Robins ~ an ocean apart

 Photo by Amando Babini / EPA

European Robin

(Erithacus rubecula)

The European Robin (pictured above) is known simply as the Robin or Robin Redbreast in the British Isles.   It is a small insectivorus passerine...specifically a chat.   It was once classified as a thrush, but is now known as an Old World flycatcher.

The American Robin (pictured below) is a migratory thrush, named after the European Robin because of it reddish-orange breast.   Despite the similarity of some colour markings, the two species are not closely related.
The name Robin, in both English and German, dates from medieval times, when babies were given the name, meaning 'famed, bright and shining'. 

  

Photo by BarrytheBirder

American Robin

(Turdus migratorius)

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BarrytheBirder

Which came first...the chicken or the egg?

Photo: Michael Probst / A/P

A freshly hatched chick ponders its next move after breaking through its eggshell at Germany's 160-year-old Frankfurt Zoo, which is home some 4,500 animals and 450 species.

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BarrytheBirder

Staying alive...

Photo by Barry Wallace

Canada Geese gleaning grain in January

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BarrytheBirder 

Robins ~ an ocean apart

Photo by BarrytheBirder

American Robin

(Turdus migratorius)

The European Robin (pictured below) is known simply as the Robin or Robin Redbreast in the British Isles.   It is a small insectivorous passerine, specifically a Chat.   It was once classified as a thrush, but is now said to be an Old World flycatcher.

The American Robin, pictured above, is a migratory thrush, named after the European Robin.   Despite the similarity of some colour markings, the two species are not closely related as the European Robin which belongs to the Old World flycatcher family.

Photo: Amando Babani / EPA

World's biggest wildlife reserve...

Photo: The Guardian

2.9 million sq. kms. of southern seas

will create vast Antarctic preserve

A huge reserve of Antarctic seas, twice the size of France, Spain and Germany combined, is to be established in the Weddell Sea and the Ross Sea areas of the southern continent.   At the outset, the protection arrangements are to last for 35 years.   The deal has been agreed upon by 24 countries and the European Union and will increase protection of penguins, whales, Leopard Seals and other species, as well as understanding and mitigating climate change.  No-fishing zones and research preserves are to be established and Greenpeace has joined the effort.   Scientists estimate that the Southern Ocean produces about 3-quarters  of all nutrients that sustain the rest of the world's oceans.
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BarrytheBirder

Bird rescues bird

                                                                                  Photo byTed Bird

SStarling stuck in Schombergg

My long-time friend, Ted Bird, of Schomberg, discovered a Starling, (pictured above), trapped in a birdseed feeder on his backyard deck, a day or so ago.   How it got into the feeder is a mystery, but Ted says it was easily released.  This is a simple reminder of the winter-feeding imperative of our feathered friends.

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BarrytheBirder 

Ontario Winter Birds - 17

 Photos by Geoff Simpson  

Sharp-shinned Hawk

(Accipiter striatus)

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BarrytheBirder

Ontario Winter Birds ~ 16

Photos by BarrytheBirder

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH

(Sitta canadensis)

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BarrytheBirder

Ontario Winter Birds - 15

Photos by BarrytheBirder

White-breasted Nuthatch

(Sitta Carolinensis)

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BarrytheBirder

Ontario Winter Birds - 14

 Photos by BarrytheBirder

SNOWY OWL

(Bubo scandiacus)

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BarrytheBirder

Ontario Winter Birds - 13

 Photos by Barry Wallace

RED-TAILED HAWK

(Buteo jamaicensis)

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BarrytheBirder

Ontario Winter Birds - 12

 Photos by BarrytheBirder

TRUMPETER SWAN

(Cygnus buccinator)

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BarrytheBirder

Ontario Winter Birds - 11

 Photos by BarrytheBirder

WILD TURKEY

( Meleagris gallopavo)

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BarrytheBirder

Ontario Winter Birds ~10

 Photos by Barry theBirder

American Tree Sparrow

(Spizella arborea

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BarrytheBirder

On Canada's West Coast...

Photos by Bob Kemp

What a treat to receive photos from my British Columbia friend, Bob Kemp, during the bitterly cold recent days in southern Ontario.   His photos include the the Steller's Jay, at top; the Anna's Hummingbird, below; then the Northern Shoveler Duck , and at the bottom, a group of Green-winged Teals.   I hope Bob's photos take some of the deep January chill out of your day.

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BarrytheBirder

2-day thaw suits this possum

Photo by Barry Wallace

A bitter cold late December and early January finally broke for a couple of days and brought this opossum out for a day to check on the seeds around the bird feeders.   He or she didn't hang around for long however.

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Barry Wallace  

Ontario Winter Birds ~ 9

Photos by BarrytheBirder 

Snow Bunting

(Plectrophenax nivalis)

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BarrytheBirder

Ontario Winter Birds - 8

Photos by Barry Wallace

VARIED THRUSH

(Ixoreus naevius)

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BarrytheBirder

Ontario Winter Birds ~ 7

Photos by BarrytheBirder

BLUE JAY
(Cyanocitta cristata)

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BarrytheBirder

Ontario Winter Birds - 6

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Chipping Sparrow

(Spizella passerina)

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BarrytheBirder

Ontario Winter Birds ~ 5

 Photos by Barry Wallace

Mourning Dove

(Zenaida macroura)

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BarrytheBirder

Ontaerio Winter Birds ~ 4

     

                                                                     Photos by BarrytheBirder
American Goldfinch
(Carduelis tristis) 

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BarrytheBirder

Ontario Winter Birds ~ 3

 Photos by Barry Wallace

Black-capped Chickadee

(Poecile atricapillus)

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Photo by BarrytheBirder

Ontario Winter Birds ~ 2

 Photos by Barry Wallace

Dark-eyed Junco

Junco Hyemalis

Male

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BarrytheBirder

Ontario Winter birds ~ 1

 Photos by BarrytheBirder

Northern Cardinal

(Cardinalis cardinalis)

MALE

FEMALE

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Barry the Birder