Clik here to view.
Why a Gorget Glitters
A hummingbird's brilliant throat feathers are called a "gorget," a term applied in past centuries to the metallic swatch protecting the throat of a knight-in-armor. Light waves reflect and refract off...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Birds Dress for Spring
It's spring! And for many birds, a time to look their best to attract a new mate. This American Goldfinch has recently molted. Its old, worn-down feathers have fallen out, and new ones have grown in....
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Northern Flicker
The Northern Flicker is a woodpecker, but one that hardly looks the part. Where most woodpeckers are a reliable mix of black, white, and bits of red, the Northern Flicker is buffy tan overall.Topics...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Bird of Two Colors
Related to shearwaters and petrels, the Northern Fulmar will eat just about anything it finds on the surface of the ocean, from fish and squids to dead whales. Fulmars are polymorphic, that is to say...
View ArticleClik here to view.
August Molt
By August, many birds have just completed the intense rigors of nesting and raising young and now undergo a complete molt. Molt is a cyclic process of feather growth. As new feathers grow in, they push...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Peregrines and Pigeon Plumages
Urban Peregrine Falcons rely on Rock Pigeons for much of their diet. But some pigeons appear harder to catch than others. Pigeons with white rumps evade pursuing falcons more often than those with dark...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ptarmigan in Winter
Both the Willow Ptarmigan and these White-tailed Ptarmigan, feathered mostly brown in summer, are utterly transfigured by an autumn molt. As snow begins to mantle their world, both species, now all...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Green Birds on St. Patrick's Day
You'd think that with so much green in nature, many birds would be a'wearin' the green for camouflage. Not just on St. Patrick's Day, but every day. Yet very few of our birds cavort in Irish...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Towhees' Distractive Plumage
Both this Eastern Towhee and the Spotted Towhee of the West sport a black or dark brown hood and back. And when they fly, their tails flash white. When a hawk gives chase, the towhee's flashing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Little Blue Heron, Light and Dark
Two herons, one dark, the other white, feed at the edge of a wooded pond in the South. Both birds are Little Blue Herons. What's going on here? Well, the white bird is a juvenile. These young herons...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Visiting a Sage-Grouse Lek
© Brendan McGarryTopics & Themes: birdwatching, breeding display, plumage, soundRelated birds: Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)
View ArticleClik here to view.
Three Buntings - Indigo, Lazuli, and Painted
Each spring and summer, Indigo Buntings sing their buzzy, jumbled songs from brushy edges throughout the Eastern US. West of the Rockies, a different bunting sings his song. Named for the gemstone...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Male Mallards Disappear
By late summer, the male Mallard’s need for fancy feathers to attract the females has passed. These birds have molted, and their bright feathers are replaced with mottled brown ones. Subdued colors...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Things That Wings Can Tell You About a Bird
One of the reasons we birders are so fascinated by our feathered friends is certainly related to their mastery of the air. They can fly and our terrestrial species has always viewed flight as an...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Red-backed Fairywren - Speciation and Biodiversity
How do new kinds of birds and animals arise in the world? How does nature proceed from having a single species to having two different species? To find out, Dr. Mike Webster of the Cornell Lab of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why the Black Skimmer Skims
That’s not a distant dog barking. It’s a Black Skimmer in flight, at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia. This striking, black-and-white bird with a red bill and red feet has a most...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Scarlet Tanagers Under the Canopy
In summer, the forests of the eastern United States are home to a bounty of birds, including this gorgeous Scarlet Tanager, which spends most of the year in tropical South America. The male’s body is a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Baltimore Oriole
Not all blackbirds are mostly black. This Baltimore Oriole is orange! It’s named after Sir George Calvert, First Lord of Baltimore, whose coat-of-arms carried a gold and black design.Topics &...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Benefits of a Raven's Black Feathers
The desert seems an unlikely habitat choice for all-black birds. But ravens thrive even in the arid Southwest, where common sense suggests that light-colored feathers would be a better adaptation to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Long-tailed Duck: Little Known Duck of Many Secrets!
The Long-tailed Duck is not widely known outside birdwatching circles. But what a wonderful duck it is. Found only locally at certain times of the year, and with an oddly goofy, human-like voice, the...
View Article
