Birds

The Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) is a black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea.

This species is commonly fed by households around the country, but in spring (and occasionally in autumn) a small minority of breeding magpies (almost always males) become aggressive, swooping and attacking those who approach their nests. Research has shown that magpies can recognise at least 100 different people, and may be less likely to swoop individuals they have befriended

The black-winged kite was seen at Hickling Broad and Marshes, Norfolk, on Tuesday. It's only the second time this bird has been seen in the UK.

Will I be going to bingo and wearing sparkly shirts next? I suppose it's not too bad a fate.

Seriously, they are just gorgeous to me now and a few years ago, not so much.

Look at these feathers

I love how interactive these birds are. They're not afraid to get up close.

Full text:

Tiffany Wertheimer BBC News, London

In cities around the world, anti-bird spikes are used to protect statues and balconies from unwanted birds - but now, it appears the birds are getting their own back.

Dutch researchers have found that some birds use the spikes as weapons around their nests - using them to keep pests away in the same way that humans do.

It shows amazing adaptability, biologist Auke-Florian Hiemstra says.

"They are incredible fortresses - like a bunker for birds," he told the BBC.

Human-made objects being used in bird nests is nothing new - there is evidence of species around the world using everything from barbed wire to knitting needles.

However, this research by Naturalis Biodiversity Center and the Natural History Museum Rotterdam is the first well-documented study that says birds appear to be positioning the sharp spikes outwards, maximising protection.

Mr Hiemstra's research started in the courtyard of a hospital in Antwerp, Belgium, where an enormous magpie nest was found containing some 1,500 spikes.

"For the first few minutes, I just stared at it - this strange, beautiful, weird nest," Mr Hiemstra explained.

He says the spikes were pointing outwards, creating a perfect armour around the nest.

A trip to the hospital roof confirmed it - about 50m (164 ft) of anti-bird spike strips had been ripped off the building - all that remained was the trail of glue.

One unfinished nest is at the museum in Rotterdam - and a larger, finished nest is in the collection of Naturalis Biodiversity Center.

Mr Hiemstra says many more need to be found to further prove his theory, but there are several aspects to the nest architecture that suggest the birds are using the spikes as protection.

One is their placement - the spikes are on the roof of the nests, he says, "so they aren't just making a roof - it's a roof with thorny material for protection".

Birds often use thorny branches to protect their nests, but humans aren't fans of these kinds of bushes and trees, so birds living in built up areas go for the next best thing, Mr Hiemstra says.

It shows a remarkable adaptability to their environment, he adds, and also a determination to protect their nests, as the glue used to attach the spikes to buildings is strong and the spikes not easy to remove.

There have been many instances of birds taking matters into their own talons - like the cheeky cockatoo ripping away spikes on a building near Sydney in Australia, or Melbourne's Parkdale Pigeon that went viral for building its nest right on top of them.

And while this may be an annoyance for the humans who paid for the spikes in the first place, Mr Hiemstra sees it as a "beautiful revenge".

"They are using the material that we made to keep them away, to make a nest to make more birds."

I saw one when I visited Kangaroo Island in Australia (an island on the south side) and for a second I thought it wasn't real. They really are as blue as the picture.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1220062

A little flared tail too

I love watching what birds come by my feeder.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1113952

These little guys are always on the move, so it's really hard to get a shot of the fully flared tail.

Bonus close up

This popped up on my pinterest feed. I love scruffy birds and animals.

Marabou stork from Africa, also called the 'undertaker bird' due to its long dark cloak like wings, white skinny legs and mass of gray hair on its head.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1004736

Oddly timed shot, looks like it's posing.

link to San Diego Zoo webpage on Bowerbirds

BBC video narrated by David Attenborough focusing on mating dance with flame bowerbird

BBC video narrated by David Attenborough focusing on bower design and calls by Vogel Kop Bowerbird

A few more examples:

Sayornis nigricans, a passerine bird of the tyrant-flycatcher family

I have a black phoebe family that lives at my address. Real beauties. Smallish, would fit in your hand.

all photos by Ed Sivon

This is a juvenile, not a female phoebe. It will darken as it ages. info source

Male and female black phoebes are the same color.