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OH MAGNIFY
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“Oh magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.” (Psalms 34:3)
Malayan Peacock-Pheasant Feathers @WikiC
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Category Archives: Birds
The Owl’s Library – By Emma Foster
Western Barn Owl (Tyto alba) by Daves BirdingPix
The Owl’s Library
By Emma Foster
Once there was an owl who lived in the attic of a library. His name was Leonard and his cousin’s name was Art. One day Leonard received a letter from Art telling him that Art had just published his own book.
Leonard watched people come and go to and from the library every day checking out different kinds of books. Leonard decided that it would be a great idea to have his own library. Then he could watch people check out books every day, and Art’s book could be checked out every day as well.
Leonard had to find some land for sale first. He flew to the library Art lived in, and asked for his help. Art told him how the librarian who owned the library he lived in was retiring and had already put the place up for sale. If Leonard couldn’t buy this library, Art wouldn’t have any place to live.
So Leonard went to the librarian. The librarian, Frank, said that he was going to retire and someone else would have to buy the property because he was in so much debt.
Leonard and Art got together and decided to hold a fundraiser to save the library. They began by posting flyers all over town. The fundraiser would be held that Saturday at the library. Leonard and Art decided that they would have a race to raise money for it. Many people who lived nearby, saw the sign, and decided they would run in the race.
On that Saturday, all the people, including many birds, made their way to the starting line to start running the race. Everyone would run or fly around the entire library and down several streets downtown nearby.
Mixed Flock of birds flying in a V Formation- Put together- ©Creative Commons
Art blew the whistle and Leonard watched excitedly s everyone started running as fast as they could. The birds flew up above the buildings to watch everyone run around the library and up the next street. They flew above them to cheer the runners on.
Leonard was excited to see how much money they had raised at the end of the day, so the race seemed to take a really long time. When the first runners ran around the corner to the finish line, Leonard flew after them for the rest if the day.
Barn Owl at Flamingo Gardens by Lee
Everyone cheered when Leonard flew past the finish line with the first runner. When all of the donations were counted up, the total was ten thousand dollars, which was more than enough to keep the library open.
Frank decided that he would still retire, but since Leonard was so excited about keeping the library open, he decided to let Leonard run the library for him when he retired.
Leonard was really happy to run the library, and Art was happy that he would be living in the same library. Every day, Leonard would help people check out books while Art continued to write more books. Both Leonard and Art couldn’t have been happier, especially since they were able to save the library.
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And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. (Job 28:28 KJV)
O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. (Psalms 104:24 KJV)
Well, Emma has given us another enjoyable story to enjoy. I assume that since Leonard and Art will both be living in the library, they will become even “Wiser Owls.”
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Lee’s One Word Monday – 5/16/16
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FAITH
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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 KJV)
Southern Yellowthroat (Geothlypis velata) ©WikiC
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Lee’s Seven Word Sunday – 5/15/16
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FILLED WITH ALL THE FULNESS OF GOD
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“And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” (Ephesians 3:19 KJV)
Copper-rumped Hummingbird (Amazilia tobaci) by Ian
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Sunday Inspiration – Icteridae Family III
Yellow-shouldered Blackbird (Agelaius xanthomus) ©WikiC
All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. (1 Corinthians 15:39 KJV)
Today we finish up the Icteridae Family of New World blackbirds, New World orioles, the Bobolink, Meadowlarks, Grackles, Cowbirds, Oropendolas and Caciques, plus. Trust you enjoyed seeing the first two parts of the family. (Part I, Part II)
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) ©WikiC
“All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.” (1 Corinthians 15:39 KJV)
The last 64 members of the family come from numerous Genus; the Nesopsar, Agelaius, Molothrus, Dives,Ptiloxena, Euphagus, Quiscalus, Hypopyrrhus, Lampropsar, Gymnomystax, Macroagelaius, Macroagelaius, Curaeus, Amblyramphus, Anumara, Gnorimopsar, Oreopsar, Agelaioides, Chrysomus, Xanthopsar and the Pseudoleistes. Some have only one species per genus. For many of you, the genus names mean little, but, if we mention Cowbirds, Grackles, Blackbirds, Baywings and Marshbirds, then you would recognize them that way.
Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (Psalms 124:6-8 KJV)
“Stay Close To Me” ~ ©Hyssongs
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Sunday Inspiration – Icteridae Family I
Sunday Inspiration – Icteridae Family II
Icteridae – Oropendolas, Orioles & Blackbirds Family
Icterid – Wikipedia
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I.O.C. Version 6.2 Update Complete
Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus – now Leuconotopicus villosus) by Daves BirdingPix
“And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field;” (Genesis 2:20a KJV)
Since I.O.C. Version 6.2 Has Come Out, the rest of the changes are all now complete. I finished all the “First Name-Last Name” indexes. Now you can find your bird by either part of its name. Since the English alphabet has 26 letters, that is 51 pages that had to be changed. There aren’t any birds, whose last name begins with “Z.” There are also 9 other Index pages to change. Then the Family page for the individual bird has to be updated. And, I am just a website. Those that do the actual work at I.O.C. are to be commended for the weeks of work that they do.
From the top of the main indexes:
These pages contain Lee’s Birds of the World, based on the IOC World Bird List 6.2 contains 10,637 extant species (and 154 extinct species) classified in 40 Orders, 239 Families (plus 2 Incertae Sedis) and 2289 Genera and 20,490 Subspecies. All the ORDERs and the Families are listed. Please enjoy looking around at the references to the numerous birds that the Lord has created.
(All the Indexes are now up to date and it makes it easier to find them with theTaxonomic List of the Birds. (The use of your “Search” or “Find” on your browser is very useful on long lists. “Control + F” is the shortcut for Find. I use it quite frequently.)
So, what did they do this time? They added 22 new species, changed the names of 9 birds, changed 4 genus names and the hardest to update was the Woodpecker-Picidae family. (Never thought I would get that one straight.)
White-eared Catbird (Ailuroedus buccoides) Houston Zoo by Lee
The new Species added are many times subspecies moving up to full genus status. The family with the most new additions is the Bowerbirds – Ptilonorhynchidae family. There were 3 Catbirds; the White-eared, Green, and Spotted Catbirds. Now, there are 10 Catbirds.
Ochre-breasted Catbird (Ailuroedus stonii) – NEW
White-eared Catbird (Ailuroedus buccoides) NA
Tan-capped Catbird (Ailuroedus geislerorum) – NEW
Green Catbird (Ailuroedus crassirostris) NA
Spotted Catbird (Ailuroedus maculosus) – NEW
Huon Catbird (Ailuroedus astigmaticus) – NEW
Black-capped Catbird (Ailuroedus melanocephalus)
Northern Catbird (Ailuroedus jobiensis) – NEW
Arfak Catbird (Ailuroedus arfakianus) – NEW
Black-eared Catbird (Ailuroedus melanotis) – this was a name change. It was the Spotted Catbird (Ailuroedus melanotis)
Slender-billed Cuckoo-Dove now the Amboyna Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia amboinensis) ©WikiC
The Pigeons, Doves – Columbidae Family also had 8 new additions added. Before doing that, they changed the names of four more birds.
Amboyna Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia amboinensis) – was Slender-billed Cuckoo-Dove
Sultan’s Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia doreya) – NEW
Ruddy Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia emiliana) NA
Enggano Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia cinnamomea) – NEW
Barusan Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia modiglianii) – NEW
Timor Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia magna) – was Bar-necked Cuckoo-Dove
Tanimbar Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia timorlaoensis) – NEW
Flores Sea Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia macassariensis) – NEW
Philippine Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia tenuirostris) NA
Brown Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia phasianella) NA
Ruddy Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia emiliana) ©WikiC
White-faced Cuckoo-Dove (Turacoena manadensis) – was the White-faced Dove
Sula Cuckoo-Dove (Turacoena sulaensis) – NEW
Black Cuckoo-Dove (Turacoena modesta) – was the Black Dove
They also added:
Sula Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus mangoliensis) – NEW
Kosrae Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus hernsheimi) – NEW
As for the Woodpecker family, it was a change of genus names and resuffling that was mostly involved. More on those later. I still want to double check that they are right on the page.
There were other changes, but enough for now. Those are the biggest changes. For once there were not deletions.
For those who are photographers, these changes can affect how the bird names are filed and given. Which means, names of photos have to be updated also. No one in the bird hobby or profession has ever “arrived.” There is always something to do, after the “shoot”.
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- Birds of the World
- Bowerbirds – Ptilonorhynchidae
- Pigeons, Doves – Columbidae
- Woodpeckers – Picidae
- Orders – Alphabetical
- Families – Alphabetical (Scientific)
- Families – Alphabetical (English)
- Families – Taxonomic (Scientific – English)
- Families – Taxonomic (English – Scientific)
- First Name of Bird – 6.2
- Last Name of Bird – 6.2
Lee’s Six Word Saturday – 5/14/16
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BY THE SKILLFULNESS OF HIS HANDS
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“So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.” (Psalm 78:72)
Photo by – Skillfulness of Hands ©Outwalkingthedog
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I.O.C. Version 6.2 Has Come Out
Intermediate Egret (Egretta intermedia) is now (Ardea intermedia) 6.2 Taxonomy Change
“For I am the LORD, I change not;…” (Malachi 3:6 KJV)
The I.O.C. released their latest version, and I have started updated the blog to reflect those changes. It takes time, but I have the “Last, First” name’s lists up and running. In the I. O. C. 6.1 Updated post, I mentioned that I would catch on the next version. It is the hardest one to get ready, so, I decided to do it first.
Streak-chested (Spectacled) Antpitta (Hylopezus perspicillatus) by Ian
As the name implies, the birds are listed as “Sparrow, House” or “Duck, Wood”. These lists are especially handy when trying to find birds that have the same last name, but are not in the same bird family. An example would be Antpitta. Almost all of them are in the Grallariidae family, yet two of them are over in the Gnateater-Conopophagidae family. The Streak-chested is in with most of the Antpittas in the Grallarridae and this Black-crowned and the Rufous-crowned Antpitta are down in the next family of Gnateaters.
Black-crowned Antpitta (Pittasoma michleri) ©WikiC
That is just one example. There are many other uses for the links. Lord willing, I plan on having the normal “First Name-Last Name” list up later this evening. Then I will make the actual species updates.
The IOC World Bird List 6.2 contains 10,637 extant species (and 154 extinct species) classified in 40 Orders, 239 Families (plus 2 Incertae Sedis) and 2289 Genera and 20,601 Subspecies. They added 22 new species, changed the names of 8 species and made 4 taxonomy changes. Those will be updated as soon as the indexes are changed. Stay Tuned!
Links to the Indexes:
Birds of the World – Species Index
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Grallarridae-Gnatcatchers Family
Gnateater-Conopophagidae Family
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Lee’s Five Word Friday – 5/13/16
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THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE
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“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
(1 Corinthians 15:52)
YouTube ~ Aleksandr Voropaev
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Lee’s Four Word Thursday – 5/12/16
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WATERS COMPASSED ME ABOUT
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“The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.” (Jonah 2:3)
Fiordland Penguin (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus) by Ian
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Blue Manakins – Displaying or Lekking
Blue Manakin (Chiroxiphia caudata) by ©AGrosset
And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. (Genesis 1:21-22 KJV)
I came across a couple of videos of Blue Manakins doing what they were commanded to do by the Lord, by multiplying. Well, to do this, they have to attract the females. There are many birds that use the method of the displaying at a lek. The noun, “lek“, is “a traditional place where males assemble during the mating season and available engage in competitive displays that attract females.” The verb, “lekked, lekking” is defined as, “a male to assemble in a lek and engage in competitive displays.” (definitions from Dictionary.com)
Blue Manakin (Chiroxiphia caudata) Female ©CTimm
Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. (Genesis 8:17 KJV)
The Blue Manakins (Chiroxphia caudata) are members of the Manakins – Pipridae Family. They were previously called the Swallow-tailed Manakin. They are found “in north-eastern Argentina, southern and south-eastern Brazil, and Paraguay. Its typical habitat is wet lowland or montane forest and heavily degraded former forest. Males have a bright blue body, black head wings and tail and a red crown. Females and juveniles are olive-green. At breeding time, males are involved in lekking behaviour when they sing and dance to impress females.” (Wikipedia)
Not the clearest, but it is difficult in a jungle to video:
From another lek:
Now for the clearest of all:
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- Manakins – Pipridae Family
- Blue Manakin – Wikipedia
- Manakin – Wikipedia
- Sunday Inspiration – Waxbills and Allies II
- Tickle Me Tuesday – Manakins
- Who Paints The Leaves?
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Lee’s Three Word Wednesday – 5/11/16
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Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus) ©©Flickr
IN THE SEA
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“But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
(Jonah 1:4 KJV)
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Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 