Worthy of an Oscar

"And the Oscar goes to . . ." the Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus). If you have any experience with these little birds, you know what great actors they can be when they feel you are getting too close to their nest, which is little more than a rocky depression in the field. The parents will act injured by flopping and limping around trying to draw your attention away from their eggs. I always thought it was a neat bird growing up here in Arkansas, since it looked like it belonged on some beach and not in some cow pasture. I did get to see its close cousin, the Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), up in Maine where their nesting sites on the beaches are protected because of their threatened status in that area. These cousins look similar except the Piping Plover has one chest band and the Killdeer has two. The Killdeer gets its name from the sound it makes and they are practically year round residents of all of the continental U.S. Part of their success comes from the fact that they don't mind people. In fact, I took these pictures in the sub-division where my daughter and her family lives. The birds were all over the place running amongst and dodging the neighborhood kids.

Earning their Stripes

First year male (no red visible)

Probably a 2nd year male (little red visible)

Older, More Dominant Male (larger red stripe)

Female

The red-winged blackbird (Agelaius pheoniceus) is one of the most studied birds. Many papers have been written showing a correlation between the size of the red epaulets (stripe) and the number of females that are attracted. The size of the epaulets have also been shown to correlate to the size of the territory a bird controls; the larger the red stripe, the more area the bird controls. Sounds a whole lot like stripes in the military. With the exception of the female in the last pic, notice the different size red stripes in these birds. It usually takes at least two years for the red stripe to appear above the cream color stripe. From the second year on, the size of the red stripe will be dependent upon good genes and nutrition. So the next time you see one of these real common birds, take notice of the size of the red stripe.

"Redbird"

As common as they might be throughout the year in our backyards, the Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is an extremely beautiful bird that brightens up any feeder. No wonder this conspicuous bird is the state bird of seven different states (Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and North Carolina).

Bird of Peace

Dinner line

Dressed for dinner: Red stockings and blue eye-shadow

What is more soothing in the early morning or late afternoon hours than the cooing of a Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)? Then there are the many references to this bird in the Bible; the dove is used as a symbol of peace and gentleness, and even the Holy Spirit (which makes them especially welcome visitors to my backyard). As you can see in the pictures, I have numerous doves that I feed each day. They prefer to eat the seeds that have fallen to the ground and are seldom seen eating directly from the feeders. I think they are beautiful, sleek birds that are extremely sociable; I have counted over a dozen birds feeding at one time in perfect harmony with each other and with other birds. By the way, these guys have a ravenous appetite eating up to 20% of their own body weight per day. They are the most abundant game bird in the U.S. with annual harvests of 20 million each year. That's right. We hunt and eat doves down here in the South; it was always the first hunting season to open (Sept.). We would fry (of course) only the breast meat, which was dark meat as opposed to a chicken. I personally have not hunted doves since I was a kid; too much effort for too little meat. As a result of clearing forests and lack of hunting, dove numbers have climbed to an estimated 350 million. The oldest dove on record lived to be 31 years old (no spring chicken!).