Cinnamon Teal

Winter... the days get shorter, the weather gets colder, and here in my beloved Northern California it gets rainy (when we're lucky). It's kind of a lousy time of the year, to be honest. One thing, however, that winter offers is ducks, which fly through or overwinter in the larger Bay Area. That's right, it's duck season once again here on the blog! For the next few weeks, our business is ducks, and duck business is booming.

 Cinnamon Teal
Wetlands Edge Park, American Canyon, California, USA
December 2016
Member of the Duck, Goose, and Swan Family
§A Seasoning of Teal§

~true bird fact~The female Teal makes her nest in big piles of dead foliage, so that it's covered on all sides, and from above. She gets to and from her nest through a tunnel in the vegetation. I'm picturing kind of like a duck bunker. You can never be too cautious in these times.

(male) (female)

male
crossfit fanatic
dabbles in the customs of other cultures. It's hard to say whether this is offensive, and to what extent
hard to know his real personality

female
deals with problems in measured, considered ways. This often involves list making
does, in fact, love cinnamon
belongs to this motivational/self-actualization movement that seems a little cult-y

Bufflehead

Bufflehead aka. Spirit Duck
Cesar Chavez Park, Berkeley, California, USA
January 2016
Member of the Duck, Goose, and Swan Family
§A Paddling of Ducks§

{etymology corner} The name Bufflehead is reportedly a portmanteau of 'Buffalo' and 'Head', referring to this duck's unusually large and bulbous head. The Latin name, Bucephala albeola, is playing around in the same territory, translating to 'white bullheaded'. I mean it's a somewhat unusual head guys, but I don't know if I'd go that far.

~true bird fact~ The Bufflehead nest nearly exclusively in hollows originally excavated by Northern Flickers (sometimes other woodpecker nests are acceptable). Buffleheads are so small partly so that they can fit into these tiny hollows. That's how evolution works, right?

female

Talks in a squeaky baby voice, has other alarmingly immature affectations
Malleable
Optimistic, at times too a fault

male

 

Jumps quickly to defensiveness when questioned
The life of the party
Exudes leadership energy

Saffron Finch

Saffron Finch aka. Yellow Finch aka. Pelzeln's Finch aka. canario de tejado (lit. Roof Canary) aka. canário da terra (lit. Native Canary)
Kahaluu Beach Park, Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i, USA
December 2015
Member of the Tanager Family
§A Trembling of Finches§ (so once again, are they finches or are they tanagers or are they canaries or what? I did my research, and the most recent information seems to suggest they're now categorized as tanagers, although they were once considered to be sparrows, and still often get called canaries or finches. If you think this is confusing, you should try reading these wikipedia pages)

~true, sad bird fact~ One of the all-too-many animals that humans make fight each other for entertainment. Saffron Finches were originally taken as pets for their pleasant song and appearance, but male finches become very territorial during mating season, leading garbage people to put them in a cage together to fight. Way to go, humans.

~another bird fact, to cheer you up~ Saffron Finches are polygamous, with males taking two (and only two) partners during nesting season.

female

does whatever she wants; she's a grown woman
shows a lot of swagger and self confidence in her physical movement
has lived through many hardships

male

boundless energy which is spent on a variety of projects and hobbies of varying levels of importance
laughs easily, enjoys life
not a good judge of the safety or sensibility of an idea. Tends to charge in head-first

Common Goldeneye

Common Goldeneye aka. "Whistler"
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, USA
December 2015
Member of the Ducks, Geese, and Swans Family
§A Flush of Ducks§

~true bird fact~ Usually when you see a duck with a whole bunch of babies you assume its a family unit, but this isn't always the case. In Common Goldeneyes, it's not unusual for one mother duck to abandon her brood after a few weeks, and for them to join up with the chicks of another. Furthermore, if mother ducks have a territorial fight, the babies will often scatter, and when they return to their parents, sometimes the children have gotten all mixed up. Don't worry though, these ducks end up ok! Or maybe they have some emotional issues to work through, but they can survive is what I mean.

~general bird fact~ How do ducks and other diving birds see underwater anyway? Well, your amateurnithologist just found this out while looking on wikipedia. It's called a Nictating Membrane, and it's basically a translucent third eyelid that can draw over the eye from the side. It turns out tons of animals who have a need to protect their eye, but still see out of it, share this evolutionary feature. It's most common among things that have to go underwater, but lots of stuff has it- birds, sharks, dogs, polar bears. As someone who finds goggles kind of cumbersome, I kinda wish I had a nictating membrane.

Female

Exasperated often
Good at finding bargains, "sale hunting"
Quick to shut down any disagreement or debate

male

Very embarrassing, just look at this dumb thing he's doing right now
Perpetually put upon and beset by misfotune
Doesn't really get it, but tries

Surf Scoter

Surf Scoter aka. Skunk-headed Coot (colloq... hurtful)
Bodega Bay, California, USA
March 2014
Member of the Ducks, Geese, and Swans Family
§A Raft of Ducks§

~true bird fact~ Surf Scoter has surprisingly low amount of interesting facts about him, so instead have a dubiously sourced list of other nicknames this bird has: Goggle-nose, Horse-head Coot (??), Plaster-bill, Snuff-taker (!!), Blossom-billed Coot, Bottle-nosed Diver and Mussel Bill. Actually, about that bill. All that anyone would want to know about a surf scoter is probably 'what's the deal with that bill?' Well, as the last name on the list suggests, it's a very specialized evolutionary tool for Surf Scoter's preferred prey- mussels. The bill is strangely shaped and very strong so that the Scoter can diver into the shallow surf, right where the waves are breaking, to lift up rocks and pry out the mollusks underneath. Why is it so colorful though? Well, like most colorful things in nature, it probably has something to do with attracting a mate. See below a female Surf Scoter. Not quite as fancy looking.

female

Stoic
Wouldn't know what to do with free time, if she had any. Maybe weightlifting?
Buys a ton of groceries all at once, in bulk, to avoid unnecessary trips

Male

A huge doofus. Barely has a brain in his head
Defends women over-zealously. This isn't always bad because sometimes he helps, but often it was not needed and it probably comes from a toxic place
Has gotten his haircut at the same place for his whole life, and has kept the same hairstyle too

Northern Cardinal

male

Northern Cardinal aka. Common Cardinal aka. Redbird (colloq.)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
November 2014
Member of the Cardinals and Piranaga Tanagers (whatever that means) family
§A Conclave of Cardinals§
★State bird of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. More state bird titles than any other bird★

~true bird fact~ One of the more territorial birds, Cardinals will aggressively attack their own reflections in windows and other reflective surfaces. These imaginary battles can last for hours. 

female

Male
Totally buff (and a big showoff about it)
Both starts and resolves conflicts very easily
Drove girlfriend's car into a ditch recently

Female
The brains of the relationship
Coffee aficionado
Kind of a nag, but it's really for his benefit

Common Ostrich

African Ostrich

Ostrichland USA, Solvang, California, USA

Member of the Ostrich Family

§A Pride of Ostriches§

~true bird fact~ Ostriches cannot fly. Okay fine, I'll give you more than that. Because they cannot fly, ostrich wings have lost many of the properties of 'normal' bird wings. Specifically, they are no longer formed into the familiar blade-like shape that flighted birds have because the feathers filaments don't have a hook anymore. Unlike other bird feathers, ostrich feathers feel soft and fluffy, and are used exclusively for insulation. Well, used by the ostriches exclusively for that. Humans use them for feather dusters.

Male (left)
A little bit of a neat freak
Pouts silently when he doesn't get his way
An armchair intellectual
Talented cook

Female (right)
loses things all the time
Very into exercising
Excessive hashtag user (ie. #FitOstriches #EatMyDust #NotSorryHaters)
Sometimes doesn't pay attention to conversations she's having

Bird Couples: American Kestrel

American Kestrel aka. Sparrow Hawk aka. Grasshopper Hawk aka. Killy Hawk (regional)
Oakland, California, USA
Member of the Falcon Family
 §A Flight of Kestrels§


~true bird fact~ Kestrels are migratory birds, but males and female migrate at separate times. Females go south first and stake out prime open grassland territory. When the males follow they are left to hunt in wooded areas which are (presumably) more difficult.

(Female)

A serious and successful falcon
Makes up for her draining work time with an ample social circle
People wonder 'how she does it'
No one gets in her way, if they know what's good for them

Male

Stoic and silent, but has a kind presence

A younger man

Values his partner's independence and unthreatened by her success

Their relationship may lack official status, but it is undoubtedly a serious and loving one.

Bird Couples: House Finch

House Finch (Female and Male) aka... Hollywood Finch?
Berkeley, California, USA
Member of the Finch Famiy
~true bird fact~ When the House Finches are courting they do this ridiculous little role-playing. Here's how it goes, according to wikipedia.

The male will touch bills with the female. He may then present the female with choice bits of food, and if she mimics the behavior of a hungry chick, he may actually feed her. The male also feeds the female during the breeding and incubation of both eggs and young.

I know this is kinda messed up, but it's also, like, so cute.

Have always been a pair, the kind of couple whose names are always mentioned together, as if they just have one long joint name
Really love one another, a fine pair of birds to model your relationship after
Have a relationship based around rituals and traditions
Weather the storms of being apart stoically

Bird Couples: Boat-tailed Grackle

Boat-tailed Grackle
Boynton Beach, Florida, USA
Members of the Blackbird/Oriole Family
~true bird fact~ Rubs ants all over themselves, because the acid secreted by them kills off parasites. That's cool and all, but I'm glad I'm not a Grackle.

(male)

Wronged by the world

Finds it difficult to self motivate

Falls into and out of love

Many of his actions are informed by a deep-seated sense of powerlessness

(female)

 Has terrible parents

Sees pipe-dreams as wasteful things

"You don't know me"

Volunteers with the least fortunate in society