It’s Sunday, and that is The Day of Bird Photos by John Avise. Today’s batch has a sub-Antarctic theme. John’s IDs and narrative are indented; click on the photos to enlarge:
UshuaiaProfessor Coyne’s Antarctica trip started and ended in Chile, but another routine point of departure in the Americas is the small city of Ushuaia in extreme southern Argentina. It is from Ushuaia that my own 2019 trip to Antarctica (plus the Falklands and South Georgia) began and concluded. Today’s batch of pictures shows bird photos that I took in and around the town of Ushuaia just before starting and after returningfrom our ship’s two-week voyage to Antarctic regions.
Austral Negrito, Lessonia negrito:
Austral Thrush, Turdus falcklandii:
Black-crowned Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax (yes, it’s the samespecies we have here in North America):
Blackish Oystercatcher, Haematopus ater:
Dark-bellied Cinclodes, Cinclodes patagonicus:
Dolphin Gull, Leucophaeus scoresbii:
Fiery-eyed Diucon. Xolmis pyrope:
Kelp Goose, Chloephaga hybrida (female):
Kelp Goose (male):
Kelp Goose (pair):
Kelp Gull, Larus dominicanus:
Red Shoveler, Spatula platalea:
Rufous-collared Sparrow, Zonotrichia capensis:
Southern Lapwing, Vanellus chilensis:
Tufted Tit-tyrant, Anairetes parulus:
Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura (yes, it’s the same species we have here in North America):
17) White-crested Elaenia, Elaenia albiceps:
Terrific pictures as always! I found the kelp goose most interesting. I’ve never heard of that one.
It is interesting that the Turkey Vulture is the same species as the one in the US. In Amazonian Ecuador, the resident subspecies is not this one but a very distinctive one with a big white patch on the back of its head.
Beautiful! Looking at these photos is a nice way to start a Sunday.
The Southern Lapwing has wonderful colors, like an impressionist painting.
Thank you!
Great pics.
The African black oystercatcher (aka black toby, Haematopus moquini) looks exactly the same but for the legs: the legs are red-pink here.
The oystercatchers in the northern hemisphere are black and white (pied? fiscal?). I’m kinda puzzled why the southern species are all black (Africa South America, with the notable exception of Australia) , while the northern species, and the Australian one, are all pied. Is there an adaptive reason?
But here on North America’s West Coast we have an oystercatcher with an all-black plumage too: the Black Oystercatcher, Haematopus bachmani. So, not all Northern hemisphere oystercatchers are pied. Don’t know the reason for the plumage pattern you described.
Great pictures (as always for Mr. Avise).Tufted Tit-tyrant just might be the greatest bird-name of all!
I agree, regarding the name. 🤣
These were terrific, thanks. I don’t think I’ve seen sexual dimorphism like the kelp goose where the male is plain and the female ornate.
That’s another very interesting observation for which I have no ready explanation. But the “ornate” female might also be interpreted as being camouflaged ,especially when on a nest.
Camouflage…that makes sense.