It’s Sunday, and so our photos today come from biologist John Avise, whose notes and IDs are indented. Today John starts a series of birds he’s photographed on his world travels.
You can enlarge the photos, as always, by clicking on them.
Birds of Southern Brazil, part 1
For a research biologist such as myself, a career in academia holds many perks, not least of which is the opportunity for travel adventures around the world. Any researcher who publishes actively is likely to receive many invitations each year to speak at universities, research institutions, or societal meetings. In my own career spanning five decades, I have lectured in all 50 states plus nearly 40 countries. Each such “seminar trip” typically offered enough flexibility to schedule a bit of extra time for sightseeing or birdwatching (including photography, which I’ve done since 2005 when I got my first camera). PCC(E) willing, for each of the next several weeks I will submit for this WEIT site a few of my bird photographs from various overseas trips.
This week’s post shows several of the avian species I managed to photograph on a seminar trip to Porto Alegre in southern Brazil in 2007. As will be true each week, my intent is to highlight merely a few of the many birds you might encounter if you visit each of the showcased parts of the world.
Bay-winged Cowbird (or “Grayish baywing”), Molothrus badius:
Buff-necked Ibis, Theristicus caudatus:
Campo Flicker, Colaptes campestris:
Cattle Tyrant, Machetornis rixosus:
Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Tyrannus savana:
Gilded Hummingbird, Hylocharis chrysura:
Great Kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus:
Guira Cuckoo, Guira guira:
Long-tailed Cinclodes, Cinclodes pabsti:
Roadside Hawk, Buteo magnirostris:
Rufous-collared Sparrow, Zonotrichia capensis:
Again, a simply splendid set!
The fork-tailed flycatcher has an unusually long tail. Does any reader know what is it’s function?
Wild guess
Sexual selection is involved.
That seems to be a fair guess and it seems (from google search) that the males have longer tails than females and use them in aerial displays to win mates which would support your hypothesis. It leaves open, though, the question of why the females also have long tails (albeit shorter than the males).
Beautiful photos!
Another batch of gorgeous bird shots! Thanks John!
+1
Wonderful birds! Thank you!
Wow, fantastic and alluring! These are all new to me except the Kiskadee. Your tropical travels have paid off beautifully.
Sorry for this late reply… am on a junket to Princeton (business) and Cape May (new birds!).
Thanks, Susan. We’ll look forward to seeing some of your photos of migrating Cape May birds!
Impressive photos. Cattle Tyrant, that’s a great name.
Those are lovely pictures! I’m from Porto Alegre!!
Nice! I live in southern Brazil, so I get to see some of these every day!