Interesting Birds
January 27, 2010
Every once in a while, an interesting bird shows up in our backyards, something that makes us take a second look. This gray bird was photographed recently in southern California.
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The bird has all the field marks of an orange-crowned warbler, a bird fairly common in that area, with its thin beak, unmarked tail and wings, and white eye crescents. But orange-crowned warblers characteristically have yellow undertail coverts and their plumage is mostly olive and yellow. Furthermore, the subspecies found in southern California is the yellowest variety of orange-crowned warbler.
We think this bird lacks the yellow color because of a genetic mutation. Has anyone else seen such a gray orange-crowned warbler?
And as if cardinals were not colorful enough, here is a recent picture from Mississippi of a male cardinal with bright white patches. Birds that are partially albino are unusual but not that uncommon. It is likely that they are quite visible to predators and may not live very long.
© Bonnie Vaden
Our final interesting bird is an unusual Canada Goose. It looks perfectly normal, from the neck up, but the body is clear white. Check out the video below.
You never know what sort of bird you will run into. Tell us about your “interesting birds.”
Bird of the Month
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Coffee Review
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A review of Bird Friendly and shade-grown coffees by Kenneth Davids is now available.
Global Market for Bird Friendly Coffee
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A summary of the market penetration of Bird Friendly® coffee is now available. It includes information on which countries grow it and how much they grow. Also includes information on the North American and Japanese markets.
Jamaica Research
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November’s Bird of the Month
November 4, 2009
copyright Jerry Acton
Swamp Sparrow Song
November 3, 2009
copyright Gerhard Hofmann
Behold the glory of the male coastal plain swamp sparrow’s song from the female’s perspective! Caution: Rated PG-17
National Zoo Now Features Bird Friendly® Coffee from El Salvador
October 16, 2009
The coffee comes from the unique Santa Teresa Estate in El Salvador owned by Marco and Teresa Batres.
The Santa Teresa Coffee Estate, operated by the Batres family for more than a century, is really an active volcano turned into a coffee estate. It may be the only coffee plantation in the world surrounded by geysers and thermal springs.
October’s Bird of the Month
October 1, 2009
© George Jameson
