Bird of the Week

Bird 286 – Alpine Swift

This week we meet one of the most remarkable birds in the world, the Alpine Swift. These cuties are native to the high mountain passes of Europe and Asia where they nest. They are migratory, and when the northern winter sets in they fly south to Africa and warmer climates.

Now, you may be wondering what the difference is between a Swift and Swallow, are they the same thing? They sure look mighty similar. Well, while they do look similar, they are not related at all. Swifts are more closely related to hummingbirds, of all things. That the two birds look the same is one of the best example of convergent evolution. Where two unrelated animals end up with similar traits because they are optimised for the type of life they lead, in this case, high-speed aerial pursuit.

Swifts are famous for darting about, hunting insects on the wing, and the Alpine Swift is no different. As it turns out, Swifts never land on the ground or perch in a tree if they can help it. They have weak feet that are only good for clinging to the side of cliffs where they make their nests. They even drink while on the wing, skimming low over water and taking a quick sip as they soar past.

But Alpine Swift’s have an additional claim to fame when it comes to having their head in the clouds. Several recent studies have found that the Alpine Swift really hates coming to earth. One individual was recorded as staying airborne for 200 days, straight. Two hundred days! That’s over half the year, in the air, constantly flying.

They can do everything on the wing, from eating and drinking, and even sleeping. How exactly they manage to pull of such an energy intensive activity like flying for months on end, without pause, is still a bit of mystery.

When it comes to sleeping though, we do know one trick birds have, and that is unihemispheric sleep. Which is just fancy-speak to say they can sleep one side of their brain at a time. Which must be such a wacky experience, because it would be like being both asleep and awake at the same time.

Many birds have some strange sleep behaviours that are quite foreign to our every day experiences. If you want to find out more, why not check out our latest podcast episode which is all about sleep, and how our little feathered friends get their shut eye (Apple/Spotify).

05/02/2023

Photo credit:

1: “Βουνοσταχτάρα Alpine Swift Tachymarptis melba” by Lefteris Stavrakas

2: “Alpine Swifts” by Mike Prince

3: Tachymarptis melba, Alpine Swift: young bird clinging to a cliff. Krk Island, Croatia, 楊逸鴻

Bird 285 – Barbados Bullfinch

This week we meet an unassuming, but deceptive bird, the Barbados Bullfinch. This little grey bird’s claim to fame is that it is the only totally endemic bird found on the Caribbean island of Barbados. Every other bird you’ll meet on that island can also be found somewhere else. But not this Bullfinch. If you want to see this grey, rather sparrow-like bird in the feather you will have to go to Barbados.

But why are they deceptive? Well, it turns out they aren’t a bullfinch at all. True Bullfinches live in Asia and Europe, nowhere near the Caribbean. Our bird actually belong to a family known as seedeaters, so called because … they … eat seeds. Which are themselves close relatives of Darwin’s finches. Of course, Darwin’s Finches aren’t finches either, they’re tanagers, a large group of South American birds that are sorta finch-y/sparrow-y in appearance. In fact, on Barbados one of their common names is simply, the Sparrow. But they aren’t sparrows, they’re tanagers.

Common bird names: famously making no sense since forever.

One of the more curious studies made on this bird related to the difference in problem solving ability between those birds that lived in the city compared to those that lived in country.

In the study, birds were presented with draws that they had to open to access seeds. The two groups were given multiple attempts to solve the problem. Twenty-six percent of the rural birds managed to crack the challenge, while 50 percent of the city birds did. Turned out the urban birds were twice as successful when it came to the problem.

The study hypothesized that birds living in urbanized environments would be more likely to have traits, like solving novel problems, that allow them to profit from human-derived food sources. In a city you’re more likely to come across unusual situations where a little ingenuity might get you a tasty snack. So maybe living in a city is breeding smarter birds. It’s just one study, on one species, but it is interesting none the less.

Turns out there is more to these little grey island birds than first meets the eye.

29/01/2023

Photo credit:

1: “File:Loxigilla barbadensis -Barbados, Lesser Antilles, Caribbean-8.jpg” by Mike & Chris

2: “File:Loxigilla barbadensis in Barbados Wildlife Reserve 06.jpg” by Postdlf

3: “File:Loxigilla barbadensis in Bathsheba, Barbados b03.jpg” by Postdlf

Bird 284 – New Zealand Rock Wren

As is tradition on the national day of Australia, it is time to honour the 2022 New Zealand Bird of the Year – the New Zealand Rock Wren. But don’t let that name fool you. The Rock Wren isn’t related to real Wrens, or Australian Wrens, they’re their own thing. They are also known as the Pīwauwau in New Zealand, which translates as the ‘little complaining bird’, so called by the Maori potentially because of their territorial nature.

Now, this is quite the peculiar bird. These wrens and their close relative the Rifleman, make up a unique family, so distinct within the perching birds, that they have been given their own sub-order. (I know that probably doesn’t mean much but its a big deal for phylogenetic nerds.) Millions of years ago their ancestors became isolated on New Zealand and they went their own way. Unlike many other perching birds they don’t have proper vocal organs and can’t really sing. They’re also notoriously bad flyers. The Rock Wren almost lacks a tail and can only flutter weakly on its rounded wings. They prefer running about on their long legs.

They live high in the alpine area of New Zealand’s south islands. Unlike many other birds they don’t migrate down the mountain in the winter, but they tough it out. It isn’t really known how they endure such conditions, but people speculate that they forage on rocky crags that remain snow free, and it’s speculated they may even go through a period of semi-hibernation.

Just like the Kaka from last week, the Rock Wren is in danger of extinction. Before human settlement, no mammals lived on New Zealand. It was an island dominated by birds, and they had few predators. This meant they could nest on the ground without fear that anyone would come to scramble their eggs. Today, that is not the case. Introduced mice and stoats make a meal out of their little nests, and their numbers of been in sharp decline. If these little guys are to have a chance of making it, serious pest control measures will have to be introduced.

Happy New Zealand bird appreciation day.

26/01/2023

Photo credit:

1: “File:NZ rock wren on rock.jpg” by Wynston Cooper

2: “Rock wren” by 57Andrew

3: Rock wren by Andrej Chudý

Bird 283 – New Zealand Kaka

New Zealand is home to three ancient parrots. Millions of years ago they were cut off from their fellows and began down their own odd evolutionary road. The Kakapo is the world’s only flightless parrot, the Kea is the world’s only alpine parrot, and then there’s the lesser-known Kaka; named after the Maori word for parrot.

While its lifestyle may not be as extreme as its cousins, the Kaka is still a striking bird. With its gigantic beak, red wings and a screech that can be heard for miles, the Kaka is hard to miss. They’re a bird of the forest and they feed on a wide range of foods. They use their powerful bills to shred pine cones to obtain seeds. They also have brush tongues, like lorikeets, which they use to feed on nectar.

Just like the Kea and the Kakapo though, the Kaka has not faired well with human settlement. Their numbers have been in decline for many decades. For them the problem is two-fold. Well … three-fold if you include habitat destruction. The first problem are stoats. Stoats love to go after Kaka nests. They eat the eggs and kill the mother. It can be so bad in some places that male Kaka can outnumber the females 6 to 1 because of stoat nest raids.

The other problem is invasive possums and wasps. The Kaka likes to feed on honeydew that certain insects excrete. Sadly, so do wasps, and with their singing ways, they can monopolise the best food sources.

Between these two pests, the Kaka struggles to successfully breed on mainland New Zealand, and these days the bulk of their population is restricted to the few pest free islands just off shore. Of course, there are major conservation efforts in place to save these birds, and a breeding program around Wellington has successfully reintroduced the birds to the region, so hopefully the future of the Kaka will be a bright one.

22/01/2023

Photo credit:

1: By Rosino – the colorful kākā Uploaded by Snowmanradio, https://commons.wikimedia.org/…

2: “Kaka on the Routeburn Track, Fiordland, New Zealand” by mark_whatmough

3: “New Zealand Kaka (Kākā, Nestor meridionalis)” by Tomas Sobek

Bird 282 – Satin Bowerbird

Today we have one of Australia’s most famous birds, the Satin Bowerbird. Although most birds are great architects, and we can see all sorts of amazing nest designs across the avian kingdom, Bowerbirds are unique as they are one of the few birds who build something that isn’t a nest.

What is a nest? A nest is a place where birds lay and incubate their eggs, and then raise their young. A bower serves no such function, it is built by the male and its only purpose is to impress the females during courtship display.

Satin Bowerbirds build an ‘avenue’ bower. It consist of two rows of sticks forming a little enclosed walkway, or avenue if you will. When the female comes to inspect the male’s work, she will walk into the bower, which then serves as her vantage point to watch the rest of the male’s display.

Most striking of all though are the blue things the male collects to decorate the bower. They scour the land in search of anything blue and pretty that they can bring back to litter around their bower. No-one is really sure where this obsession with blue things came from, but the leading theory is that the colour may accentuate male’s satin plumage.

Now, Bowerbird can be petty and tricksy. Males need to be on constant guard to protect their bowers from rivals. Some males will cruise the forest, looking for other bowers. If they find one unattended they’ll go in and steal the blue things and generally run amok, messing the placing up. The aim is to make a rival’s bower look more shabby, so that theirs will pop by comparison. Juvenile males have even been recorded impersonating female birds as a ruse to get in close to the bower and steal things while its owner is preoccupied perform a courtship dance. Oh yes, Bowerbirds are deceitful little birds.

But did you know there are nearly 30 species of bowerbird, and they all build different bowers and collect different things. There’s a whole other world of bowerbirds out there, and wouldn’t you know it, that’s the subject of our latest podcast episode, so if you want to learn more about these dancing, collecting, bower-building birds, then check it out (Apple/Spotify).

15/01/2023

Photo credit:

1: “Satin Bowerbird, Lamington National Park, Queensland DSC kli” by chujoslaw

2: “Ptilonorhynchus violaceus, Satin Bowerbird” by Photographer: Alan Henderson

3: “Ptilonorhynchus violaceus, Satin Bowerbird” by Photographer: Alan Henderson

4: “Satin Bowerbird” by Will_89

Bird 281 – Eastern Rosella

The eastern rosella is a common and instantly recognisable parrot for many people living on the East Coast of Australia.

They’re an almost painfully colourful bird. When paint swatches were being passed around the Eastern Rosella couldn’t decide what colour to use, so it got one of everything. Red head, white cheek, yellow breast, green abdomen, blue wings, black shoulders. If you can name a colour it’s got it.

Purple? Well, it had to draw the line somewhere. Pink? Orange? Magenta? Okay, I guess it’s colour pallet is more limited than I let on.

These birds are often found feeding on grass seed. They usually come in pairs, but will also pall around in larger groups. In rangers where their territory crosses over with other Rosellas, they can form mixed flocks, as they do with the Crimson Rosella in the Canberra region.

The question of just how many distinct species of Rosella there are has been an ever-changing debate over the years, with some authorities claiming birds that looked unique were either different plumed subspecies, or hybrids of two other species. But there are probably around six species.

They can be grouped into three categories, you’ve got the blue cheeked, the yellow cheeked and the white cheeked varieties. Our eastern rosella is a white cheeked one … as you can probably see.

But where did the word Rosella come from? Well it turns out European settlers first observed the Eastern Rosella at a place called Rose Hill, near Paramatta in Sydney. Originally they were called the Rosehill Parakeet. Over time that evolved into the Rosehiller, and then finally Rosella.

Rose Hill, Rosehiller, Rosella. Yeah, that works.

And from there the name stuck and became official. So now when you see a Rosella, you will know they are named for a hill out in the western suburbs of Sydney were Europeans first sighed them some 200 years ago.

08/01/2023

Photo credit:

1: “Eastern Rosella – Deniliquin – Victoria_S4E3501” by fveronesi1

2: Eastern Rosella by zosterops

3: Eastern Rosella fast food snack by I Am birdsaspoetry.com 

Bird 280 – Crested Screamer

Welcome to 2023 and another year of birds flying at you thick and fast. To start us off, here’s a question. What do you get when you cross a chicken with a duck that ate a burglar alarm? You get the Crested Screamer of course, the South American hardcore duck-fowl-attack-machine.

Okay, let’s back it up. What even is a Screamer? They are a bird of the South American marshland. Although they have the face of a chicken, they are more closely related to ducks. They represent an ancient linage of fowl that split off from the main family of ducks and geese a long time ago, and they’ve been doing their own evolutionary thing for millions of years. They don’t even have webbed feet.

You know what they do have though? Air pockets that are riddled through their skin. Having air sacs through your flesh has two big advantages if you’re a chicken-duck. First it makes you more buoyant, and helps these screeching birds float about better. Second, it also makes your flesh kinda spongy and rather unpleasant to eat. This means that even thought they look like a plump breasted tasty bird, they have never been hunted for meat. And I know not being hunted always makes me feel more buoyant.

Other animals like them too. They’re what is sometimes known as a sentinel animal. As their names suggests, the Screamer can make quite a ruckus. They have a loud trumpet-like call that can carry for several miles. They make these calls when danger is near and other birds use it as a warning to high tail it out of there.

They’re such an effective alarm system that local famers sometimes bird-nap a chick, and raise it with their chicken flocks to act as a guard.

And if all that wasn’t enough, they also come with nasty spurs on their wings. Males use them to fight for females, while both sexes use them to protect their territory from predators. So don’t mess with these guys. They may look like awkward goof balls, but the Crested Screamer will mess up your life.

01/01/2023

Photo credit:

1: “File:At Possa da Londra in the Brazilian Patanal (105m) – the weird looking Southern Screamer (Chauna torquata) – (24213807344).jpg” by Murray Foubister

2: “SOUTHERN SCREAMER” by cuatrok77

3: “Southern Screamer – Pantanal – Brazil_H8O1592” by fveronesi1

4: “File:Southern screamer (Chauna torquata) in flight.JPG” by Charles J Sharp

Bird 279 – European Turtle Dove

Let me be the first, and I hope only person to wish you a very avian Christmas. At this special time of the year it is only fitting that we feature a bird that has some connection to the festive holidays, and what better bird than the one that prominently appears as the second gift in the carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas. That’s right, it’s two Turtle Doves. (If you want to know about Partridge and pear trees you’ll have to go all the way back to Bird of the Week 57.)

Turtle Doves are sweet little pigeons. They’re dusky coloured, with a pastel pink breast. But their most distinguishing feature is the black collar with white polka dots that adorns the back of their neck. These pigeons are migratory, enjoying the European summer before flying to Africa to ride out the winter.

Now, Turtle Doves have long been associated with love. They form pair bonds and seem to mate for life. Naturally we people can’t see something like that and not assume it’s a representation of love and devotion. And this is why in the song, it is a pair of Turtle Doves that is given as a gift.

But maybe you’re wondering, where does their name come from, and what do they have to do with those hard-shelled, aquatic reptiles? Well, you will be pleased to know that they have nothing to do with turtles. Rather their common name came about thanks to a mispronunciation of their scientific name, Streptopelia turtur.

In Latin, the word Turtur was the traditional name given to the Turtle Dove, and it was probably imitative of their call, which is sometimes described as a deep, vibrating “turrr, turrr”.

Sadly, Turtle Dove populations have been in sharp decline in recent years. Which I know is not the thing you want to hear on Christmas Day, but unfortunately people kinda suck. Their declining population has been attributed to a combination of a change in farming practices and overhunting. Apparently the people of Malta like to shoot these birds when they stop over on the Mediterranean Island during their migration.

Hopefully that final downer won’t ruin your holidays. A big thank you from me for reading and sharing the weekly bird this year. I look forward to bringing you more avian silliness and fun facts in 2023.

25/12/2022

Photo credit:

1: “Turtle Dove” by Andy Morffew

2: “Turtle Dove Drinking” by Andy Morffew

3: “File:European Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur).jpg” by Yuvalr

4: “Turtle Doves” by AZRainman

Bird 278 – Black-naped Pheasant Pigeon

As we approach the end of the year it’s time for a little bit of good news. Earlier this year, on a small island off the coast of New Guinea, a rare pigeon was rediscovered after having not been seen since 1882. That pigeon is the Black-naped Pheasant Pigeon.

Now, there is very little I can tell you about this bird, because we know almost nothing about them. Before 2022, the one and only time they were even seen was in 1882, when two specimens were collected. Since then, they have gone undetected.

Of course, the question as to if they are a true species or a subspecies is slightly contentious at the moment. Most authorities list them as a subspecies of the Pheasant Pigeon, but given their population is isolated from the other Pheasant Pigeons, and they have unique plumage, there is an argument that they should be considered a proper species. These questions are always complicated, see my previous podcast ep on ‘How Many Birds are There?‘ which delves into that question more fully.

Pheasant Pigeons are unusual birds. They’ve evolved to more closely resemble pheasants. Instead of roosting in trees, they are largely ground dwelling. Why would you do that? Well where they live there are no large ground fowl, so they have evolved to fill the niche that bigger birds who scratch among the undergrowth on the forest floor normally would.

The single bird was sighted on Fergusson Island. This is a large island to the north east of Papua New Guinea. The island features an extinct volcano over 6,000 metres high, and is covered in dense tropical rainforest. For many years, rumours had circulated among local hunters that somewhere in the forest, the birds still persisted.

An expedition was mounted in 2019 to try and track the bird down, but nothing was found. The 2022 expedition was also on track to deliver nothing, until the team came to Mount Kilkerran – the island’s highest peak.

There they met a local with a promising lead. He reported seeing the pheasant-pigeon in an area with steep ridges and valleys and described hearing the bird’s distinctive calls. The researchers set up cameras and eventually captured a few seconds of footage, proving that the Black-naped Pheasant Pigeon still lived. Now the race is on to learn about these birds and figure out how we can best protect them.

If you’d like to see the footage they caught on the mountain side, you can check it out here.

18/12/2022

Images captured by Jordan Boersma

Bird 277 – Blakiston’s Fish-owl

Have you ever asked yourself, what is the world’s largest owl, and what’s their deal? Well good news, because today we answer that question. And the answer is Blakiston’s Fish Owl.This bird is huge, it’s more like an eagle than an owl. They stand 60cm tall with a wingspan of nearly 2 meters. They also weigh up to 4Kg, which I know doesn’t sound like a lot, but considering most bird’s weight is measured in grams and not kilos, it makes them rather gigantic for an avian.

The Fish Owl is native to Manchuria, Far Eastern Russian and Japan. As the name suggests, the Fish Owl favours fish. They live in what nerds call ‘riparian’ areas. Riparian is an ever so fancy word that means the land around a river or stream. They perch above the water and wait for a fish or other water-going creature to cross their path before dropping upon them with a splash. They’ve been known to drag salmon out of river that are ever heavier than they are, so yeah the Blakiston don’t mess around.

You may be wondering who this Blakiston chap is. That would be one Thomas Blakiston (1832-1891). He was an English explore who spent many years in Japan studying their fauna. It was while there that he collected the first specimen of this owl to receive a formal scientific description, and it would later come to bare his name.

Now, because our Fish Owl has a rather niche habitat, they have come under threat in recent years. It just so happens that we people find rivers and waterways useful and have a tendency to develop them. As such, the Fish Owl’s habitat is dwindling. They also rely on natural tree cavities for their nests, and as you may have guessed, because they’re so big they need trees that are sometimes centuries old. As is always the case it is so important that native habitat is preserved to protect the amazing animals that call them home.

There are other things we could say about Bkakiston’s Fish Owl, for example that we know by looking at its ear tuffs that it is a ‘Ture Owl’ and not one of those fake owls. But these are all questions that are better answered in this week’s latest podcast, which is all about Owls and the things they get up to. So why not join me for a story (Spotify, Apple).

11/12/22

Photo credit:
1: “Blakiston`s fish owl1.jpg” by Robert tdc
2: “A couple of Blakiston’s fish owls (1) (31558421096).jpg” by Takashi Muramatsu
3: “Blakiston`s fish owl.jpg” by Robert tdc
4: “Blakiston’s fish owl.jpg” by Julie Edgley