northeast-flora-and-fauna

Here are a couple female birds who look quite a bit less gaudy and distinctive than their male counterparts. The top is a Red-winged Blackbird (not quite black, not close to red-winged) and an Indigo Bunting (no visible indigo). (Technically it can be tricky to distinguish adult females with immature birds of both sexes, but I'm going with female IDs unless someone can say otherwise.) Of course, I've shown female Red-winged Blackbirds and Indigo Buntings before, and they're certainly not the only sexually dimorphic birds flying around (including but not limited to Brown-headed Cowbirds ). It may seem chauvinistic to name birds after the appearance of the males, but: Most of the time the males are more distinctive-looking, leading to more unique names. Imagine names like Beige Bunting #2 and Dark-streaked Bird #4 as names instead. What's the alternative? Naming the birds after people comes with a whole other set of baggage . June 29, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserv...

Though a number of our local birds have blue plumage [1], the Tree Swallows are almost certainly the shiniest. While some birds are bluer (like Indigo Buntings , Blue Grosbeaks , and probably Blue Jays ), when you factor in the shine, you get a Tree Swallow [2]. I'm pretty sure those thorns indicate this fella was in a Honey Locust tree. I don't know if it's a favorite perch for this bird, but it might be a little safer there than elsewhere. I suspect that any climbing predator would need to take care to avoid those dangerously sharp thorns. Of course, this tree provides little protection from an aerial attack from a hawk. Since the males are generally bluer/shinier, this is almost certainly a male. May 14, 2023 at Duke Farms Photo 292808063, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] But they don't have blue pigment; their blue plumage is dependent on their feather structure to reflect the blue light hitting them. [2] At least that's true for New Jersey...

Here's a Blue Grosbeak I met last May, and it's yet another bird-that's-blue in my area. The males are nearly as blue as one of their local relatives  [1], the Indigo Bunting . I think you're supposed to distinguish between the 2 species due to: The proportionately large beak of the Blue Grosbeak. The rufus wingbars of the Blue Grosbeak. Seen together (which I've never done) the Blue Grosbeak is bigger. More distantly related to the Blue Grosbeak are the Rose-breasted Grosbeak and the Northern Cardinal; they're all in the cardinal family  (AKA cardinal-grosbeak family [2]). As I mentioned in my Rose-breasted Grosbeak post, the name "grosbeak" comes from the French "gros" meaning large, not the English "gross" meaning repulsive. Blue Grosbeak's breed in our area but they prefer to spend the winter in warmer climes. They're generally considered to be "uncommon but widespread". May 4, 2023 at Duke Farms Photo 27856...

Here's a female or immature Indigo Bunting I met back in July. This is one of those species where the immature birds look very similar to adult females; unless it had an obviously juvenile look or a hint of blue feathering coming in I doubt I'd be able to distinguish between the 2 since both have light earth toned plumage. It sounds like most Indigo Buntings fledge by 4 weeks after being laid as eggs, so July 15 sounds like plenty of time for one born this year to be fairly adult-looking. A month before I had seen an obvious adult male in the same vicinity; this could be its spouse or offspring. July 15, 2022 at Sourland Mountain Preserve Photo 221319749, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Back in June I encountered this Indigo Bunting hiking the "pipeline" trail at Sourland Mountain Preserve. Many times when I see an interesting animal in a spot, I'll specifically look for it on future visits [1]. Most of the time I fail to re-find the animal; on this day though it paid off. The previous year I also found an Indigo Bunting in approximately the same spot. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is the same bunting, though it's possible there's a small community of them living off this trail. This is clearly considered acceptable habitat by the local Indigo Buntings. June 15, 2022 at Sourland Mountain Preserve Photo 210219267, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] I don't know if this is in general a good strategy, a harmless habit, or a futile distraction. Results have been mixed.

I had a somewhat rare treat in late May when I met this Indigo Bunting at Sourland. They're considered to be a fairly common bird, but I don't spot them a lot. This is only my 2nd picture of them, which admittedly is twice as many as I have of the bird they're most often confused with, the Blue Grosbeak . (Besides being blue, both birds are in the cardinal family .) I did notice this bird exactly where you're supposed to find them, edge habitat where meadows meet woods. I had a distant but unobstructed view of this guy (the females would have little or no blue) before he flew off. May 27, 2021 at Sourland Mountain Preserve Photo 133211246, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)