Here are four photos of three birds I took outside of Atlanta during my recent visit. I’ll identify one and leave the other two to readers:
Great blue heron (Ardea herodias; click all photos to enlarge):
What was he doing at a small man-made lake? Waiting for heron fudz!:
Mystery bird 1
Mystery bird 2:
Self portrait with dog (a Papillon) and cat (a moggie named “Hitch”):
#2 Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus)
I’m guessing pine warbler and pine siskin.
Agreed. I love Pine Warblers!
Thirded.
#1 Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus)
I believe the first mystery bird is a male Goldfinch, and the second is a female Goldfinch. Love the Great Blue Heron. I often see him at that lake.
I think the others are right- pine warblers- male and female.
Why guess randomly when you don’t know? It would’ve taken you two seconds to Google “American goldfinch” and see that it looks nothing like a Pine Warbler.
Same thing with the female Pine Warbler – it doesn’t look all that much like the Pine Siskin, above.
Not to pile on, but American Goldfinches in the winter are not brightly colored anyway. I saw two of them on my feeder this morning, and they’re a dull greenish gray. They start to turn a little brighter around March, but unfortunately they migrate North around that time and I never get to see them when they’re in their full splendor.
Pines all the way.
Best self-portrait of you so far! The moggie was looking very solicitous and was thinking that you needed a cushion for your bended knee. 🙂
The first one is a Pine Warbler, and the second is a Pine Siskin. What impresses me is that Jerry hit Georgia just right to capture both the birds that made me a birder: the Great Blue Heron and the Pine Siskin (which is staging a massive invasion into Georgia this winter). Thanks for the memories, Jerry!
Mystery bird #1 is a Tweety Bird. Mystery bird #2 actually isn’t a bird; it’s a mimic octopus
Hope that clarifies things….
b&
Ah, that mimic octopus fools me every time!
Question for the other birders east of the Mississippi (and JAC, too, if you have the time): That pine siskin doesn’t look anything like the pine siskins here. Are they two separate species, or is that one just a lot lighter in color?
If I weren’t such a rotten photographer, I’d take you a picture of the locals. They are much darker, and have distinct wing bars.
I get zillions of them at my feeders in the winter. They come down from the mountaintops and winter at this elevation. I can always be sure when spring is on the way because they, and the juncos, leave for higher ground. L
I’m not aware of separate tribes of pine siskins differentiated by colour. Maybe what you are seeing are female house finches or female purple finches?
As to what was the heron doing at such a small man-made pond? Even smaller ponds than that one can have frogs and other small amphibious thingies. Around here the herons prey on goldfish in ornamental pools. I even saw one coming in for a landing at the pool area of a local apartment comples so I guess they’ll try any body of water at least once…
No, female house finches are slightly larger and lack the wing bars.
Both my Roger Tory Peterson Western Birds, and Birds of New Mexico by Stan Tekiela identify what I’m looking at as a pine siskin. L
must just be a colour difference of western birds then.
See my comment above. They are two different species, Spinus pinus and Carduelis pinus. L
Linda, the Pine Siskin is Carduelis pinus. There is no genus “Spinus.”
Carduelis spinus is the Eurasian Siskin, an accidental vagrant to Alaskan islands…
Pine siskins can vary in their markings, but your birds should look like some of these pictures:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=active&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1058&bih=533&q=pine+siskin&oq=pine+siskin&gs_l=img.12..0l4j0i24l6.1541.3433.0.7416.11.10.0.1.1.1.474.1198.4j4j4-1.9.0…0.0…1ac.1.3.img.bmpfcbb09Xw
Shoot! I take that back. Got it from Stokes, but the Cornell site says Spinus pinus for Pine siskin.
Wait. Sibley says Carduelis pinus. Perhaps a recent change…off to check.
OK. Found this from Cornell’s Birds of North America:
50th Supplement, dated 2009:
http://www.aou.org/checklist/suppl/AOU_checklist_suppl_50.pdf
In which we read:
. . . and which lists:
I would never let myself get into these things if Word Press had an edit function! !#%&*#@!
Sub
From our naturalists at Westmoreland Sanctuary (wildlife preserve) up here in Westchester, NY:
pine warbler
pine siskin
I know the first little guy is a Prothonotary Warbler. Love the cat…
No, pine warbler. Key in on the eyes, specifically the lighter rings around them.
I know the first little guy is a Prothonotary Warbler.
You and Whittaker Chambers…
Ah, I see. The proth has a solid color wing. This warbler has bars. If it was a Cardinal or a scarlet Tanager, then I would have to call him a commie…
The kitteh that lives with me is also named “Hitch” 🙂
#2 is a Pine Warbler.
#3 is a Pine Siskin.
Mystery Bird #1: Pine Warbler
Mystery Bird #2: Pine Siskin
Paul Mack, Ph.D
Associate Professor of Biology
Department of Sciences and Mathematics
Mississippi University for Women
1100 College Street, MUW-100
Columbus, MS 39701
662-329-4987
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>>> Why Evolution Is True 2/14/2013 10:20 AM >>>
whyevolutionistrue posted: “Here are four photos of three birds I took outside of Atlanta during my recent visit. I’ll identify one and leave the other two to readers: Great blue heron (Ardea herodias; click all photos to enlarge): What was he doing at a small man-made lak”
Nice picture of the great blue heron, which just happens to be my favorite bird.
Hitch the cat looks very much like Henri. I onder if he is also full of existential angst.
Just sayin’.
*wonder*
Yeah birds!!!
Yes to Pine Warbler and Pine Siskin.
To the person questioning the Siskin coloration. There are different races of Siskins; the western ones have much more yellow/green than our race here in the east. We have one western bird coming in with our eastern siskins to our feeders in Brooklyn, NY’s Prospect Park – he really stands out. Siskins, because they are northern finches are virtually circumpolar. The European Siskins either are or are not a separate species, they are awfully close Siskins are irruptive this year, we don’t usually get them this far south.
Lovely pictures of birds. We get a lot of transiant types during migrations and they are incredable to behold and facinating to study. Unfortunately, Mamma Nature has not been kind to them lately, with the extended drouts inthe interior, especially the breeding grounds in the south part of The Valley (which has a huge industry involved in providing ‘birders’ with the necesseties, and some elegant non-essential luxuries, but the droubt is not onlydamaging some rare species reproductive and other ecential asptect of lifecycles, but is reeking havock on the local economies. And thedamage from Ike made many coastal (fresh water and salt water) wetlands vital to these birds still need to accomplish a lot of repair. Any attention you can call to these problems and any donations could save several species. Thanks.
Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:21:08 +0000 To: melissalparker@hotmail.com
What a gorgeous little dog!!!:) I hope you gave him lots of attention and nomz during your visit!