Wednesday, 2 May 2012

Red-winged Blackbird

The Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, and northwestern Costa Rica.

It may winter as far north as Pennsylvania and British Columbia, but northern populations are generally migratory, moving south to Mexico and the southern United States. Claims have been made that it is the most abundant and best studied bird in North America.[2] The Red-winged Blackbird is sexually dimorphic; the male is all black with a red shoulder and yellow wing bar, while the female is a nondescript dark brown. Seeds and insects make up the bulk of the Red-winged Blackbird's diet.

Thursday, 8 December 2011

Pinnated Bittern

The Pinnated Bittern is a large heron, measuring between 25–30 in (63.5–76 cm) with a weight of roughly 1.8 lb (800 g)[citation needed]. Sexes are similarly plumaged, but females tend to be smaller than males and have brown instead of black on the tail.

Both adults and immatures are generally buffy, though heavily marked with cryptic patterning. Juveniles tend to have a somewhat more reddish ground color. The throat is unmarked white, the foreneck is white broadly streaked with pale brown, and the rest of the neck is buff with thin black barring. The breast and belly are white with broad pale brown streaks, while the back is buff, heavily streaked and barred with black. Rectrices are black in males and brown in females; the slate-grey remiges create a conspicuous two-toned effect in flight.
The bill is stout and strong, yellowish overall with a dusky upper mandible. The bare facial skin is bright yellow, with a brown line running across the lores. The legs are greenish-yellow, and the iris is yellow.