Lesser Prairie Chicken is found in parts of five western US. mid-west states

Photo: James Mundy / Alamy

This Lesser Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) was photographed in Kansas.  Considered 'vulnerable' by the IUCN, it is vulnerable to habitat destruction by human activities and more recently by global warming, which may be greatly reducing the sagebrush ecosystem.

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BarrytheBirder

India's national bird...

Photo: MA Pushpa Kumara / EPA

A Peacock spreads in plumes in windy Damminna, Sri Lanka.   Hindus regard these birds with veneration as they believe they are the mount of the God, Skanda, also known as Murugan, the Hindu god of war.

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BarrytheBirder

Hen Harriers are in trouble...

Photo: Simon Richards

Photo: Laurie Campbell

Hen Harriers are ten times more likely to die or disappear from or near English grouse moors than any other habitat, according to a long-term study which reveals the scale of the illegal bird persecution of the endangered raptor.  Patrick Barkham, writing in the Guardian says Hen Harriers are almost extinct as a breeding bird in England, despite scientific studies indicating there is suitable habitat to support over 300 pairs on English moorland.  Conservationists fear the protected bird is being illegally killed by some gamekeepers because it eats Red Grouse.   However, as the birds are killed in remote locations, often on private estates, there is seldom evidence of wrongdoing and prosecutions are rare.
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BarrytheBirder

Also known as the Black-shouldered Kite...

Photo: Alamy

This pair of strikingly attractive Black-winged Kites (Elanus caeruleus) was photographed recently in Spain.   A distinctive feature of this raptor are the red irises of its eyes.
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BarrytheBirder

One wonders about birds in chaotic Venezuela...

Photo: Matias Delacroix/ AFP / Getty Images

A Blue and Yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna), a.k.a. the Blue and Gold Macaw,  flies through the Chacao neighbourhood in Caracus, Venezuela.   Let's hope birds in this troubled country are less troubled than citizens.
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BarrytheBirder

Seasonal plumage change underway...

Photo: Thomas Warnack / AFP / Getty Images

A flock of Starlings fly through a nature reserve close to the River Danube in Daugendorf, in southern Germany.

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BarrytheBirder

Can spring be far away?

Photo: Pan Zhengguang / Xinhua / Barcroft Images

Two Black-throated Bushtits (Aegithatos concinnus) fly among branches of a flowering tree at Wuxi, in east China's Jiangsu Province.

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BarrytheBirder

Heron in China...

Photo: Liu Wenli / Xinhua / Barcroft Images

A heron approaches a nest in Pinglu County, in north China's Shanxi Province.   As the weather turns warm, hundreds of these herons build and reproduce here in springtime.

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BarrytheBirder

11 of the world's most threatened species are birds...

The World's 100 most threatened species is a compilation of the most threatened animals, plants and fungi in the world.  It was the result of a collaboration between over 8,000 scientists from the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC) along with the Zoological Society of London.   The report was published by the Zoological Society of London in 2012 as the book, Priceless or Worthless?   11 of the 100 species were birds.  Below are the names and photos of those 11 species of birds.

                                                                                                Photo:  Rick elis.simpson

Araripe Manakin

 Photo: Tshering Tobgay

White-bellied Heron

 Photo: Rex Features

Great Indian Bustard

 Photo: Bailiwick Express / Jersey News

Madagascar Pochard

 Photo: Ed Dunens

Amsterdam Albatross

 Photo: Birds Korea

Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Photo: Dave Watts

Northern Bald Ibis

Photo: Phil Chaon

 Liben Lark

 Photo: Tomasz Doron

Edward's Pheasant

 Photo:Mike Greenfelder

Fatuhiva Monarch

Photo: Ichun fai

Chinese Crested Tern

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BarrytheBirder

Survival of the fullest...

                                                                                                    Photo: Anupam Nath / AP

A Cattle  egret feeds its young on a tree along the River Brahmaputra in Gauhati, in the far north-eastern state of Assam, in India.   The orange feathers are part of the breeding plumage.
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BarrytheBirder

Renowned bird artist, Martin Woodcock, passes at 84

Photo: Barbara Woodcock

British bird artist for 45 years, Martin Woodcock, has left the nest, permanently.  He travelled through Africa and Asia painted some of the world's most elusive birdlife.   His masterwork, which occupied three decades, was the huge, multivolume The Birds of Africa, for which he painted more than 200 colour plates.   In the 1980s and 1900s, he painted 5,000 separate illustrations of more than 2,000 different species.   In 1994 he became president of the Africa Bird Club and late in his career he became a poet.

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BarrytheBirder

Mutualism: nature's insecticide...

Photo: Jerome Delay / AP

A Yellow-billed Oxpecker (Buphagus africanus) picks the ear of an impala in Kruger National Park, in South Africa.  Oxpeckers feed on insects and ticks on impalas, giraffes and other wild animals.

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BarrytheBirder

Pink waters down under...

Photo: William West / AFP / Getty Images

A pair of stilts look out over a lake at Westgate Park, near Melbourne, Australia, that has turned pink.   The phenomenon is caused by green algae, reacting to high levels of hot weather and salt.

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BarrytheBirder

Cherry picker...

Photo: Yonhap / EPA

A Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis) pecks at leftovers of Japanese cornelian cherries - or sansuyu - in Ulsan, South Korea.

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BarrytheBirder

World's only alpine parrot...

Photo: Murdo McLoed

An endangered Kea (Nestor notabilis) is seen on the Dart Glacier on the south island of New Zealand.   It is the world's only alpine parrot and is known for its large size and curiosity.

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BarrytheBirder

Outdoor Photographer of the Year 2018

 Photo: Salvador Colvee Nebet

OPOTY 'Wildlife Insight' Winner last year was Salvador Colvee Nebet of Spain for his high-key image of a common kestrel, which he captured by increasing the exposure on a cloudy day when the light wasn't good.

Below, youngster Josiah Launstein of Canada was commended for his photo of an American Goldfinch near the Porcupine Hills, close to Pincher Creek, Alberta.  The goldfinch fits into the colourful scene perfectly while snacking on a seedhead, known in western Canada as "prairie smoke". 

Photo: Josiah Launstein

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BarrytheBirder

Early arrival over King City by Great Blue Huron...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

My first Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodius) of this year flew over my house yesterday.   Much local water is still frozen over, so i'm skeptical about how many fish this Great Blue is going to find in the middle of March here in southern Ontario, north of Toronto.   The Big Blue was heading south when I saw it, so perhaps it was returning a bit south to open water in Lake Ontario.   Sighting it certainly warmed my cold spirits nicely.

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BarrytheBirder

Booby.... the bird with the unfortunate name

    Photo: Sue Forbes

Photo: Kelvin Boot 

A single juvenile Red-footed Booby (Sula sula) is seen above pursuing a flying fish.   The photo was an entry in the 2018 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.   Boobies are found throughout the tropics.   Wikipedia says the English name "booby" was possibly based on the Spanish slang term, meaning "stupid", as these tame birds had a habit of landing on board sailing ships, where they were easily captured, cooked and eaten.   The photo above, at right, shows a mature (brown morph) Red-footed Booby.

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BarrytheBirder

The RAVENMASTER by Christopher Skaife

Photo by Barry Wallace

I've just finished reading The Ravenmaster by Christopher Skaife, Yoeman Warder of the Tower of London.   Any birder will find this book an interesting read.  If you're not a birderwatcher, it may not be worth your time and interest.  This book came to my attention rather inadvertently.   My local library has been supplying me with 50 books by the late Canadian author, Pierre Berton.   The new Ravenmaster book showed up, inexplicably, along with a couple of the Berton books I had reserved.   Being a birder, I thought I would give a whirl.  As I read it, I found myself learning more about this species, in a few days, than I have in my 30 years as  an earnest birder.   There's nine colourful photos, in the centrespread, that add to a pleasurable read.   Despite Scaife's long experience with, and knowledgeable insight about ravens, there's the  persistently mystifying and unexplained behaviour about ravens.

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BarrytheBirder

Bevies of big birds...

Photo:John Crowe / Alamy

Several species of waterfowl have arranged themselves in an orderly fashion for viewing by birders and photographers at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge in California, US.   Species include pelicans, ducks, Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes.

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BarrytheBirder

Animated albatrosses...

Photo Guo Lei / Xinhua / Barcroft

Northern Royal Albatross
(Diomedea sanfordi)

Northern Royal Albatrosses are photographed at Taiaroa Head, in Dunedin, at the southern tip of New Zealand's south island.
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BarrytheBirder

Small bird with a BIG name...

Photo: Hector Gutierrez / Oikonos / AFP / Getty

Juan Fernandez Firecrown Hummingbird

(Sephanoides fernandensis)

Above, a male Juan Fernandez Firecrown Hummingbird is seen at Robinson Crusoe Island, in the Pacific Juan Fernandez Islands, off Chile.   This bird is critically endangered.   What a pity!

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BarrytheBirder

A striking photograph from far north-eastern India

 Photo: EPA

Indian Golden Oriole

(Oriolus kundoo)

Pictured above is an Indian Golden Oriole extracting nectar from Modar flowers on the outskirts of Guwahati, India. Below is a Golden Oriole sitting in a somewhat haphazardly constructed nest.   They are to be found in the Indian subcontinent and central Asia.   Incidentally, the Russian word Oryal means "eagle".

Photo: J.M.Garg

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BarrytheBirder

2018 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition

Photo by Kirsten Woodforth

The photo above by Kirsten Woodforth was one of the 100 finalists in the 2018 competition of photos showcasing the natural wonders of Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea bio-regions.   The bird is a preening Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorynchus funereus), a large Australian Cockatoo measuring up to 65 cm (26") long.

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BarrytheBirder

Swifts spend 99% of their time flying...

                                                                           Photo: N. Camilleri / Lund University / PA

Current Biology, in The Guardian newspaper, states "Observations of Common Swifts during winter months are scarce and roost sites have never been found in sub-Sahara Africa".   But researchers have equipped swifts with accelerometers.  Amazingly, the idea that swifts never stop flying is close to the truth, with birds airborne for over 99% of the time during their 10-month, non-breeding period.

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BarrytheBirder

Tits and blossoms in Wuxi...

Photo: Pan Zhengguang / AFP / Barcroft Images

Black-throated Tits (Aegithalos concinnus) gather around plum blossoms at a plum garden in Wuxi, near Shanghai, in east China's Jiangsu Province, and close to the East China Sea.   I wish I was at a latitude where plum blossoms were in bloom, but alas, Wuxi is 15 degrees of latitude south of my snowy village of King City, Ontario, Canada.   Ahhh well ... only two weeks until spring.

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BarrytheBirder

Searching for food in Africa...

Photo: Daniel Urungu / EPA

A Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) searches for food in a plastic bag after taking it from a market In Uhuru Park, Nairobi, Kenya.
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BarrytheBirder

The deer and its groomer...

                                                                                                Photo: Steve Parsons / PA

A blackbird searches for insects on the head of a deer in Bushy Park, West London, UK.

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BarrytheBirder

"Give the ones you love wings to fly..." ~ Dalai Lama

Photo: Ashwini Bhatia / AP

A somewhat sullen Eurasian Barred Owlet (Glaucidium cuculoides) sits in a bare willow tree in Dharmasala, the headquarters of Kangra District, in far northern India.  Dharmasala is the Dalai Lama's residence and headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile.
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BarrytheBirder

A Rorshach test ... or birds in flight?

Photo: David Tipling / Alamy

A flock of Pied Avocets (Recurvirostra avosetta) soar over the Cley Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve on England's eastern coast in Norfolk.

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BarrytheBirder

Golden Eagle in western Ontario ~ February 20

Photo: J. Glover /Wikipedia

The Ontario Field Ornithologists' website reports that a Golden Eagle was spotted on February 20th at Newbury, Ontario, about 50 kilometres west of London, Ontario.  Golden Eagles are protected under Ontario's Endangered Species Act.  My only sighting of a Golden Eagle was 11 years ago in the Mulmer Hills, at Mansfield, Ontario, in 2008.  I'm ready to see another one anytime!

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BarrytheBirder