Birds of Costa Rica 2: part 2

Steak-backed Oriole (turpial dorsilistado aka. turpial de fuego (lit. Fire Oriole!))
Peninsula de Papagayo, Liberia, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica
May 2024
Member of the Blackbird Family

{Etymology Corner} Another local name for the bird is bolsero dorsilistado, which translates to Streak-backed Purse maker, which refers to these birds really cool looking nests. These birds (along with several others) construct what is called a penduline nest, or a woven structure made from grass and other foliage that hangs from a tree branch. These are really cool looking. Here is one such nest, also from this trip to Costa Rica.

Gray-breasted Martin (martín pechigrís)
Peninsula de Papagayo, Liberia, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica
May 2024
Member of the Swallow Family

§A Scream of Swifts§ (Ok, I know, I know, these are Martins, not Swifts, and that's not even the same family (SOMEHOW), but I hadn't heard 'scream' as a term of venery before and I thought it was neat. Guys, the well is DRY on this bird, there are no other interesting facts about it. If you know anything about swallows or swifts, you know everything there APPARENTLY is to know about these birds. Ok, fine, fine, here's something-)

~True Bird Fact~ They can't walk, their little legs are only for perching. See!! That was the best I could do. That's barely interesting at all and something you probably would've assumed just looking at this thing. This bird blog was held up SIGNIFICANTLY while I tried to come up with something to say about this Gray-breasted Martin, which, BY THE WAY, this might not even 100% be, because Swallows are hard to ID. So LAY OFF!

Turquoz-browed Motmot (momoto cejiceleste) aka. Torogoz aka. Guardabarranco (lit. Ravine-guard) aka. Pájaro reloj (lit. Clock Bird)

Peninsula de Papagayo, Liberia, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica
May 2024
Member of the Motmot Family

★National Bird of both El Salvador and Nicaragua★

{Etymology Corner} I think we got a famous one here ladies and gentleman. It's always a good sign when a bird has like 6 plus names, and they're all really expressive and beautiful, and that's the situation we have here. In El Salvador, he's called Torogoz, which is a reference to the sound he makes (you be the judge). In Nicaragua he's called Guardabarranco (lit. Ravine-guard). In the Yucatán, he's called Pájaro reloj (lit. Clock Bird, for the way he moves his tail). And in Costa Rica he's called Pájaro bobo (Foolish Bird) for his comfort around humans. That's the good stuff!

~True Bird Fact~ So, that tail- it's referred to as 'racketed' and serves a couple of purposes. First, they use it for sexual selection- i.e. a male with a long tale is a more desirable mate. But interestingly, they also use it to communicate with predators (!). They wag their tail back and forth, like a clock pendulum, to signal to a predator that they have been observed, and that pursuing them would be pointless, because they will fly away if approached. This is called a 'pursuit deterrent signal'.

~Real Bird Myth(?)~ Look, I don't know what to trust anymore in regards to the internet. But there are lots of claims that the Motmot is a significant bird in Mayan cultural tradition (and why not, look at it!). Most of the stories I found were on travel websites, and they all had a theme of how the bird lost most of it's tail feathers, leaving only the aforementioned 'rackets', usually as a result of arrogance. Here's my favorite one of this genre, which I totally can't vouch for as legit, from this website.

The motmot’s Mayan name is toh, and it features in local legend and lore. According to one story, the motmot liked to meet his fellow royal birds and spend the day telling stories and feasting on insects while other birds were working. He was such a beautiful creature and so proud of his glossy tail and plumage that it made him arrogant and overbearing.

One afternoon, when black clouds were massing on the horizon heralding the approach of a storm, Oc, the king vulture summoned all the birds to a meeting and they decided to build themselves a shelter. Chujut the woodpecker, Panchel the toucan, Mox the parrot and Xtut collected timber, Baax the chachalaca and Cutz the wild turkey carried the heaviest branches and the hummingbirds collected grass, herbs and leaves for the roof. Other birds gathered fruit and seeds to tide them over the storm. Only the motmot refused to help, saying that he was an aristocrat, not a worker.

When the storm burst, the motmot found a crack in a stone wall that he thought would be a good place to hide. He crept in and went to sleep without noticing that his elegant long tail was still out in the open.

Much later, the motmot woke up and emerged from his shelter to sing in the sun like the other birds. He was astonished to find that all that was left of his beloved tail were two bedraggled and naked barbs with a small clump of feathers at the end. The wind and water had done their worst. Horrified, realized what a fool he had been. Pride soon got the better of him and he decided to shun his former companions for fear that they would mock him. He flew off into the depths of the forest and dug a hole where he hid until this very day. He still keeps to himself; perching on branches overlooking cenotes where he swings his long tail from side to side incessantly like the pendulum on a clock.

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Yellow-headed Blackbird
Woodland Water Pollution Control Facility, Woodland, California, USA
April 2019
Member of the Blackbird Family
§A Cloud of Blackbirds§
★The Worst Song of Any North American Bird(?)★ Described in my various sources as "a strange mixture of honking, gurgling and strangling noises", "a rusty farm gate opening", "hoarse, harsh scraping", and "bizarre grinding", there seems to be broad agreement that it's pretty bad. Judge for yourself here.

~true bird fact~ Yellow-headed Blackbirds have an interesting way of foraging en-masse. Birds from the back will always fly first, 'rotating' to the front, which gives the flock the appearance of rolling across a landscape. Very aesthetic, and very fair.


Quick to make friends
Talks about the memes he likes, loudly and publically
Has an explanation for everything, even if that explanation doesn't really make sense. At least you know he's thought about it.

Tricolored Blackbird

Tricolored Blackbird
Vanden Road, Vacaville, California, USA
April 2019
Member of the Blackbird Family
§A Merl of Blackbirds§
★North America's Most Colonial Landbird★ (see below to find out what that means)

~true bird fact~ To encourage their fledglings to leave the nest, parents will arrive with food, but then, instead of feeding the babies, immediately fly off again. This encourages the young to follow. Good parenting? Bad parenting? Sound off in the comments.

Sings badly, but enthusiastically
Can say something off the cuff that just sounds like a well known quote
Pays attention to keeping their white patch looking really white. If it were mine it would probably have a stain on it in seconds. How do they do it?



How Endangered Are They? Classified as 'Threatened' by the IUCN (that's the middle one). There's a lot of disagreement on how many of these nice birds there are now, but everyone seems to agree they're in quite a lot of danger. In my research, I saw numbers between 145,000 and 300,00, depending what year and who was estimating, and everyone seems to think numbers are still declining pretty precipitously. A significant loss, regardless, for a bird that used to number in the millions. Why so endangered? Well, like many birds that have been wiped out (think Passenger Pigeons), they are colonial breeders- meaning that their breeding colonies are relatively few, but in extremely high numbers. Descriptions exist of million-bird flocks. This kind of breeding helped protect colonies from predation. However, now that the marshy habitat they breed in is so regularly lost to development, there are few places that can support such great numbers of birds. The group I observed was probably less than a hundred. Many of the few places that would support them are farm land, which get harvested regularly, leading to massive causalities. Combine this with their small range (they are basically only in California's central valley), and you have a recipe for disaster. Still, many people are trying to save them. They're a 'priority bird' for the Audubon society, and they have their own webpage and conservation program over at UC Davis. Let's all cross our fingers that we can get it together for the Tricolored Blackbirds

For comparison purposes, this is a Red-winged Blackbird, a close relative. They flock together with Tricoloreds and sometimes these guys even have yellow epaulets to make you even more confused. You're looking for bright white. Also, their call is much different.

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.

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole aka. Palm-leaf Oriole
Alvarado Park, Richmond, California, USA
July 2017
Member of the Blackbird/Oriole Family
§A Split of Orioles§

~true bird fact~ He's called a Palm-leaf Oriole especially in California because of the unusual way they make their nests. A female Oriole will poke holes in the underside of a palm frond and then thread fibers through these holes, essentially sewing a nest to the bottom of the leaf. In fact, the northward expansion of his range is largely owed to more people planting more ornamental palm trees. These birds certainly live up to their nickname in your Amateurnithologist's own neighborhood, as this bird was observed flying to and from a palm tree (actually I've seen him for a few years now, but this was the first time I was able to get a decent picture).

Loves citrus fruit (this one sounds like something I would make up, but appears to be true)
Always on the lookout for a shortcut to avoid hard work
Summer is his favorite season
Just very chill

Western Meadowlark

Western Meadowlark
Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary, Tiburon, California, USA
January 2017
Member of the Blackbird/Oriole Family
§A Pod of Meadowlarks§
★State Bird of Montana, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wyoming. The only bird with more states to his name is the Northern Cardinal. They are, of course, fierce rivals over this issue.★

{Etymology Corner} The Western and Eastern Meadowlark are so similar that the Western version remained an unidentified species until John James Audubon himself named them. He called them Sturnella neglecta because they had been ignored for so long. The main way to tell the two bird species apart, by the way, is their significantly different songs. So good luck with that if you live in the middle of the country, where their ranges do overlap.

~true bird fact~ Western Meadowlarks have unusually strong bill-opening muscles. This facilitates their number one method of feeding, which is sticking their bill into soil or bark or whatever, and prying it open to get at the insects and stuff within. This method of feeding is named, unfortunately, gaping.

A little rude to strangers
Confident and willing to lend expertise
Has a need for love and attention that can never really be filled
Has mantras that he often repeats

Donald Trump Reviews Birds From My Trip to the North East

Ed. note: Your usual amateurnithologist is super busy these days with his very hard job, as you know from his endless grousing. Lest the blog fall into disrepair for another week, we've secured the services of controversial presidential candidate Donald Trump. In exchange we promised to put in a good word for him with the eagles, who he fears desperately. This is a "big get" guys, so don't go posting any political stuff in the comments, he's very sensitive.

Common Grackle
Staten Island, New York, New York, USA
July 2015

Donald Trump's Remarks
I don't like the Grackles, and I think it's very rude that you've asked me to start with a question about a grackle. Unprofessional! Everyone knows, and lots of people are saying, grackles are coming into the country, ok? And they're bringing disease, they're bringing crime, and some of them are probably good birds. I'm going to build a wall, and the grackles are going to pay for it. No one builds walls to keep birds out better than me, and you know it!

Pied-billed Grebe
Central Park, Manhattan, New York, New York, USA
July 2015

Donald Trump's Remarks
Grebes: Irrelevant birds, no one cares that they exist! Total hack, loser birds! A disgusting bird, what good is a bird if it's not beautiful? Semi-domesticated? I like birds who weren't captured, ok. What a joke! I have long, beautiful fingers.

House Sparrow
Fore River Sanctuary, Portland, Maine, USA
July 2015

Donald Trump's Remarks
Look, a sparrow is a beautiful bird, and it flirts with me, ok? I get it. I get it. But it's just not a 10 anymore. Boring Sparrow is jealous of flashier birds! Acts very needy, but just trying to manipulate me. Sad!

Mallard
Fore River Sanctuary, Portland, Maine, USA
July 2015

Donald Trump's Remarks
Oh, look at my duck. Are you the greatest? Ducks love me. I'm eating a big bowl of swamp grass at trump tower right now. Water vegetables, very healthy. I have a great respect for ducks, and you know ducks like me. I've always had a great relationship with the ducks. (ed. note: Ducks support Donald Trump at approximately 5 percent).

House Finch
Maine Wildlife Park, Gray, Maine, USA
July 2015

Donald Trump's Remarks
Donald J. Trump is calling for a complete and total shutdown of finches entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on. I'm not saying they shouldn't come here at all, but there should be a loyalty test is what I'm saying. They need to have all the right documents, show the bird certificates. It's common sense!

Greylag Goose
Peaks Island, Portland, Maine, USA
July 2015

Donald Trump's Remarks
This is a big, beautiful, classy goose. If she weren't a bird, perhaps I'd be dating her. A smart bird, and I would know. My IQ is one of the highest. Goose should be number one bird. Birding is rigged! Ok? Ok, now somebody get these birds out of here. I wasn't joking, I hate birds, get them out of here.

Birds in Motion (by the Ocean)

Going with a much more picture heavy format today, amateurnitholofans. You see, I have all these birds pictures that I like, that don't really fall into the categories I've established for this blog. They're not really good enough to be portraiture, or I've already explored the bird in question. However, I think a lot of these are really great moments worth sharing. Today they all share a theme of exploring the ways in which birds move. All photos taken in Santa Cruz, California, USA in September of 2015.

Brown Pelican Quatrych (surveying, diving, takeoff, rising)

Brewers Blackbird- fix up, look sharp

Elegant Tern - hate to see you leave

Sooty Shearwater -  going someplace

Whimbrel - beak uses

Black Turnstone- bad water, good water

Brown-headed Cowbird

Brown-headed Cowbird
Eastmont Hills, Oakland, California, USA
June 2014
Member of the Blackbird Family
§A Corral of Cowbirds§

~true bird fact~ Brown-headed Cowbird's are the USA's most prolific and common brood parasites. A female Cowbird does not build her own nest and instead spends her energy laying eggs in the nests of as many other birds as possible, laying as many as 3 dozen in a season. These eggs (and chicks) are then cared for by the other species. Unless, of course, the mother bird recognizes the eggs as not her own, in which case she will try to puncture them or throw them out of the nest. Some birds are too small to do this, and instead build a new nest over the cowbird eggs. Sometimes the mother cowbird comes back to check on her eggs, and if they have been disturbed engage in ransacking and harassment of the nest.

Cowbird chicks are pretty rude as well, hatching and growing earlier than average in order to force out the other bird's eggs or chicks from the nest. Can a bird be considered evil? We will be examining this issue more closely in our next few blogs.

Treats others as objects to an end. Has a hard time empathizing
Has a lot of self pity
High level of business savvy
Good at manning a grill


And yes, in case you were wondering, they are named cowbirds because they hang around cows (and other herd animals). This is because the movement of the herd kicks up a lot of food, mostly plant seeds and insects who get stirred up.

Bird Sick Day

It's a sad day blog fans, because your amateurnithologist is a bit under the weather. It's ok though, because everyone gets sick sometimes, and maybe we can get through this together. How do some of the birds we've taken a look at in the past deal with it when they get the sniffles?

Brown Pelican (juvenile) lazes about and feels sorry for himself. If you get too close to him he'll start coughing more loudly or moaning about his headache. Best to just give him some space.

Red-winged Black Bird believes in ayurvedic techniques and tries to purge her body of vaguely defined toxins. She goes to hot yoga, drinks tea that makes you sweat, and generally covers herself with lots of blankets. It's very sweaty, but she is dedicated.

There's no polite way to put it, Green Heron is a hypochondriac. He constantly thinks he's getting sick, and when he inevitably does, he approaches it like a job. He takes a ton of over-the-counter medicines, but also goes to the doctor and tries to get anti-biotics even though it's probably just a cold. That doesn't work for a cold, Green Heron! It's going to be worse for you in the long run..

Black-necked Stilt continues to live a party lifestyle and pretends he is not sick. He takes a big gulp of alcohol and laughs and says 'this should kill the germs!' Black-necked Stilt gets a lot of people sick because of his inconsiderate behavior.

Birds of Costa Rica: All the rest pt. 1

Hello blog fans. As some of you know, I went to Costa Rica this past winter and have been blogging my bird finds from there intermittently for the past months. But I never seem to run out, and every time I do the blog I have to think "should I do a Costa Rica bird again?" I'm tired of having all these birds hanging over my head like some kind of squawking sword of Damocles. They are a veritable albatross around my neck (of non albatross birds). Today we say No More. So between this week and next, we will be posting all the remaining birds of Costa Rica.

White-winged Dove (tórtola aliblanca)
Playa Conchal, Costa Rica
Member of the Dove Family
§A Bevy of Doves§

~true bird fact~ This bird feeds its chicks not with regurgitated foods, but with a special substance it produces in a gland in its throat called 'crop milk' (ew). They have to eat snails and bone shards to produce it (double ew). They are also super into cacti and will time their migrations to coincide with their fruiting.

An intrepid bird reporter

Great-tailed Grackle aka Mexican Grackle (zanate mexicano o clarinero)
Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica
Member of the Blackbird/Oriole Family
★Official Bird of Cartagena, Columbia★
 §A Cackle of Grackles§ (unverif.)

~real bird myth~ In Mexico there is a legend that it has seven songs. "In the creation, the Zanate having no voice, stole its seven distinct songs from the wise and knowing sea turtle. You can now hear the Zanate's vocals as the Seven Passions (Love, Hate, Fear, Courage, Joy, Sadness, and Anger) of life." Mexican artisans have created icons in clay, sometimes as whistles that portray the sea turtle with the Zanate perched on its back.


  A total goofball who loves messing around

Clay-colored Thrush aka. Clay-colored Robin (yigüirro)
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Member of the Thrush Family
§A Worm of Robins§
★National Bird of Costa Rica★

~real bird myth~ The songs of the Yigüirro are said to start the rainy season in Costa Rican folklore, thus his important position in that country.

Inspires dignity in others

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