Entries Tagged 'birds' ↓

There is a park near where I live.

At the park there is an aviary.

At the aviary there is this duck.

I like this duck.

Via Nick Lawes’ Flickr photostream.

These Skimmers are an interesting kind of bird. They’re notable for being the only group of birds with a lower mandible that is longer than their upper one. To hunt for fish, they fly just above the water, and open their beaks to skim their lower mandible through the sea. If it hits a fish, the beak snaps shut, it’s got a meal.

Via Gerry’s Flickr photostream.

Thanks Kimberly!

I got you a pheasant!

The satyr tragopan is a pheasant that lives in the eastern Himalayans. This brilliant plumage is a characteristic of males of the species. Like a number of other pheasants, the plumage of the females is a bit more modest. (I think the females are very pretty though! Brown is an under-appreciated color!)

Via Kuribo’s Flickr photostream.

From the Flickr photo description:

he is such a sweet baby, but he got picked on by some other birds and caused some damage to his feather folicles so [I] adopted him , he still sings pretty , I call him my vulture canary. 

It’s really nice that somebody would choose to care for a bird that’s been hurt this way!

Via Sharon Taylor’s Flickr photostream.

Via Andrew Miller’s Flickr photostream.

The contrast between the upper and lower beak is great! I’m not sure that a cartoon could really improve on how funny and charming it looks.

Photo via Michael Dawes’ Flickr Photostream!

This is kind of impressive!

This NPR story notes how old Pierre is for a penguin:

In the wild, penguins live about 15 years; in captivity, they live to about 20. Pierre turned 25 in February.

He’s also looking a lot healthier in the video than he did in the story’s photograph:

Thanks Violet Dragon!

My grandmother’s favorite animal is the owl! Maybe this will make up for posting bats.

Photo via Nick Lawes’ Flickr Photostream!