IMPORTANT NOTE

This Web Blog will be discontinued beginning TODAY! I'm very sorry for our visitors but my original blog "My Backyard Visitors" demands most of my time, I suggest that you visit that blog where you will find a more complete plethora of information and hundreds of exclusive pictures taken by me for the blog.

Thank you very much for you kind visits! You are invited to see more about birds here!

Field Sparrow - Photo Album

Carolina Chickadee - Photo Album

Weekly Photo Art

Great Blue Heron in High Falls, Ga.

The other day I went on a trip visiting a great place to do camping or for just picnic. This such place is High Falls Pk. in Jackson, Georgia.

I have been there before in several occasions, I love the scenery! Also is the place where I saw my first Great Blue Heron! I could take only one picture at that time. So I've been trying to see if they are nesting in that area. Exactly as I wished! In this particular visit I saw not one but two!! :) and you can imagine. I had a feast with my telephoto lens. I bring you 4 shots taken that day. I'm happy now!
Photographs are © H.J. Ruiz - "My Winged Pals"

"Avian Architecture" - Book Review

Princeton University Press has just released a new book: “AVIAN ARCHITECTURE” How Birds Design, Engineer & Build  by author PETER GOODFELLOW.

"Avian Architecture

“I found this book extremely fascinating! People generally are reading about birds, their colors, shapes and sizes, however, there’s more beyond seeing birds fly around. This bring us the questions: How do they live, where do they live and how do they build their nests? Well, Mr. Goodfellow has done a heck of a job with his book that answers all these questions. Descriptions, photos, illustrations, schematics, comparisons and analysis give a clear comprehensive account of the process for building the bird’s nests.
Interesting and informative from beginning to end, this is a great book I recommend”
Book Review made by H.J. Ruiz - “My Winged Pals”  - June 2011

Chilean Flamingos - Photo Album

Purple Finch in Atlanta

A few days ago I was in downtown Atlanta. I went to the Atlanta Aquarium in company of my cousin, it wasn’t the first time I went to see this great aquarium, but it was the first for my cousin. After we spent a few hours in that huge building and had a great time looking at all the sea creatures, we decide to take a walk around the park that is next to the aquarium. While strolling in the park I saw some birds flying around. I took my camera and took some shots. These are the photos that I took of a Purple Finch.

Photographs are © H.J. Ruiz - "My winged Pals"

Superb Starling

Superb Starling - Spec. Name: Lamprotornis Superbus

Superb Starling

This is a member of the starling family of birds. It can commonly be found in East Africa, including Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Used to be known as Spreo superbus

This species is 18 to 19 cm (7–7.5 inches) long. Adults have black heads and iridescent blue-to-green back, upper breast, wings, and tail. The belly is red-orange, separated from the blue breast by a white bar. The undertail coverts and the wing linings are white. Juveniles have duller plumage with no more than a suggestion of the white breast band. Their irises are brown, later grayish white, eventually the adult's cream-color.

The Superb Starling has a long and loud song consisting of trills and chatters. At midday it gives a softer song of repeated phrases. There are several harsh calls, the most complex of which is described as "a shrill, screeching skerrrreeee-cherrrroo-tcherreeeeeet."

This species feeds on the ground.

The Superb Starling is similar to Hildebrandt's Starling also found in East Africa. The Superb Starling is distinguished by having white eyes, as opposed to red eyes in the Hildebrandt's.

Photographs are © H. J. Ruiz - "My winged Pals"
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.


Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

"My Winged Pals" - Vacation

"MY WINGED PALS" BLOG WILL BE BACK FROM VACATION ON JUNE 4th, 2011

H.J. Ruiz

A well deserved bath! Photo Album

This European Starling is taking a refreshing bath, after all the temperature is well over 90 degrees! He's been busy foraging for some food but the heat is making it difficult to continue.

Weekly Photo Art

Red-headed Woodpecker - Photo Album

Red-headed Woodpecker

Antarctic Wildlife: A Visitor's Guide

James Lowen is the author of Antarctic Wildlife: A Visitor’s Guide.
He has in a very smart way compiled a plethora of information about wildlife in the form of birds and mammals that thrive in the remote locations of Antarctica, also known for being one of the coldest places in the world.

Antarctic Wildlife: A Visitor's Guide

This book is a genuine true guide for any person interested in wildlife for that part of the planet.  He has identified and categorized the different species and described with great precision not only the species in question but provides also the locations where to find them whether it is any bird or any mammal. This makes it a no guessing situation for any traveler. I must say that I was very impressed with the excellent photography and the digital work done for this book. I believe that is was a good idea placing images of species next to each other digitally, offering the reader a great sense of scale and way for size comparison. Very smart idea indeed.
After reading about all these icy remote places where you brave such low temperatures I couldn’t help but to think:Thank you Mr.Lowen for being so brave and endure such harsh environment to provide us with this great guide. I will recommend it to all my friends, in Peru, Argentina and Chile as well as in the USA. They’ll be thrilled to read it.
Review made by: H.J. Ruiz “My Winged Pals” - May 2011
Book published by: Princeton University Press

Birds flock to the shores of the Sahara Desert - © BBC

Eared Dove

Eared Dove - Spec. Name: Zenaida Auriculata

Eared Dove

This is a New World tropical dove. It is a resident breeder throughout South America from Colombia to southern Argentina and Chile, and on the offshore islands from the Grenadines southwards. It may be a relatively recent colonist of Tobago and Trinidad. It appears to be partially migratory, but details are little known, although migration may be driven by food supplies.

It is a close relative of the North American Mourning Dove. With that species, the Socorro Dove, and possibly the Galápagos Dove it forms a superspecies. The latter two are insular offshoots, the Socorro birds from ancestral Mourning Doves, the Galápagos ones from more ancient stock.

The Eared Dove is 8 inches long with a long wedge-shaped tail, and weighs normally about 112 g. Adult males have mainly olive-brown upperpart plumage, with black spots on the wings. The head has a grey crown, black line behind the eye, and the blue-black on the lower ear coverts. These black markings give the species its English and specific name. The underparts are vinous, and the tail is tipped with cinnamon. The bill is black and the legs dark red.

Photograph taken in Lima, Peru © H.J. Ruiz - "My Winged Pals"

Weekly Photo Art

"The Birds of New Jersey" - Book Review

"The Birds of New Jersey"

Knowing that Princeton University Press was inviting me to do a review to a new book by William J. Boyle Jr. titled “The Birds of New Jersey” filled me with excitement and the anticipation was tremendous, especially since I had lived in New Jersey most of my life.
When I received the book, I immediately began reading it. This is what I found:

• I was surprised to find out  that New Jersey had such a variety of birds!
• It was very easy  to get a brief yet accurate description and  relevant  information about the species and their habitats.The pictorial samples are a complement in vivid color.. All these is accompanied by a location map quite helpful to know the appropriate habitats, maps are coded in various colors, -“They are better color coded and make more sense that our Homeland Security’s Warning codes”.- I was delighted to find how comprehensive and easy was to read, without going into so deep research or study you learn the most relevant facts right away. For my next trip to New Jersey I promise you that this book will be in my backpack. I believe that Mr. Boyle had a “vision” and wrote the book in a way that was not an exclusivity for the elite Ornithologists but for anybody that loves birds and needs information about them. Good work Mr. Boyle!

Reviewed by: H. J. Ruiz -"My Winged Pals"

Neotropic Cormorant

Neotropic Cormorant - Spec. Name: Phalacrocorax Brasilianus

This bird is 64 cm long with a 100 cm wingspan. Adults males weigh from 1.1 to 1.5 kg, adult females 50 to 100 grams less. Birds of the southern populations tend to be bigger than the more northerly birds. It is small and slender, especially compared to the larger, heavier-looking Double-crested Cormorant. It has a long tail and frequently holds its neck in an S-shape. Adult plumage is mainly black, with a yellow-brown throat patch. During breeding, white tufts appear on the sides of the head, there are scattered white filoplumes on the side of the head and the neck, and the throat patch develops a white edge. The upper wings are somewhat greyer than the rest of the body. Juveniles are brownish in color.

Its diet consists mainly of small fish, but will also eat tadpoles, frogs, and aquatic insects. Information about its prey is sparse, but inland birds seem to feed on small, abundant fish in ponds and sheltered inlets, less than 10 cm in length, with an individual weight of a gram or two, such as Poecilia spp. especially the sailfin molly Poecilia latipinna. This cormorant forages for food by diving underwater, propelling itself by its feet. Its dives are brief, between 5 and 15 seconds. It is also known to forage in groups, with several birds beating the water with their wings to drive fish forward into shallows.

Neotropic Cormorants

Neotropic Cormorants are monogamous and breed in colonies. The nest is a platform of sticks with a depression in the center circled with twigs and grass. It is built a few metres above the ground or water in bushes or trees. Up to five chalky, bluish-white eggs are laid. Most pairs lay 3 eggs, but the mean number hatched is less than 2. The eggs soon become nest-stained. Both sexes incubate for about 25–30 days, and both parents feed the young until around the 11th week. By week 12, they are independent. One brood is raised per year.

Unlike other cormorants, this bird can often be seen perching on wires.

This bird is largely a permanent resident, with some birds occasionally wandering north in the warmer months.

Photos are © H.J. Ruiz - “My Winged Pals”


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Happy Mother's Day!

My sincere salute to all the mothers of the world! I wish them a happy and wonderful day!

From: H.J. Ruiz - "My Winged Pals"

Southern Ground Hornbill

Southern Ground Hornbill - Spec. Name: Bucorvus Leadbeateri

Description
The largest member of the hornbill famliy, the southern ground-hornbill makes its home in Gorongosa National Park’s savannas, woodlands, and grasslands. These pre-historic-looking birds are black with white flight feathers and a red wattle. You can recognize females by the blue patch on their red wattle. Males have bare facial skin and a wattle that can expand. These neck wattles are used to make booming or grunting sounds, often just before dawn, which can sound like lions roaring in the distance.

Southern ground-hornbills are carnivorous—eating lizards, frogs, snakes, snails, and insects. They are able to fly, but spend the majority of their time on the ground.  They hunt in groups by walking (instead of hopping), probing, pecking, and digging at the ground.

These birds live in cooperative breeding groups made up of a dominant pair and several  subordinate adult males.  This dominant pair successfully breeds only once every nine years, with only one surviving chick per nest.

Southern Ground Hornbill

They have established territories, and neighboring groups chase each other in aerial pursuits. Ground hornbills can live to 50 years old and are revered locally for their medicinal properties and their traditional role in producing rain. 

Conservation

Although the southern ground-hornbill have decreased in numbers in other parts of Southern Africa, (including nearby Kruger National Park) due to the slow development of their young and their extremely slow breeding cycle, this bird is thriving in Gorongosa National Park.  Because of the protections that the national park provides, the species is not susceptible to poison from agricultural areas and other habitat disruptions that affect the bird’s survival in more populous regions. 

During the long civil war in Mozambique, the park’s wildlife was severely diminished.  Today, Gorongosa National Park presents an area with little competition for food and a lack of predators, particularly of the nests and the young.  We will continue to monitor the health and size of the park’s southern ground-hornbill population.

Photograph © H.J. Ruiz “My Backyard Visitors”

Transcription from information given by: Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique

Green Heron

Green Heron - Spec. Name: Butorides Virescens

Green Heron

This is a small heron of North and Central America. It was long considered conspecific with its sister species the Striated Heron (Butorides striata), and together they were called "Green-backed Heron". Birds of the nominate subspecies (no matter which taxonomic arrangement is preferred) are extremely rare vagrants to western Europe; individuals from the Pacific coast of North America may similarly stray as far as Hawaii.

The Green Heron is relatively small; adult body length is about 44 cm (17 in). The neck is often pulled in tight against the body. Adults have a glossy, greenish-black cap, a greenish back and wings that are grey-black grading into green or blue, a chestnut neck with a white line down the front, grey underparts and short yellow legs. The bill is dark with a long, sharp point. Female adults tend to be smaller than males, and have duller and lighter plumage, particularly in the breeding season. Juveniles are duller, with the head sides, neck and underparts streaked brown and white, tan-splotched back and wing coverts, and greenish-yellow legs and bill. Hatchlings are covered in down feathers, light grey above, and white on the belly.

The Green Heron's call is a loud and sudden kyow; it also makes a series of more subduedkuk calls. During courtship, the male gives a raah-rahh call with wide-open bill, makes noisy wingbeats and whoom-whoom-whoom calls in flight, and sometimes calls roo-roo to the female before landing again. While sitting, an aaroo-aaroo courtship call is also given.

Photographs © H.J. Ruiz "My Winged Pals"
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Weekly Photo Art

Blue-headed Vireo

Blue-headed Vireo, Vireo Solitarius

Blue-headed Vireo

This is a small songbird. Adults are mainly olive on the upperparts with white underparts and yellowish flanks; they have a grey head, dark eyes with white "spectacles" and white wing bars. They have a stout bill and thick blue-grey legs. This bird, along with the Cassin's Vireo and Plumbeous Vireo, were formerly known as the "Solitary Vireo"

Their breeding habitat is open mixed deciduous and coniferous woods in Canada east of the Rockies and the northeastern United States. They make a bulky cup nest suspended from a fork in tree branch. The male helps with incubation and may sing from the nest.

These birds migrate to the southern and southeastern United States south to Central America.

They forage for insects in the upper parts of trees, sometimes flying out to catch them. They also eat some berries, especially in winter.


Photographs © H.J. Ruiz "My Winged Pals"

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Did you know?...

Toxic chemicals found in peregrine falcon eggs

Researchers studying peregrine falcon eggs in Spain and Canada have found that chemicals commonly added to fabrics and plastics as flame retardants have been transferred to the eggs of these majestic birds.

Flame retardants generally contain highly toxic chemical compounds that are designed to stop plastics, materials and other products from easily burning by inhibiting or resisting the spread of fire. Ethel Eljarrat, a scientist based at the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Studies and co-author of the study says that ''the presence of 'dechlorane plus' and other related, chlorinated compounds used as flame retardants have been detected for the first time in the European biota''.

One of the reasons for choosing the peregrine falcon as the species for this particular study was because they are known to accumulate the substances and compounds eaten by their prey. The peregrine falcon has only just recovered from a period of being endangered in the northern hemisphere due to the widespread use of organochlorine pesticides, particularly DDT.

The study looked at eggs that had failed to hatch in falcon nests around Spain and Canada, including the Great Lakes Region. It was discovered that the levels of chemical compounds were higher in the eggs of birds living in coastal environments. It is thought this is due to the fact that coastal falcons would feed on birds that had eaten fish which were likely to be highly contaminated. The researchers confirmed that these toxic chemical compounds are now bio-accumulating throughout the food chain.
The egg samples taken from Canadian nests had significantly higher concentrations of the flame retardants. Scientists believe this is because much of the industry where these compounds are manufactured is located around the New York State area close to where the falcon nests are found.
Researchers have also confirmed the presence of these particular chemical compounds in fish and sediment in Spanish rivers. Other flame retardants have been proven to be toxic endocrine disruptors which have led to their use being banned in Europe and America in some commercial mixes. Discovering the presence of the toxins in the eggs of peregrine falcons is one step towards understanding the effects these chemicals are having on falcon development as well as the surrounding environment.

©  by Lucy Brake for Earth Times

Common Raven

Common Raven - Spec. Name: Corvus Corax


This bird is also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids. There are at least eight subspecies with little variation in appearance— although recent research has demonstrated significant genetic differences among populations from various regions. It is one of the two largest corvids, alongside the Thick-billed Raven, and is possibly the heaviest passerine bird; at maturity, the Common Raven averages 63 cm(25 inches) in length and 1.2 kg (2.6 pounds). Common Ravens typically live about 10 to 15 years in the wild, although lifespans of up to 40 years have been recorded. Young birds may travel in flocks, but later mate for life, with each mated pair defending a territory.

Common Raven

The Common Raven has coexisted with humans for thousands of years and in some areas has been so numerous that it is considered a pest. Part of its success comes from its omnivorous diet; Common Ravens are extremely versatile and opportunistic in finding sources of nutrition, feeding on carrion, insects, cereal grains, berries, fruit, small animals, and food waste.

Some remarkable feats of problem-solving have been observed in the species, leading to the belief that it is highly intelligent. Over the centuries, it has been the subject of mythology, folklore, art, and literature. In many indigenous cultures, including those of Scandinavia, ancient Ireland and Wales, Bhutan, the northwest coast of North America, and Siberia and northeast Asia, the Common Raven has been revered as a spiritual figure or god.

Photograph © H.J. Ruiz "My Winged Pals"

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Kori Bustard

Kori Bustard - Spec. Name: Ardeotis Kori 


This is a large bird native to Africa. It is a member of the bustard family. It may be the heaviest bird capable of flight.

The Kori Bustard is mostly grey in color, with a black crest on its head and yellow legs. Kori Bustards are often found with bee-eaters riding on their backs as they stride through the grass. The bee-eaters make the most of their walking perch by hawking insects from the bustard's back that are disturbed by the bustard's wandering. This is a large and heavy bird, and it avoids flying if possible. It spends most of its time on the ground, foraging for the seeds and lizards which make up most of its diet.

Kori Bustards are omnivorous birds, although they tend to be more carnivorous than other species of bustards. Insects form a large portion of their diet, especially when they are chicks. They also eat a variety of small mammals, lizards, snakes, seeds, and berries of plants. They have been observed eating carrion. They are purported to eat the gum from the Acacia tree. Discrepancy exists however, as to whether they are eating the gum itself, or the insects that might be stuck to the gum. Kori Bustards are one of the few species of birds that drink water using a sucking motion rather than scooping it up as most birds do.

Kori Bustard

Photograph © HJ Ruiz

Photo Album

Mourning Dove

Houese Finch (F)

Eastern Bluebird (M)

Tufted Titmouse

Random photos of various species of birds.