Western Grebe

Western Grebe aka. Dabchick aka. Swan Grebe aka. Swan-necked Grebe
Lake Merritt, Oakland, California, USA
December 2018
Member of the Grebe Family
★Largest North American Grebe★
§A Waterdance of Grebes§ (and you should really check out that waterdance. These are technically different Grebes (Clark's), but these guys do the same thing, and were once thought to be the same species actually)

Chain-smoker
The type who wants to reach the peak of his hobby or interest. Driven
Zine contributor


You know, there weren't that many fun facts about this guy, aside from that water dancing (which, again, you should really take a look at), so that means there's time for a Naturalist Profile!

Sir William Lawrence

(1783 - 1867)

A busy and complicated guy, William Lawrence was a surgeon and author. He helped found The Lancet, a really important medical journal, and wrote a bunch of medical textbooks. He might have even been coined the term Biology. He's more famous, however, for his pre-Darwinian takes on evolution and human development. His wikipedia page is long and dense, but the long and short of it is he was right about a lot of things that few people were right about at the time, wrong about a lot of things, and also was declared blasphemous by the English court at the time. It is said that the level of caution with which Darwin published his early work could be attributed to what happened to Lawrence. He bounced back from this ignominy eventually and was made a Baron by the queen shortly before his death.

What does any of this have to do with birds? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. There is no mention of this Grebe, or indeed of birds, birding, or even naturalism in his wikipedia page. It almost makes me wonder if I have the wrong 'Sir William Lawrence', but multiple sources describe him as the original describer of this bird, despite it being a bird of the American West, and him being a British Surgeon. A mistake? Who knows! If it were, this would certainly be the first time this blog has been wrong about anything, that's for sure.

Young Birds, Tricky IDs

Lately I've had this experience a lot, where I get a picture of a cool looking bird that I don't think I've gotten before, and wind up stumped. After lots of time intensive searching I discover that the bird doesn't match anything in my guides. Did I just discover a new bird? Well, no, of course not. I'd be lucky to discover that I've remembered to bring my camera with me these days. Mostly what I run into is juvenile birds. Let's go through a few examples, shall we?

Here's a guy who has fooled me twice lately. And you know what they say..
Yes, I know he's just a sparrow, but your amateurnithologist is so hard up for birds lately that even a new sparrow can be a source of excitement. It's going to happen one of these days. Anyway, you'd think the markings here are quite distinctive, and on the head too, which is really the sweet spot for sparrow identification. Rufous streaks on either side of the crown and behind the eyes. Simple as that. Well, turns out this guy is actually a White-crowned Sparrow, who kinda looks nothing like this in adulthood.

Do you see the resemblance? Nah, neither do I.

Here's another great example

Wow, now that is a cool bird! Check the distinctive coloration- and also of note, this guy is big, and a bird of prey to boot. Should be easy as can be to identify. Well, it actually sort of was, once I could do a little searching around. Turns out in their younger days White-tailed Kites are quite colorful. Actually got a picture of him sitting next to an adult, for contrast.

Hey bird? Where'd all your coloration go? Gosh.

So, like, what are you supposed to do about identifying these guys? Well, for me, the most important tip was paying attention to the other birds around them. In both cases, the adults of the family were nearby. Also, if you start to encounter something that looks truly unusual, just start google image searching for "juvenile ______", where the blank is birds that you know are in the area, and belong to the family of the mystery bird you've spotted. I know I'll be going to the juvenile well much more quickly in the future, after these misadventures in bird spotting.

In conclusion, birds are weird. I hope you've enjoyed these birds for what they are. They may not be new, but they look new, and in it's own way, isn't that almost the same thing as being new? The answer is 'no, not really', but a blogger can dream.

Wrentit

Wrentit
Solstice Canyon Park, Malibu, California, USA
July 2018
Member of the Sylvid Family

[Etymology Corner] As you might expect from a bird with a name from the 'we don't know what this bird is' school of naming, there has been some dispute about exactly what family the Wrentit falls in. Is it a Tit? No, but we used to think so. Is it a Wren? Not even close, but it does have an upturned tail like one. For a while we thought that Wrentits were the only member of their own family, ala Limpkins. It turns out that Wrentits are the only representative of a family of birds mostly found in the Mediterranean and Asia, which include parrotbills and babblers.

~True Bird Fact~ A remarkably sedentary bird, Wrentits live only in the narrow stretch of land on the North American coast between the Sierra Mountains and the Pacific. Even more shockingly, these birds barely leave the immediate area of their nest, usually making their own homes only 1200 feet away, on average, from where they were born.

If you want to know where this bird lands, politically speaking, I got one word for you: Chemtrails
Specific junk-food tastes (i.e. only ruffled potato chips)
Collects old magazines and newspapers with 'significant' headlines. Will happily explain his collection to you

Nanday Parakeet

Nanday Parakeet aka. Black-hooded Parakeet aka. Nanday Conure
Solstice Canyon Park, Malibu, California, USA
July 2018
Member of the Lorie, Parakeet, Macaw, and Parrot Family
§A Chatter of Parakeets§

Native To: Central South America. Namely, South-western Brazil and Bolivia, Paraguay and the northern tip of Argentina. A really hearty parakeet, and a popular companion bird, they've made stable breeding populations in a lot of places. You can find Nandays in LA, San Antonio, Phoenix, various Floridian cities, Puerto Rico, and even Haifa, Israel. They're so good at surviving that they've been banned as pets in some states, since they can have a negative impact on native species.

~True Bird Fact~ Popular pets still for their temperment and intelligence. They live up to 20 years, learn to speak, and can do tricks. They're also known to give their owners a shock by sometimes falling asleep on their back with their feet sticking up in the air. I wonder if this behavior happens in the wild...

A blogger
A new father, sporting a trademark sense of discomfort from not really knowing what he's doing
You know, if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense that posts on his blog would decrease pretty significantly, at least during the first few months of his son's life.
And I'm sure his readers won't mind and will be totally understanding, and maybe even prefer pictures of the baby over pictures of whatever he was posting before

You know, there's something about this bird and his personality that feels... familiar to me. Probably nothing. Either way, look for more exciting bird blog posts, probably like, once a month.

Red-whiskered Bulbul

Red-whiskered Bulbul aka. Crested Bulbul
Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Arcadia, California, USA
July 2018
Member of the Bulbul Family

Native to:  India, Pakistan, Southern China, Southeast Asia

{Etymology Corner} Bulbul translates to Nightingale in Arabic or Persian. These birds are actually in a different family than Nightingales, which are Thrushes. But like, come on, it's pretty similar.

~True Bird Fact~ The Red-whiskered Bulbul in another non-native bird. They have stable, but fairly limited populations in certain cities in South Florida and Southern California, which have enough exotic plants and a similar enough climate to their home. They were also released in Hawaii and there have taken off like gangbusters, to the frustration of native bird fans. Like many non-natives, Red-whiskered Bulbul was brought to the states first as a pet. They were and are popular cagebirds in Indian and Southeast Asia, apparently being fairly easy to domesticate/train. Not a great song though, so I guess it's a wash.

Loves hugs
Goes to lots of nerd culture conventions
(Justifiably) annoyed when people ask her where she's really from

Nuttall's Woodpecker

Nuttall's Woodpecker
Solstice Canyon Park, Malibu, California, USA
July 2018
Member of the Woodpecker Family
§A Descent of Woodpeckers§

~True Bird Fact~ Not a tremendously interesting bird, since most of the fun facts I could find about her were things like "she lives near oak trees, BUT DOESN'T EAT ACORNS!" We love to have fun here in the birding community. One thing that's kind of neat, that this bird has in common with last week's Island Jay, is that she developed into a distinct species as a result of a geological split (this time by a desert, not a body of water). Nuttall's speciated from the much larger-ranged Ladder-backed Woodpeckers some time between 2.5 million and 11 thousand years ago, and now only live in Califorina (both the US and Mexican states).

Big fan of 'fun' office supplies (i.e. You Don't Have to be Crazy to Work Here... But it Helps!)
Taking a karate class
They say she doesn't eat acorns, but she tries one every once in a while just to make sure she still doesn't like them



So we have another bird named after an old white dude, so you know what that means. It's another Naturalist Profile!

Thomas Nuttall

(1786 - 1859)

I swear half these guys are named Thomas. Anyway, Nuttall was mostly a botanist who did a lot of work cataloging the plants and trees of the young United States. Mostly considered to be a birding guy because of his popular bird book, Manual of the Ornithology of the United States and Canada, which he published in 1832. He also published the first complete record of the Tree Species of North America. It was called North American Sylva: Trees not described by F. A. Michaux. That's the name of another botanist who was working at the time, so yes, this book appears to be a 19th century sub-tweet.

He's got some other stuff named after him, but it appears to be mostly named in honor of him by other people. This woodpecker here, for example, was 'discovered' by his bro William Gambel, whose quail we are acquainted with. I'll take this to mean that he was well liked. He did go on a ton of expeditions and seems like he was very enthusiastic about nature. I give Thomas Nuttall 4/5 stars.

Island Scrub-Jay

Island Scrub-Jay aka. Island Jay aka. Santa Cruz Jay aka. Santa Cruz Island Scrub-Jay
Prisoners Harbor, Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park, Ventura, California, USA
July 2018
Member of the Crows and Jays Family
§A Party of Jays§

~True Bird Fact~ Once considered to be a sub-species of Scrub-Jay, but spun off into his own species in 1995 (while the other Scrub-Jays became Florida and Western based on where they lived). Since then, we've also seen Western split into Woodhouse's and California Scrub-Jays. Complicated stuff for a bunch of birds that look very alike. Let's see just how alike, shall we?

Island Scrub-Jays are supposedly brighter in color, larger (by 15%), and have a larger beak (20%) than their mainland relatives. The species split about 150,000 years ago, and the specialized island lifestyle (i.e. thick-shelled acorns = thicker, stronger beak) has resulted in these changes manifesting fairly quickly. Side by side like this? I can kinda see it. They also have somewhat different personalities, with these Island guys having less of a fear of people and more curiosity. After I first spotted them, they seemed to follow me around for a while and see what I was up to. Which one do you think is which, reader? Highlight for answer- Top is California, Bottom Island

How Endangered Are They? One of the rarest birds in the USA, there are only about 2,300 of these guys, and they only live on Santa Cruz Island, one of several islands that are part of California's Channel Islands National Park. While they're pretty easy to find once you're there, their entire habitat is less than 100 square miles, which makes them vulnerable to catastrophic events, like a fire, or the outbreak of disease. They are categorized as Vulnerable by the IUCN. They are one of only two species that are endemic (found nowhere else) to California, along with bird blog alum Yellow-billed Magpie.

This great, great bird was first described by

Henry Henshaw

(1850 - 1930)

Born in Massuchutsets, he got his start as a field naturalist when he had to give up school due to poor health, and instead went on a collecting trip to Louisiana. I don't really know how that is better for your health, but I guess it worked for Henry. He went on a number of successful collecting trips throughout the Southwest. During this time he co-founded a lot of bird related clubs, including the Nuttall Ornithological Club, the American Ornithologists' Union, and the National Geographic Society.

In 1893 another bout of ill health led to him moving to Hawaii (has poor health ever been better for anyone than it was for this guy?) He continued to research birds there, and his witnessing of the mass extinction of native Hawaiian birds led him to dedicate the rest of his life to conservation and the popularization of birding. He gave permission for his popular birding book, Fifty Common Birds of Farm and Orchard, to be published in National Geographic, which led to the creation of the National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America. His lobbying efforts led to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act being signed into law in 1918. He seems like he was a really good guy.

Eastern Bluebird

Eastern Bluebird
Cochran Mill Park, Palmetto, Georgia, USA
April 2018
Member of the Thrush Family

§A Mutation of Thrushes§

★State Bird of Missouri and New York★

~true bird fact~ Interesting conservation history here- this bird really struggled in the early 20th century as a result of competition from more aggressive introduced European species, like the European Starling and the House Sparrow (curse you again, Shakespeare-bird-lunatic). Since these are all hole-nesting birds, the more aggressive species often beat out the Bluebird for spots. In the 1960's an effort was started to create bluebird trails and bluebird specific nesting boxes, accessible only to them and not their competitors. As a result, bluebirds have made a real comeback, but almost all of them live and nest in one of these man-made boxes. Perhaps this great effort was made because, quoth wikipeida "The bright-blue breeding plumage of the male, easily observed on a wire or open perch, makes this species a favorite of birders." No. Citation. Provided.

A real hat-wearer

Has strong feelings on the superiority of the East vs. the West coast

Presents well initially (as a friend/employee/partner), but often will let you down over the long term as his natural habits and personality come out

Birding the World Cup Top 4: Our Birld Cup 2018 Exclusive Coverage

Hello sportsfans and birdsfans and welcome to Amateurnithologist's 2018 World Cup Coverage! Are you interested in having a little bit of bird trivia to help you make your top 4 bracket decisions? Good news if so, cause it's my GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL to provide exactly that to you! Just like we did in 2014, we're going to compare teams based on a number of bird related factors, and then, through a process that combines state-of-the-art techniques from the fields of statistics, ornithology, alchemy, and sociology, determine the likely winner! As you may remember, we have a 100% record of predicting sporting events correctly based on birds, like, probably. So let's get off on the right FOOT and get this BALL rolling.

France

National Bird: Gallic Rooster
Say what you will about the French and their strange choice of national bird- they are strong and consistent in their love and appreciation of chickens. The Gallic Rooster or le coq gaulois, is not only the national bird, but a symbol of the nation itself. The rooster's french phonetic cry, cocorico, is sometimes shouted as an expression of patriotic pride. Think U! S! A! (French people sound off in the comments if you have every made this sound). This rooster love goes way, way back, like to the Middle Ages, and is more than I'm going to get into in a blog ostensibly about the World Cup, but you can check Wikipedia for more detail. Anyway, not only do they have a love of their national bird, it is already tied thematically into sports and football. The French National rugby team uses the coq as it's mascot, and when the World Cup was in France in 1998, the mascot was a rooster named Footix.

The Metrics:
Number of Bird Species: 591
Bird Liking Quotient: 1.629
What would soccer analysis be without reliance on some extremely dubious, but scientific sounding metrics. Here we've taken data from Avibase's Bird Checklists of the World. This number includes all sorts of rarities, introduced species, and migrants, making it hopefully the most optimistic possible number of types of birds you could see there. The bird liking quotient is a little less straightforward, but involves dividing the national population by the number of hits you get when you google "Birding in France". I know that sounds like a crazy way to measure something, but you can't argue with statistics. France, by the way, does pretty well by these metrics, being 2nd in bird diversity and 3rd in birding enthusiasm

The X-factors:

J. G. Keulemans, 1885

Endemic Species? Corsican Nuthatch, Corsican Finch
Best Birding Spot? Corsica obvs
The French island of Corsica has to be a lock for best place to go birding, since it has two species you'll find nowhere else in the world, along with a host of other rarities. The Mediterranean island gives you a good chance for a whole variety of seabirds, along with a bunch of others. France has put up a strong showing and is clearly the country to beat.

Belgium

Andreas Trepte, c/o Wikipedia

National Bird: Common Kestrel
Don't let the name fool you, this bird is anything but common. Closely related to your beloved friend, the American Kestrel, this bird is a master hunter of stealth and agility. The Kestrel has long been associated with prowess in battle and mastery of aerial combat. If you still don't know who this bird is maybe you'd prefer his latin name, which translates to Screeching Sickle, or his alternate names Eurasian Kestrel, Windhover, Windcuffer, or something even ruder that won't be making an appearance on this family-friendly blog.

The Metrics:
Number of Bird Species: 457
BLQ: 3.427

An impressive BLQ cannot hide a subpar number of birds for Belgium, leaving the relatively small nation at a disadvantage. What if we corrected for nation size by even more bird math? Dividing number of recorded bird species by area, we come up with a metric France scores .0024 while Belgium gets a much more respectable .0388 (the highest number among the competitors). We'll call this number Bird Species Density, of BSD.

The X-factors:

photo by Natuurpunt

Endemic Species? Nope
Best Place to Go Birding? Groenwaecke Polders
The first line of the first website hit by a google search was "Belgium is probably not the best country for birding" Thanks for the honesty, fatbirder.com, but that means it's not looking good for the underdogs and their delicious waffles. There are some choice spots though, including a shipping port that hosts the largest tern colonies in Western Europe. I'm going to go with Groenwaecke Polders, however, since in winter it attracts tens of thousands of pink-footed and white-fronted geese, along with a who's who of other European birds. I'd check it out for sure, if I was in Belgium.

Croatia

Carlos Delgado c/o Wikipedia

National Bird: Common Nightingale
So no, this is not a particularly interesting looking bird, but it is famous. The Nightingale's melancholy song has been described as one of the most beautiful sounds in nature, and this has given it prominence in a whole variety of classical art, literature, and poetry. An artist's bird, Shakespeare, Keats, and Shelley all had poems comparing the artist to the nightingale, and vise-versa. Even Beethoven got in on the act, mimicking the birds call with flutes in his Pastoral Symphony. The Nightingale appears on the Croatian 1 Kuna coin, making it analogous to America's positioning of Abraham Lincoln. A pretty great bird, but can it SPORTS?

The Metrics:
Number of Bird Species: 408
BLQ: 5.155
BSD: .0187

With the mightiest BLQ we've seen so far, and an impressive BSD, Croatia presents itself as a plucky challenger to it's competitors. Still, that's not a lotta birds. Let's see if Croatia can offer anything to make up for that deficit.

The X-factors:

Endemic Species? Nah
Best Place to Go Birding? The Lastovo Archipelago
Unlike Belgium, there seems to be a fair amount of info about birding Croatia on the internet- perhaps Croatia is in an active push to attract nature-based tourism in a way that Belgium isn't. Either way, CroatiaBirding.hr describes it as an 'emerging birding destination', and I'm inclined to believe them. The country's unique shape means that is has land in the mountains and a long stretch of Adriatic Sea coastline. It's also within both the central and western European migration corridor, leading to an unusual diversity of birds. The unique geographical features mean that Croatia is home to 78 endangered bird species, more than any other small or medium sized European country. Again I'll quote the Fat Birder "undoubtedly one of the pearls of European birding". If I had to pick one spot, it would be the Lastovo Archipelago, which houses the unique colonies unique in Europe of Yelkouan Shearwaters and Eleonoras Falcons.

England

Emmanuel Douzery c/o Wikipedia

National Bird: European Robin
My antipathy for the American Robin is well known by this point, but I just can't feel the same way about this little guy. What a cutie! A classic and classy choice for national bird for sure, and seems to capture the English character. One quibble- with Brexit looming, will a bird with 'European' in the name still be allowed in the country? The Robin is a prominent figure in folklore, and British folklore specifically (a good sign for a national bird). A couple great folkloric theories about the Robin's red breast- it sang into Jesus' ear to comfort him as he was up on the cross and was thus stained with his blood OR the Robin was bringing water to souls suffering in purgatory and his breast was singed. The Robin sure is metal in these conceptions. He is the symbol of several English and Welsh football clubs, so you know he's got experience.

The Metrics:
Number of Bird Species: 628
BLQ: 1.828
BSD: .007

The number of bird species just crushes here, and may be a deciding factor for England (which, for the purposes of these calculations, includes the greater United Kingdom). The BLQ and BSD are both higher than the other top 4 birding (and football) powerhouse France's are, but they still aren't close to the enthusiasm and sheer bird density seen in the smaller countries.

The X-factors:

Richard Crossley c/o Wikipedia (this picture was too wild not to use, sorry to your eyes)

Endemic Species? Scottish Crossbill

Best Place to Go Birding? Isle of Rum
Here again you can see the inherent advantage in birding that the UK gets for being a series of relatively widely spread island nations. If Scottland was an independent nation, we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now. Regardless of how England acquired it, the existence of an endemic species is a real leg up in the competition. While there are many great birds to be found across the varying islands of the UK (including Puffins in Northern Ireland!), I'm going to give it to the Isle of Rum, where you can find the White-tailed Eagle, a magnificent bird of prey even larger than the Golden Eagle (which you can also find there). The islands are also home to an insane number of Manx Shearwaters.

Alright, so that should be everything you need to figure out exactly how the final four will play out! Wait, you wanted ME to do the predicting? Fine, fine, let me just run all those numbers through the Football9000 Supercomputer

Beep Boop Borp

and here we go, the order of finish in the 2018 World Cup, based EXCLUSIVELY on bird data

1. England
2. France
3. Croatia
4. Belgium

Congratulations to England on it's victory (the Puffins pushed it over the top by .02%). The calculations were so close, however, that if England doesn't technically include Scottland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, it falls all the way to third place, behind Croatia. So it would look like

1. France
2. Croatia
3. England
4. Belgium

Of course we could also see a fluctuation in France's place in the standings, depending on whether or not the Island of Corsica should really count as France.It'd be an upset but we could be looking at

1. Croatia
2. France
3. England
4. Belgium

Well, with that definitively settled, we offer our congratulations to either England or France or Croatia, great job in the 2018 Birld Cup!

Brown Thrasher

Brown Thrasher aka. Brown Thrush aka. Fox-coloured Thrush (erroneous, archaic)
Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
April 2018
Member of the Mockingbird and Thrasher Family 
§ A Shred of Thrashers§ *
★State Bird of Georgia★ (and a good one at that, IMO. Top 10 in the definitive State Bird Power Ranking is nothing to look down on)

{Etymology Corner}  Thrasher is a weird name for a bird, huh? Sounds closer to a 90's AOL Screen-name than a medium sized mockingbird. Speculation is that it's a derivation/evolution of Thrush, a type of bird that this is not, but this does at least offer an explanation of why some people call it a Brown Thrush.

~true bird fact~ Able to vocalize somewhere between 1000 and 3000+ songs, depending on who you're asking. Some sources say this puts him at the rank of the ★bird who knows the most songs★


Sensitive to bad smells
Has an unassuming quality that makes people underestimate her 
Sometimes solves mysteries

If Birds Were Tracks on Kanye's College Drop Out

Hi, hello, bird blog readers. This might surprise some of you, but once upon a time, and briefly, I wrote a rap blog. What can I say, I've always enjoyed writing about things that I care about. Even though the rap blog is not something I'm particularly interested in writing or showing off now, I did have fun with it. And so today, I'm mashin' up two of my long-time loves- birds and rap.

Today I'll be taking some birds I saw on a recent and fruitful hike to Mt. Burdell and asking the very normal question "What if they were songs from Kanye West's* 2004 instant classic, The College Drop Out?"

 *Aside- Kanye West is a complicated figure, especially lately. I'm not really interested in diving into the intersection between his mental health, political views, fame, ego, and all of that right here. Believe it or not that isn't a topic I want to blog about. I'll just leave it at saying that I am a fan of Kanye's music, even the newer stuff. Although I haven't been able to get myself to listen to Ye just yet.

And since that leaves no further questions about this premise or the sense that it makes, let's get to the birds!



Western Bluebird
College Drop Out Song: We Don't Care
The Western Bluebird to me is a sign that you're in for a special day of birding, just like We Don't Care delivers a clear message that you're about to hear something special. The triumphant tone and message of We Don't Care matches up well with the bluebird, who has long been a symbol of happiness, a light in dark times. There is also clearly a well-earned cynicism present in the track, and indeed this stands as a statement of purpose for the album as a whole. Much like the bluebird presents what's best about birding, this song shows off what's best about rap- it's ability to make statements. This is a strong opening bird and a strong opening track.



Wild Turkey
College Drop Out Song: Jesus Walks
This comparison goes beyond the fact that Turkeys mostly walk, rather than fly like most birds. This bird is bombastic and overstuffed in a way that reminds me of the epic tone struck by the lyrics and beat of Jesus Walks. Jesus Walks is easily the smash hit off of College Drop Out, and it's hard to find a bird that's been more successful or is bigger. Although the Wild Turkey is really magnificent when you stop and consider it, it's been somewhat ruined by ubiquity. Just as I would often choose another bird over this Turkey, there are times when I skip Jesus Walks. I've just heard it enough times. Also, Jesus Walks being a Christianity-focused song works well with the Turkey, who some have argued is a singular representative of American values.



Mourning Doves
College Drop Out Song: Get Em High
My feeling is that Kanye's greatest talent has always been in his collaboration with others and in knowing when more is better. Get Em High absolutely packs in the star power in the guest verses, featuring both Common and Talib Kweli. A bird that relies heavily on its flock, the mourning dove sleeps and migrates communally, and raises young in bonded pairs, so it certainly understands Kanye's motivation here. There is strength in numbers. The Mourning Dove is one of the most abundant birds in North America, and although Get Em High was never a single, it might have the most widespread appeal of a track on the album, since it features several well-known and well-loved lyricists. Also worth noting- a lot of our urban birds are in the pigeon/dove family, and I'd argue that Mourning Doves are second only to Rock Doves as the most city-feeling bird, which makes them a perfect match of the dark, propulsive, urban production on Get Em High.



Ash-throated Flycatcher
College Drop Out Song: All Falls Down
The Lauryn Hill sample on this track mirrors the gentle, graceful swoops of this deft Flycatcher species. Although it's not anyone's favorite bird, it has longevity and you often forget that you've seen it a million times, giving it good replay value. Much like All Falls Down, Ash-throated Flycatcher doesn't overstay his welcome and never gets old. All Falls Down is a song that is about the pressures of living in a society that values material things over all else, and this bird is certainly 'self conscious' and flighty, rarely staying in the same place for long and occasionally showing up well outside of it's usual range. Almost like it's trying to run away from something. Flycatchers are also plucky, bold birds. Much like 2004 Kanye, this bird can take on animals much larger than it and walk away the victor.



Black Phoebe
College Drop Out Song: Through the Wire
Much like Kanye West after his car accident, the Black Phoebe can't really open his mouth wide enough to eat normal food, but instead of subsisting on protein drinks, he eats mostly bugs (the bird does). But that's not where the comparisons end- the chipmunk-voice vocals on Through the Wire are surprisingly reminiscent of the high-pitched squeak of the Black Phoebe, marking this bird as a possible inspiration or co-creator. Aside from this, Through the Wire highlights another trademark of Kanye's early music, a contrast between serious content and light production elements. The track is effervescent and energetic, over Kanye talking about one of the most traumatic experiences of his life. This pitch-black bird flits and bobs engagingly from branch to branch in a way that is inarguably reminiscent. This bird also frequently alights on wires, as if those other similarities weren't enough!

Well, that's our Last Call for today. What did you think? Would you have chosen different songs off of College Drop Out for these birds? Which bird would be Never Let Me Down (one of my favorite tracks off the album)? What album would you like to see me bird-itize next? Sound off in the comments or send me and e-mail or something, I guess.

Western Kingbird

Western Kingbird aka. Arkansas Kingbird (archaic)
Mt Burdell Preserve, Novato, California, USA
May 2018
Member of the Tyrant/Flycatcher Family
§A Tyranny of Kingbirds§

{Etymology Corner} Certainly someone was very impressed with these birds to grant them such a regal name, right? Well... maybe they were an anti-monarchist, because kingbirds are named as such because of their aggressive and "take-charge" behavior (quoth wikipedia). I guess the name dickbird was already taken, so this makes sense.

~true bird fact~ Ironic for a country founded on defying a king, we in America have done nothing but contribute to the Kingbird's reign. By cutting forests and creating pastures and farms, we have created ideal habitat for this plains-hunting specialist. Not only that, but utility wires make for ideal Kingbird perches.


A real jokester, does a lot of silly voices
Doesn't agree with the concept of privilege, despite having it in abundance
Has a great sense of physicality. Comfortable in his body

Bullock's Oriole

Bullock's Oriole 
Mt Burdell Preserve, Novato, California, USA
May 2018
Member of the Blackbird/Oriole Family
§A Pitch of Orioles§

~true bird fact~ Like many Orioles, has a real sweet tooth. Eats nectar, berries, and fruit, and even steals the sugar-water from hummingbird feeders if given the opportunity. Unlike his cousin, Hooded Oriole, who goes for citrus, he prefers grape jelly, if you're looking to give him a treat/reason to go to your backyard (again, sounds made up, but this is true).

A sweet boy
Gets excited and starts talking faster
People like to laugh at his jokes, not because they're funny, but because he is funny



So you're probably wondering who this Bullock is, right? I mean, you don't come to this blog because you don't care about the people birds are named after. So that means it's time for our most frequently-unread feature, Naturalist Corner! [the theme from Naturalist Corner plays]

 Sandra Bullock

(1964 - Present)

Sandra Bullock is an actress, producer, ornithologist, and philanthropist. She is best known for discovering this bird while filming Speed.

Ok, fine, that gag was not worth it. By the way, it's pretty hard to google up an image of 'drawing of Sandra Bullock' that doesn't give you a weird vibe.

William Bullock

(1773 - 1849)

While he's no Sandra Bullock, this guy had a pretty interesting life too. While he began his professional career as a goldsmith and jeweler, it wasn't long before he opened up an oddities and antiquities museum. Yup, this Oriole might as well be called Ripley's Birdlieve It or Not. Some of his collection was gathered from James Cook's expeditions, and include art and natural history objects. This exhibition was super popular in London. You know, #JustColonialismThings.

Not content to let the new world discoveries come to him, Bullock went on a couple of trips to Mexico and the United States to 1) gather specimens, 2) speculate on silver mining, and 3) make a failed attempt to start a utopian city called Hygeia. So basically, any naturalism was a pretty tertiary interest. He didn't even find this bird himself- it was officially described first by William Swainson, who in a classy move, named it after Bullock, saying that he 'drew on material' collected by him on one of these Mexico trips.

Lark Sparrow

Lark Sparrow
Mt Burdell Preserve, Novato, California, USA 
May 2018 
Member of the American Sparrow Family 
§A Crew of Sparrows§

~true bird fact~ Sometimes a Lark Sparrow will take over an unused Mockingbird or Thrasher nest rather than build it's own. Sometimes it doesn't even bother with the 'unused' part, and just lays it's eggs in a currently in-use nest. Amazingly the other birds don't seem to mind, and both sets of young can coexist together. Very utopian.

Cavalier. Doesn't mind taking risks
Is good at making crazy ideas sound reasonable
Puts others at ease