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.