Tag Archives: Birding

IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER story as told by Sufjan Stevens

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Only Sufjan Stevens can write a song about an esoteric subject like the supposed rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker, which “decide[d] to come back even if only for a glimpse.”

More via NPR:

Independent radio producers Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister were curious about how Stevens writes his songs, which, much like their own work, are filled with stories of places and people. So, they introduced Stevens to the Arkansas town of Brinkley.

Brinkley is a small farming town not far from where the ivory-billed woodpecker recently was rediscovered. News that the bird is not extinct has brought a ray of hope to the residents of Brinkley.

Producers Collison and Meister spoke with people in the town, then shared the interviews with Stevens. He wrote a song about the ivory-bill, known as the “lord god” or “great god” bird because of its breathtaking appearance. Together, they offer a portrait of Brinkley in word and song.

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BIRDS: The talented lyrebird

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The video below shows David Attenborough with a superb lyrebird, which has the remarkable talent to mimic other bird species’ songs and sounds. Additionally, the lyrebird can mimic sounds made by the human species. The anthropogenic sounds that this lyrebird can mimic include a camera shutter, a camera with a motor drive, a car alarm, and even a chainsaw! Though, if I were the lyrebird, the sound of chainsaws nearby might be unnerving. The lyrebird is native to Australia, and there are two species—the superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) and Albert’s Lyrebird (Menura alberti), which is supposedly less superb and rarer.

This video shows a superb lyrebird, at the Adelaide Zoo, that can mimic construction work.

In addition to being an accomplished mimic, the male lyrebird puts on an extraordinary display to attract a mate.

Although somewhat reminiscent of a pheasant or peacock, the lyrebird is not a precocial species but altricial (i.e., lyrebirds are large passerines), meaning that they’re less developed than precocial species (e.g., ducks, pheasants, or peacocks) when they hatch, so the chicks must be raised in a nest until they’re capable to leave the nest. Some bird species are superprecocial (e.g., black-headed ducks and moundbuilders or the megapodes, which leave the nest with flight feathers), meaning these species leave the nest even more able than precocial species. For example, an altricial hatchling (top) vs. some precocial ducklings (middle) vs. a superprecocial brush-turkey hatchling (bottom):

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Photo source for attribution here, here, here, and here. The authors or licensors of these images do not endorse my work or me and their images are protected under an attribution license.

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BIRD IDENTIFICATION

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I took this picture of some ducks for you to identify. In the image, there are a few identifying characteristics that are unique to this very unusual species. On Friday around noon, I will reveal the species.

Hint: It’s not a North American species.

Update: These are pink-eared ducks (Malacorhynchus membranaceus)

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VIDEO: Hummingbirds: Magic In The Air

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Hummingbirds are some of the smallest warm-blooded creatures on the planet. As a result of their tiny existence, hummingbird adaptations and physiology are unique and remarkable. For example, according to Jeanna Bryner at LiveScience.com, “Hummingbirds have the highest energy expenditure of any warm-blooded animal, with a heart rate of up to 500 beat-per-minute, blindingly fast wing beats and sustained hovering. So this bird is nearly always on the edge of starvation, needing to slurp up more than its body weight in nectar each day.” Since hummingbirds are susceptible to starvation, they “generally enter torpor when unable to consume enough energy.”

Despite their hardiness, hummingbirds are sensitive to environmental degradation and loss of habitat. For example, the mangrove hummingbird (Amazilia boucardi)—a mangrove specialist as its common name suggests—is endangered due to development and pollution. The unique hummingbird’s population is decreasing and fewer than 10,000 individuals remain.

If you want to learn more about hummingbirds, I recommend “Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air,” which was aired by PBS’s ‘Nature.’ You can watch the full episode below or at PBS’ “Nature”:

One of my favorite snippets from “Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air” explored the “hummingbird’s aerial agility.” Via PBS on YouTube:

Biologist Doug Altshuler has turned his lab into a kind of hummingbird training center, where he can test the limits of their aerial agility. The key, he says, is hovering.

More about hummingbirds from Science Daily:

  1. Long, Sexy Tails Not A Drag On Male Birds
  2. Hummingbird ‘Tag’ Suggests Fragmentation May Be Part Of Pollination Crisis
  3. Sierra Nevada Birds Move In Response To Warmer, Wetter Climate

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Photo source for attribution here and here. The authors or licensors of these images do not endorse my work or me and their images are protected under an attribution license.

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