Ruby-throated Hummingbird

No, that isn’t someone’s house in the background, just a research outpost.

This is a ruby-throated hummingbird, or Archilochus colubris. This one’s a female, though, so she doesn’t have a ruby throat (gorget). Like all hummingbirds, she’s incredibly athletic, having the highest metabolism of any animal, able to beat her wings over 200 times per second, and breathing 4 times per second at rest. And yet, despite usually needing to refuel after ten minutes, she can somehow fly for 20 hours straight across open ocean during migration season.

Photo taken: Aug. 28, 2022

Cardinal Chick

I found this little guy hopping around with his parents an hour before sunset. I think it had trouble learning to fly, or at least was scared of something, as it holed itself up in this fence in my backyard for the night. Thankfully, it has loving parents that protected it until they managed to convince the chick to fly off with them early this morning~

This is a northern cardinal, or Cardinalis cardinalis. I would’ve thought it was too late to have chicks bouncing around, but cardinals sometimes have two broods in a year, nesting between late February and early September.

Photo taken: Jul. 15, 2022

Blue Jay

I can never seem to get over the fact that plumage can have such clean lines between the head and body, yet go wild within one or the other all the same…

This is a blue jay, or Cyanocitta cristata. Like many other birds, they are named after one of their most common calls, but they also frequently mimic the calls of nearby hawks with frightening accuracy, possibly to alert other jays in the area of its presence.

Photo taken: Feb. 14, 2021

Red-winged Blackbird

Those wing spots look almost velvety~

This is a red-winged blackbird, or Agelaius phoeniceus. It might’ve been your first instinct to assume that its red spots would be used to attract mates, but that does not appear to be true. In one study, “male Red-wings were captured and their [spots] blackened with Nyanzol D, a permanent black dye.” It found that nearly 2 in 3 blackened blackbirds lost their territory as opposed to 2 in 25 of the control group, but both groups could still attract a mate, suggesting that these red spots are mainly for intimidating other males.

Photo taken: May 23, 2021

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Of all the ways to identify this bird, the only way I managed in the end was by using its feet, which are a lovely color, by the way.

This is a golden-crowned kinglet, or Regulus satrapa. It, of course, has a golden crown like a king, but this photo was taken too early in the year to see that. It otherwise has a yellow stripe down the center of its head, although that, unfortunately, also cannot be seen in this photo. According to the Bird of the Day challenge I linked in the last post, though, this bird isn’t exactly the rarest, so hopefully I’ll get a better shot sooner or later~

Photo taken: Feb. 21, 2021

Ovenbird

I found one ornithologist’s “Bird of the Day Challenge“, which challenges you to see a certain bird each day — the bird above for today (Edit: May 12, whoops) — which I did not do, but I did recall seeing one on the side of a path last year.

This is an ovenbird, or Seiurus aurocapilla. They’re called that because of the shape of their nests, which are called ‘ovens’ for their dome structure and side entrance. (For comparison: brick oven vs. ovenbird nest.)

Photo taken: May 2, 2021

Common Yellowthroat

Singing, tongue and all~

This is a common yellowthroat, or Geothlypis trichas. Contrary to my comment, songbirds don’t actually sing in a way that involves their tongue. Rather, they have a two-sided vocal organ called a syrinx that lets them produce two notes independent of each other and at the same time, resulting in the complex and varied songs we hear.

Photo taken: May 23, 2021

Tree Swallow

Soaring through the sky~

This is a tree swallow, or Tachycineta bicolor. Up until about a decade ago, it was thought that small songbirds did not soar, “due to their smaller musculature and wings. Gliding would reduce the flight speed, so it was assumed.” This was overturned by studies done in Israel — not observing tree sparrows, but European bee-eaters — that showed no indication of decreased speed while gliding, meaning that birds small and large use soaring and gliding to save energy without having to slow down. (source)

Photo taken: Jun. 20, 2021

Cedar Waxwing

Taking shots around sunset doesn’t seem to be my forte as far as lighting goes…

This is a cedar waxwing, or Bombycilla cedrorum. Around New Year’s, I was looking at this year’s Bird of the Year picks from the American Birding Association (ABA) and Forest & Bird, based in New Zealand. The latter picked the pekapeka-tou-roa, a critically endangered endemic bat, which I’ve never seen, having never been to NZ. The ABA picked the burrowing owl, which I’ve also not yet seen, but if I say 2022 is really just 2020 II, I can use 2020’s pick, which was the cedar waxwing~

Photo taken: Sept. 8, 2021

American Goldfinch

It wasn’t exactly yesterday that I saw it zipping through the reeds of a marsh, but I remember it looking much more orange?…

This is a female American goldfinch, or Spinus tristis. American goldfinches are apparently almost strictly vegetarian, so if you live in certain parts of North American and would like some in your backyard, you could set up feeders with niger seed or plant grasses and perennials like zinnias or globe thistles.

Photo taken: Sept. 4, 2021