Lmst

Wrens, tanagers, cardinals, and other small passerines flap about in @KateShaw 's wonderful new episode. Even the extinct New Zealand Wren comes in. The family Troglodytidae is mentioned, but secret dark undergound empire of subterranean wrens is not.
https://strangeanimalspodcast.blubrry.net/2025/03/31/episode-426-lots-of-little-birds/

#birds
#passerines
#songBirds

🌎 Tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) #NorthAmericanBirds #CentralAmericanBirds | #TreeSwallow #Swallows #Passerines #PerchingBirds | #birds #birdsoftheworld 🦜 Photo by JackBulmer

🌎 Tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

Tree Swallows are small, agile birds with a sleek, iridescent blue-green back and a contrasting white underside, giving them a tuxedo-like appearance. They have long, pointed wings and a forked tail, making them well-suited for aerial acrobatics. These birds are highly social and often seen in flocks, particularly during migration. They are primarily insectivores, catching insects in flight with their sharp beaks.

Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)

Distribution: Tree Swallows are migratory birds, spending their summers in North America and their winters in South America.

Class: Aves (Birds)
Order: Passeriformes (Passerines, Perching birds)
Family: Hirundinidae (Swallows, Martins, and Saw-wings)
Genus: Tachycineta
Species: T. bicolor

CC: CSDS

📷: Photo by JackBulmer via Pixabay

The Verdin: one of the smallest passerines in North America is one of the most beautiful. #naturephotography #birds #birders #birdwatchers #PalmSprings #Passerines #AuriparusFlaviceps #birdwatching #naturephotos #BirdsOfPixelfed #Verdin

A grey bird with a head the color of lemon icing.

How evolution has optimized the magnetic sensor in birds
https://phys.org/news/2024-04-evolution-optimized-magnetic-sensor-birds.html

Adaptive #evolution and loss of a putative magnetoreceptor in #passerines: Corinna Langebrake et al. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.2308

"there have been significant evolutionary changes in the gene for the protein #cryptochrome 4 and certain groups of #birds have lost it entirely. This is indicative of adaptation to varying environmental conditions and supports the theory that cryptochrome 4 functions as a sensor protein."

Drawing of a small bird standing on a pattern evoking the lines of a magnetic field

what if more than half of dinosaur species during the Cretaceous were little fluffy chirpy tree-dwelling birds just like today?

Is it even possible to construct a good argument that this is unlikely, given that such small tree-dwelling birds are unlikely to be preserved?

#dinosaurs
#birds
#Cretaceous
#passerines
#speculation

It is the sexy, wind-swept look for this white-throated sparrow.

#sparrows #whitethroatedsparrow #yxe #passerines #greatmigration23 #gardenbirds

A sparrow us sitting on a weathered wooden fence, feathers slightly ruffled by the wind

While a lot of the migrants seem to have taken Equinox as their hint to take the long "road" south, with all the warblers seemingly disappearing overnight, a Lincoln sparrow, just recently arrived, is still hanging about.

#greatmigration23 #sparrows #lincolnsparrow #birdwatching #birdphotography #gardenbirds #wildlifegardening #passerines

A dapper little sparrow is sitting on a wood fence. Vaguely striped on the edges of its breast, with a dark eyestripe, a bit of Mohican on its head, and reddish brown wings.

"Do you prefer this pose?" A White-throated sparrow seemed to want to model for the photographer (me) this afternoon.

#whitethroatedsparrow #sparrow #passerines #yxe #birds #birdphotography #wildlifegardening

A sparrow sits on a sunflower leaf stalk, half facing away, looking over its shoulder directly at the camera. Its white throat and golden yellow coronet are beautifully displayed.

After a few days' absence, the Orange-crowned warblers showed up again. I had suspected that they already left, but no. This one is eyeing the bounty in the neighbour's Acer. A lot of aphids among other bugs right now.

#orangecrownedwarbler #birds #birdwatching #birdphotography #passerines #gardenbirds #greatmigration23 #warblers #yxe #wildlifegardening

An olive coloured bird with a slightly more grayish head and a small eyestripe is sitting among twigs and leaves, staring up at the underside of the leaves which even at this distance shows the presence of a magnificent aphid banquet.

A White-crowned sparrow stopped over to pose for their portrait today. What a handsome bird!

#birds #whitecrownedsparrow #sparrows #passerines #gardenbirds #yxe #greatmigration23 #birdphotography #yxe

A very handsome sparrow is perched on a sunflower stalk, staring straight at the camera over their shoulder. The wings are mostly brown with white stipples, but the head is very striking, with a central white stripe flanked by 2 black ones, with white stripes on the edges. It has a orange-red beak.

An ovenbird stopped by - it is now about the time they finally set their sights south. See you next year!

#ovenbird #greatmigration23 #passerines #birdwatching #birdphotography #birds #yxe

A small bird (slightly bigger than a sparrow) sits on a thick lilac branch, framed by out-of-foxus leaves. It's back, head and wings are rusty brow, while all of its underside is white with black stripes.

A few yellow-rumped warblers have been coming round the last few days to fatten up before their journey south.

#birds #warblers #yellowrumpedwarbler #birdphotography #gardenbirds #wildlifegardening #yxe #passerines #greatmigration23

A little warbler is sitting on a near vertical, blood red ricinus stem. It has greyish wings, with a striped breast and yellowish stains under the chin, on the side and above the tail.

Oh, and another little migrant just popped in for the very first time! A Pine Siskin, of the finch family. Another demonstration of why one shouldn't deadhead all the flowers this time of year. Not all seedeaters like feeders.

#pinesiskin #finch #passerines #wildlifegardening #yxe #birds #birdphotography

A stripey little bird, dark brown stripes on a light whitish brown background. They are sitting on a nodding sunflower, pecking at it.

Well, they have arrived, another herald of the cold to come. First Dark-eyed Juncos arrived this morning. We are just a tad south of their year-round territory, meaning we only see them here in the city in the cold months.

#junco #darkeyedjunco #birds #gardenbirds #yxe #passerines #greatmigration

A small, grey birds with a darker grey fave and upper breast is poking around a bit of soil et.

A goldfinch in winter garden sitting in my early autumn garden, probably hummingbird to itself- "Change and decay, in all around I see!"

#goldfinch #gardenbirds #passerines #autumn #fall #birds #birdphotography #gardenbirds #yxe

A goldinch sits among green and veoen milkweed leaves, it's chest turned to sandy yellow and its wings brownish, apart from the telltale black bands. It's expression is sad, longing.

Another of my spring and autumn migration visitors just showed up in the garden: A White-throated Sparrow.

#sparrows #whitethroatedsparrow #birds #birding #birdphotography #gardenbirds #passerines #wildlifegardening

A handsome sparrow sits among spruce branches, on full afternoon sun. While it is looking to the left, one can just see its white throat, and the stripey head - 2 dark stripes (on the side of the face that we cam see), separated by a golden cream stripe

📷 Que diriez-vous d’un petit #roitelet huppé (Regulus regulus) pour égayer ce mardi un peu gris ? Le plus petit oiseau d’Europe, avec ses 5 grammes en moyenne. #oiseau #oiseaux #bird #photo #photography #birding #regulus #nature #passerines #400mm #a7rii #birdsofmastodon #wren

Sur une fine branche pourvue de feuilles bien vertes est posé un roitelet huppé à la crête jaune/orange vif. Il semble être prêt à bondir.

Riddle:

With eagle's beak and raptor feet,
I’m ruthless when it’s time to eat.
I wear a black mask on my eyes.
My victims meet their grim demise
On pointed barb or thorny spike.
The mockingbird’s my lookalike,
Though we are not at all the same.
And butcher is my family name.

What am I?

#riddlepoems #poetry #smallpoems
#poetrycommunity #birding #birdwatching #passerines

I had my first ever visit by a crossbill this week - a red crossbill decided to fortify himself for the coming passage south with sunflower seed. Always a good idea to not deadhead all the flowers.

#gardenbirds #passerines #birdphotography #prairiebirds #crossbill #wildlifegardening #birds

A red crossbill, in fact more of an orange hue than red, is sitting above a drooping sunflower, a seed in its curiously shaped bill. As the name suggests, the upper and lower beaks don't meet but cross.

Riddle:

My mate and I, we look the same
And dwell in holes by family name.
Attested in Old Pliny’s words,
I won the title, “King of Birds”
For flying higher than the Eagle.
My methods weren’t exactly legal:
I hid myself, a tiny thing,
Within the plumage of his wing.

What am I?

#riddlepoems #poetry #smallpoems #poetrycommunity #birds #birding #birdwatching #passerines #songbird #ancientgreece #classics #naturalhistory #pliny #fable #legend #mythology

#passerines

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