#ornithologists

[ultra-phthalo]

Cinnamon Bittern

Are you kidding me there is a bird called the Cinnamon Bittern. And it has an eye design that makes it look like it has multiple pupils in one eye.

I want more 'bird eye with iris dots' images. This is actually kind of hard to look up online specific species with eye patterns; I'm not an ornithologist.

[bird-of-the-day]

BOTD: Snail Kite

^image credit: Andreas Trepte, Wikipedia

Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis)

The Snail Kite is named because its diet consists almost entirely of Apple Snails. They glide low and slow over marshes, and drop to pick up a snail with one foot from the surfaces of water or plants. They are believed to turn to alternative food sources only when Apple Snails become scarce, such as during drought.

[cryptids-of-the-world]

In the last three years, Spoonbills have been sighted in Minnesota. Spoonbills are pink water birds typically found in the southeastern US and South America so very far from Minnesota. Ornithologists are wondering why these Minnesota Spoonbills are so far from home. Many speculate climate change or escaped Spoonbills from a zoo; either way they’re not where they’re supposed to be.

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Hispanic Heritage Month: Louis Agassiz Fuertes

In a departure from our usual uncharismatic animals, and to mark the end of Hispanic Heritage Month in the US, I’d like to discuss a man easily comparable to Audubon: Louis Agassiz Fuertes.

Fuertes was born in New York to Puerto Rican parents in 1874. His father was an astronomer and civil engineer, and recognised his son’s talent and passion for birds at an early age; this revelation might have been aided by an incident involving young Fuertes tying a live owl to the kitchen table. Fuertes became an Associate Member of the American Ornithologists Union at age 17, and was mentored at Cornell University by Elliott Coues, the nation's leading ornithologist.

After graduating, Fuertes went on expeditions to document new species. These expeditions were led by a number of famous explorers, including artist Abbott H. Thayer, financier E. H. Harriman, and zoologist C. Hart Merriam. As he established himself as an ornithologist and illustrator in his own right, Fuertes continued to travel the world, covering much of North America and venturing to other countries like the Bahamas, Jamaica, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, and Ethiopia in pursuit of new species.

 Between these travels Fuertes collaborated with the curator of American Museum of Natural History, Frank Chapman, to create field guides, dioramas, and book illustrations. Fuertes also discovered a species of oriole, known now as Fuertes's oriole or the orchard oriole (Icterus fuertesi). Beginning in 1923 Fuertes regularly lectured on ornithology at his alma mater, Cornell. He completed his last expidition in 1926-27, when he accompanied W. H. Osgood on the Chicago Field Museum’s trip to Ethiopia and produced some of his most famous works. Shortly after his return, Fuertes was killed in a train accident. He was 53 years old.

Fuertes’s legacy continues on in two species of bird: the Orchard Oriole and Fuertes's parrot (Hapalopsittaca fuertesi), which was rediscovered in 2002 after being thought to be extinct. To honor his adventurous spirit, the Boy Scouts of America made Fuertes an Honorary Scout after his death in 1927. The Wilson Ornithological Society established the Louis Agassiz Fuertes Award in 1947, and he has been credited with influencing other later wildlife artists.

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[luckybatbones]

Anhinga swimming in the lake (Anhinga anhinga)

Saint Petersburg, FL

June 2022

[canadian-pug-cartel]

Ornithologists be like ���shit man I got the common loon due at 5”

[future-dregs]

Bird people, do you know what this is?

A phoebe got stuck between our window panes last night, and this morning, this object was in the box we had been keeping it in. Its drying out now but it had started out as damp, and it is hard and fleshy, with a whitish-pink tinge throughout.

I dont know the sex of the bird, and it doesn't seem to be distressed, but if anyone could clue us in to what this is, we'd appreciate it.

[fathersonholygore]

Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities 1x08: "The Murmuring"

Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities 1×08: “The Murmuring”

Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities 11×08: “The Murmuring” Directed & Written by Jennifer Kent * For a recap & review of 11×07, click here. It’s 1951. Nancy Bradley (Essie Davis) gives a lecture on the dunlin. She talks about their impressive flight patterns, as well as their uncanny, near telepathic communication powers that still mystify researchers. She mentions “mysterious concepts…

[kness]

A barn owl pendant, porcelain and gold.

[sleepy-bebby]

[bird-of-the-day]

BOTD: Crested Pigeon

^image credit: Lip Kee Yap, Wikipedia

Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes)

The Crested Pigeon is found mainly throughout mainland Australia, except for the far northern areas. They breed all year round, however it is more common in the warmer months. Their nest consists of a relatively basic platform of twigs. Pictured in the image is a male doing his mating display.

[migratorybirdday]

High-Tech Tracking Reveals ‘Whole New Secret World of Birds’

Knowing that the birds do some extracurricular exploration when they reach their breeding grounds means scientists may need to expand the range of future studies. What ornithologists didn’t know was that many of these birds keep making long trips even when they arrive at their breeding grounds.  Motus Wildlife Tracking System.

[everydayesterday]

Angry-looking American Coot (Red-shielded)

photo by me, 2024-03-14

[luckybatbones]

Boat-tailed grackle (Quiscalus major)

Saint Petersburg, FL

June 2022

[dragoncarrion]

I think part of what makes the recording of the last Kaua'i 'o'o so heart wrenching is the fact that thousands, maybe even millions of people have heard the song of that lonely bird, yet the one who that song was meant for never heard it and never will, because they were no more. He didn't know he was the last one calling out in vain