Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)

A sturdy duck with a long orange bill, the Common Merganser is a devout pescatarian (many nowadays equate their diet with their religion). This male was floating about in a water feature in Prospect Park in April 2015 when I took this picture.

The glossy green head identifies him as a male. The lack of a "hood" or "red-breast" differentiates him from related merganser species.

Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus)

Say hello to this leggy lily pad dweller. I encountered this individual on an airboat ride in the Florida Everglades (h/t to the one and only Everglades Holiday Park).

This Purple Gallinule's vividly colored coxcomb make it look like a toxic plant. Don't tell the alligators that swim all around that the Purple Gallinule is a relative of the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). 

House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)

Some friends and I heard this tiny little bird singing its magnificent aria from a branch in Prospect Park this morning. Take a close look and maybe you will hear the music!

The Latin for this bird's genus, troglodytes, means "cave-dweller." Wrens have a tendency to build nests in any kind of cavity that they find, be it a tree, building, or rocky outcrop.

Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus)

Spring is in the air (cf. Tree Swallows)! Look at this pretty pair of Purple Finches I spotted high up in the canopy near Turtle Pond.

How can we tell the Purple Finch from the more common House Finch? If we're attentive, there are a few clues we that can assist us. The male Purple Finch (on the left) lacks streaking on his underparts, has a more raspberry coloration, and has reddish tinting extending onto his wings (all in a all a "cleaner" looking bird than the House Finch). The female Purple Finch has facial streaking that the House Finch lacks.

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

It is time for a very special edition of Theo's Aviary...



We're all grown ups (or, "grups," as it were) so we can dispense with the "birds and bees" nonsense. Like any organism that reproduces sexually, birds need to find a mate with whom to fuse their reproductive cells. I photographed this lovestruck pair of Tree Swallows providing a perfect illustration of avian intimacy.

The female is positioned receptively, and the male approaches.

Most birds do not have the distinct external reproductive organs that mammals have. Instead, birds have a single posterior orifice known as a "cloaca." In males, this cloaca becomes engorged during mating season. The two individuals touch their cloaca briefly in a "cloacal kiss," like so:

The whole process only lasts a few seconds. But there's still some time for pillow-talk, apparently.

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

For those of you who are faint of heart, this would be the time to avert your eyes. You are about to witness nature in all its merciless glory. This red-tailed hawk has made a lunch out of a Norther Flicker (Colaptes auratus). 

The Red-tailed Hawk is a member of the genus buteo, a group of large, deadly raptors. They typically prey on small rodents but will opportunistically pick off other birds. This Red-tailed Hawk is likely a member of the notable Pale Male dynasty that has ruled New York's Central Park for over two decades. Whereas the existence of an urban hawk was once a novelty, it is now quite common to spot one of these ruthless apex predators butchering the helpless migratory denizens of the Park.

Note the prominent red tail, brown head with pale undersides, and streaking on the belly that assist in identifying the species.

Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)

What we have here is one of North America's great predators of the night. Those long "ears" are not actually ears, of course, but ornamental tufts. Nevertheless, the long-eared owl has auditory acumen that puts your dull-eared correspondent to shame. This merciless assassin employs his sonic superability to locate and devour small rodents in the darkest pitch of a moonless forest night.

I have to admit I consider it quite a coup to get a daytime picture of this Long-eared Owl perched high up in a tree on Cherry Hill in New York's Central Park. Owls are highly elusive creatures who are generally heard not seen (the best most birders hope for are the euphemistically-named "pellets" well-fed owls leave behind). This individual was getting in his 40 winks around 6pm, probably charging up before a big night of rat hunting.

Greater Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)

This is the BIGGEST gull in the world! I took a few pictures of an individual from a distance on the western edge of frozen Prospect Park Lake on a cold February day.