In the 80s I went to a bird show. One of the vendors was selling caged mynah birds as pets. Both grackles and mynah birds are members of the crow family, so they're not all that different.Originally Posted by Duncan Glenday
In the 80s I went to a bird show. One of the vendors was selling caged mynah birds as pets. Both grackles and mynah birds are members of the crow family, so they're not all that different.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
Actually, they are all from separate and distinct families of birds. Crows are Corvidae (as are raven, jays and magpies), grackles are Icteridae (as are blackbirds, cowbirds and bobolinks), and mynas are Strunidae (as are starlings).
Chad
Speaking of crows, the Pittsburgh National Aviary (the nation's largest aviary that's not part of another zoo) had a crow named Mickey that talked like you wouldn't believe. The voice was so cool. It sounded like a deep woman's voice. Like a Brenda Vaccaro, I used to joke. It would quickly exclaim, "Who?! What?! Where?! Why?!"
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
Crows can be annoying, but they are smart and cool as hell...
https://www.sciencealert.com/crows-r...l-intelligence
"Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak
Ravens are just fucking awesome!
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
This quote from one of my favourite authors has always stuck with me...
"The crows saw what happened. Other birds were in the high branches and they saw too, but crows are different. They are interested. Other birds saw a series of actions. The crows saw the murder."
-Ann-Marie MacDonald from The Way the Crow Flies.
Very, very cool!
I just put this quote up on FB (with a doc on crows) because it's awesome and I'm a dork
Last edited by Klonk; 03-22-2019 at 03:32 PM.
"Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
Very, very cool!
I just put this quote up on FB (with a doc on crows) because it's awesome and I'm a dork
You can tell the season has changed. Today I was hearing robins and mourning doves. And I've seen some of those fucking Canada Geese up in the sky. Fuckers.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
So, I have a bluebird house, but the bluebirds arrive too late to Western PA, leaving others (like chickadees) to move in before they get here. I usually leave the front of the house open so no birds move in and then close it right before the bluebirds arrive. But, I'm not sure when the best time to close it would be. I closed it in (late?) April last year, but it was too early.
Anybody know when bluebirds arrive to these parts?
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
Just chillin' by the community pool......
I can only surmise she was on a lay-over from her long flight north.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
Saw my first Robin of Spring a couple of days ago, but strangely haven't seen any others yet. But it was a pretty warm day today. Maybe there aren't enough worms and other bugs out for them.
I haven't seen a Robin yet, but our feeder is a hub of activity. Just this afternoon we had Dark-eyed Juncos, Starlings, Grackles, American Goldfinches, Red-wing Blackbirds and Downy Woodpeckers. The Grackles, Red-wings and Goldfinches are not winter birds here, so it's a sign that spring is coming. The Juncos still being around tells me that we're not quite there yet.
Eastern Bluebirds are in your area year-round:
screenshot42.jpg
Yeah...here in lower NY Bluebirds stick around.
Lots of Robins peckin' around the yards now...worms!!!
"Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak
I hear robins, I just haven't seen them. Then again, given that the cats are running sprints around the yard, they probably are going to stay out of view for a while.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
Yeah, I actually did some research and closed up the house yesterday.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
We had a pair of mallards who'd spend time in March/April swimming in the water on top of our pool cover every year for more than 20 years. Obviously not the same ones, because that's longer than their lifespan, but we didn't see any last year or the year before that. We'll see what happens this year...
We had the same thing for a few years. We figured it was the same couple, my kids named Daisy and Donald (how original).
We even had an egg laid on the edge of our cover at the top of the side wall.
We haven't seen them for a couple of years and I do my best to chase them away, since they shit all over the place.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
We don't ever see Bluebirds. I wonder why not?
Saw one of these on a traffic island while waiting for a signal. A most unlikely bird sighting. Usually, I spot birds while in the park where I work, not in town!
Speaking of which, it’s great raptor season. I’ve seen kestrels on the ridgeline, lots of red-tailed hawks, Cooper’s hawks prowling around the campgrounds and trailheads (on the lookout for all those little sparrows and finches, their favorite food) and heard tons of red-shouldered hawks (our noisiest hawks!).
Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...
They were overrun by other non-native birds bought into the regions, like sparrows. They were very depleted and have had a resurgence since the 60s and 70s due to nest box campaigns and new trails. There are programs that actually distribute or install nest boxes. They were once everywhere.
This photo of a cormorant is from a local photographer:
I didn't realize we had these around here.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
I go to a cabin every summer way upstate NY and there are a good amount of cormorants around the lake there. Cool birds and fun to watch, but man they eat a lot of fish...not good for fishy population.
"Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak
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