Bird Call

Sora

Sora’s don’t like being seen. Usually. They do their level best to stay hidden in the marsh grass. And they’re good at it. You may see one stick his head up for a quick look. Before he dives head first through a hole in the weeds.They duck and dive and slip and run and scurry.

Skulking looks like hard work.

Then, sometime you might see one right out in the open. On a mud flat. Pecking away like a barnyard chicken. If so, good for you. 

But it’s not likely. What is? Getting a glimpse of one. Or part of one. But hang in there. One part here--one part there.  Pretty soon you’ll have enough parts to make your own Sora. :)

So in that spirit here are some parting shots of Sora parts delivered by a real Sora. :)

Sora Tail

Sora Back

Sora Belly

Sora feet

And of course, a real Sora head. : )

 

Put them all together and....

Click to enlarge.

Here's the Skinny

This bird is part of the rail family. As in ‘skinny as a rail?’ They are very shy. Usually. So they use that trim figure to slip around in the marsh weeds.

Reluctant to fly,they are more inclined to swim, but they mostly like to sneak.

Bold for rails. That's not saying much. They can still be hard to spot. Don’t take my word for it. See?  : )

    He's in there.  If you want to see the rest of him, tune in next time.  : )

Distinguishing Features: Underside of tail: white. Top: camouflaged. Bottom: gray. Furtive. Otherwise well-behaved.

Boring Facts: In spite of their shy reputation they sometimes walk around brazenly. Right out in the open! Like the football players who lived in my dorm.  : )

 

 

Bird-nerd-word of the day: Blastodisc

Sounds like a long driver for Frisbee golf. Or maybe a Nerf gun. But this is a bird blog after all.

Since you may not know (and who would?) it’s a tiny disc on the yolk of an egg. (Remember the disc that has to stay on top all the time?) Not just small-tiny. One-cell-thick-tiny too!

More amazing, it will be pipping its way out of the shell in less than two weeks. (That’s for small birds. Large birds take longer.) Please be patient as results may vary.  :) 

Large or small,though, they start out the same. A tiny, single layer of cells called a blastodisc.

Which one they wind up, of course, is entirely up to their parents. :)

 

Canada Goose--Take a Gander

You might think from my last post that I have something against Canada Geese. I don’t. They’re great. (Well except for the E.coli-on-soccer-fields thing.) They’re impressive birds. And honk like bicycle horns. And fly in Vs.

 

And who doesn’t love Canadians, eh?  

 

Distinguishing Marks:

Long Neck, Light breast, Cranky

 

 

Medium Neck, Slightly darker, Not so cranky

 

 

Short Neck, Darkish breast, Short bill, Laid back

Click a photo to enlarge.

Boring Fact: Canada Geese come in several subspecies and everything in between. (I thought it indelicate to say flavors. Remember they're protected.) :) 

Hover over these to see my best guess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bird-Call is having to do some maintenance. Be back as soon as someone tells me how to do it. :)