Bird Portraiture: Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilt
Hayward, California, USA
Member of the Avocet/Stilt Family
*true bird fact*~ Exceptionally leggy birds, they have the second greatest leg-to-body-mass ratio of any bird. They are outdone only by the famous flamingo.

Sticks in packs, not really a leader
Laughs at really dumb jokes. Girl birds roll their eyes.
Really proud of their leg-length. Consider Flamingos to be 'just too much'.
Seems irresponsible at first, but holds down a respectable job

Bird Portraiture, Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret
Hayward, California, USA
Member of the Egret/Heron/Bittern Family
*true bird fact*~ Plumes from her were once so popular that they were valued at twice the price of gold per ounce. The reason? Fancy hats.

Focuses with laser-like intensity on her many goals
Studies eastern philosophies and the martial arts
Stops you dead in your tracks with an icy glare, not a bird to be messed with
Has moments of enlightenment in which she understands the whole of the world. These usually occur while she is fishing.
Secretly has a lovely singing voice

Want more pics of Snowy Egrets? Well that's exactly what is available to you if you click here!

Apologies and Retractions: A Cormorant is not an Anhinga

Take a look at this bird. He is a Double-Crested Cormorant, a bird of great quality and uniqueness. He is many things to many people, but one thing that he is not is an Anhinga. The Amateurnithologist incorrectly identified this bird as an Anhinga to some friends while out-and-about and thus brought disgrace upon this entire endeavor and the profession of Amateurnithology as a whole.

The mistake was made by observing the bird's behaviors, which are similar to the aforementioned Anhinga. He swims low in the water and dries his wings in a similar way, to be exact. He is related to the Anhinga, but not closely enough to be in the same family. Anhingas have a much narrower head and beak, as well as an overall lighter, more colorful, and smaller body. Most damningly, however, Anhingas do not live in California, where this sighting was made. The Anhinga is native only to Florida, where the Amateurnithologist hails from. This serves as a (wholly inadequate) explanation as to how this mistake could have been made. We strive for greater quality than this at Bird Blog. You, dear readers, and the birds we catalog, deserve better. May we never speak of this again.

Double-Crested Cormorant
Oakland, California, USA
Cormorant Family
*true bird fact*~ He has exceptional longevity for a bird, living as long as 17 years in the wild (the average is a saddening 6 years).

Fashion-conscious
Comfortable with his body, confidant. A bird to strive to be like
A great dancer, but kind of a show-off
Sometimes pretends he is a fish when he dives underwater

You may be wondering now what an Anhinga looks like, but this birdtographer has not taken a picture of one yet. It is our usual policy to only include original works on Amateurnithologist, but in the interest of improving understanding, we provide this stock photo.

Bird Portraiture: American Crow

American Crow

Berkeley, California, USA (eating a raspberry)

Member of the Crows/Jays Family

 *true bird fact*~ Crows are smart. Really smart. Scientists seem to think that crows (and their Jay relatives) have imagination and can form opinions. They're hardly bird brains!

Highly developed sense of morality. Outraged often.

Likes riddles and brain teasers. Can do the Sunday New York Times Crossword.

Her favorite time of day is dusk.

A bit of a gourmet. Especially critical of chain restaurants and fast food