@ostdrossel / ostdrossel.tumblr.com
the other day, I started putting out mealers in the open again to try and get photos of it. Well, I did, but the mealworms also lured in these guys - European Starlings. They are invasive in the US, and they have made it far because they can be voracious and aggressive. Especially when there are mealworms… But they also look very cool. That tongue!
a crazy Grack tongue. Nighty-night and come good into Tuesday!
Today, I had more Hummingbird activity than all spring and summer, so I thought I would experiment a little. There seem to be three individuals - a molting female, a young male and an adult male. The first two come to this feeding station, the male only goes to the other one.
This is a tiny DIY feeder that my husband made for me. The video shows the molting female. In the middle part of the video, I lifted the feeder to show how deep the tongue goes. I am sorry for the current Hummingbird flood but I am just so excited to finally see them.
A Blue Jay for Monday morning. Here’s to a good week!
Peanut tongue in action! He uses it like an arm!
Woodpecker tongues are rather long and wrapped around their skulls for protection. I thought this little clip was cool because you can see how the forehead is moving every time the tongue gets used. It is like a little flick. In the end you can also see their typical flight pattern a bit, going up and down while moving forward.
The one and only Pean. So handsome. I love how the tip of the tongue is securing the bounty in the beak.
Peanut loves the grape jelly, and at one point clung to the side of the camera box and did this for a while. Woodpeckers have a pretty cool tongue, but they also make me laugh a lot.
Walnut is such a spectacular poser. And look closely at the tongue in the first pic - you can see the “saw teeth” on it. Pretty cool!
Lessons in bird tongue. I noticed several colours. This one is black. The Starlings and Woodpeckers have pink ones. The Bluebirds and Robins have egg yolk coloured ones. I wonder if there is a reason for all of this.
I have no idea why this preview doesn’t show my photo, but I entered the freaky Starling tongue into the last of the Birdspotter contests. If you like it, consider a vote :) Thank you and have a beautiful day!
