Today we have photos by John Avise, still looking for photogenic birds. John’s captions are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them.
Honorable Mention For Most Photogenic Songbird?
In the past two weeks, Jerry has posted on WEIT my first-place and second-place winners for my “most photogenic songbird” contest. This week’s post showcases another North American bird that should receive, in my experience, at least an honorable mention. Here in Southern California, the California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica) is an especially photogenic songbird because it is quite common, relatively tame, and has a beautiful bluish plumage.
Side view showing the pretty blue:
Dorsal view:
Ventral view:
Carrying a peanut:
Youngster:
Holding acorns:
Flapping in flight:
In-between flaps in flight:
Gliding in flight:
Head portrait:
They rule suburbia, chase away other birds and terrorize cats. But they are beautiful!
Photogenic? Yes!
They are pretty, but now on my wife’s sh** list after we watched a pair of phoebes make their nest on the eaves right outside our front door a couple of years ago where we could easily observe their goings-on. When the hatchlings showed up and started peeping, it was only hours before one (or more) jays picked them off one by one. However, this year we’ve had 3 House Finch nests built on those same eaves, and the jays never bothered them.
Your photography is always superb. I really enjoyed all the ways you allowed us to look at this bird. The sequence “flapping in flight, in-between flapping in flight, gliding in flight” is lovely. A short display of the world of feathers at work and rest.
Thanks.
Wonderful photos, John. Thanks!