" (various repetitions of 'chipp') that they can sing, mimids (thrashers and mockingbirds) can recall hundreds of songs, even those of other birds that they may not have heard in months. (n.b. this can make birding challenging at times when you're identifying a call)

I am thinking back to this because I just also remembered a song by the moody blues (psychedelia from the 1960s; my parents' old vinyl records) a few minutes ago, put it on, and was able to sing along. this, despite probably not having heard it in 15 to maybe even 20 years, and despite my memory issues. ("the best way to travel" is the song)

and the birds' musical talents don't stop there. a brown thrasher's repertoire "cannot be quantified easily" (per Sibley, 2001), as they can build up a personal jukebox of thousands of phrases, and can improvise complex tunes on the spot, which might last up to 20 minutes. they're just like us, making up songs in the kitchen as they bake.

[skinks]

[scrumpyfan43]

REMEMBER. If you’re ever in an awkward, bad, or otherwise unpleasant situation. You can always make it worse by meowing

[magnetothemagnificent]

Crows: *Harass and mob birds of prey much larger than them*

Crows when mimids and blackbirds harass and mob *them*:

[id in alt]

[lonelywretchjervistetch]

The State Bird Initiative: Georgia (#4) - Results

The time has come for results...about a day late than I'd planned! Why? Let's just say that the next poll is causing me...difficulties. We'll get to that, don't worry, BUT FOR NOW! Let's talk Georgia, and the State Bird as decided by a pretty decent chunk of votes! OK, Tumblr, what'd you think should be the State Bird of the Peach State?

The fourth state, and the second incumbent winner!

SBI Elected State Bird of Georgia: Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)

Well, I said this was gonna be a difficult bird to dethrone, and I was right! By all intents and purposes, there's nothing wrong with the Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) that would make it a bad candidate for the state bird of Georgia! There's also a common statement about the Brown Thrasher's significance to Georgia as a bird of many songs! As a songbird and a mimid in particular, thrashers are known for their repetoire of songs. And for a state that produced famous musicians like Ray Charles, Gladys Knight, Otis Redding, Alan Jackson, Little Richard, OutKast, TLC, Zac Brown Band, and The B-52s...yeah, that's a fair association. Plus, you'll notice...there's an extra significance to the state bird being the Brown Thrasher, just based on the musical connection.

So, yeah, this is a pretty solid choice for State Bird of Georgia, based on this alone. And sure, the species barely breeds in Georgia, and it's not incredibly common there...but it can be seen. And seeing it is still a way to get people into looking out for their state bird. I think it works well! And, while we're at it...that's not the only State Bird to maintain its position.

SBI Incumbent State Game Bird of Georgia: Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus)

Also retaining the position of State Game Bird is Robert White, AKA the Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus)! Now, here's the deal with the quail here. This is not the only state that may have this as a State Game Bird, and we'll have to have a reckoning for that position when the time comes. For that matter, we may also have a separate election for this species down the line. But, for now, we'll let the bobwhite keep this title, and move on to other candidates for the personal choices of the SBI (as determined by the votes, and other potential valuable individuals for the position).

With that said, check out the birds after the jump for the SBI's personal choices, and for the rest of you who'd rather not, see you next time in Connecticut! Which is a state that's caused me a lot of irritation, surprisingly! We'll, uh, we'll get there.

State Raptor of Georgia (SBI): Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

Starting with the Raptor, since the State Bird and State Game Bird are Tumblr and SBI-endorsed. I pretty thoroughly explained my reasoning for this one in the original post, and it hasn't changed. Georgia gets a raptor, Atlanta gets its Hawk. It works! Now, granted, other states could claim the species for their Raptor, but those states should probably get another species that would hit better. So, Georgia gets the Red-shouldered!

Also, funny story: I was once trapped in a tiny room in a raptor rehabilitation center with one of these guys, armed only with a net and fear. It'd just been rescued after a vehicle strike which it miraculously survived, and it was VERY angry and still capable of flight, with the bird equivalent of a concussion. This meant that, at any moment in the 5-10 minutes we had together, it could've launched out of its corner towards MY corner of the room, and accidentally slammed into my face feet-first. It was angry, and I was 15. Fun day. Anyway, uh...next entry!

SBI's Big Fifty - New Jersey: Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla)

Not gonna lie, I really wanted this to be the State Bird of Georgia. I mean, it's dependent on its population in the state for breeding, it's iconic in appearance and sound, with both being cute-as-shit. It'd be fairly easy to locate for anybody with the drive to do so, including kids that would probably love it. It's representative of a major habitat in the state and region, and one that's in serious danger, and it's even considered a major conservation focus. But...it's not as iconic in Georgia as the Brown Thrasher. It's a losing battle, despite how cute it is. I actually think that, if on the ballot this November, it would have a chance at winning with the broader public if its picture were allowed on the ballot. But...yeah, not a chance against the known incumbent, as seen in the Tumblr poll.

So, instead, it's making it into the Big Fifty for Georgia. Now, this is probably a little cheap for the list as a whole, since it's not exclusive to the state, and probably isn't a major birding highlight for anybody in particular. However, it's definitely a Georgia bird, is a solid Life Lister for anybody not form the state (like myself), and prompts birders and those seeking the Big Fifty to visit the forests on conservation concern where they're found. And so, the Brown-headed Nuthatch is the Big Fifty pick for Georgia! Also, to be clear, it got second place in the poll, so this is the prize! And the third place is tied between the Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) a bird with major representation in other states (meaning it's not the best choice for Georgia), and...

State Conservation Focus of Georgia (SBI): Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)

Remember the Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) from the Pennsylvania poll, especially the Results section? There, I mentioned the role of the woodpecker as a keystone species? Yeah, that, but WAY MORE for the Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), which makes the cavities that the Pileated Woodpecker lives in much of the time! I mean, that alone is a pretty good reason to use this species as a conservation focus. What's more, Birds Georgia already uses it as a mascot for this reason, and it's currently in great need of conservation in the state. Sure, it doesn't breed a whole lot there, but it's still a prominent target for conservation, as are the pine forests it tends to live in.

And with that, we've finished up the round for Georgia! Time to move onto the next state...which has been...a lot of trouble. Moreso than anticipated, if I'm honest with you. You'll see once we get there, though. So, see you in Connecticut!

See you next time, and happy birding!

Introduction to the State Birds Initiative

1. Delaware - Poll | Results 2. Pennsylvania - Poll | Results 3. New Jersey - Poll | Results 4. Georgia - Poll | Results 5. Connecticut - Poll | Results 6. Massachusetts - Poll | Results

[na-bird-of-the-day]

BOTD: Brown Thrasher

Photo: Brian Stahls

"The big, foxy-red Brown Thrasher is a familiar bird over much of the east. Sometimes it forages boldly on open lawns; more often it scoots into dense cover at any disturbance, hiding among the briar tangles and making loud crackling callnotes. Although the species spends most of its time close to the ground, the male Brown Thrasher sometimes will deliver its rich, melodious song of doubled phrases from the top of a tall tree."

- Audubon Field Guide

[spinus-pinus]

Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos

3/4/2023 San Diego Zoo Safari Park, California

[podartists]

Phainopepla nitens | Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus | Oroscoptes montanus | Harporhynchus crissalis

Plate IV | Die Nordamerikanische Vogelwelt (1891)

[mawu-yama]

honk mimid and I feel like I temporarily went to another dimension. I can hear the cards

[megarabane]

JUST SAW YOUR ASK ON HELLSITE-GENETICS AND NEEDED TO SEND YOU AN ASK!! /POS

you are like literally the person i want to be with the bird stuff i absolutely LOVE belted kingfishers they are so pretty. they are also one of my favorite birds (i have too many favorites i cant just pick one) but birds are so smart and their feathers are so cool like omg i love birds

im currently a small senior in highschool/sophomore in college and want more people who like birds in my life :))

anyway whats your favorite thing to study about birds? mine is how smart they are but also like how bluejays have the feathers that reflect the sun to show the blue :))

[id: screenshot of two text messages that say "oh good i get to get [sic] explain this to you" / "you will regret this" followed by the ellipses of someone typing. end id]

FELLOW BIRD ENJOYER SPOTTED

(sad my ask to hellsite-genetics didn't get me a bird tho but i did get the added satisfaction of knowing the goofy goober song is a member of the genus i exalted in my ask so all in all it's a solid win)

let me preface all of this with saying that while a lot of my experience with birds and learning about birds has been in a classroom setting i've also spent *checks watch* three summers now (including this upcoming one) doing field work working almost exclusively with birds in the midwest united states, so honestly a lot of the things i've learned have been incidental knowledge i've obtained working in the field. i'm not an *expert*, i just have a BS in environmental science and a lot of birding experience.

full slapshod essay rant of me going on about birds (edit: i just reread it and good GOD i went on for a while) of me talking about birds below the cut bc i already know this is gonna be far too long but you asked about my favorite thing in the world so this is on you my friend (affectionate)

i'm definitely ENRAPTURED with how smart birds are. They're so fucking intelligent it's almost scary.

since you brought em up imma talk about bluejays first!! i did part of a project my last year of college on bluejays!!

blue jays will often mimic the calls of other birds, esp predators like red-tailed hawks, with such accuracy that even bird id apps like Merlin (shameless plug) will mistake a mimicking bluejay for a real red-tailed. when i was doing audio surveys for northern bobwhites we had to have a separate training day where the only thing we focused on was how to tell if a mockingbird / thrasher / blue jay was mimicking the distinct bobwhite call and how that wasn't to be counted as a sighting.

(in my experience a lot of it has to do with pitch, repetition, and completion of what's considered the 'full song' of the NOBO, since a lot of mimids won't do the 'full song' and will just handpick bits to weave into the rest of their noises. bluejays especially will do this. mockingbirds will sometimes do the full song, but NOBOs have a pretty measurable repetition gap between their songs, at least in the areas we were doing surveys).

i remembered learning in a class that some bluejays will find bird feeders and spy on them, then mimic red-tailed and red-shouldered hawk calls to get the other birds to scatter, so they can then fly down and eat without having to fight for the tastiest bits.

when i was working with birds over the summer, one of the things we did was setting ground traps for mourning doves so they could be banded and then tracked for hunter take (they're a game species in my state). there were always blue jays in those traps. they're so fascinating to see up close, with their heavy bills and tough little feet and they're so full of rage. and they're loud.

also the thing about their FEATHERS - YES. it fucked me up to learn blue jays are naturally brown. iirc it has to do with the way the barbs on their feathers are put together with modified cells, which scatter the light in a special way to make them appear blue. If you get a bluejay feather in your hand it's only blue at certain angles and the undersides are almost usually completely brown unless you hold them in the light just so.

blue jays are part of the family Corvidae so it makes sense why they're so smart, in the family with other birds like ravens and crows.

well i didn't mean to go on for so long about blue jays. they are wonderful tho aren't they?? <3

my favorite thing to study about birds??? hoooooo boy what a question. everything?? is everything an option??

habitat effects on population size and habitat selection at the individual level is fascinating. i've done a lot of work with population studies, basically doing audio-visual surveys (point counts) of how many of x and y and z target species live in this area at a given point in time, then using that data to extrapolate potential population numbers in an area as narrow as a few square miles and as wide as the whole state (i worked for the state department of natural resources so we were focused only on our state obv).

in that effort, using that information to both directly and indirectly learn what environmental factors affect which bird species and how was so so interesting to me, and some of them are things so small we don't even think about them sometimes!! if there's as few as a handful of pine/cedar/evergreen trees in a field or grassland, you're far more likely to find cedar waxwings and indigo buntings, and you rarely see them in areas dominated by deciduous trees. red-winged blackbirds love wetlands, and while they aren't (iirc) specifically wetland-dependent, something as small as a single pond is enough to attract them in droves.

behavior is also such a cool topic to me, which i've learned more and more about just by birdwatching and attending bird-related conferences and working with wildlife biologists.

birds like the brown creeper are bark foragers that almost exclusively move upwards along a tree. they'll start at the bottom and move up, and once they reach a point they deem 'too high', they'll fly to the bottom of the next tree and move up. conversely, birds like nuthatches, still bark foragers, almost exclusively move down trees in the same way - they'll start at the top, forage downwards, and when they reach the bottom, they'll fly back to the top and do it again.

the yellow-bellied sapsucker (woodpecker family), as the name implies, eats a lot of sap, so they drill holes into a tree, like woodpeckers do, but they lay them down in 'bands' that run horizontally around the tree, often with multiple rows on top of each other, leading to a grid-like pattern of shallow holes only an inch or two apart from each other. that's often the best way to figure out where to look for sapsuckers when you're birding!! (apart from actually seeing or hearing the little guy, obv.)

incidentally, i learned that it's really really hard to put backpack trackers on henslow's sparrows, not bc they're so small and hard to catch, but because they're smart enough to realize there's a thing on their back and will, somehow, pull the backpack around to their front and completely mangle it beyond repair, and that's before they chew it off.

god i could go on forever. kestrels. ospreys. owls. nightjars. songbirds. fisherbirds. albatrosses. puffins. kinglets. sparrows. starlings. they're all so good and perfect and wonderful and fascinating and if i could learn everything about all of them forever i would.

in an extremely roundabout way of answering your question, if you're still reading and haven't run for the hills yet, i can't pick just one thing to call my favorite to learn about birds. everything about them is so interesting and makes me so excited to learn and see and talk about.

belted kingfisher lovers unite!

edit: I DIDN'T EVEN TALK ABOUT TURKEYS EITHER I'M DOING TURKEY RESEARCH TOO -

[honey-minded-hivemind]

Gliding in for the third 🐉Wings of Fire AUs names lists are...

The 🔥SkyWings🦅!

The X-Men Members:

• Charles Xavier/Professor Xavier: Charcoal

• Ororo Munroe/Storm: Maroon

• Logan Howlett/Wolverine: Longspur

• Scott Summers/Cylcops: Cinder

• Jean Grey/Marvel Girl/Phoenix: Junco

• Hank McCoy/Beast: Hawk

• Anne-Marie/Rogue: Rouge

• Remy LeBeau/Gambit: Ridge

• Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat: Kite

• Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler: Warbler

• Jubilation Lee/Jubilee: Jebel

• Evan Daniels/Spyke: Ember

• Bobby Drake/Iceman: Bunting

• Piotr Rasputin/Colossus: Pyrite

• Illyana Rasputin/Magik: Ignite

• Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane: Wren

• Samuel "Sam" Guthrie/Cannonball: Gyrfalcon

• Roberto da Costa/Sunspot: Sunstone

• Danielle "Dani" Moonstar/Mirage: Merlin

• Laura Kinney/Wolverine 2.0: Lark

• Tabitha "Tabby" Smith/Boom-Boom: Burgundy

The Brotherhood:

• Erik Lehnsherr/Magnus/Magneto: Eagle

• Raven Darkholme/Mystique: Ravine

• Victor Creed/Sabretooth: Vermeil

• Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver: Peak

• Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch: Scarlet

• Mortymer Tonybee/Todd Tolansky/Toad: Topaz

• Fred "Freddy" Dukes/Blob: Finch

• Lance Alvers/Avalanche: Avalanche

• St. John Allerdyce/Pyro: Pyrope

(A few more resused names this time around, but, they fit. These are certainly on fire, aren't they? And last but never least...)

• Reader/Bby: Jasper, Hessonite, Garnet, Bluff, Steep, Sierra, Alp, Carmine, Crimson, Cerise, Besra, Shikra, Owl, Harpy, Robin, Phoebe, Chickadee, Mimid, Jay, Magpie, Tanager, Sparrow, Coal...

[newtras]

Fighting in Ukraine: If D Bance tells Zelanteen Zelanckes' Peace

The US Vice President JD Bance began to emphasize a 'permanent' push with Sodimide Mimide Mimide Mimide Mimide Mimide Mimide Mimide Mimide Mimide Mimide Mimide Mimide Mimide Mimide Mimide Mimide Mimide Kaymenki. Danwarn also criticized Germany in denying the lightning in the upcoming elections in the upcoming elections. Source link