Bird Call

Bird-nerd-word of the day: Malar

Malar in the real world means “cheek.”  With birds it means the stripe from the beak down across their cheeks (if they had cheeks) which they don’t but which is really their jaw (which they do have. Sort of). It’s also known as the submustachial stripe because it is just below the dark stripe behind the beak or mustache. Malar is used again to describe the dark line below the Malar or the submustachial stripe pretending to be the malar. This is called the malar stripe...or whisker mark...or moustache (spelled that way in honor of a Brit someway involved in this mess.)   

All these mustaches present a troubling proposition for birders: they now have a submustachial stripe both above and below the m(o)ustache. To further complicate things, some birds don’t even display an upper mustache making the term submustachial stripe not only doubly illogical but silly. :)

Hang with me here. It gets worse. (Nothing’s ever simple is it?) :)

Click to enlarge

So it was back to malar which means cheek but is really on the jaw. This raised a few superciliums. Not everyone was pleased. Things got so acrimonious many field guides, not wanting to get dragged into the middle, just quit identifying the field mark altogether. If you have an older bird book, look. The chickens! :)

This called for action. So the Heads of Birding (who can be rather cranky about these things) got together and hammered out a proposal for a new naming system.  Here’s what they came up with (according to Sibley at least): malar is to be dropped completely (but don't bet on it). What is now called the malar (by some) is to become the lateral throat stripe. And the winning name for the dark line formerly known as whisker stripe, malar stripe, moustache, or submustachial stripe is….the envelope please… "submustachial stripe."  Well. I’m glad that’s settled. :)

So. Did you follow all that?

 

Why? : )

 What the heck is it? Hover to find out.

Distinguishing Marks: Dark streaking, yellow(ish) eyebrow

    

    

 

Love at First Sight

These “Angry Birds” are called Ring-necked Ducks because they have a brown ring around their necks (obviously). Not so obvious are the rings themselves.  Bird books caution us to use other field marks, like the tuft at the back of the head or the white markings on the beak, since usually the ring can’t be seen at all.

 

Funny though, I haven’t seemed to have that problem.

 

 Here's a female:

Boring fact:, If they don’t like the suitor, female Ring-necks can get angry too. Seems like she could have just ignored his calls. :)

 

Bird-nerd-words of the day: Double Clutch

Take this fun quiz to test your birding knowledge. 

Double Clutch is:

A)    A technique used by some commercial truck drivers who actually shift gears by pushing the clutch twice.

B)    An Autobot from the Transformers.

C)    A second batch of eggs in the same season.

D)    A technique used by 16 year olds at stop signs on steep inclines resulting in bad smells and expensive repairs.

E)     All of the above.

(The answer is upside down at the bottom.)

I took these photos at the zoo Saturday. Yes they’re cute, and I knew my friend who loves baby Mallards would be delighted.

 

But neither of those commendable reasons is why zoo ducklings are on Bird-Call today. So why are they? Because they are here (or there technically)…now. In July. Ducklings this late probably mean it’s mom’s second go-round. When things don’t go well the first time, ducks (and many other birds) sometimes have a second batch or clutch of eggs. When they do, it’s called double-clutching.

Now let’s see how you did on that quiz.

Answer: (E) 

Very good!

(Wait a minute. Everybody got it. All right. Next time I'll have to make the E upside down and backwards. Ǝ) 

:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Duck Blind

A new neighbor and friend loves ducks. He's in luck. There are several hanging around the ponds in our condo complex. He told me that one day as he sat by the pool, he was surprised to see a pair of them land inside the fence at the clubhouse. He found them entertaining and a little comical. They were thoroughly enjoying themselves. I had seen them there another time and got a kick out of it too. Of course I'm not sure the condo association would have been as amused as we were by it, but there they were.

I told him I'd be delighted to get a photo of the ducks near the pool if I could. OK, actually I told him if he'd read my blog, I'd post his ducks. :)

So as I do so often, I set up shop with my camera, found an inconspicuous spot and waited. And waited. It was unseasonably hot then, but I lay out in the sun anyway moving as little as possible appearing for all the world as if I was asleep. When photographing birds it's not uncommon to stay quiet in this manner for hours before getting a shot. And sometimes...still come up empty. I'm afraid that was the outcome here: I didn't see a thing. :)

Well no one ever said bird photography was a day at the beach. :)

 

At least I got a photo of my duck blind.

 

 

In the end, I got tired of waiting and took these through the pool fence. :) I hope he likes them.

Distinguishing Marks: Male has green and sometimes blue-green iridescent head, bright yellow bill, white neck ring.  Female is pretty much brown with fancy little blue spots on the wing (the male has them too.)  The female says "Quack."  Really.

 

It's easy to overlook this very common duck (unless of course they are in your pool.)

 

 

Boring Fact: these are dabbling ducks, so called because instead of diving, they nibble on or just below the surface. They're the ones you see tail feathers tipped straight up, head straight down in the water.  What's cool is how they take off from water in one sudden burst of motion. Impressive. (And important if you're in a small swimming pool.) Diving ducks on the other hand are the ones you see pattering along on top of the water in a more desperate attempt to get air-born.

 

 What the heck are they?

Northern Cardinal

Well, finally and without apology, here is the answer to what the heck was E-Z I.D. Friday’s bird. Northern Cardinal.

Those of you in the east and Midwest probably see twenty of these a day. There are a few in extreme southern Arizona and New Mexico, but not many. Just barely enough of them for Bill Bidwill to still be able to call his NFL team the Cardinals after he moved it from St. Louis to Phoenix. Good thing he didn’t move to California. The bird is so scarce out here that Stanford had to settle for “The Cardinal.” :)

Click to enlarge       (That's him hiding in the bushes.)

The female looks like this.

Click to enlarge              

I received a very nice email today. It went something like this, “I have read many of your blogs and will save some of the archives. BRAVO, a little glimpse of sanity in this very funny world.”  [Text edited slightly to make me sound better.]  :) Thank you Lee.

Of course, I also had a couple of comments like, “You need to get with it” or, “I’m disappointed in you for not blogging lately.” (Some people take their birds way too seriously don’t they?) :)

 

New Feature: Angry Birds

Angry birds

My new camera spent the fourth without me in Irvine at the Canon repair center. At this point I would prefer a new one, but they aren’t working with me. I’ve voiced my disappointment, but I confess I’m not good at being assertive.

But I have a plan. :)

I’m going to pick the camera up in person this time and take these two grumps along for backup. :)

Distinguishing Marks:Black and white; White outline and black tip on bill; Very assertive. :) 

What the heck is it?

(Hover to find out.)

 

Boring Fact: These are diving (as opposed to dabbling) ducks. That means they swim under water for their dinner. I got this shot of one doing that. :)