20100924_94-2_f - Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)

20100924_94-2_f - Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)

A large vireo, the red-eyed is one of the most common songbirds in eastern woodlands. It moves sluggishly through the canopy of broad-leaf forests, making it hard to detect, and often picks food by hover-gleaning. It sings incessantly, often throughout the day.
Bold face pattern with white eyebrow, bordered above and below with black. Ruby red iris of adult visible at close range. Gray to blue-gray crown contrasts with olive back and darker wings and tail. Lacks wing bars. Fall: flanks and under-tail coverts usually washed olive or olive-yellow. Immature: brown iris; often extensive yellow or olive-yellow wash on under-tail coverts and flanks, which may extend up to the bend of the wing.

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Uploaded on Jan 28, 2012

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20100927_122-1_f - Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) Female

20100927_122-1_f - Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) Female

The Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) is a beautiful North American woodpecker with a charming appearance. It is the third largest woodpecker in the region after the ivory-billed (Campephilus principalis) and pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus), and has a powerful, stocky build, a slim, rounded head, a long, flared tail that tapers to a point, and a robust, downward-curved bill. The brown plumage is richly pattered with black spots, bars and crescents, and is whitish on the underparts, grey on the head, with a red patch on the rear of the neck, and pinkish on the cheeks. The appearance of the northern flicker varies greatly across its range, but the populations in the eastern parts of the species’ range can be loosely grouped into a ‘yellow-shafted’ form, while populations in the west can be grouped into a ‘red-shafted’ form. The key difference between these two forms is the color of the feather shafts, which are either a lemon yellow or rosy red. The yellow-shafted form also has a tan colored face, with a grey crown and red crescent on the throat, and a black ‘mustache’ on the male bird. The red-shafted form also has a gray face, but with a brown crown, and no throat-crescent, and a red mustache stripe on the male. The identification of these two forms is further complicated by hybrids, which have an intermediate appearance and are common along the border of the two forms’ ranges.

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Uploaded on Jan 28, 2012

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20111213_93-2 - Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)

20111213_93-2 - Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)

The Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae. It is a highly migratory bird, breeding in northern parts of Eurasia and North America and flying south to winter on coastlines almost worldwide. It is the only species of turnstone in much of its range and is often known simply as Turnstone.

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Uploaded on Jan 27, 2012

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20111125_322-1 - Red Fox-sparrow (Passerella iliaca)

20111125_322-1 - Red Fox-sparrow (Passerella iliaca)

A large, boldly striped sparrow of scrubby boreal forest and mountain chaparral, the Fox Sparrow is most familiar as a migrant or wintering bird. Its vigorous "double-scratching," kicking backward in ground litter with both feet to uncover food, often draws attention to its presence under a bird feeder.

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Uploaded on Jan 27, 2012

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20110429_95-1 - Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)

20110429_95-1 - Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)

Common Grackles are large, lanky blackbirds with long legs and long tails. The head is flat and the bill is longer than in most blackbirds, with the hint of a downward curve. In flight, the wings appear short in comparison to the tail. Males are slightly larger than females.
Common Grackles appear black from a distance, but up close their glossy purple heads contrast with bronzy-iridescent bodies. A bright golden eye gives grackles an intent expression. Females are slightly less glossy than males. Young birds are dark brown with a dark eye.
You’ll often find Common Grackles in large flocks, flying or foraging on lawns and in agricultural fields. They strut on their long legs, pecking for food rather than scratching. At feeders Common Grackles dominate smaller birds. When resting they sit atop trees or on telephone lines, keeping up a raucous chattering. Flight is direct, with stiff wing-beats.
Common Grackles thrive around agricultural fields, feedlots, city parks, and suburban lawns. They’re also common in open habitats including woodland, forest edges, meadows, and marshes.

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Uploaded on Jan 26, 2012

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