Category Archives: Birdwatching

Avian and Attributes – King

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Grey Kingbird (Tyrannus dominicensis) by Lee at Honeymoon Is land State Park

“For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.” (Psalms 47:7 KJV)

“For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.” (Psalms 74:12 KJV)

“Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.” (Daniel 2:37 KJV)

King

KING, n.
1. The chief or sovereign of a nation; a man invested with supreme authority over a nation, tribe or country; a monarch. Kings are absolute monarchs, when they possess the powers of government without control, or the entire sovereignty over a nation;…

2. A sovereign; a prince; a ruler. Christ is called the king of his church. Psa 2

Grey Kingbird

The Gray Kingbird or Grey Kingbird, also known as pitirre, petchary, or White-breasted Kingbird (Tyrannus dominicensis) is a passerine bird. It breeds from the extreme southeast of the United States, mainly in Florida, through Central America, from Cuba to Puerto Rico as well as eastward towards all across the Lesser West Indies, south to Venezuela, Trinidad, Tobago, the Guiana, and Colombia. Northern populations are migratory, wintering on the Caribbean coast of Central America and northern South America. Several vagrant populations are known to exist in the American Northeast.

This tyrant flycatcher is found in tall trees and shrubs, including the edges of savanna and marshes. It makes a flimsy cup nest in a tree. The female incubates the typical clutch of two cream eggs, which are marked with reddish brown. Tyrannidae – Tyrant Flycatchers Family

More Avian and Attributes

Birds whose last name start with “K”

Grey Kingbird at Honeymoon Island SP

Vol. 2. No. 4, The Kingbird

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[Definitions from Webster’s Dictionary of American English (1828), unless noted. Bird info from Wikipedia plus.]

Avian and Attributes – Justifier

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Rufous-tailed Jacamar (Galbula ruficauda) Male by Ian

“To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” (Romans 3:26 KJV)

Justifier

JUST’IFIER, n. One who justifies; one who vindicates, supports or defends.

1. He who pardons and absolves from guilt and punishment.

That he might be just, and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus. Rom 3.

Rufous-tailed Jacamar

The Rufous-tailed Jacamar (Galbula ruficauda) is a near-passerine bird which breeds in the tropical New World in southern Mexico, Central America and South America as far south as southern Brazil and Ecuador.

The jacamars are elegant brightly coloured birds with long bills and tails. The Rufous-tailed Jacamar is typically 25 centimetres (10 in) long with a 5 centimetres (2 in) long black bill. This bird is metallic green above, and the underparts are mainly orange, including the undertail, but there is a green breast band.

This insectivore hunts from a perch, sitting with its bill tilted up, then flying out to catch flying insects.

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Birds whose last name start with “J”

Galbulidae – Jacamars

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[Definitions from Webster’s Dictionary of American English (1828), unless noted. Bird info from Wikipedia plus.]

Time For A New Update – I.O.C. Version 7.3

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Northern Shoverler (now Spatula clypeata)

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains be shaken into the midst of the seas,” (Psalms 46:2 AMP)

The end of July, the I.O.C. released its newest update for the birds. This website is updated. The official number of extant (living) bird species is now 10,694, and there are 158 extinct species. There are 20,074 subspecies. There are also still 40 Orders of Avian wonders. An Order is a scientific way to categorize related birds. Orders are divided into the 238 Families of birds and 2 Incertae Sedis, with also contain all those subspecies. The two Incertae Sedis groups contain birds that they do not know how to classify.

Emu 20101021 Lowry Pk Zoo

Emu Lowry Pk Zoo by Lee

All the Family pages are up to date, plus all the First and Last Name indexes. Several challenges were to discard a Family page and make a new page. The Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) was by itself in the Dromaiidae family. The Cassowaries, also part of the Casuariiformes Order, are in the Casuariidae family. The Emu is now part of the Casuariidae family.

Sapayoa (Sapayoa aenigma) ©WikiC

The Sapayoa (Sapayoa aenigma) is now in its own Sapayoidae Family. It was previously in with the Broadbills of the Eurylaimidae family. This Sapayoa is now all by itself and the Emu now has company. :)

Another major time-consuming challenge was the resequencing of the Scolopacidae Family. That is the Sandpiper, Snipes and allies group. It appears they again tossed all the names in the air and let them settle where ever. It took considerable time to rearrange this family. With all the DNA studies, there will be other air tosses in the future.

Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa) Zoo Miami by Lee

Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa) Zoo Miami by Lee

The Duck Family also had a bit of scrambling and genus names changed. They split some of the Anas genus away. The Shovelers and Teals are now in the Spatula genus, and the Baikal Teal is Sibirionetta formosa.

Grey Noddy (Procelsterna albivitta) by Ian 5

Grey Noddy (Procelsterna albivitta) by Ian

The Blue Noddy is now (Anous ceruleus) and the Grey Noddy is (Anous albivittus). They were Procelsterna.

There were other changes which will be mentioned in Part 2 of this update. There were 14 new birds added and 2 deleted. Several other groups of birds were moved to other families.

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I.O.C. World Bird List

Birds of the World

Last Names of Birds

First Names of Birds

Bird Families

Avian and Attributes – Immutable

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Marshall's Iora (Aegithina nigrolutea) by Nikhil Devasar

Marshall’s Iora (Aegithina nigrolutea) by Nikhil Devasar

“That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:” (Hebrews 6:18 KJV)

Immutable

IMMU’TABLE, a. [L.immutabilis; in and mutabilis.] invariable; unalterable; not capable or susceptible of change.
That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation. Heb 6.

Marshall’s Iora

The White-tailed Iora or Marshall’s Iora (Aegithina nigrolutea), is a songbird in the genus Aegithina found in parts of India and Sri Lanka. Calls are strident whistles; songs are musical to human ears. The Ioras are small to medium-small sized passerines, ranging from 11.5 to 15.5 cm (4.5–6.1 in) in length. Ioras have thin legs, and their bills are proportionately longer.

Ioras eat insects and spiders, which they find by nimbly gleaning the leaves of the slenderest outer twigs.  Aegithinidae Family

More Avian and Attributes Articles

Birds of the World – Common Iora and Allies

Sunday Inspiration –  Vangas and Friends

Birds whose last name start with “I”

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[Definitions from Webster’s Dictionary of American English (1828), unless noted. Bird info from Wikipedia plus.]

Avian and Attributes – Holy

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Lewin's Honeyeater (Meliphaga lewinii) by W Kwong

    Lewin’s Honeyeater (Meliphaga lewinii) by W Kwong

“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16 KJV)

Holy

HO’LY, a.
1. Properly, whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense. Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections. Applied to the Supreme Being, holy signifies perfectly pure, immaculate and complete in moral character; and man is more or less holy, as his heart is more or less sanctified, or purified from evil dispositions. We call a man holy, when his heart is conformed in some degree to the image of God, and his life is regulated by the divine precepts. Hence, holy is used as nearly synonymous with good, pious, godly.
Be ye holy; for I am holy. 1 Pet 1.

2. Hallowed; consecrated or set apart to a sacred use, or to the service or worship of God; a sense frequent in Scripture; as the holy sabbath; holy oil; holy vessels; a holy nation; the holy temple; a holy priesthood.

3. Proceeding from pious principles, or directed to pious purposes; as holy zeal.

4. Perfectly just and good; as the holy law of God.

5. Sacred; as a holy witness.

Holy of holies, in Scripture, the innermost apartment of the Jewish tabernacle or temple, where the ark was kept, and where no person entered, except the high priest, once a year.

Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, the Divine Spirit; the third person in the Trinity; the sanctifier of souls.

Holy war, a war undertaken to rescue the holy land, the ancient Judea, from the infidels; a crusade; an expedition carried on by Christians against the Saracens in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries; a war carried on in a most unholy manner.

Lewin’s Honeyeater

The Lewin’s Honeyeater (Meliphaga lewinii) is a bird that inhabits the ranges along the east coast of Australia. It has a semicircular ear patch, pale yellow in color. The name of this bird commemorates the Australian artist John Lewin.

Lewin’s honeyeaters feed mostly on fruits, favoring berries and small fruits, but also eat insects and nectar. Birds are normally seen alone, but may form loose groups of up to 10 birds. They feed in the upper branches and on the trunks of trees. Some insects are caught in flight. Meliphagidae Family

More Avian and Attributes Articles

Sunday Inspiration – Honeyeaters

Birds whose last name start with “H”

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[Definitions from Webster’s Dictionary of American English (1828), unless noted. Bird info from Wikipedia plus.]

Avian and Attributes – Glorious

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Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) ©WikiC

“Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Exodus 15:11 KJV)

Glorious

GLO’RIOUS, a. [L. gloriosus. See Glory.]
1. Illustrious; of exalted excellence and splendor; resplendent in majesty and divine attributes; applied to God. Exo 15:11.
2. Noble; excellent; renowned; celebrated; illustrious; very honorable; applied to men, their achievements, titles, &c.
Let us remember we are Cato’s friends,
And act like men who claim that glorious title.
3. Boastful; self-exulting; haughty; ostentatious.

Ruffed Grouse

The ruffed grouse differs from other grouse species in its courtship display. Unlike other grouse species, the ruffed grouse relies entirely on a non-vocal acoustic display, known as drumming. The drumming itself is a rapid, wing-beating display that creates a low-frequency sound, starting slow and speeding up (thump…thump…thump..thump-thump-thump-thump). Even in thick woods, this can be heard for a quarter-mile or more (~1/2 km).

The ruffed grouse spends most of its time quietly on the ground, and when surprised, may explode into flight, beating their wings very loudly. In the winter, they will burrow into the snow for warmth, and may suddenly burst out of the snow when approached too closely.

Phasianidae Family

Watch video of Ruffed Grouse Druming

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Birds whose last name start with “G”

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[Definitions from Webster’s Dictionary of American English (1828), unless noted. Bird info from Wikipedia plus.]

Avian and Attributes – Faithful

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Peregrine Falcon In Flight by Raymond Barlow

Peregrine Falcon In Flight by Raymond Barlow

“Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;” (Deuteronomy 7:9 KJV)

Faithful

FA’ITHFUL, a.
1. Firm in adherence to the truth and to the duties of religion.
Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. Rev 2.
2. Firmly adhering to duty; of true fidelity; loyal; true to allegiance; as a faithful subject.
3. constant in the performance of duties or services; exact in attending to commands; as a faithful servant.
4. Observant of compact, treaties, contracts, vows or other engagements; true to one’s word. A government should be faithful to its treaties; individuals, to their word.
5. True; exact; in conformity to the letter and spirit; as a faithful execution of a will.
6. True to the marriage covenant; as a faithful wife or husband.
7. Conformable to truth; as a faithful narrative or representation.
8. Constant; not fickle; as a faithful lover or friend.
9. True; worthy of belief. 2 Tim 2.

Peregrine Falcon

While its diet consists almost exclusively of medium-sized birds, the peregrine will occasionally hunt small mammals, small reptiles, or even insects. Reaching sexual maturity at one year, it mates for life and nests in a scrape, normally on cliff edges or, in recent times, on tall human-made structures. [italics added for emphasis]

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Birds whose last name start with “F”

Northern Raven and Peregrine Falcon: Two Birds Supporting the Manx Coat of Arms

Birds of the Bible – Peregrine Falcon and Goshawk

Peregrine Falcon

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[Definitions from Webster’s Dictionary of American English (1828), unless noted. Bird info from Wikipedia plus.]

Avian and Attributes – Everlasting

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Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) by Ray Barlow

“Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.” (Psalms 93:2 KJV)

Everlasting

EVERL`ASTING, a. [ever and lasting.] Lasting or enduring for ever; eternal; existing or continuing without end; immortal.
The everlasting God, or Jehovah. Gen 21.
Everlasting fire; everlasting punishment. Mat 18:25.
1. Perpetual; continuing indefinitely, or during the present state of things.
I will give thee, and thy seed after thee, the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. Gen 17.
The everlasting hills or mountains. Genesis. Habakkuk.
2. In popular usage, endless; continual; unintermitted; as, the family is disturbed with everlasting disputes.
EVERL`ASTING, n. Eternity; eternal duration, past and future.
From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Psa 90.

Eagle is a common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae; it belongs to several groups of genera that are not necessarily closely related to each other.

Most of the 60 species of eagles are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just 14 species can be found – two in North America, nine in Central and South America, and three in Australia. Accipitridae Family

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Birds whose last name start with “E”

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[Definitions from Webster’s Dictionary of American English (1828), unless noted. Bird info from Wikipedia plus.]

Avian and Attributes – Deliverer

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Noah taking the Dove back on board the Ark. (Ark Encounter by Lee)

“And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;” (2 Samuel 22:2 KJV)

Deliverer

DELIVERER, n.
1. One who delivers; one who releases or rescues; a preserver.
The Lord raised up a deliverer to Israel. Judges 30.
2. One who relates, or communicates.

The Dove are perching birds, which along with the pigeons belong to the taxonomic family Columbidae. They are perhaps best known as birds of gentle nature, but are also popular game birds. The symbolism of a white dove (though most “white doves” are actually white homing pigeons), has been used for peace, purity, and innocent love. Columbidae Family

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Birds whose last name start with “D”

(Dove – Creation Wiki)

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[Definitions from Webster’s Dictionary of American English (1828), unless noted.]

Avian and Attributes – Creator

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Major Mitchell's Cockatoo (Lophochroa leadbeateri) By Ian

Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo (Lophochroa leadbeateri) By Ian

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.” (Isaiah 40:28 KJV)

Creator

CREATOR, n. [L.]
1. The being or person that creates.
Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth. Eccl 12.
2. The thing that creates, produces or causes.

Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo

With its soft-textured white and salmon-pink plumage and large, bright red and yellow crest, it is often described as the most beautiful of all cockatoos. It is named in honour of Major Sir Thomas Mitchell, who wrote, “Few birds more enliven the monotonous hues of the Australian forest than this beautiful species whose pink-coloured wings and flowing crest might have embellished the air of a more voluptuous region.” Cacatuidae Family

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Birds whose last name starts with “C”

Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo – Wikipedia

Parrot – Creation Wiki

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[Definitions from Webster’s Dictionary of American English (1828), unless noted. Bird info from Wikipedia plus.]

Airplane Fingers – Creation Moments

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AIRPLANE FINGERS

” Then God said, ‘Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.'” Genesis 1:20

Aerodynamics, the science of flight, is a highly complex science. This is because many complex forces are acting on anything in flight. These forces include the power available for flight and drag produced by the flying object. Each of these categories include many additional forces that depend on the shape of the flying object, the shape and length of the wings, the speed and the altitude. This is why, for example, high altitude planes have very long wings.

Learjet 60 with winglets ©Myfreewallpapers

One critical force that has been under recent study is the turbulence that forms at the tips of the wings. The shorter the wing, the more energy consuming turbulence forms at the tip of the wing. Different wing designs have been tried to decrease this turbulence. Engineers have had some success reducing this turbulence with winglets. You may have seen these small vertical wings on the wingtips of some airplanes. Swiss researchers have been studying vultures with the hope of finding a better solution to this problem because vultures have a relatively short wing span that has proven to be surprisingly efficient. They discovered that this is because the feathers at the vultures’ wing tips spread out. They then tested a wing with a finger-like cascade of blades at the end.

Turkey Vulture in flight ©World Bird Sanctuary

Their new wing was more than four times more efficient than the average wing design in use today! It takes a great deal of faith in evolution to think that natural selection possesses such knowledge of aerodynamics. Clearly the vulture was designed by an intelligent Creator Who understands aerodynamics even better than we do!

Prayer:
I thank You, dear Father, that we can see Your wisdom in the creation. Amen.
Notes:
Wingfingers, Flying/January 1999, p.108. Photo: Learjet 60 with winglets. Courtesy of Adrian Pingstone. (PD)

©Creation Moments, with Permission, 2017

Wingtip Device – Wikipedia

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Avian and Attributes – Beautiful

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Beautiful Firetail (Stagonopleura bella) M ©WikiC

“In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.” (Isaiah 4:2 KJV)

Beautiful

BEAU’TIFUL, a. bu’tiful. [beauty and full.]
1. Elegant in form, fair, having the form that pleases the eye. It expresses more than handsome.
2. Having the qualities which constitute beauty, or that which pleases the senses other than the sight; as a beautiful sound.

The beautiful firetail (Stagonopleura bella) is a common species of estrildid finch found in Australia. The species inhabits temperate shrubland habitats in Australia. The beautiful firetail mainly feeds on grass seed and Casuarina and Melaleuca seeds. Small insects and snails occasionally complement this herbivore diet. Estrildidae Family

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Beautiful Firetail – Wikipedia

Birds whose first name start with “B”

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[Definitions from Webster’s Dictionary of American English (1828), unless noted. Bird info from Wikipedia plus.]