wilde thing

Blue Tit/blåmes. Värmland, Sweden (October 13, 2019).

I have come into possession of an ornithology book from the 1930's and they had such a way of describing birds back then, modern publishers of birding booking should take note! Here are some of the bangers.

yes, this book refers to the anhinga as a water-turkey

Unmute !

Cute birds appreciation post

Lotta people concerned in the replies—the person in the video is holding them in a photographers grip, which allows the bird more freedom of movement and the ability to peck at the bander's hand if they're distressed, you don't need to worry about their discomfort. The birds which are not being held in this grip are being held so because their wing muscles are much more powerful and they could injure themselves if held with the photographer's grip. In other words—this person knows what they are doing, and is mitigating harm to the birds.

They're being recorded to track population and health, are just a little dazed because they just got caught by a mist net, and once they've been banded and had photos or in this case videos taken to record their condition they'll be released. They're held for only a very brief amount of time, purely to gather data for conservation purposes, and are released as soon as they have been banded and recorded.

Paraglider and black vulture chilling

(via)

I NEVER get tired of this video. It would be fantastic if the bird was just flying near him, but the fact it feels safe and comfortable enough to land ON his paraglider, isn't startled when he pets it, and is NIBBLING HIS SHOES... blessed moment, absolutely fabulous, 10/10 gold stars.

Okay but the bird isn't just nibbling

Note that it doesn't start nibbling until he starts smoothing its feathers.

They're grooming each other.

This is called parahawking! That vulture is tame -- it’s wearing jesses (a leather tie around the leg that a falconer will use to hold a bird when it’s on the glove). In fact that vulture is employed. Parahawking birds seek out thermals the same way they would naturally, allowing paragliders to follow them in the process.

Vultures are often used for parahawking both because of their attraction to thermals, and because vultures, as scavengers, are comparatively gentler and more sociable than birds of prey!

I work with a black vulture and they do not get enough love!! Virgil is one of the sweetest, most intelligent birds I've worked with-- he will hop up on my shouder to preen me while I clean! He loves to play tug of war with towels and shoe laces! He understands human speech even though he can't vocalize like a crow can, and knows that he's playing too rough when I say "gentle". He also gets mad if I don't tell him "goodbye" before I leave 😭 I love him so much.

Here he is "helping" me collect eggs (really he just wanted attention, which, relatable)

credit to alterdiego7

photographybyhenrik on ig | source

the scientific name for the grackle is gracula quiscula so now next time i see a grackle i will call it count gracula

a blue jay taking a bath 🛁 | source

i think a lot of people hear the word ‘roadrunner’ and associate it immediately with the looney tunes character but uh. real roadrunners actually manage to look even stranger than the cartoon?

(x)

We have a ton of them where I live and they are basically the closest you’ll ever get to seeing a live velociraptor.

Big chungy

@bunjywunjy got any cursed roadrunner fact?

well they like to eat whole live rattlesnakes, so there’s that

that also goes for any other animal small enough to get beaked to death, by the way. absolute carnage.

beep beep

so this happened to me today

fucked up some bird tried to steal your car like that

He’s not stealing, he’s robin

(Clasping your shoulder gently)

You’re right. And he looks like a real tit doing it too

🐱 🐦

Common Raven (Corvus corax) teasing a gull (Larus spp) - series by Sandra Gilchrist

According to the photographer, the raven eventually left and the gull seemed no worse for wear after the interaction. 

the thing that really gets me about some people/accounts apparently using ai to generate weird birds for views is like. bro there are already so many weird fucking birds that exist in real life. just use those ones.

Jabiru

Twelve-wired Bird-of-paradise

Great Potoo

Long-wattled Umbrellabird

Horned Guan

Comb-crested Jacana (carrying babies)

Boat-billed Heron

Hoatzin

Oriental Bay Owl (gumball-eye popsicle looking ass)

baby Turkey Vulture