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  • A Female Purple Finch Up Close and Personal. This little lady landed on the swing just in front of the lens for a detailed shot
    Female House Finch Blue Bar.jpg
  • An inquisitive little finch strikes a pose
    Curious Female Purple Finch.jpg
  • A Female Cardinal Perches High In The Trees Backed By Soft Summer Green
    Female Cardinal Tall Perch.jpg
  • A Female Red-Crested Cardinal Taken in Maui, Hawaii. The red-crested cardinal gets its common name from its prominent red head and crest. Some disagreement exists as to whether this bird species belongs in the tanager family or the Bunting family
    Red-Crested Cardinal Female Closeup.jpg
  • A Female House Finch Perched Against A Textured Blue Backdrop
    Female Finch Perched On Blues.jpg
  • Bird in the Hand.jpg
  • A Female Dark-Eyed Junco Foraging For Food in the Snow During A Cold Blue Winter Day.<br />
<br />
Females and juvenile birds are generally paler and show a greater mixture of brown in the plumage. Generally, there is less white on the outer tail feathers in juvenile and female birds. There is, however, much individual variation.<br />
<br />
The Dark-eyed Junco is the best-known species of the juncos, a genus of small grayish American sparrows. This bird is common across much of temperate North America and in summer ranges far into the Arctic. Dark-eyed Juncos are neat, even flashy little sparrows that flit about forest floors of the western mountains and Canada, then flood the rest of North America for winter. They're easy to recognize by their crisp (though extremely variable) markings and the bright white tail feathers they habitually flash in flight. One of the most abundant forest birds of North America, you'll see juncos on woodland walks as well as in flocks at your feeders or on the ground beneath them. <br />
<br />
Juncos are the "snowbirds" of the middle latitudes. Over most of the eastern United States, they appear as winter sets in and then retreat northward each spring. Some juncos in the Appalachian Mountains remain there all year round, breeding at the higher elevations. These residents have shorter wings than the migrants that join them each winter. Longer wings are better suited to flying long distances, a pattern commonly noted among other studies of migratory vs. resident species.
    Blue Christmas Junco.jpg
  • A song outside my window this morning from this chipper female purple finch
    Good Morning P Finch.jpg
  • A Female Crested Cardinal In The Rain Forest
    Crested Cardinal Rainforest.jpg
  • A Female Finch Stands Perched By The Dance Of Violet Lights
    Violet Twilight Finch.jpg
  • Female House Finch On Her Perch
    Miss Finch Morning Song.jpg
  • A Female House Finch Strikes A Pose
    Miss Finch Good Side.jpg
  • A Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Rescued from the Rafters in our Garage
    hummingbird rescued.jpg
  • The adult female Brown-headed Cowbird is slightly smaller than the male and is dull grey with a pale throat and very fine streaking on the underparts.
    Flowing Female Cowbird.jpg
  • A female Northern Cardinal perched atop an old, decaying tree stump basking in what little light is left in the day, just out of reach from the shadows of the woods behind her.
    Female Cardinal From The Shadows.jpg
  • A Female Northern Cardinal Perched on a Red Bird Feeder with some fun pastel colors and sharp impressions.
    Female Cardinal Pastelation.jpg
  • A Female Northern Cardinal Perched On An Old Log In My Flower Garden
    Female Cardinal Perched Wood.jpg
  • A Female Purple Finch Sits Nestled In A Tree, On The Lookout For Her Next Meal
    Female Purple Finch.jpg
  • Female Northern Cardinal On A Stump Backed By Sunny Green Textures
    Posted Female Cardinal Sunny Green.jpg
  • A Female Purple Finch On A Dead Tree Backlit From The Sun
    Backlit Female Purple Finch.jpg
  • A member of the tribe of 'stiff-tailed ducks', the Ruddy Duck has a spiky tail that it often holds straight up in display. Female ruddy ducks have grayish-brown neck and body plumage. The sides of the head and neck are dull buff-brown with a single dusky horizontal stripe crossing a pale-gray cheek patch. The bill is dark gray and the legs and feet are grayish. Females are relatively silent.
    Adult Female Ruddy Duck.jpg
  • A female bluebird perched on a tree branch enjoying a spring afternoon
    Female Eastern Bluebird.jpg
  • A female cardinal perched in a tree
    Female Cardinal in Lavender Light.jpg
  • A Female Mallard Duck Wattles Through The Grass, captured with an prominence on the details
    Textured Mallard Female Duck.jpg
  • The Ruby-throated Hummingbird does not show a strong preference for any particular color of feeder. Instead, it prefers specific feeder locations. uby-throated Hummingbirds normally place their nest on a branch of a deciduous or coniferous tree; however, these birds are accustomed to human habitation and have been known to nest on loops of chain, wire, and extension cords.<br />
<br />
You can attract Ruby-throated Hummingbirds to your backyard by setting up hummingbird feeders or by planting tubular flowers. Make sugar water mixtures with about one-quarter cup of sugar per cup of water. Food coloring is unnecessary; table sugar is the best choice. Change the water before it grows cloudy or discolored and remember that during hot weather, sugar water ferments rapidly to produce toxic alcohol. Be careful about where you put your hummingbird feeders, as some cats have learned to lie in wait to catch visiting hummingbirds.<br />
<br />
The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is a species of hummingbird. As with all hummingbirds, this species belongs to the Trochilidae family and is currently included in the Apodiformes order.
    Flutter Hummer.jpg
  • Mr. Finch Grabs An Afternoon Snack
    Male House Finch On Pastel Pinks.jpg
  • A Male House Finch Poses On A Post
    Male Finch Poses On Post.jpg
  • Miss Finch Soaking Up Some Sunshine
    Miss Finch Bright Perch.jpg
  • Male House Finch Posted On Top Of A Log
    Male House Finch Posted On Top.jpg
  • Colorful Hummingbird.jpg
  • Humminbird Hands.jpg
  • Still some mid-autumn greens pushing through the backdrop behind Miss Cardinal
    Female Cardinal On A Pretty Perch.jpg
  • Female Amarican Goldfinch.jpg
  • Sunnp Posted Female Cardinal.jpg
  • The Pintail or Northern Pintail is a widely occurring duck which breeds in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator.
    Northern Pintail (Female).jpg
  • A Female House Finch Looking Backward On A Broken Tree Against A Backdrop Of Green Texture
    Female House Finch Look Back on Gree...jpg
  • The Cardinal is probably one of the most recognizable and popular backyard birds because of its brilliant red color and crested head. It is a great bird to admire year-round. The color contrast of the brilliant red against fresh white snow really is a high point during the winter months. Early settlers were said to have named this bird after the Cardinals of the Catholic Church who wore red robes.<br />
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Both sexes are accomplished songsters and may be heard at any time of year. Cardinals will mate for life and remain together throughout the entire year. That's why you will usually see a male and female together at your feeding station.<br />
<br />
Male and female Cardinals both sing. Songs are loud, beautiful whistled phrases. Some songs you may hear sound like "whoit whoit whoit" and "whacheer whacheer." These songs are used in forming territories and in courtship. Male and female cardinals use "chirps" as contact calls and alarms. They also have many visual displays such as "tail-flicks" to signal alarm. The crest may be raised and lowered. Strongly territorial, males will fight other males, along with their own reflection in windows!
    Chubby Winter Redbird.jpg
  • A Female Northern Cardinal On A Tree Perch. This friendly gal held her spot long enough for me to swap lenses and fire off a few shots. I swear she wanted to pose for me!
    Pretty Lady On A Perch.jpg
  • The double-crested cormorant is a little more than two feet long with a wingspan of about four feet. It has dark brown to black feathers, a long hooked bill with an orange throat pouch, a long tail, and webbed black feet. Adults have tufts of feathers over their eyes. Males and females look alike.<br />
<br />
The double-crested cormorant nests in colonies. Both the male and female will build a nest of sticks, twigs and seaweed. Nests are built in trees and shrubs and on the ground of rocky cliffs and islands. The female lays three to five eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs for about a month. Both parents also feed and take care of the chicks. The chicks fledge in 35-40 days.<br />
<br />
The double-crested cormorant breeds from the coast of Alaska and Nova Scotia south to Mexico and the Bahamas. It winters on both coasts north to southern Alaska and southern New England.<br />
<br />
The bird family Phalacrocoracidae or the cormorants is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.
    Cormorant Peek.jpg
  • A banded Wood Duck Hen (female) swims ever so gently throught he stream with a display of vibrant plumage.<br />
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The Wood Duck is a medium-sized perching duck. The female, less colourful, has a white eye-ring and a whitish throat. Both adults have crested heads. Females line their nests with feathers and other soft materials, and the elevation provides some protection from predators. Unlike most other ducks, the Wood Duck has sharp claws for perching in trees and can, in southern regions, produce two broods in a single season--the only North American duck that can do so.<br />
<br />
Female Wood Ducks breed during their first year. The breeding season begins in April in the southern portion of the range. In northern areas, Wood Ducks arrive on the breeding ground soon after the ice thaws, usually in early May. There are, however, reports of Wood Ducks in Canada beginning to nest as early as the second week of April.
    Waterfowl Flow.jpg
  • A Female Northern Cardinal Stands Tall On A Bare Tree Perch
    Miss Cardinal Standing Tall.jpg
  • A Wood Duck Hen Preens Along The Shore of the Lake.<br />
<br />
Wood ducks pair up in late winter and they begin breeding in early spring. The males attract females with their call and attractive, colorful breeding plumage. <br />
<br />
Female wood ducks have grayish-brown bodies. The back is dark gray-brown and the sides are a lighter shade. The most noticeable characteristics of the females are found on the head. The head is gray with a white eye-ring around each eye. The head also has a crest of feathers at the back and white feathers on the throat and chin. <br />
<br />
Wood ducks will 'tip up' and dip their heads under the water to find the standard wetland fare to eat like wild rice, smartweed, pondweed, bulrush, and lotus seeds, but they love to eat "out," of the water that is. They love fruits and nuts found in the woods like beechnuts, wild acorns grapes, and one of their favorites, acorns.
    Preening Wood Duck Hen.jpg
  • I took this shot of the Male Indigo Bunting in my front yard. The Indigo Bunting is a small bird. It displays sexual dimorphism in its coloration; the male is a vibrant blue in the summer and a brown color during the winter months, while the female is brown year-round.
    male_indigo_bunting.jpg
  • A Female Mallard Duck on Textured Blue Waters
    Lady Mallard Blues.jpg
  • A female Mallard Duck waddles though the grass near the pond
    Whats Quackin.jpg
  • A Female House Finch Looking Backward On A Broken Tree Against A Backdrop Of Green Texture
    Miss Finch Strikes A Pose On Green.jpg
  • A Female House Finch In The Tree
    Fem House Finch Textured.jpg
  • Loons don't begin breeding until they are three or four years old. The male chooses a territory and attracts a mate. Together the male and female build a nest out of reeds and grasses on the edge of the water.
    Common Loon 5.jpg
  • The white-tailed doe realized that by tilting the bird seed holder the food would fall out a little.
    white_tailed_doe14.jpg
  • Columbia, an adult female bald eagle, came to the National Eagle Center in 2003 as a juvenile. She hatched in the spring of 2001.<br />
<br />
After feeding on road kill near Dunbar, WI, Columbia was struck by a van. This accident left her with an open fracture near her right shoulder. While this wound was significant and would render her unable to fly again, the accident most likely saved Columbia's life. During treatment for her injuries, Columbia was found to have nearly twice the lethal dose of lead in her blood.<br />
<br />
Lead is extremely dangerous for eagles. Just a tiny amount of lead can be lethal in 4-5 days. She was able to be treated for lead poisoning, but any damage already incurred would be irreversible.<br />
<br />
Columbia arrived at the National Eagle Center just a few months before the Space Shuttle Columbia mission that ended in tragedy. Columbia was named in honor of the commander and crew of this shuttle.
    Columbia - Eagle.jpg
  • A male and a female finch stop to visit each-other on a bare tree
    Finch Pair.jpg
  • The white-tailed doe trying to decide the best way to eat the bird seed.
    white_tailed_doe13.jpg
  • The East African Crowned Crane gets its name from the distinctive golden crown of feathers on its head. It lives in open areas and grasslands, where it feeds on grass seeds, insects, frogs and lizards. Crowned cranes usually mate for life. Both the male and female cooperate in building the nest, and in defending the eggs and the chicks. Crowned crane parents often pretend to be injured to lure predators away from their nestlings.
    Flowing Crowned Crane Profile.jpg
  • For such a powerful bird, the Bald Eagle emits surprisingly weak-sounding calls - usually a series of high-pitched whistling or piping notes. The female may repeated a single, soft, high-pitched note that has been called 'unlike any other calls in nature', apparently this signals her readiness for copulation.
    Screming Eagle.jpg
  • I guess the white-tailed doe has decided bird seed will be dessert.
    white_tailed_doe11.jpg
  • A Female Purple Finch Posted On Top Of A Dead Tree
    Fem Purp Finch Posted.jpg
  • A Female Finch On Her Perch Backed By Soft Autumn Bokeh
    Miss Finch Soft Bokeh Post.jpg
  • A Male and Female House Finch In A Pine Tree
    Mr and Mrs Finch.jpg
  • A Wood Duck swims towards the camera casting reflections in the warm water below.<br />
<br />
The wood duck is one of the most beautiful of the North American ducks. In the early 1900s, the species was considered in danger of extinction throughout its range due to market shooting, habitat loss, and hunting seasons that extended into the breeding season. <br />
<br />
With the implementation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1918 between the United States and Canada, market shooting was outlawed and judicious hunting season lengths and bag limits were instituted. These changes, together with the construction and placement of nest boxes during the last seven decades, have resulted in a dramatic comeback of wood duck populations.<br />
<br />
Wood ducks are among the most productive egg layers of all the duck species. This evolutionary adaptation occurs because wood ducks experience very high duckling mortality rates. If the first nest fails, the female will attempt up to 2 re-nests to raise a brood.
    Incoming Woody.jpg
  • This bird gets its name from the distinctive golden "crown" of feathers on its head. It lives in open areas and grasslands, where it feeds on grass seeds, insects, frogs and lizards. Crowned cranes usually mate for life. Both the male and female cooperate in building the nest, and in defending the eggs and the chicks. Crowned crane parents often pretend to be injured to lure predators away from their nestlings.
    East African Crowned Crane 2.jpg
  • Angel came to the National Eagle Center in 2000.  She had been found on the ground with a broken wing near Grantsburg, WI in 1999. She was just a fledgling and had been surviving on scraps of fish from nearby herons' nests.<br />
<br />
Angel was treated at the University of Minnesota's Raptor Center in St. Paul, where she underwent surgery and realignment of the broken bone in her wing. Though repair of the bone was successful, the damage to the musculature could not be repaired. Angel is unable to sustain flight as she would need to survive in the wild.<br />
<br />
Angel seems to have adjusted quite well as an eagle ambassador. She has matured from a dark headed juvenile to a fully mature, white-headed female bald eagle. Angel's loud vocalizations can be heard when a wild eagle passes by the windows of the National Eagle Center. Angel got her name in a naming contest by a 4th grade student from St. Felix School in Wabasha.<br />
<br />
Angel's regal appearance has made her a favorite guest at many Native American ceremonies and countless educational events for schools, scout troops and communities.
    Columbia in B and W.jpg
  • I think the white-tailed deer finally had enough vegetation and bird seed. Now time to head to another location.
    white_tailed_doe15.jpg
  • A Reaching Staircase Into Vibrant Autumn Trees with a Female Cardinal Perched on the Rail.
    Natures Staircase.jpg
  • Miss finch peeks over her shoulder to smile for the camera
    Purple Finch Behind.jpg
  • A friendly finch visits the yard on a colorful autumn day
    Mrs Purple Finch.jpg
  • The Pintail or Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) is a duck with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America.
    Pintail Hen.jpg
  • A treat from the window as I am awoken by a bluebird song
    Bluebird Morning.jpg
  • Miss Finch Stopped By The Feeders For A Quick Bite and A Bath
    Miss Finch In The Flower Garden.jpg
  • The white-tailed doe telling us exactly how she feels about us watching her eat.
    white_tailed_doe12.jpg
  • Miss Redbird Glimmer on Green.jpg
  • Miss Finch On Colorful Palette.jpg
  • This little lady was playing in a fountain just enjoying the beautiful weather at the Saint Louis Zoo.
    quackers.jpg
  • I took this shot of the male and female House Finch just hanging out in my front yard. <br />
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The House Finch is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae, which is found in North America. Adults have a long, square-tipped brown tail and are a brown or dull-brown color across the back with some shading into deep gray on the wing feathers. Breast and belly feathers may be streaked; the flanks usually are.
    male_female_house_finch.jpg
  • A male Wood Duck rocks in the water mimicking a rocking horse, putting on a vibrant show.<br />
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Wood Ducks forage in the water by taking food from the surface and up-ending to reach food underneath. They also graze on land. Pairs form on the wintering grounds, and males attract females by showing off their brightly colored plumage. Females demonstrate strong fidelity to the sites where they hatched (philopatry), and they lead their mates back to those sites in the spring.<br />
<br />
Male Wood Ducks are flamboyant in breeding plumage, practically unmistakable with their brightly colored chestnut and yellow bodies, green droop-crested heads, bright red bills, and bold white barring on their faces and bodies. Females are drabber, with subtle iridescence on overall grayish-brown bodies, spotted flanks, and a white teardrop surrounding each eye. Juveniles appear similar to females, as do non-breeding males in eclipse plumage (from June to September), although they have the red bill and white facial markings.
    Woody Rocking Horse.jpg
  • he Brown-headed Cowbird is well known--and widely disliked--for its practice of laying eggs in the nests of other species. Males are black birds with dull brown heads. Adult males are shiny black, while first-year males are duller black. Females are much smaller and solid brown with a whitish throat and light streaking on their undersides. Juveniles look similar to females, but are more heavily streaked with lighter bellies and light edging on their wing feathers. Cowbirds have more finch-like conical beaks than other blackbirds.
    Male BHCB Profile.jpg
  • The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of duck found in North America. It is one of the most colourful North American waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches.<br />
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In good light, males have a glossy green head cut with white stripes, a chestnut breast and buffy sides. In low or harsh light, they'll look dark overall with paler sides. Females are gray-brown with white-speckled breast. In eclipse plumage (late summer), males lose their pale sides and bold stripes, but retain their bright eye and bill.<br />
<br />
Wood ducks breed across most of the central and eastern United States, southeastern Canada and along the Pacific coast from California to British Columbia. The highest breeding densities occur in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. In recent decades, the breeding range has expanded westward into the Great Plains region following development of wooded riparian corridors. Wood ducks prefer riparian habitats, wooded swamps and freshwater marshes.
    Wood Duck Flap.jpg
  • An Eagle grabs a fishy snack to cure a powerful appetite. The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle.<br />
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The Bald Eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on fish, which it swoops down and snatches from the water with its talons. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species.<br />
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The plumage of an adult Bald Eagle is evenly dark brown with a white head and tail. The tail is moderately long and slightly wedge-shaped. Males and females are identical in plumage coloration, but sexual dimorphism is evident in the species in that females are 25 percent larger than males. The beak, feet and irides are bright yellow.<br />
<br />
There are two subspecies of bald eagles. The "southern" bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus, is found in the Gulf States from Texas and Baja California across to South Carolina and Florida, south of 40 degrees north latitude. The "northern" bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus alascanus, is found north of 40 degrees north latitude across the entire continent. The largest numbers of northern bald eagles are in the Northwest, especially in Alaska. The "northern" bald eagle is slightly larger than the "southern" bald eagle. Studies have shown that "northern" bald eagles fly into the southern states and Mexico, and the "southern" bald eagles fly north into Canada. Because of these finding, the subspecies of "northern" and "southern" bald eagles has been discontinued in recent literature.
    Bald Eagle Snacks.jpg
  • Most of the country drives during an eastern North American summer will turn up a few Eastern Bluebirds sitting on telephone wires or perched atop a nest box, calling out in a short, wavering voice or abruptly dropping to the ground after an insect. Marvelous birds to capture in your binoculars, male Eastern Bluebirds are a brilliant royal blue on the back and head, and warm red-brown on the breast. Blue tinges in the wings and tail give the grayer females an elegant look.
    Bluebird Watching.jpg
  • Yes even a robin can have some majesty and prowess.<br />
<br />
The quintessential early bird, American Robins are common sights on lawns across North America, where you often see them tugging earthworms out of the ground. Robins are popular birds for their warm orange breast, cheery song, and early appearance at the end of winter. Though they're familiar town and city birds, American Robins are at home in wilder areas, too, including mountain forests and Alaskan wilderness. <br />
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The American Robin or North American Robin is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. It is named after the European Robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely<br />
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A distinctive, potbellied bird. Forages on lawns and other areas of short vegetation for earthworms and other invertebrates in a run-and-stop pattern typical of terrestrial thrushes. Adult: depending on sex and subspecies, head, with white eye arcs, varies from jet black to gray, with white supercilia and throat, blackish lores and lateral throat stripe. Underparts vary, often in tandem with head color, from deep, rich reddish maroon to gray-scalloped, peachy orange. Males tend to be darker, females grayer, but overlap makes determining sex of many problematic.
    Majestic Robin Blues.jpg
  • A Male Northern Cardinals perched on a white feeder in the midst of a cold winter snow storm. The vibrant Cardinal red contrast against the chilly blues and white snow. The Northern Cardinal is a North American bird in the genus Cardinalis, it is also known colloquially as the redbird or common cardinal.<br />
<br />
The Northern Cardinal or "Redbird" is probably one of most popular visitors to backyard bird feeders. Its range extends over most of the eastern USA, parts of extreme southeastern Canada, and south through Mexico to Belize. It has also been introduced to Hawaii. Its variable call, a loud "cheer cheer cheer" or "purty purty purty," is sung by both sexes and can be heard year round. Cardinals are nonmigratory, but some movement does occur in the later summer and fall.<br />
<br />
The male Northern Cardinal is perhaps responsible for getting more people to open up a field guide than any other bird. They're a perfect combination of familiarity, conspicuousness, and style: a shade of red you can't take your eyes off. Even the brown females sport a sharp crest and warm red accents. Cardinals don't migrate and they don't molt into a dull plumage, so they're still breathtaking in winter's snowy backyards. In summer, their sweet whistles are one of the first sounds of the morning.
    Chilly Cardinal Blues.jpg
  • This handsome little finch, the state bird of New Jersey, Iowa, and Washington, is welcome and common at feeders, where it takes primarily sunflower and nyjer. Goldfinches often flock with Pine Siskins and Common Redpolls. Spring males are brilliant yellow and shiny black with a bit of white. Females and all winter birds are more dull but identifiable by their conical bill; pointed, notched tail; wingbars; and lack of streaking. During molts they look bizarrely patchy.
    American Goldfinch - 1.jpg
  • Most of the country drives during an eastern North American summer will turn up a few Eastern Bluebirds sitting on telephone wires or perched atop a nest box, calling out in a short, wavering voice or abruptly dropping to the ground after an insect. Marvelous birds to capture in your binoculars, male Eastern Bluebirds are a brilliant royal blue on the back and head, and warm red-brown on the breast. Blue tinges in the wings and tail give the grayer females an elegant look.
    Bluebird Midnight Highlight.jpg
  • Male Mallard Duck was running for his life from all the little kids on a hot humid day at the zoo.  ..The male birds (drakes) have a bright green head and are grey on wings and belly, while the females are brown all over.
    mallard_duck.jpg
  • This handsome little finch, the state bird of New Jersey, Iowa, and Washington, is welcome and common at feeders, where it takes primarily sunflower and nyjer. Goldfinches often flock with Pine Siskins and Common Redpolls. Spring males are brilliant yellow and shiny black with a bit of white. Females and all winter birds are more dull but identifiable by their conical bill; pointed, notched tail; wingbars; and lack of streaking. During molts they look bizarrely patchy.
    American Goldfinch - 3.jpg
  • Adults have a long, square-tipped brown tail and are a brown or dull-brown color across the back with some shading into deep gray on the wing feathers. Breast and belly feathers may be streaked; the flanks usually are. In most cases, adult males' heads, necks and shoulders are reddish. This color sometimes extends to the belly and down the back, between the wings. Male coloration varies in intensity with the seasons and is derived from the berries and fruits in its diet. As a result, the colors range from pale straw-yellow through bright orange (both rare) to deep, intense red. Adult females have brown upper-parts and streaked underparts.
    Red Male House Finch-D.jpg
  • Adult male Hooded Mergansers are black above, with a white breast and rich chestnut flanks. The black head has a large white patch that varies in size when the crest is raised or lowered, but is always prominent. Females and immatures are gray and brown, with warm tawny-cinnamon tones on the head.
    Male Hooded Merganser.jpg
  • The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus Leucocephalus) is found only on the North American continent. Adult male eagles generally weigh about 9 pounds. Adult females weigh in at between 12 and 13 pounds. Adult eagles have a wing span of up to 7 feet. Immature eagles are mottled brown and white. The distinct white head and tail of the mature bird is developed between 4-5 years of age. In the wild, bald eagles live to between 30 and 35 years. In captivity, they have been known to live up to 50 years.<br />
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Eagles do not live in isolation! Because they are near the top of the food chain, they become an irreplaceable indicator for measuring the health of the entire ecological system in which they live. After being listed as an endangered species in 1978 following a dramatic drop in population that began at the turn of the century, the Bald Eagle's status was upgraded to Threatened on August 11, 1995. Although efforts to replenish populations of the Bald Eagle have been successful, it continues to be protected under the Endangered Species Act, the Bald Eagle Protection Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
    Spread Eagle.jpg
  • Common Grackles are large, lanky blackbirds with long legs and long tails. The head is flat and the bill is longer than in most blackbirds, with the hint of a downward curve. In flight, the wings appear short in comparison to the tail. Males are slightly larger than females.
    Grackle On Golden Grass.jpg
  • Ostriches are the largest living birds. The boldly-colored males can grow up to 9 feet tall and weigh as much as 350 pounds. Females are smaller and are drab-colored to blend in with their surroundings.
    Ostrich.jpg
  • This handsome little finch, the state bird of New Jersey, Iowa, and Washington, is welcome and common at feeders, where it takes primarily sunflower and nyjer. Goldfinches often flock with Pine Siskins and Common Redpolls. Spring males are brilliant yellow and shiny black with a bit of white. Females and all winter birds are more dull but identifiable by their conical bill; pointed, notched tail; wingbars; and lack of streaking. During molts they look bizarrely patchy.
    American Goldfinch - 2.jpg
  • A Monarch Butterfly in Fluid Style Perches atop A Yellow Wildflower During Afternoon Showers.<br />
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The monarch is famous for its southward migration and northward return in summer from Canada to Mexico and Baja California which spans the life of three to four generations of the butterfly<br />
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Monarchs are especially noted for their lengthy annual migration. In North America, they make massive southward migrations starting in August until the first frost. A northward migration takes place in the spring. The monarch is the only butterfly that migrates both north and south as the birds do on a regular basis, but no single individual makes the entire round trip. Female monarchs deposit eggs for the next generation during these migrations.<br />
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Monarch butterflies are poisonous or distasteful to birds and mammals because of the presence of the cardiac glycosides contained in milkweed consumed by the larvae. The bright colors of larvae and adults are thought to function as warning colors. During hibernation, monarch butterflies sometimes suffer losses because hungry birds pick through them looking for the butterflies with the least amount of poison, but in the process kill those they reject.
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