# The birds and the bees



## Alli

Those hummingbirds will fight each other all day long. But the bees get into their feeders and nobody cares. 
		
		
	


	


His little body is pretty far up in there and you can see the level drop as the bubbles rise.

Really kinda cute.






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## Eric

Alli said:


> Those hummingbirds will fight each other all day long. But the bees get into their feeders and nobody cares. View attachment 591
> His little body is pretty far up in there and you can see the level drop as the bubbles rise.
> 
> Really kinda cute.
> 
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> 
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> 
> iCloud
> 
> 
> Sign in to iCloud to access your photos, videos, documents, notes, contacts, and more. Use your Apple ID or create a new account to start using Apple services.
> 
> 
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> 
> share.icloud.com



We always have them on our feeders too, they never seem to be bothering anyone so we just leave them be to share it with the humming birds. So far, you've had bees and butterflies on your feeders, any hummingbirds?


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## Alli

ericgtr12 said:


> We always have them on our feeders too, they never seem to be bothering anyone so we just leave them be to share it with the humming birds. So far, you've had bees and butterflies on your feeders, any hummingbirds?




Plenty of hummingbirds. They showed up not long after I’d taken that photo and decided they didn’t want to fight with the bees over the feeders. Wimps.


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## lizkat

Meanwhile in NYC (yeah the big woods in the middle with several lakes, streams and ponds) what's up lately is a female kingfisher struttin' her skills and fishing the Turtle Pond out while summery weather persists.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1311762644672696320/


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## Arkitect

Found on the road in the middle of town.
The end of a life.
The end of summer…

I picked it up from the hot tarmac amongst the car wheels and placed it on the side in a hedge.


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## Scepticalscribe

Whenever I see this expression, ("the birds and the bees"), I think (as one is clearly invited to), not just of the wonderful euphemism in English, but also, of that hilarious scene, an agony of excruciating embarrassment (in an otherwise sombre, personally and politically perceptive, powerful, and indeed powerfully moving book, The Remains of The Day), where the exquisitely repressed butler, Stevens, has been asked - by his employer - to explain "the birds and the bees" to his (rather worldly wise, not least politically, and probably personally), godson, the journalist Reginald Cardinal.


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## Clix Pix

lizkat said:


> Meanwhile in NYC (yeah the big woods in the middle with several lakes, streams and ponds) what's up lately is a female kingfisher struttin' her skills and fishing the Turtle Pond out while summery weather persists.
> 
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1311762644672696320/



Kingfishers are very, very fast, and notoriously difficult to photograph.  I am envious of this photographer who managed to get some terrific shots!    I got a couple a few weeks ago of the resident female Belted Kingfisher here --- just "birdie-on-a-stick" (standing on a branch), no action shots, and even at that I was pretty far away, hand-holding the camera and 100-400mm lens, no tripod,  and the shots weren't all that stellar.....  I was just too excited that, hey, I'd finally gotten an opportunity to take pictures of our gal, who I'd watched zipping all around the lake this whole summer.  In fact I really wasn't even 100% sure of my luck until I got home and looked in my _Birds of Virginia _book to verify that this sighting and identification wasn't a figment of my imagination.....

She wasn't, and here she is:


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## lizkat

Clix Pix said:


> I got a couple a few weeks ago of the resident female Belted Kingfisher here --- just "birdie-on-a-stick" (standing on a branch)




Wow such a great shot of the coloration that gives her the species' name!


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## Clix Pix

Thanks, Liz!  I am happy that I got any images of her at all, but if I'd had my druthers I would have been significantly physically closer to her so that the lens would've picked up more and nicer feather detail in a good way, and also it would have been so helpful if I'd been standing in or near a location where I could find something to support the lens in the absence of my tripod.....


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## lizkat

Clix Pix said:


> Thanks, Liz!  I am happy that I got any images of her at all, but if I'd had my druthers I would have been significantly physically closer to her so that the lens would've picked up more and nicer feather detail in a good way, and also it would have been so helpful if I'd been standing in or near a location where I could find something to support the lens in the absence of my tripod.....




Still you got close enough to catch that sassy "OK ya got me, be quick about it" look of hers there.  Great photo,  I'm thinking to park it in my desktop pics of assorted birds.   I like to have desktops with a central image and space left around it so I can see  temporary aliases to folders etc for parking files on the fly.


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## lizkat

Cool photos of a red tailed hawk making a pit stop at the corner of a NYC building today

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1330197048914796548/


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## lizkat

If I were reading this book right now I'd post about it in the books thread, but I'm not likely to get closer to it than an illustration from it that drew my attention,  until maybe Christmas?  Well I can hope since I'm going to mention it as a wishlist item for "the season of getting"...

Anyway this drawing is by Barry Van Dusen and is featured  in a book by the late Peter D. Vickery et al.,  *Birds of Maine*... a loon and two babies, one being indulged with a free ride. Sweet devotion!


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## lizkat

Northern cardinal near what looks like black oil sunflower seed feeder... looks like "wheels up" in a quick departure.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1338214002661482500/


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## lizkat

Love this close-up of a blue jay.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1340424667413274625/​


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## lizkat

Snowy owl toughing it out during not exactly beach weather today out at Jones Beach ( Long Island, NY).

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1340831230967857153/

Gee this little guy was Mr. Popularity among the hardy Jones Beach birdwatchers today!

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1340443964521017345/


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## lizkat

Welp.  Trump done gone pissed off the Audubon Society.   









						Audubon: “History—and we–will hold responsible the elected officials who have promoted the assault on our democracy.”
					

A statement from David Yarnold, president and CEO of the National Audubon Society.




					www.audubon.org
				







> “Like the rest of the world, we watched the events at the U.S. Capitol in horror as anti-democratic zealots violently disrupted what should have been a ceremonial start to the peaceful transition of power after a free and fair election.
> 
> “Every elected official who supports and gives voice to anti-American conspiracy theories about this election is directly responsible for the violence taking place in our nation’s capital today, and they will bear the stain of this moment for the rest of their political lives.
> 
> “History — and we — will hold responsible the elected officials who have promoted the assault on our democracy.
> 
> “This includes first and foremost President Trump, and regrettably, members of Congress with whom we have previously worked in partnership on conservation issues. To them we say: you should be ashamed of yourselves. You have broken our trust and the trust of the American people and there will be consequences for that. We will not stand with people who have undermined democracy.
> 
> “There is no other way to say it: we are disgusted by the Members of Congress who have chosen to weaken the very process that brought them into office and who perpetuate the kind of voter suppression efforts that have long been used to disenfranchise Black and brown voters in this country.







> “This is beyond politics. We take great pride in the fact that Audubon members span the political spectrum, and we have historically worked in partnership with members of both the Democratic and Republican parties. But we cannot stand by while the foundation of our democracy is at stake.
> 
> “For more than 115 years, Audubon’s members, volunteers and staff have been conservationists and community builders. Everything we stand for, all of the work we do to protect birds and the places they need, is predicated on the rule of law. We believe that those who have committed crimes today should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law — and those who enabled them should be held to account.”


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## Yoused

I stepped outside this morning only to to observe one of our little fuckers gnoshing. I stood under the cedar (their tree), about 10' away, watching, when he got up and came over to hover a foot from my face, “_Just what is your major malfunction? I have this long pointy thing, and I am not afraid to use it, so you better not challenge me._” He stayed there for much more than briefly, showing me the bright red flashes on his cheeks before at last going on about his business.

Perhaps we need to adjust the nectar formula. It may be a bit too strong.

Of course I had no camera, no pics, so maybe it did not happen.


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## lizkat

Looks like this happened...   but then the photog was out there a long time looking, sounds like.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1346968333782904834/


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## lizkat

Gonna have to check this out.

The piece cited in the tweet is a great read.


https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1348738969245261826/


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## Yoused

Found this somewhere else (where I could not just link it in)


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## Yoused

lizkat said:


> Gonna have to check this out.
> 
> The piece cited in the tweet is a great read.
> 
> 
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1348738969245261826/



I met one of the great ones, Marzluff (_Gifts of the Crow_, do read it), at an Audubon thing a few years back.

Also said hi to Ursula K. LeGuin at another table.


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## lizkat

Northern Harrier vs Short Eared Owl,  aerial duel.  

Video was shot in Shawangunk Grasslands (Ulster County NY)

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1349865433185325062/


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## lizkat

Fatherhood, yeah it has consequences for some birds!

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1353030276813877248/


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## lizkat

Extreme sports do include extreme birding... 

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1353179261192916992/


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## lizkat

Extreme birding again:  real hawk flummoxed by decoy duck.  Belongs in the "That F'g Guy" thread?


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## thekev

I was hoping that I wouldn't need to be the one to post this, considering two people on here have Futurama avatars.


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## Yoused

Ever make snow angels? You got nothing on the magpies.


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## lizkat

Prioritizing emergencies at the bird feeder...

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1365711858783588352/


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## lizkat

thekev said:


> I was hoping that I wouldn't need to be the one to post this, considering two people on here have Futurama avatars.




I guessed the ending way wrong there...


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## thekev

lizkat said:


> I guessed the ending way wrong there...




What did you guess?


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## lizkat

thekev said:


> What did you guess?



That the bee died trying to sting Bender...


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## thekev

lizkat said:


> That the bee died trying to sting Bender...




This seems plausible. You should probably write for the Simpsons. They could use some new ideas. I can't figure out how they have kept it running so many years.


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## Yoused

thekev said:


> I can't figure out how they have kept it running so many years.



At present, _The Simpsons_ has 61 more total episodes than _Gunsmoke_, but only 233 episodes of _Gunsmoke_ were half-hour-long, so in terms of actual hours of programming, _The Simpsons_ will not catch up to _Gunsmoke_ until late 2037, at which point Matt Groening will be 83 years old and James L. Brooks 97.


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## lizkat

Man. I never even finished watching Gunsmoke...    About the only TV series I ever finished watching was M*A*S*H.


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## lizkat

Springtime dance of migratory birds in the Pacific northwest.


https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1371487926144561158/


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## shadow puppet

This pretty pink robin showed up in my Insta feed.  Love the color!

_"Native to the forests of southeastern Australia, the pink robin (Petroica rodinogaster) weighs just 10 grams! Unlike many other birds, male and females both possess vibrant colouring on their chests."

: _Deepak Karra


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## Clix Pix

That murmuration video was delightful!

Wow, I'm accustomed to "Robin Redbreast," but this one with the pink breast is fascinating and different!


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## shadow puppet

Anyone know what kind of bird this is?  The photographer (Kris Tynski), didn't say but it's beautiful.


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## SuperMatt

I saw this and instantly related to it. That‘s how I feel after a good meal too!

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1378028084784402434/


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## Yoused

SuperMatt said:


> I saw this and instantly related to it. That‘s how I feel after a good meal too!
> 
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1378028084784402434/



"Dude, you gotta try this stuff."


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## shadow puppet

How I feel when the weekend is almost over.


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## lizkat

shadow puppet said:


> How I feel when the weekend is almost over.




Great photo.  I didn't have that much energy on a Sunday back in the day, but that was surely me at my desk on a Monday morning before landing in a workplace with a pantry...   having opened the coffee they gave me at the deli after I had said "black no sugar" and ended up with java having both milk AND sugar in it, plus the echo of "OK honey, next?" still in my ear.


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## Yoused

Tits on the back porch. They were working on a nest above the lightswitch on the roof beam. It is not a good place for a nest. Well, it might be convenient for them, being tucked up away from prying eyes and claws and beaks. So I went and found a Vladimir, in his rotund floaty-suit, that fit up nicely in that space. Seems the tits do not like Harkonnens any more than the Atreides or the Fremen do.


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## Yoused

Not a bee, as such, but these folks and I seem to be good friends


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## lizkat

Loved this photo of a couple of cormorants,  and the caption really makes it...   this guy usually takes photos in Wales or England.





​


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## lizkat

Now these guys are definitely freeloaders... for now.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1398435828381085697/


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## tranceking26

If I am awake very early I can hear all kinds of birds singing nearby. It's very relaxing. Then later the traffic noise begins.


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## lizkat

Baby piping plovers tryin' to get a quick grip on wing-flapping, walking, rolling over, schmoozing w/ mom.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1403147875039727617/


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## lizkat

Cuckoos are brood parasites that will temporarily appropriate the nest of another species of bird, often tossing out any eggs or hatchlings in it, the better to lay their own egg in there, then take off again for a carefree summer.  No concern about what size bird will now serve as foster parents...   in this photo tweeted by an English birder,  it's a small warbler that's been left with a humongous cuckoo chick to feed.  

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1403335367315578880/


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## lizkat

Goldfinch brawl:   _"Don't touch me!"_

__​


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## lizkat

Painted Lady butterfly, gathering nectar while it may, in NYC's Central Park this afternoon.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1428061761719218186/​


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## Yoused

Watched this kid dive right in and completely disappear under the stamen mass. I guess the good stuff must be buried down there.


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## lizkat

Audubon's 2021 photo awards, wow...  check out the one with the baby and parent Sandhill Crane.









						The 2021 Audubon Photography Awards: Winners and Honorable Mentions
					

The finest images and videos from this year's competition showed birdlife at its most tranquil, clever, and powerful.




					www.audubon.org


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## Clix Pix

Oh, how can one NOT love that exquisite photo of the Sandhill Crane mother and child.....  !!!!   Rich with meaning, tells a delightful story and is technically perfect to boot!   My neighbor, who subscribes to the Audubon Magazine, is a member of the Audubon Society,  always passes along the latest issue of the magazine when she's finished, and just a few days ago she gave me three issues of LivingBird (Cornell) and the Audubon Magazine issue with the Photography Awards images in it.  I hadn't gotten around to looking at the magazine yet, so I'm glad that you posted this!   I like all of the images, some really terrific ones there,  but that mother-and-child Sandhill Crane one really wins my heart.....


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## lizkat

The season of critters stashing their winter inventory has arrived....

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1446105964671901696/


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## Apple fanboy

One of mine from a few years back.


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## Clix Pix

From a week or so ago.....


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## lizkat

On the way to becoming breakfast for a hungry anhinga:    "...and the last thing I saw was..."

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1449662321039745029/​


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## lizkat

American Bittern demos camouflage done right.  

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1456039444809719809/


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## lizkat

"They're always out of water and yet you drag me over here every weekend."

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1456731462485565445/


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## lizkat

The "I did not know this" gig strikes the center of my understanding of bird migration.   With maps yet.  Fascinating,









						Ask Kenn: Do Migrating Birds Take the Same Routes in Spring and Fall?
					

In this month's column, bird expert Kenn Kaufman explains the phenomenon of "loop migration."




					www.audubon.org


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## lizkat

These guys are wonderful fishers but hilarious and goofy in flight sometimes.


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## Clix Pix

Oh, that is a priceless photo!  So ungainly, so ungraceful in flight, compared to how he usually looks placidly floating in the water or standing on a log proudly "displaying" with his wings wide open......


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## shadow puppet

I had no idea these birds were this smart.  The second video is especially impressive.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1478606205358592000/


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## Yoused

shadow puppet said:


> I had no idea these birds were this smart.



I strongly recommend _Gifts of the Crow_ by Marzluff (one of the premier ornithologists there is). Corvids are stunningly smart birds (and of them, magpies are the prettiest).









						A Profane Crow Made Friends at an Elementary School Before Being Expelled
					

The crow, known as Cosmo, made a stir at Allen Dale Elementary by teaching kids a few choice expletives.




					www.mentalfloss.com
				




Also, they can learn to talk.


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## lizkat

Gotta love this:   "... esteemed Canadian ambassador to the US seen in DC"   

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1479809631321006081/​


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## lizkat

Heh.   This might ACTUALLY be a redneck...

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1479436424751550465/​


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## lizkat

Wow, a bird with impeccable table manners.  But he's a picky little guy, too...

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1484930180724502528/​


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## Yoused

When the subjects are smarter than the researchers









						Altruism in Birds? Magpies Have Outwitted Scientists by Helping Each Other Remove Tracking Devices
					

It was the first time a bird has removed a tracking device, and the second time a bird species showed cooperative "rescue" behavior.




					www.the-scientist.com


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## lizkat

Standoff:   tiny blue tit with a stash of sunflower seeds, vs big ol' sparrow.


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## lizkat

Even a robin passing by may have found it fun:   "always make time to watch the starlings take a bath".

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1510760623822548993/


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## oldBCguy

Bee condo(s) -- crafted and posted in select areas within several BC Municipal parks -- an attempt to help save an important pollinator.


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## lizkat

Domestic "foul" ??


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## lizkat

Definitely we should all have ducks.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1559867148305965056/​


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## lizkat

Wow, didn't even know there was a pygmy kingfisher.  Gorgeous colors, lives in Rwanda.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1568509895216857088/


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## lizkat

The bar-tailed godwit weighs max about 400 grams (under a pound) and hasn't webbed feet, so cannot land on water and get up out of it again.   This five-month old first-time migrant wore a tiny satellite tracking device and flew from Alaska nonstop over the Pacific Ocean to Tasmania in 11 days, a distance of 13560km (8425 miles).   Typically this species loses up to half its body weight making the trip.






						Bar-tailed godwit sets world record with 13,560km continuous flight from Alaska to southern Australia | Birds | The Guardian
					

Satellite tag data suggests five-month-old migratory bird did not stop during voyage which took 11 days and one hour to reach Tasmania




					amp.theguardian.com
				




https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1584815549137440768/


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## Yoused

That is an average of about 30mph. Most humans cannot run 10mph for 50 yards.


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## lizkat

Yoused said:


> That is an average of about 30mph. Most humans cannot run 10mph for 50 yards.




Somehow they know where to go, too...   even not having been there before.   Apparently it's common for first-year godwits to fly together, separately from adults.  So a whole flock can end up at the mercy of whatever "road map" unreels itself in the brains of whichever birds end up as leaders of a given flock.   Interesting to think about that in terms of a possibly random but adaptive trait as climate change goes on:   the younger ones --by chance in this or that year-- may avoid an increasingly risky choice made by birds that have followed a certain flight path before and just stick to it thereafter.

Beats me why people came to use the term "bird-brain" disparagingly.   Maybe they were only applying it to domesticated poultry.  Some turkeys bred for table seem to be pretty stupid compared to their wild cousins.


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## lizkat

Tower of London ravens get a taste of the slam.  (Hmm... law enforcement there saving money on new uniforms, so far.)


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## shadow puppet

lizkat said:


> Domestic "foul" ??
> 
> View attachment 16729​



HA!  I forgot about this and recently shared this elsewhere:


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## lizkat

omg if there is anything cuter than a kingfisher proud of a catch big enough to feed a family,  i dunno what it could be.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1591142370992476160/


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