What is your Favorite Non-Parrot (wild) Bird?

[fiddlejen]

I've been watching a great courses show about the science of birds, by an ornithologist. He has some interesting tidbits - (for example that budgies are At Least as intelligent as macaws!) - and of course shows pics to go along with his lectures. At one point, he mentions a bird-sighting of a red-winged blackbird, and I thought about how that it probably my most favorite of all wild birds.

When I was a kid we would go to Chincoteague Island, to go to the beach on Assateague. It was a great wildlife refuge, and I would see flocks of red-winged blackbirds in the marshes. They were so amazing, their black bodies with these flashes of red from their wings as they flew. They were just so beautiful!

Additionally I'm partial to another bird called a Lapland Longspur. A few years ago, when my mom was visiting here in New England, we went to a local bird sanctuary near dusk. As we were leaving I paused to look at a little sparrow with usually distinct markings. When I looked up, there were a couple gents heading our way on the trail, loaded binoculars & tripods & etc. I asked them about the unusual sparrow -- which at first they couldn't -- and they got a little excited and told me it was a "very good find," a Lapland Longspur which is apparently usual around here.

I could have taken encouragement from this, and gotten into birding. I even thought about it -- but, I did not doso. (I did get me & myself some nice Audobon bird calendars, though!) I was busy with other things -- and now, I have my own birds at home to watch!

But Red Wing Blackbirds are still my favorite wild birds.

What are your favorite, non-parrot-species, wild birds?

 

[noodles123]

If kakapos and kias don't count (as parrots), then tawny frogmouths, ravens, mynas and cuckoo birds lol

 

[Tami2]

My faves are the raptors. All of them, especially owls.

Here is my owl thread from last spring.
http://www.parrotforums.com/off-topic/80649-owls.html I'm praying they come back this breeding season. :51:

 

[Jasmine333]

I love to watch the large birds fly, as they can change speed without even flapping a wing. Buzzards can float almost motionless in one spot in the sky, then effortlessly take off at high speed. I've seen them climb to great altitudes where they looked like a speck of pepper. Long ago someone said none of our planes and jets could match the aerodynamics of a buzzard.

 

[Noahs_Birds]

I'm a Fincho, I love my Finches to the moon.
I love Aberdeen Finches, which I have in my aviaries , and there are less than 52 in Australia, I love em!
I love Green Strawberry Finches, Javan Munias, Red Strawberry Finches, Black Rumped Double Bars, White bellied crimsons, Blue capped Cordon Bleus, Twinspots -- I have expensive taste, the list goes on....
Thanks
Noah Till

 

[Laurasea]

A painted bunting! A rainbow hued endangered native to Florida.

 

[Alehner529]

Hmmm as a wildlife biologist in northern wisconsin it's so hard to choose just one! We get influxes of snowy owls sometimes, and they are always stunningly beautiful. American woodcocks always make me very happy to see, so they are always a favorite. I personally have worked very closely with sharp-tailed grouse for the past 5 years, reintroducing a breeding population into my national forest, so they also will always hold a place in my heart.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[LaManuka]

No question I love e'm all but without a doubt these little guys, all of the Australian Fairy-wrens, are my all time fave (just don't tell Lilly!)

They've got it all, gorgeous plumage, captivating song, attitude by the bucketload and fuzzy little butts, how could you go wrong???

[ame="https://youtu.be/DThPzt8LN6M"]https://youtu.be/DThPzt8LN6M[/ame]

And then there's this guy........

[ame="https://youtu.be/ePs04ORyuHs"]https://youtu.be/ePs04ORyuHs[/ame]

Oh, and this guy too!!

[ame="https://youtu.be/FgCuIZHART8"]https://youtu.be/FgCuIZHART8[/ame]

 

[Betrisher]

I'm a bit fond of raptors, so the Australian eagles (White-breasted Sea Eagle and Wedge-tailed Eagle) are high on my list. Also, our suite of falcons, from the ubiquitous Peregrine right on down to the little Australian Hobby. But my all-time favourite bird is the Powerful Owl. I love owls - I've been collecting figurines for decades!

Powerful Owls live mostly in closed forest, although they're increasingly being seen in urban areas. They're big! Longer than a Great Grey Owl, but not as heavy, they prey on brush-tailed possums and greater gliders (both animals larger than a cat). They have a deliciously spooky call ('wookwook! wookwook!') that rings through the bush at night and goes for miles. Like most other owls and parrots, they suffer from habitat loss (forest clearing and removal of old-growth trees). There's currently a nation-wide study being conducted to find out more about the life-cycles of the Powerful Owls and to see what can be done to improve their survival rates.

 

[bill_e]

I'm a bird of prey guy and my two favorites are each at the top end of their species. First is the Harpy Eagle. Just love the look and size of this bird

And second, tiny by comparison but likely the fastest creature on earth, the Paraguin falcon. Over 230mph and dead quiet.

 

[LaManuka]

Wow I don’t think I quite realised how big Harpys are! I once saw some Stellars sea eagles at Jurong Bird Park in Singapore and I couldn’t believe how huge they were either. Amazing!!

 

[Betrisher]

One time, I was standing by my second-storey window and looking out into space while talking to my mother on the phone. As I stood there, a peregrine came from nowhere and disappeared into nowhere in the same instant. All that was left was a puff of feathers from the turtledove that had been sitting on top of the clothesline!

Another time, I was walking with my bird-watching club along a private railway track at Hexham (near where I live). From out of nowhere, a white-breasted sea eagle plummetted into the swamp alongside the track and began to wrestle in the water with a large carp. The battle took about five minutes, but it felt like a lot longer as the bird alternately submerged and then fought his way to the surface again, never once letting go of his prey. *Finally*, he laboriously got his wings free of the water and flapped off with his prize: a fish about fifteen inches long and weighing nearly a kilo!

If that fight had happened today, it would have been recorded on eleventeen separate mobile phones, but sadly most of the people who saw it have now passed on. I remember it as if it were only yesterday and the bravery of that bird is something that changed the way I think about birds of prey.

 

[Cardinal]

The Brown Dipper, found in the Himalayas. My first and only encounter of this bird was during a trip to the valley of flowers. I was greatly impressed by this small birds' ability to stand on slippery rocks and dive into the fast flowing mountain stream- the habit for which it gets its name.

 

[Cardinal]

I've been watching a great courses show about the science of birds, by an ornithologist. He has some interesting tidbits - (for example that budgies are At Least as intelligent as macaws!) -

Budgies are under rated and since they are not expensive, more prone to abuse.

Please share the link or the name of the Ornithologist.

 

[wrench13]

Hands down, the Cardinal. Lov em,means spring is on the way. We have 3 sets of them that come back each year.