Once again I importune you to send in your good wildlife photos, not neglecting the Latin binomial of any species you show. Thanks.
Today’s batch of bird photos comes from reader Kevin Eisken in Arkansas; his notes are indented.
I am sending along a few bird pics to hopefully fill up the well a bit. The first photo shows two Red Shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus) that I caught sitting on a fence outside an old motel in Hope, Arkansas. The lady in the dining room said the pair were regular visitors.
The second hawk I believe is a Red Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), photographed at my in-laws’ house in Arkansas.
There are two photos of Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) photographed in my back yard. One is a pair, with the male seemingly saying “Yes, dear…”. The second is a female.
The next photo is an immature American Robin (Turdus migratorius). Lots of these this year.
Three photos of Carolina Wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus). One photo is a pair of immature birds, and also one photo of an immature and one photo of an adult. One a noise per pound basis, these have to be the kings of the animal kingdom. Wrens love to sing early (I mean early) on spring mornings. They also fussed quite a bit the day I photographed the young ones. Their presence rarely goes unheard.
Last, I am including a silhouette of what is either a Cooper’s or Red Tailed hawk. What I enjoy about this photo is you can make out both the front and back business (beak and talons) of the animal.
Finally, Kevin sent a mystery bird, “Who am I?” You got me; can any readers identify it?
The mystery bird looks like a female Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater).
I like seeing these fine birds in leafy context. It harbingers the coming spring – which can’t be far off now (he said wistfully). The last image looks like some kind of grosbeak.
Mystery bird is a Brown-headed Cowbird
Very good!
I also voted Cowbird: the drooping wings are un-grosbeak-like, as is the very black beak. (Not bad for a European 😉
Thanks for these pretty bird photos. Great silhouette.
Thanks all for the kind words. The bird is indeed a Cowbird, the first I have ever seen. We now live not too far from some small cattle farms, which I think is closer to their natural environment.
Cowbirds are also bit notorious for they lay their eggs in other birds’ nests, where the egg tends to hatch first and dominate its nest mates. Interesting evolutionary approach.
Delightful! Thanks, Kevin!