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| BROWN THRASHER Interesting Facts: - Largest of our three mimics - Name comes from habit of thrashing the ground using it’s bill looking for food - Has largest repertoire of any North American bird species; over 3000 songs - Population decreasing due to cowbird parasitism, predation & loss of old fields - Have been know to live thirteen years, although usually much less - Georgia’s state bird Field Guide ID & photo (click here) |
| RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD Interesting Facts: - Extremely aggressive birds; not only to predators but to other hummingbirds, both male and female - Adults about 3” long & weigh a tenth of an ounce, less than a penny - Largest breast muscles, relative to size, of any other bird - Wings beat about 53 times per second, and as rapidly as 80 times per second - Does not suck nectar, but actually laps it with long, grooved tongue - As well as nectar, will also consume tree sap and insects. Insects actually make up 60 percent of diet - Before migration can double body weight in as little as 7-10 days - Preyed on by cats, hawks, shrikes, flycatchers, frogs, bass. Large percent die as a result of collisions with windows, cars and telecommunication towers. - Females have been documented to live nine years, males for five years Field Guide ID & photo (click here) |
| SCARLET TANAGER Interesting Facts: - Males claim 2-6 acre territories by singing constantly from high perches & driving away other males - Males return to previous years’ territories; females usually do not and therefore rarely take the same mate - During courtship male flies to a perch, droops his wings & spreads his tail to show off his brilliant back. If female strays out of his territory, he will chase her back into it. - Female chooses and builds nest while male continues to sing from his perch - During molting the male will become a patchwork of red, yellow & green. He ends up looking like the female during winter months, but retains his black wings and tail - Tanagers have been known to live for 10 years, most for only half that time - Predators include hawks, falcons and owls. Crows will eat eggs & nestlings and cowbirds parasitize more than half of all tanager nests Field Guide ID & photo (click here) |
| PIPING PLOVER Interesting Facts: - Coloration of both birds & eggs blends with snad & pebbles on beach. Hard to see unless it moves - Endangered: protected nesting sites along eastern seaboard, including many sites on LI - When feeding acts like Robin; running short distance then stopping, staying still & looking for prey - Name comes from “peep peep peep” type call similar to piping bagpipes - Solitary nester; Male builds nest by scraping shallow depression in sand & lining with seashell fragments; often returns to same nesting site each year - Hatchlings forage for themselves within hours, and fly within 21-35 days Field Guide ID & photo (click here) |
| RED-TAILED HAWK Interesting Facts: - - Has nested successfully in Manhattan. Most famous hawk nesting on Fifth Avenue is Pale Male, which there has been a movie made of. - Most widespread & successful hawk in N. America – adapts well - Often spotted along roadsides sitting on telephone poles - Gets name from adult’s rufous colored tail - Sometimes hunts in pairs, trapping prey in the open - Pairs mate for life & return to same nesting site each year - During courtship male may catch prey and pass to female while flying, or pair may interlock feet in a mating display Field Guide ID & photo (click here) |
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| Male Hummer |
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| Photo by Dianne |
| Great Camouflage |
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| Photo by Dianne |
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| Photo by Denice |
| Female Hummer |