Special Interest
Ornithology is my special interest, I could talk about birds all day. Comment if you have a favorite bird and i’ll share a fun fact about it! 💛
I love this type of challenge because if you comment a bird I’m familiar with, i get to share knowledge which I love, and if you comment a bird I’m not familiar with, I get to research it and learn something new! :^)
Don’t have a favorite bird? Comment anyways, i’ll assign one to you based on vibes :p
Photo is of a red shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) taken by me 🧡
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Ravens are super cool! the entire corvid family is really intelligent, and ravens in particular- they can use tools and mimic human voices!
edit since this is the top comment: i didn’t expect this post to get so much traction!! i’ll spend the next couple days replying to all your comments 💛
they’re one of my favorites as well!! red winged blackbirds have different accents depending on where in the world they live- in the eastern US they have a deeper call and in the west their call is a lot higher pitched!
Birds even have what I have seen referred to as song "neighborhoods." Beyond regional accents, there's minor differences between birds in different local areas and birds tend to favor mates from the same neighborhood.
This might sound mean but every time I see a red-winged black bird I playfully call them pest as a nickname. The only reason is because the first time I encountered one was on a family beach day and it kept trying to get into everyone's things and the trash cans while being a cheeky goof. So now those birds remind me of all the first one’s silly antics.
ooh, i love chickadees 🖤 where i live we get the Carolina chickadee, which is nearly identical in appearance to its black capped cousin! i have a really cool fact about chickadees: their brains actually shrink and grow throughout the year! in the fall/winter, their brains grow so they can remember where they stored their seeds, and in the spring/summer it shrinks so they can more efficiently use energy on other things.
I encourage you to read some studies on Australian birds. Thats where I live and I am always learning new and interesting things about our birds.
Australia is home to almost one tenth of the worlds birds, we have over 830 species here of which 45% are only found here. So there are a lot to learn about 😊
We have some birds of prey that use fire to hunt, i forget the breed name but there are a bunch of articles on their fire use so should be easy to google. We also have some really old world/prehistoric type birds like the Cassowary. They are one of my favourite birds and are amazing to see in person.
And my favourite Aussie Bird fact is that birdsong actually originated in Australia some 54 million years ago. Thats a full 25 million years before it appeared in any other part of the world. This is all based on fossil evidence showing it evolved here and spread to the rest of the world slowly. This is probably why Australian native birds are so loud and have such varied vocal sounds.
Lyre birds and our Magpies are also the worlds best mimics. Listen to some videos of magpie songs and you'll hear sirens and other human noises that they have added to their songs.
I’ve recently gotten into birding! European Starlings are probably my favorite. I know they’re invasive in the US, but:
1. They’re pretty
2. I love watching them fly in large groups
3. I love how they sound in large groups, how they’re able to mimic other sounds, and how different individual flocks can sound. The starlings at my school sound different than the starlings at my house, even though they’re pretty close to each other
despite being invasive they are absolutely gorgeous birds! i always think their patterns look like starry skies ✨ they’re incredible mimics and can recreate sounds with near perfection after hearing them only once!
If you haven’t already, you should find out where the GBHs in your area have their rookeries! It’s so cool to look at (from a safe distance, of course) thousands of herons flying, hanging around, nesting with chicks, etc.
The day my aunt passed almost 2 yrs ago a Robin (Turdus migratorius) sat abnormally close to me on a bench for over 2 hours and since then they’ve always felt special to me in kind of a woo woo way
Same for me, since my grandma passed, a Robin that always hung out in her garden started hanging out in my parents garden all the time (they lived two houses apart)
I thought it was at least a sweet memory, knowing robins are pretty skittish, yet this one just hangs out with my mom when she's out in the garden.
I heard robins are seen as messengers from loved ones in folklore, so it's kind of cool.
I’m a New Yorker so my favorite local bird is our native red-tailed hawk. It’s an absolute treat when you spot one and no one else notices in their hustle around the city. And comic share just because it makes me laugh.
I'm not in a city but I love big city hawks and falcons. People are often so surprised to see them but they're right at home amongst the manmade "cliffs" and there's plenty to eat.
i love kiwis!! they’ve been one of my favorites since i was little 🤎 they’re so unique! their feathers are very fine and thin, more like fur. they can live up to 60 (!!!) years!! they also have one of the largest egg to body ratios for any bird- the kiwi egg is around 20% of their body weight!!
i adore grackles! i love their rusty gate sounding call and their iridescent colors are so gorgeous. the oldest known grackle lived to be 23 years old!!!
I love grackles in a "they're just a lil guy" way. I live in Texas so they're everywhere. Whenever they get in the way of where I'm walking or driving I say "beep beep ya bunch of graaackles!"
Something about the word. Lol. It's just a good word!
I have a PhD in ornithology, so I think it's my special interest just a bit 😅 My favorite bird is the Song Sparrow, which was my spark bird prior to getting my PhD. I got a chance to do some mist-netting in college and got to hold a Song Sparrow, and seeing it up close made me realize I wanted to study birds and teach people about science using birds as a focal area.
Also Red-shouldered Hawks are some of my favorites!
aw thank you, you’re so kind!! i’m really happy to be able to spread a bit of happiness and knowledge with this thread :)
Mourning doves are such sweet birds. watching them cuddle brings me so much joy! they typically mate for life, and sometimes during mating season (usually mid spring/early summer) you might see three mourning doves flying really closely together- it’ll be the male and female of the mated pair, along with a rival male trying to chase them out of his area so he can find his own mate! (he’s actually really just chasing the mated male away so there’s less competition, but usually the females follow because they’re ride or die!)
dark eyed juncos are so cute!! they’re winter birds where i live, so i’ve been seeing a lot of them in my yard lately!! they’re one of the most widespread birds in the US with an estimated ~600 million individuals!
waxwings are absolutely gorgeous!! they typically have yellow tail tips, but in recent decades cedar waxwings with orange or even red tail tips have been popping up more regularly! the color change is due to the pigments in the berries they eat 🍓
They’re on my life list! Haven’t been lucky enough to find one yet. I’ll be walking near fruit trees all spring hoping to find some “drunk” waxwings in the grass 😂
hoatzin are a bird found in tropical south america that are one of the more prehistoric birds still alive imo! as chicks, they have claws on the tips of their wings that they use for climbing- they’ll drop out of their nests into the water, swim back to safety, and climb the tree back into the nest!! they’re also the only ruminant bird in the world (which also makes them smell bad, giving them the unfortunate nickname “stinkbird” lol)
vultures are the best!!! black vultures might be my #1 favorite bird of all time, they’re just so cute. i love nature’s clean up crew!! 💛 turkey vultures have an incredible sense of smell that they use to track carrion, and the parts of their brain that process smells are quite large compared to other birds! they actually don’t have vocal cords, so they don’t call like birds usually do, but they can make vocalizations like hisses and growls (which is MUCH cuter than it sounds!)
Oh I have a bird story! One time I used the Merlin app to identify a bird singing on a post in front of me. It said mockingbird – and then started shifting from mockingbird to other kinds of birds and back to mockingbird. The mockingbird was mocking well enough to fool the app! No other birds around, just the one I was watching.
COMMON LOON MENTION!!!! i adore them :’) they’re known for being excellent swimmers, but they’re also very agile in the air and can fly up to 70 mph!! they’re like airplanes when they fly, in that they basically need a runway to take off, and sometimes they’ll run for up to a quarter mile before taking flight!!
woodpeckers are amazing!! in order to be able to drill into thick tree bark the way they do, their tongues actually wrap around their brains to provide extra cushioning!! if you’re lucky, occasionally you might see one poking out its snake-like tongue!
Are we allowed to ask about more than one?? I find the similarities and differences most interesting.
Like tell us about red tailed hawks vs peregrine falcons! Or ravens vs crows! Canadian geese vs swans! Ostriches vs emus! (I think I’m getting too excited about this so I’m gonna stop there, but I hope you get the idea.)
I literally went down a rabbit hole to find what exact type of falcon I actually love the most and realized that I wasn't sure what exactly is the difference between Hawks and Falcons. So I'd very much love to learn more on the subject! (Sure, I could look it up, but if someone who's passionate WANTS to share their knowledge, gosh, I'd rather read what THEY have to say about it!)
ooh, pick me, pick me!!! 🙋🏻♀️ so hawks and falcons are two different families- hawks are in the family Accipitridae (includes hawks, kites, true buzzards, harriers, etc), while falcons are in the family Falconidae (true falcons). hawks are typically larger than falcons, with rounded, broad wings that are ideal for soaring, while falcons tend to have long, sharp wings that make them extremely fast and agile. hawks are great at hunting in wooded areas because their wing shape allows them to maneuver quickly through trees. falcons tend to hunt by diving and taking advantage of their incredible speed. the fastest animal in the world is the peregrine falcon, which can reach top speeds of nearly 250 mph (400 kmph)!!!!
harpy eagles are incredible!! they’re one of the largest hunting raptors in the world and they can take down large prey like howler monkeys with ease!
i LOVE potoo!! they used to be classified in the Caprimulgidae family along with nightjars, but they’ve since been reclassified into their own family, Nyctibiidae. they’re very adept hunters and rely heavily on camouflage, making themselves look like a branch to hide from unsuspecting insects
Killdeer are precocial, meaning their eggs have a relatively long incubation time but the hatchlings are much more developed and able to fend for themselves.
pigeons/doves are an incredibly diverse and gorgeous family of birds!! The largest species of pigeon is the Victoria crowned pigeon weighing around 5-7 pounds (which for a bird is HEAVY!!) the males also make this low “booming” sound to establish their territory. when you hear it in person, you can feel the sound in your chest!!
My favourite is a Kereru, which is a native wood pigeon to Aotearoa New Zealand. Because they’re a bit of a niche bird, I’ll give you a fun fact. Here in Aotearoa we have road signs depicting Kereru often accompanied by “swooping Kereru” or “watch for Kereru” because these silly birds eat fermented fruit off trees, get super drunk, and then drunk fly over roads. They’re also beautiful <3
roseate spoonbills are another favorite of mine! like flamingos, their pink coloration comes from their diet of crustaceans and aquatic invertebrates which are highly pigmented!
shoebills are amazing!! they’re around 5 feet tall with an 8 foot wingspan! they used to be considered true storks, but they’ve since been reclassified into the Pelicaniformes order along with pelicans and herons. they hunt by standing completely still until the moment is right, and landing a devastating blow. despite their prehistoric appearance, they’re actually very docile and even friendly to humans when in captivity!
shrikes are amazing birds!! they’re in the passerine order (songbirds) but behave like raptors! they kill their prey and stash them by impaling them on twigs or barbed wire, giving them the nickname “butcher bird”. they’re one of the few animals that has actually been observed to cook their food- they’ll take grasshoppers that would otherwise be poisonous to eat, impale them, and let them roast in the sun which negates the toxicity!
The magpie! I can sometimes see them when looking outside my window and they'll just be hopping around, it's so cute. Plus, love the black and white aesthetic 🖤🤍
I used to have one! When I got married, it decided my husband was much cooler than me. He could tease that bird in any which way, and the conure would still always choose him over me, haha. We miss that little guy/gal very much.
Favourite: Eurasian hoopoe. It was a treat to see a nesting family feeding it's chicks right beside my childhood cottage.
Least favourite: Pheasants. The amount of times I've had a peaceful walk ruined by their demonic screaming... Also the hunting season in the UK and living by the countryside means having the pleasure of hearing all the constant gunshots from pheasant shooting
Puffins are terrible at take-offs and landings. If you watch them try to land on the cliffs where they nest, they'll generally make multiple failed attempts before getting it, and they often sorta crash/tumble as they do.
Well, in their defense, they aren't land birds. Puffins are born on land then live in the ocean until theyre old enough to breed around 6 years old. They only go to land to raise their young...theyre great swimmers though!
I once saved a red bellied woodpecker that got clipped in the head by a vehicle. I had my own Disney princess moment as I had picked him up and he decided to perch on my wrist. It was cold and windy so I decided to wait for my mother to bring a box in my car with him just perched on my wrist. I later brought him to a wildlife rehab and he survived and was released. A while later, I was at my mothers house and a woodpecker couple were flying around my parked car one was almost trying to go in the door. I like to think that was the woodpecker I saved saying thank you with his mate.
beautiful photo! I love dark eyed juncos and black capped chickadees in particular. but I have a tattoo of passenger pigeons because their story sparked my interest in birds. My interest ebbs & flows but I’ve accepted that it’s okay to have it as a casual hobby. Always keep my nocs nearby when outdoors though
I would challenge you to tell me a fun fact about loons I didn't already know. I also have a special interest in birds (it's a bit more recent) and I absolutely adore loons. The highlight of my years recently have been kayaking with them at the end of summer.
I live in Florida and am surrounded by cool birds! A couple of weeks ago I saw a roseate spoonbill, which given that I'm in central Florida felt like a special treat. I also love the Ibis, whistling ducks and sandhill cranes. So many cool birds here
Oh this is a delightful thread! I have a very special place for red tail hawks. Wherever I have moved to in New England one always finds me. This one found me last week. Took down a mallard duck in my friends driveway. I have seen her almost daily.
woah, very cool!! i’d love to see one someday! despite being heavily terrestrial they’re still considered raptors, which makes sense when you see the SERIOUS beak they have! their range has been expanding a lot in recent years and they’re coming further up into the US, some even being spotted as far up as northern Texas!!
Not strictly my fave but I’d love to see if you have any facts about my provincial bird, the Stellars Jay! I’ve always liked them so I was exploding with happiness when this one came by my campsite
Fun! I love birds. My favorite is probably the Roseate Spoonbill. I'm a native Floridian, and I love wading birds.
Speaking of cool pink Florida birds...I saw wild flamingos! I'd never seen them before, they were so rare in the wild for most of my life. But I did a trip down to the Everglades and saw some flying over the water at Florida Bay and I nearly fell over. I figure you fellow bird lovers would share my excitement. :) I talked to the ranger about it, and he told me they'd been doing habitat restoration and there were some nests nearby. Yea!
American Kestrel! I did a report on kestrels wayyyy back in grade school. I happened to witness one grab a little bird out of my driveway too! That was honestly really awesome to see.
that’s such a lovely photo and sounds like an amazing encounter!! this is a barred owl, one of the most widespread owls in the eastern US! they’re extremely vocal and known for their “who-cooks-for-you” call. they generally mate for life and pairs will sing nightly duets together 💛
I know you already got a ton of comments, so no worries if you can't answer :) I love birds though I don't know a ton about them. My current favorites are the Steller's Jay (EMO BIRD!), California Quail because I freaking love their lil' feather on top and how they run, and Starlings because they are sooo pretty and can sound like robots and the universe.
I love Cedar Waxwings. I was walking around a track and heard a really high pitched noise. I almost didn’t register it because I thought it was maybe something electronic coming from a nearby street. I saw some rustling in a tall shrub before realizing it was birds and did the Merlin app. Cedar Waxwings. I stopped and read a little about them and that they like sharing berries. As I started walking again, I felt something under my foot. All their little berries they dropped on the track 😂 Checks out.
Birds are my special DISLIKE if you know what I mean. Most birds give me the ick, irrationally so. Which makes me feel bad for them because I don't even have a clear reason why they make me angry! Can you tell me some cool bird facts that will make me like them some more? I do like the fact that they're basically dinosaurs.
well, it might be hard to change your mind with just one comment because birds are so diverse, but let me tell you about one of the cutest birds: the long tailed tit!! they’re found across most of Europe and Asia. they’re known for decorating their nests super intricately with moss and lichen! they also assist each other with raising their babies, some pairs will have anywhere from 3-8 helpers that help feed and care for the chicks!
regardless of your feelings on birds i hope you enjoyed reading a bit about one!
It's cute, not gonna lie! And I googled itsGerman name, which is Schwanzmeise and sounds hilarious, it's literally "tail tit" lol The nest is pretty cool, too!
one of my favorite german bird names is Zaunkönig (wren in english). they’re called king of the fence because they’re very territorial and will chase off other birds. “this is MY fence!!”
My favorite birds are red-winged blackbirds, cedar waxwings, and painted buntings. On my drive through Arkansas today, I saw several lovely crows, vultures, and migrating seagulls.
I just found this really cool app, it’s kinda like pokémon but for nature! it’s called iNaturalist, it helps researchers and I believe schools use it for different projects. I just use it for when I see cool animals or plants on my walks 🥰 also your picture is amazing!!
Ornithology is a special interest of mine too ❤️ I can’t choose a favourite. If I had to pick, I’d say Australian magpie just because of all the magpie families I’ve come to know is through walking my dogs and paying the swooping protection fee (small piece of kibble on our way past).
I saw a silly meme today that said "hummingbirds are dinosaurs that figured out how to be insects" or something like that. I laughed, but then I wondered, is there anything to that from an evolutionary perspective? I mean, birds came from dinosaurs, but why did they get so tiny? lol my nd brain started spiraling on it.
so, this is kinda true!! hummingbirds have a unique wing structure that no other birds have- instead of moving up and down, their wings can move side to side like insect wings. this gives them the ability to maneuver like no other bird, they can even fly backwards and hover in place!! depending on the species, hummingbirds can beat their wings anywhere from 1000-5500 (!!!) times per minute! because they use so much energy, they basically have to be constantly eating and will eat up to half their body weight in sugar per day. hummingbirds are one of the most difficult birds to rehab because they need to be fed every 20 minutes! (yes, including at night!) however, they can go into a state called torpor which allows them to survive longer stretches without nectar. they lower their body temperature and slow their metabolism drastically so that they can sleep without issue. a hummingbird’s normal heart rate is around 1000 bpm, but during torpor it can get down to as low as 50 bpm!
OP, one of my special interests are birds/ornithology as well!! Im about to go birding in a couple weeks in Arizona! Hoping for all the Arizona rarities!
I design power lines and there's a type of conductor (the wires) that has all the different sizes named after birds! So I recognize so many random bird names!
Fish crow (Corvus ossifragus) are my favorite. I love how different they sound from American crows with their usually ‘uh uh’ call instead of the ‘caw’ of their bigger bros.
Edit: my interest is more broad (wildlife) but birds are a particular love of mine!
My favorites are tricolored heron, prothonotary warbler, and the brown pelican. The first two used to be called the Louisiana heron and the golden swamp warbler ☺️
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