Tag Archives: Birdwatching

Jacanas – Jacanidae Family

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Comb-crested Jacana (Irediparra gallinacea) by Ian's Birdway

Comb-crested Jacana (Irediparra gallinacea) by Ian's Birdway

Jacanas or Jaçana are in the Jacanidae family of the CHARADRIIFORMES order. Their family is unique in that the Lord especially adapted them to feed among lily pads of the shallow freshwater wetlands throughout the tropical zone. They have long toes and claws that help distribute their weight over the lily pads. As they walk around on the pads, they look like they are “walking on water.” “They are found around the world, with two in the New World (Northern and Wattled), two in Africa (Africa and Lesser), the Madagascar in Madagascar, two in Asia (Pheasant-tailed and Bronze Winged) and the Comb-crested in Australasia. They are sometimes known as a “lily-trotter” or “Jesus birds.”

The females are larger that the males and the males take responsibility of the incubation of the eggs. Some of the Jacana females mate with up to 4 males and then leave them to sit on the eggs. She does help in the feeding of the newbies.

Their diets consist mainly of insects, other invertebrates and seeds picked from the floating vegetation or the water’s surface. Most do not migrate except the Pheasant-tailed Jacana which travels from the north of its range into peninsular India and southeast Asia.

I was surprised that the Purple Gallinule was not in the same Order, but they are in the GRUIFORMES order, not the CHARADRIIFORMES order. We watch the Purple Gallinules often here and they also have big feet like the Jacana’s.

Check out A Noisy, Bird-Brained Harem from Creation Moments. It tells how one of the four males tries to get attention for himself.

Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. (Psalms 102:25 KJV)

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Birds of the Bible – Migration

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Wood Stork by Lee

Wood Stork by Lee

Even the stork in the sky Knows her seasons; And the turtledove and the swift and the thrush Observe the time of their migration; But My people do not know The ordinance of the LORD. (Jeremiah 8:7 NASB)

That time of the year is approaching and for some birds, it has already started. What? Migration. The birds have been busy all spring and summer having babies, feeding them, raising them, training them, and now it is time to go elsewhere. That is, if they are the kind of bird that migrates. Why do the migrate? Most because of food sources or to stay warm. The hardy “residents” will stay behind and “hold down the fort” so to say.

God has put the instinct in them when they were created to know to “migrate.” Depending on which version of the Bible your read, the stork:

  • knoweth her appointed times
  • is conscious of her fixed times
  • know when it’s time to fly away for the winter and when to come back
  • know when it is time to return
  • knows her seasons

And the dove and swallow and crane (depending on version):

  • observe the time of their coming
  • Observe the time of their migration
  • keep to the times of their coming
  • know when it’s time to migrate
  • watch the time of their coming

For those of us down here in Florida, we get excited because we will finally get to observe some birds as they pass by or as they get here for the winter “vacation.”

Please check out these previous articles about migration. I think you will find them very interesting:

Interesting Things – Amazing Bird Migration
Interesting – Migration and Mechanics of Flight
Pacific Golden Plover
Birds of the Bible – Hawk Migration
A Lesson from the Stork
Too Much Knowledge?
Bird Migration Mistakes – released today
Not a bird, but:
Interesting Things – Dragonflies II

Updated Below: 10-15-09

Migrating Storks from Europe circling the hot air thermals over the Sinai to gain altitude before crossing the Red Sea and continuing on their migration into Africa by dell09875

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Bird Migration Mistakes

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Magnolia Warbler by Ray

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. (Rom 8:18-22 NASB)

Confused Birds – http://www.creationmoments.net/radio/listen.php?t=476
“Birds that make mistakes in navigation are called vagrants.”
Copyright © 2009 Creation Moments • All Rights Reserved

See: Vagrant Eastern Wood-Warblers

California Vagrant Birds – a set on Flickr

Lee’s Birds of the World

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Tufted Coquette (Lophornis ornatus) by Birdway

Tufted Coquette (Lophornis ornatus) by Birdway

Lee’s Birds of the World, is based on the I.O.C., 2.1 version of 2009. It lists 39 Orders, 224 Families, and 10,340 individual Species. This is new and still being developed. All the ORDERs and the Families are listed. More indexes, photos, links, and Scriptures are still being added. These pages are under the Birds-World Tab above.  Please enjoy looking around at the references to the numerous birds that the Lord has created. It appears by the numbers of the birds that they have done as the verses below declare.

So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its 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 birds multiply on the earth. (Genesis 1:21-22 NKJV)

All photographs have been used with the permission of the photographers listed or are in the public domain. Please honor their copyrights.

Birds of the World Pages Update

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Barred Antshrike by Ian

Barred Antshrike (Thamnophilus doliatus) by Ian

I have been busy working on the Birds of the World pages for their Orders and Families. I think I have them all done at least as far as I know. They are linked together and I hope to have some better Indexes and then start putting in some more pictures and information to go with each. Considering that there are over 10,300 birds, I may be awhile. Actually, the 224 bird families are the most important. So, that will be the starting place.

While doing all this, I have been amazed at the English names of the birds. I will be forthcoming in a blog about them. I want to find out more. For now, here are a just few of interest:

  • Antbird, Antwren, Antthrush, Antvireo, Antshrike, Flyrobin, Grasshopper Warbler (are all these small?)
  • Babblers, Chats, Chatterer (do they talk too much?) or Screamer?
  • Bee-eater, Berryeater, Berrypecker, Flycatcher, Flowerpecker, Flowerpiercer, Fruiteater, Honeyeater
  • Gnatcatcher, Gnateater, Gnatwren
  • Bellbird (does he ring?)
  • Butcherbird (does he run around with a meat cleaver?)
  • Friarbird (does he have a special collar?)
  • Cuckoo, Cuckoo-Dove, Cuckoo-Hawk, Cuckooshrike, Drongo-Cuckoo, Emerald Cuckoo
  • Dollarbird, Catbird, Cowbird, Sunbird, Figbird, Grassbird, Mousebird, Honeybird
  • Fantail, Flufftail, Firetail, Finfoot, Forktail
  • Go-away bird
Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus) by Ian

Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus) by Ian

See what happens when you play around with too much data. The Bible says that Adam named all the critters, and there probably was not 10,000+ bird species at that time, but it would have been interesting to see what the first birds were called. It would also be interesting just to know how many “kinds” there were.

“Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.” (Genesis 2:19 NKJV)

Lesson from Smallest Bird – by April Lorier

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Lesson from smallest bird”

I was sitting in my car, waiting — I do not like waiting! — and a flock of birds fluttered up to me with expectant looks and frantic behavior. There were birds of all colors, including some with vibrant yellow eyes. I watched them display their pecking order and smiled. Just like people I thought.

Their chatter increased in volume and rhythm as they tried to convince me they would settle for the smallest crumbs of anything I had to offer. I especially noticed one little bird, the smallest of the flock, because the larger birds kept belaboring the point that he was least among the birds. Poor baby, I said as I leaned towards my glove compartment. Let’s see what I can find.

Voila! There was a package of two power bars! Excitedly, I smashed them up and threw them outside the window. That started a race for the crumbs! I noticed all of the birds except one rushed for the smallest crumbs as they pushed the little one out of the way.

I kept watching, hoping he would find at least one crumb. Then a funny thing happened. The smallest bird eyed a very large piece of the power bar and snatched it up. Then he quietly waddled away.

Meanwhile, the larger birds kept frantically scrounging for more crumbs, totally unaware that the best had already been taken away.

“Look at that,” The Spirit whispered, “all of the others settled for crumbs while one bird got enough to eat on all day. How many times do you settle for crumbs?”

It was like a light bulb went off inside my soul. God desires to give us riches beyond our wildest expectations, but we are living frantically in the moment and settling for what we can have NOW: mere crumbs, compared to what we could have if we but trusted in the character of God, our Heavenly Father!

Oh, God, thank You for the gift of this lesson. You not only provide for the birds, but use them to take Your children deeper in You.

(c) 2007-2009 April Lorier

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20

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Supplied by and reprinted with permission of April Lorier.

See more of April’s Articles

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Sparrows and God Care – by April Lorier

July 15, 2009 by Lee

First Family Page Completed – Ardeidae

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Great-billed Heron (Ardea sumatrana) by Ian

Great-billed Heron (Ardea sumatrana) by Ian

I just completed the first Birds of the World Family page. Well, at least as far as I can find photos for it. I now only have 223 more family pages to go.

Check it out at Family – Ardeidae It is part of the PELECANIFORMES Order. At least according to the latest IOC 2.1 version. I hope you enjoy the photos of the different Bitterns, Egrets and Herons.

Update: 08/09/09

Finished the Family – Struthionidae (Ostriches) page today. It is in the Order – STRUTHIONIFORMES Now at 2 down and 222 to go. Plus 37 partial ones – no photos yet.

Updated: 08/13/09

I finished all 229 (I found some birds that had flown from my original lists)  Bird Family pages as far as the list of each species within the families. Now I am going to make some  indexes to help find the different birds in either taxonomic or alphabetical order. Then I will be adding various photos to each family.

The Birds, the Economy, and My Provider – by April Lorier

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There I was, snoozing in my lazyboy when I was awakened by such a clatter, I rose from my chair to see what was the matter! I felt like Tippi Hedren and it was The Birds all over again. Just outside my window were dozens of sparrows fighting over a snippet of orange peel! I mean fierce terrorist fighting!

I watched in amazement as one of those little sparrows actually made off with the orange peel, unnoticed, and the rest of the birds were still doing battle. I thought, “Isn’t that the way it goes? Anger got the best of them.”

No one has to tell you the economy is pinching your style. As more and more people enter the survival mode we will see anger rising in more people. Fear does terrible things to people. It’s not displayed as fear, but as anger. And as the economy gets worse, we will see more and more vigilante behavior.

People tend to forget that God said He watched over the sparrows and I am worth far more to Him than a sparrow. That fear takes over and we lose sight of our Provider who is far greater than any recession or depression.

I’m so thankful for the reminder from Him of His Sovereignty over all things. Were it not for these birds, I might have forgotten Who’s actually in control.

(c) 2009 April Lorier

You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. Revelation 4:11
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Supplied by and reprinted with permission of April Lorier.

See more of April’s articles.

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Sparrows and God Care – by April Lorier

July 15, 2009 by Lee

April Lorier writes great articles on her “Christian Nature” blog and has agreed to be a guest author. She is allowing us to reproduce some of her very thoughtful and inspiring challenges about birds and the Creator. I trust you will be as blessed by her writings as I am. This is the first one.

Sparrows and God Caresparrow-whiteThroat1 I have written about sparrows before and feel a need to revisit the subject. There are just so many sparrows flying around!Ethel Waters made “His Eye Is On The Sparrow” famous many years ago, and it’s still a master piece. It serves to remind us that if God values sparrows and cares for them, then certainly He does the same for us. He created human beings for companionship, and through Christ we can have that relationship.

One Sunday morning at church, we sang “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” as a congregational hymn. It was a rare opportunity to give voice to a song usually performed by a soloist.

During the first chorus, I noticed a friend who was weeping so hard that he couldn’t sing. Knowing a bit of what he had been through recently, I recognized his tears as ones of joy at realizing that, no matter what our situation, God sees, knows, and cares for us.

Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29-31). The Lord spoke these words to His 12 disciples as He sent them out to teach, heal, and bear witness of Him to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (v.6). He told them that even though they would face persecution for His sake, they should not be afraid, even of death (vv.22-26).

When threatening circumstances press us to lose hope, we can find encouragement in the words of this song: “I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free. For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.” We are under His watchful care.

If God sees the sparrow’s fall,
Paints the lilies short and tall,
Gives the skies their azure hue,
Will He not then care for you? —Anon.

When you put your cares in God’s hands, He puts His peace in your heart.

2009 April Lorier

Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? –
Job 12

Supplied by and reprinted with permission of April Lorier

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Australian Hobby

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Australian Hobby by Ian

Australian Hobby by Ian

Bird of the Week: Australian Hobby by Ian Montgomery

“This, as you’ll see could also be titled the Birder and the Bird or, if you’re into puns, His Hobby and the Hobby.

Cars can make good hides, or blinds, as some birds take much less notice of them than of people on foot. This Australian Hobby, or Little Falcon as the species is sometimes called, proved to be quite approachable by car and I was able to park below the tree in which it was perched and take lots of photos through the car window. This was when we were at wonderful Bowra property in SW Queensland last November and, little did I know I was being photographed by my friends in the car behind.
Maybe I should qualify the comment and say that large, spacious cars make good hides for photographers with large lenses.  You can guess from seeing my right foot on the window frame, that I had to indulge in spine-threatening contortions to get the camera at the right angle. There are no half-measures when it comes to taking photos for the Bird of the Week.
Australian Hobbies are widespread throughout Australia but not particularly common, so it’s always good to see one. They’re very dashing, like a small (to 35cm/14in in lenght) Peregrine Falcon and relentlessly pursue small birds and, at dusk, large insects. They occur in a wide variety of habitats with trees, so you are just as like to see them in leafy suburbs as in the drier forests of the outback.
Ian using car as blind

Ian using car as blind

I’m getting close to finishing re-working the website with the new gallery layouts and Next and Previous Family links on the global family index pages. Soon it will be possible to browse through the entire site in taxonomic order and I’m planning other ways to make the site easier to navigate around. The wet season seems to be ending here, so I’m planning some birding trips in the next couple of months, concentrating on Australian birds. I have now finished putting up all the American species from my trip last year.

Recent updates include:
Best wishes,
Ian
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Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: +61-7 4751 3115
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au

Newsletter supplied by and used with Ian’s Permission.

To see more Ian’s Bird of the Week newsletters – CLICK HERE

Lee’s Additions:

 

The Australian Hobby is in the Falconiformes Order and the Falconadae family which includes Falcons, Caracaras, Hobbies, Falconets and Kestrels. Falcons are one of the Birds of the Bible and you can check some information at my Falcons page to see links to articles, photos, and videos of the Falcon family. Most of the Falcon Family Photos are by Ray’s Wildlife Photography who shoots mostly North American birds. Both he and Ian are fantastic photographers.

As for the earth, from it comes bread, But underneath it is turned up as by fire; Its stones are the source of sapphires, And it contains gold dust. That path no bird knows, Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it. (Job 28:5-7 NKJV)

See Also:
Australian Hobby – Wikipedia
Falconidae by Wikipedia
Falcons Falconadae by List of Bird Families of the World, 9th ed.

Birds of the Bible – Bitterns II

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I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts. (Isaiah 14:23 KJV)

Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) by Ian

Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) by Ian

I introduced the Bittern in the first Birds of the Bible – Bittern and now I want to add some more information about them. The Bitterns belong to the Order called Pelecaniformes which includes Ibises, Spoonbills, Herons, Bitterns, Frigatebirds, Hamerkop, Shoebills, Pelicans, Gannets, Boobies, Cormorants, Anhingas, and Darters. All of these birds like to hang out around watery places and are related. Within the Pelecaniformes order, there are different families. The Bittern is in the Ardeidae family. Below is a list of the Bitterns within this family.

Belonging to the Ardeidae family, they also have the usual long legs, long necks, and are wading birds. They are associated with water, especially in breeding season. Whereas the herons and egret stand out in the open, the bitterns like to conceal themselves in cattail and sedge marshes, bulrushes, etc. They also have shorter legs and a heavier body. Their “cryptic plumage and upright poses helps to merge with the brown upright reeds…” I’ve had the privilege to see a few of them, and they are hard to find. God has provided them with this protection and it helps them in finding their food. Fish is their favorite food, but they will also consume frogs, small snakes, and other things that pass by.

Here in North America, we only have the American and Least Bitterns. I sometimes confuse them with the smaller herons, like a Green Heron. You can tell they are in the same family (ardeidae).

Here is the sounds of an American Bittern and a Least Bittern from Stokes Bird Songs

But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. (Isaiah 34:11)

CLASS – AVES, Order –PELECANIFORMES, Family – Ardeidae – Herons, Bitterns

Australian Little Bittern (Ixobrychus dubius) by Ian

Australian Little Bittern (Ixobrychus dubius) by Ian

Herons, Bitterns – Ardeidae Family
Zonerodius
Forest Bittern (Zonerodius heliosylus)
Botaurus
Eurasian Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) – Video
Australasian Bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus) by Ian
American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) – Video – Video2
Pinnated Bittern (Botaurus pinnatus) by Daves BirdingPix  – Video
Ixobrychus
Stripe-backed Bittern (Ixobrychus involucris)
Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) by Jim Fenton – Video
Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) by Ian
Black-backed Bittern (Ixobrychus dubius)
New Zealand Bittern (Ixobrychus novaezelandiae †)
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis) by Ray Barlow – Video
Von Schrenck’s Bittern (Ixobrychus eurhythmus)
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus) by Phil Kwong – Video
Dwarf Bittern (Ixobrychus sturmii)
Dupetor
Black Bittern (Dupetor flavicollis) by Nikhil Devasar – Video

Different Family
Sunbittern – Eurypygidae Family
Eurypyga
Sunbittern (Eurypyga helias) – Video – Video2

“Recent DNA evidence suggests that this family may in fact belong to the Pelecaniformes.5, From Wikipedia  They used to be in the Ciconiformes family, where most older guide books still have them. My list are from the IOC’s World Lists, 3.1 version.

Family#26 – Ardeidae

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Ian’s Bird of the Week – Chowchilla

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This week’s photo wouldn’t win any photographic competitions, but the Chowchilla – http://www.birdway.com.au/orthonychidae/chowchilla/index.htm – is an interesting bird and there’s a story to go with the photo.

Chowchilla - Orthonychidae family - by Ian

Chowchilla – Orthonychidae family – by Ian

The Chowchilla is one of two Australian members of a rather obscure family, Orthonychidae, or Logrunners. The Chowchilla, which used to be called the Northern Logrunner, is a wet tropics endemic and is reasonably common in dense rainforest between Paluma, north of Townsville – where this photo of a male was taken – and Cooktown, north of Cairns. They’re best known for their loud, ringing calls – ‘chow, chowchilla, etc’ – made by family groups at dawn and dusk to maintain their territories. It’s one of the great sounds of the wet tropics rainforest.

When they aren’t loudly proclaiming their sovereignty, they use their very strong legs to rummage around in leaf litter looking for food. If you’re lucky, you can hear them scratching around and you may seem them dart across the path in front of you. They are reasonably approachable, but usually stay well hidden in the tangled undergrowth of the rainforest which – in combination with the poor light – makes them very hard to photograph. The females, incidentally, are brighter than the males and have a rufous breast and white belly, though in the gloom of the rainforest, rufous is perhaps less conspicuous than white.

On this occasion, I was waiting – flash at the ready not long before sunset – in the hope that one or other of a small group of Chowchillas would cross the path, when I felt a faint wriggling sensation on my lip and then on my upper gum. ‘Yuk, leech!!!’ I thought and was then faced with the dilemma of whether I should remain still in the hope of getting some photos or try to get rid of the leech. Clearly, the photo opportunity won the tussle and I then had the problem of extracting the leech. It’s hard enough to grab hold of one at the best of times, but quite impossible when its covered in saliva and out of sight. In the end, I had to make my way back to the car, half a kilometer away so I could use the mirror to find and get rid of it.

Anyway, back to the Ornthonychidae. The other Australian species is the (Southern) Logrunner – http://www.birdway.com.au/orthonychidae/logrunner/index.htm – which has a limited distribution in coastal forests in southeast Queensland and New South Wales as far south as the Illawarra – common in SE Queensland, much rarer in NSW. There is a third species in New Guinea, the New Guinea Logrunner, which looks like the Southern Logrunner. There are also a few other little known species in New Guinea – the Greater and Lesser Melampittas and the Blue-capped Ifrita – which may belong to this family too, but little is known about them.
I’m at last reasonably up-to-date in posting birds to the website, so I’ve now started adding photos of other wildlife, starting with Australian mammals. This doesn’t mark any great change in emphasis, but I do photograph other wildlife when I stumble across them and I do get requests for photos of things other than birds. So far, I’ve added Platypus and Echidna and Antechinus (marsupial mouse) – http://www.birdway.com.au/dasyuridae/index.htm – and will soon add more marsupials. The new section is accessible via a new navigation button called ‘Other Wildlife’ that replaces the old ‘Contact Details’, now combined with the ‘About Ian’ section. Watch this space, as they say.
Best wishes,
IanPreferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au

Website: http://birdway.com.au

Lee’s additions:

 

To Hear a Chowchilla – Click Here

Several nice videos  from Internet Bird Collection: Chowchilla (Orthonyx spaldingii) especially the first one “A male removing dry leaves and feeding”

LOGRUNNERS Orthonychidae from Bird Families of the World, 9th ed.