Birds -- General Discussion

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jkr
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Birds -- General Discussion

Post by jkr » Fri Feb 23, 2018 12:52 pm

This thread is for discussion of birds. It does not need to be species specific and all subjects related to birds are welcome here. For discussion of specific species please post in the appropriate thread. If a thread does not exist yet for the species you would like to discuss in more depth, please pm a Moderator and request a thread be created.
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SueD
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Re: Birds -- General Discussion

Post by SueD » Thu Jun 07, 2018 6:00 pm

Piping plover, an endangered species, foraging and sitting on a nest at Roseway Beach in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia:
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Re: Birds -- General Discussion

Post by SueD » Wed Jun 27, 2018 6:33 pm

Piping plover parent and chick at Roseway Beach in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia:
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Re: Birds -- General Discussion

Post by SueD » Mon Jul 02, 2018 11:55 am

Piping plover parents and chick at Roseway Beach in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia:
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Re: Birds -- General Discussion

Post by SueD » Tue Jan 21, 2020 12:55 pm

Fantastic violet-backed starling sighting during the Jan. 21 WildEarth afternoon drive (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0Ui2jIHE3o). The footage starts at about the 1:30:00 mark. Tristan said these birds rarely hold still and don't typically stay close enough to a drive vehicle to allow for closeup head-shots, so he was quite thrilled by this sighting:
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Re: Birds -- General Discussion

Post by JudyB » Tue Jan 21, 2020 2:03 pm

Lovely pictures, Sue - and that violet starling is stunning!

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Re: Birds -- General Discussion

Post by SueD » Tue May 11, 2021 9:11 am

Wonderful sighting of a crested barbet during the May 11 afternoon drive (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXxUu0zdCgY):
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Re: Birds -- General Discussion

Post by SueD » Mon Jan 02, 2023 8:12 am

Surprising sighting of a Burchell's starling feeding a great spotted cuckoo juvenile, recorded on the Djuma Dam cam in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa (https://youtu.be/6J9YDpZHcII):

This article describes the cuckoos' parasitic nesting behavior: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-ne ... 180951916/
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Re: Birds -- General Discussion

Post by JudyB » Mon Jan 02, 2023 10:26 am

SueD wrote:
Mon Jan 02, 2023 8:12 am
Surprising sighting of a Burchell's starling feeding a great spotted cuckoo juvenile, recorded on the Djuma Dam cam in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa (https://youtu.be/6J9YDpZHcII):

This article describes the cuckoos' parasitic nesting behavior: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-ne ... 180951916/
Interesting - I did know that cuckoo's tend to lay eggs in other birds' nests - but that poor parent stuck with such a large chick! I hope the youngster learns to find their own food soon. :) Thanks for posting this, Sue!

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Re: Birds -- General Discussion

Post by SueD » Fri Jan 06, 2023 4:33 am

JudyB wrote:
Mon Jan 02, 2023 10:26 am
Interesting - I did know that cuckoo's tend to lay eggs in other birds' nests - but that poor parent stuck with such a large chick! I hope the youngster learns to find their own food soon. :) Thanks for posting this, Sue!
You're welcome, Judy! I watch this dam cam on a regular basis, and I had scrolled back to this moment on the live cam. At first I didn't understand what I was seeing. Surely that wasn't a Burchell's starling chick ... even though it was acting like one! Turns out there was a good reason for that.

I think cuckoo chicks must do pretty well with this arrangement. Otherwise I can't imagine their behavior would have continued evolving in this way. It's a good arrangement for cuckoo parents. They're spared the work of raising their own chicks! But it's quite a burden for the other parent birds, not only losing their own chicks, but having to care for chicks that are so big.
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