Eastern Kingbirds Feeding Chicks
Photographer Gregg Thompson watched Eastern Kingbirds feeding their chicks and shared photos of a “...sequence both amusing and interesting at the same time.The adult comes in with some food. Sometimes...
View ArticleRed-tails Get Mobbed
Topics & Themes: nesting,photographyRelated birds: Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis),Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus),Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos),Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius...
View ArticleGray Jays
While camping in the mountains, you might see this Gray Jay, boldly swooping into your camp. This handsome jay’s big, black eyes seem to miss nothing — especially food. But the one food Gray Jays don’t...
View ArticleWhat's Inside a Woodpecker's Nest Hole?
Go outside this weekend and see a woodpecker hole for yourself!DownloadMany woodpeckers chisel out deep cavities in tree trunks in order to lay their eggs and raise their brood. The cavities hollowed...
View ArticleListen for Tapping
Spring means birds are carving out holes in trees!DownloadWoodpeckers are our most familiar bird carpenters, but other birds also chip out nests in trees and wood structures. Nuthatches — like this...
View ArticleGreat Blue Heron nest - it's getting crowded!
On the last day of a very sunny and warm May, this Great Blue Heron nest was bursting with life. Gregg Thompson took these wonderful photos at a heron colony in Everett, Washington.###All photos are ©...
View ArticleTreeswifts: Exquisite Minimalists
Treeswifts fashion their nests from bits of plants and feathers — and lots of saliva.DownloadThe treeswifts of India, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and beyond make their nests out of bits of plants and...
View ArticleBig Ducks, Small Ducks, and the Economy of Nesting
A duck’s size influences how fast it can devote energy to nestingDownloadDucks that start laying eggs soon after arriving at a suitable nest site are sometimes called “capital” breeders, because they...
View ArticlePigeons Make Milk
Pigeon parents feed their newly hatched babies a special healthy substanceDownloadPigeons, one of the most ancient of domesticated animals, feed their nestlings a peculiar, milky substance, straight...
View ArticleHow a Bird Came to Look Like a Caterpillar
In nature, one way to avoid being eaten is to look like something you’re notDownloadThe Cinereous Mourner is a small, ashy-gray bird that lives in the forest understory of the Amazon Basin. And it’s...
View ArticleGray Camouflage: Dippers and Female Harlequin Ducks
Sometimes it pays to be grayDownloadFor some birds that nest along western streams — including American Dippers and female Harlequin Ducks, like this one — the best way to remain inconspicuous is to...
View ArticleFemale Blackbirds Choose Their Mates
It’s actually the female Red-winged Blackbird that selects the maleDownloadOne male Red-winged Blackbird’s marshland territory may include five—or even as many as fifteen—nesting females. And he makes...
View ArticleThe Colors of Chicken Eggs
(And did you know chickens have earlobes?)DownloadExcept around Easter, chicken eggs usually come in a predictable range of colors: white, brown, and sometimes pale blue or green. Chickens are...
View ArticleSwift Bricks
We can build nesting spots for birds right into buildingsDownloadCommon Swifts in Europe nest in eaves and under roof tiles and gables. But modern construction doesn’t have these nooks and crannies,...
View ArticleStarlings Say It With Flowers
Romantic or practical?DownloadEuropean Starlings regularly adorn their twig nests with marigolds, elderberry flowers, yarrow leaves, and even willow bark — all of which are full of aromatic chemicals,...
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