Black-capped Chickadee

Black-capped Chickadee
Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Member of the Titmouse and Chickadee Family
★State Bird of Massachusetts and Maine★
§A Banditry of Chickadees§

~true bird fact~ Chickadees are tiny, tiny birds, so you might expect them to be kind of dumb. They do have super-small brains, after all. However, all evidence points to them actually being very bright- they've got an extremely complex system of communication, having different calls for alarms, contact calls, identifying specific other birds, or even other flocks. They can also remember food that they've stored in hundreds of different places. They even appear to have some kind of social hierarchy within their flocks. How do they do this? Well, apparently Chickadee neurons die off in huge numbers every year in the autumn, allowing them to grow new neurons which quickly pick up new and useful information. In other words they never run out of room to learn new things.

Curiosity and mischievous nature often gets her into trouble
Precocious vocabulary, very dramatic
Plucky
Even grumpy old people can't help but smile at her positive attitude
Orphaned by her parents at a young age

Purple Swamp Hen!

I have never used an exclamation mark in the title of one of my blogs before (nb: this may not be true, but I'm not going to check), so you can already tell that something exciting is going on. This may be the closest your fav. bird blog (FBB) comes to a juicy exclusive. Yes, more exciting than the actual wild parrots of telegraph hill, or that burrowing owl interview we landed back in december. Today, I bring you the Purple Swamp Hen, the most recent bird to officially be welcomed to America. Usually only found in the mysterious eastern hemisphere kingdoms of Africa, Australia, The Middle East, and Asia, he is a non-native species that has now taken enough of a toe-hold that he is considered to be a more or less permanent part of our natural fauna.

His meteoric rise to official bird-dom began in the late 90's when he escaped from bird collectors in south Floirda. Although for a while conservationists attempted to exterminate the invasive species, the Purple Swamp Hen was able to spread and multiply to the point where the American Birding Association finally declared him to be an official 'checklist bird' in 2013 (he is number 977 for those curious about such things). We understand that the topic of non-native species is a sticky one, but we are really happy for Purple Swamp Hen and welcome him with open arms. He is really cool looking. Without further ado-
Purple Swamp Hen aka. pūkeko aka. Sultana Bird
Wakodahatchee Wetlands, Delray Beach, Florida, USA
Member of the Rails, Gallinules, and Coots Family

~true bird fact~ Ancient Romans of aristocratic classes often kept Purple Swamp Hens as decorative pets at large villas and mansions (think peacocks at Southern Estates). Romans didn't eat these birds and regarded them as noble.

~true bird myth~ The native Maori people of New Zealand and Samoa also saw the Purple Swamp Hen as a bird with leadership qualities. Only elders were allowed to keep them as pets, and they were, again, never eaten. They were sometimes regraded to be earthly incarnations of trickster demons called Vave. Perhaps they are.


Super in-shape. One ripped bird.
Reacts quickly and decisively, even in situations where he is not the most qualified bird
Roughhouses with his friends
Surprisingly has a real musical talent

American Coot

American Coot
Oakland, California, USA
Member of the Coots and Rails Family
§A Covert of Coots§

~true bird fact~ Coots are common enough all over the country that scientists use their population to measure the impact of the myriad environmental fiascoes we visit upon ourselves. Thanks Coot!

Name has been misappropriated to mean 'crazy person', but this bird only speaks the truth
Believes in prophetic dreams
Has a strong shared cultural memory and knows what his land used to be like a long time ago
Says a lot with his silence

Osprey

Osprey aka. Sea Hawk, aka. Fish Eagle, aka. Fish Hawk

note An Osprey is NOT a Sea Eagle!

Lake Worth, Florida, USA

Member of the Osprey Family

~true bird fact~ An oddly specific bird, the Osprey eats almost exclusively live fish. Medieval myth held that the Osprey had some kind of hypnotic power, and that he could make fish turn belly up and surrender to him.

~one more bird fact~ The Osprey has very flexible joints and can actually shield his eyes from the sun with his wing while flying. So Cool.

~ok, this is really the last bird fact~ Pliny the Elder, ancient roman naturalist and writer, purported that Ospreys make their children fly directly up towards the sun in a test of bravery. Those who would not do it, he said, were killed by their parents.

Always looking for an angle

Embraces stereotypes of coolness that others could not get away with

Laughs when he is confident of something (which is always)

Not a bird who settles down

In bird legend, the envoy between the Kingdom of the Sea and birds

Northern Mockingbird

Northern Mockingbird
West Palm Beach, Florida, USA
Member of the Mockingbird and Thrasher Family
★special distinction★ state bird of Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas
~true bird fact~ The Mockingbird is famous for its ability to imitate other birds' songs, as well as mechanical noises such as car alarms. However, although these imitations often fool humans, they almost never fool other birds. So why do they do it? The birds who can imitate the best are most likely to attract a mate.

Bold, yet subtle
His gifts may be natural, but he works as hard as anyone
Often tasked with spying on humans of interest
Has had his heart broken a few times

Common Peafowl

Common Peafowl aka. Blue Peafowl
Jupiter, Florida, USA
Member of the Turkey/Grouse Family
*true bird fact*~ Although he is native to and the national bird of India, there are pockets of wild peafowl in Southern Florida and California, where the hospitable climate has allowed zoo-escapees to establish themselves.

Hides a tragic past behind his beauty and prideful attitude
Liberal social values, but doesn't vote
Feels he has to spend ostentatiously to keep friends
A fan of obsolete art (e.g. silent films)

Bird Portraiture: Common Loon

Common Loon

Church Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada
Member of the Loon Family
*true bird fact*~ The de facto national bird of Canada, she appears on the Candian one-dollar coin. Dollars are commonly called 'Loonies' there for this reason.

Endlessly pleasant and charitable towards friends and strangers alike

Never has a moment of downtime- an athlete, socially active, sings, volunteers at a soup kitchen

Looks at the Canada Goose with a combination of sympathy and confusion; doesn't really understand why they couldn't be great friends 

The more you get to know her, the more sure you become that she doesn't really have any flaws or normal-person-issues, which is almost more unnerving than anything else you could discover, if you think about it

Still, a great bird that one can't help but admire. Has many admirers

Bird Portraiture, Red-winged Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird
Berkeley, California, USA
Member of the Blackbird/Oriole Family
*true bird fact*~ The red-winged blackbird has some interesting migration habits- it can fly at up to 30mph and travels in uniform-gendered flocks. Can't make this stuff up, folks

When birds have big meetings to decide things, he represents the blackbirds/orioles. A Noble Ambassador for his family.
A bit of an adrenaline junkie, likes to go fast
Can't stand drugs or cigarettes, a straight-edge bird
Appreciates extreme sports
Works hard and plays hard

Bird Portraiture Series #2 of X, California Quail

California Quail aka. Valley Quail, California Valley Quail
Mt. Diablo, California, USA
member of the New World Quail family (NWQ Fam)
*true bird fact* ~ He is the State Bird of California

Very shy, likes to hop around inside of bushes
Has a popular quirkiness to it, likes foreign films
Well liked by many, but unaware of this. Unassuming.
May be descended from royaly
Definitely a contender for 'best traditional flightless bird'