This week we meet a great villain of the bird world, the Great Skua. So what is a Skua? Well picture for me if you will, a pleasant day by the beach. You’re having some fish and chips, when a flock of seagulls turns up to snag your taters. They’re noise, boisterous, aggressive and don’tContinue reading “Bird 306 – Great Skua”
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Bird 305 – Tufted Puffin
So everyone knows and loves a Puffin. Those delightful, plump, bright-billed birds from the Atlantic Ocean. But did you know there was another Puffin that lives in the Pacific Ocean. Although they may not be quite as cute as the Atlantic Puffin, the Tufted Puffin is no less flamboyant. The most sticking feature of theContinue reading “Bird 305 – Tufted Puffin”
Bird 304 – Spot-billed Toucanet
When we think of a Toucan the first thing that comes to mind is probably Toucan Sam, the official Froot Loops barker. Or maybe the Toucan who’s always stealing Guinness. But these birds are more or less a riff on the most famous species of Toucan, the Toco Toucan. Did you know there are 43Continue reading “Bird 304 – Spot-billed Toucanet”
Bird 303 – Thunderbird
This week we move from the realm of the real to the mythical. Around the west coast of America and Canada for hundreds of years the Native American tribes told tale of the great and mighty Thunderbirds. Usually depicted as a massive eagle, the Thunderbird was said to be a god of the upper world,Continue reading “Bird 303 – Thunderbird”
Bird 302 – Willie Wagtail
Today’s bird has been on the ‘to do list’ for at least five years. They’re one of my all time favourites, the Willie Wagtail. This is a quintessential Australian bird, and if you’ve spent any time in the suburbs you would have met one. They have a distinct melodious song, a bold personality, and anContinue reading “Bird 302 – Willie Wagtail”
Bird 301 – Common Murre
Today we meet the penguin of the Northern Hemisphere, the Common Murre, or as they are known in Europe, the Guillemot. With their black backs, white bellies, wedded feet and a tendency to stay off land unless it’s breeding season, the Common Murre ticks a lot of Penguin boxes. Except for the fact that theyContinue reading “Bird 301 – Common Murre”
Bird 300 – California Quail
Bird of the Week 300! Who would have thought we’d be this deep into a gag intended to be something like 6 emails. Today, we’re going to feature maybe the most important bird in weekly lore, the California Quail. This is the bird that launched 300 emails, story for another time. Yet somehow, I haveContinue reading “Bird 300 – California Quail”
Bird 299 – Horned Curassow
For our 299th bird we have an unusual and endangered bird from Bolivia. And it answers the question, what do you get if you crossed a rhino with a chicken? You get the Horned Curassow. This bird is so rarely seen it was only officially described by science in 1939. The man who described itContinue reading “Bird 299 – Horned Curassow”
Bird 298 – Elegant Crested-Tinamou
Today we have a curious little bird to teach us a thing or two about the Emu and Ostrich. It is the Elegant Crested-Tinamou. Chances are you’ve never heard of the Tinamou. They belong to an odd family of birds that live in South and Central America. At first glance, you may think there isn’tContinue reading “Bird 298 – Elegant Crested-Tinamou”
Bird 297 – MacGillivary’s Prion
Get ready for some funny words, as we meet this week’s bird, MacGillivary’s Prion. Prions are cute little birds, that make up a unique subset of the Petrel family. They live mainly in the southern oceans and breed on tiny subantarctic islands. The word ‘Prion’ derives from Greek, and means ‘saw’. And that’s the sawContinue reading “Bird 297 – MacGillivary’s Prion”
Bird of the Week 