It’s Sunday, and that means another batch of bird photos by the estimable John Avise. John’s narrative and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge the pictures by clicking on them,
Dominican Republic Birds, Part 2
This concludes our two-part series on birds of the Dominican Republic. All of these photos were taken in 2006 during our annual meeting of the Pew Fellows in Marine Conservation. The intent has been to showcase just a few of the many birds you might encounter on even a brief visit to this beautiful Hispaniolan country.
Hispaniolan Woodpecker (Melanerpes striatus):
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) female:
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis), females:
Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) female:
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura):
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos):
Palmchat (Dulus dominicus):
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres):
Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) male:
Smooth-billed Ani (Crotophaga ani):
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura):
Vervain Hummingbird (Mellisuga minima):
Yellow-faced Grassquit (Tiaris olivaceus):
Yellow-throated Warbler (Setophaga dominica):
Ahhhh…. perfect.
I wonder if Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) is named because it can mimic other bird calls – I think I hear this bird regularly… trying to sound like a hawk … I think I mentioned this here before…
They can mimic other bird calls and sounds that aren’t bird calls, like fire engines. They don’t pick out bird calls specifically as what they mimic.
That picture of the Hispaniolan woodpecker is gorgeous.
And like so many bird species from North America the Lesser scaup has an easily identifyable counterpart in Europe, the Tufted duck.
Thanks for these photos.
These are great, thanks! And is there a band on that House Sparrow’s leg?
Amazingly cute House Sparrow, and other wonderful things!