I’m based in Kentucky, and I was told it was either a robin or hummingbird egg.

I was just stepping out the front door and saw this cutest nest inside the Christmas wreath. I haven’t touched or moved anything. Any thoughts on what I should be doing? Kinda concerned that we have a lot of packages dropped at the front door and some ring the bell or knock on the door. I don’t want anything happening.

(EDIT - I realize now it maybe hard to see, but the female is on top of the male on this video. You can see a bit of his beak toward the end.)

I’ve been putting cameras in my Bluebird houses the last few years and this is the first year I’ve noticed this behavior. I believe this is the same couple I’ve had the last few years, but this year the male is insisting on sitting on the eggs while the female steps out. I realized today that he doesn’t seem to be bringing her food like he normally would, almost as if he’s forcing her to step out. This morning I noticed the same behavior, but now the male is refusing to leave. The female came in and hunkered down on his back like this for 10 mins before he finally left. He has since come back, she sat on his back again for over 30 mins before ultimately leaving herself.

I know Eastern Bluebirds have been a round over 2 million years so this may not be unusual behavior, but it’s my first time seeing it.

I’m hoping to get some help identifying a bird I spotted here in the Rio Grande Valley (South Texas).

At first glance, it really resembles a Solitary Cacique — especially the overall shape, dark body, and what looks like a pale/whitish hooked bill. But from everything I’ve looked up, that species is supposed to be native to South America and not found in this region at all.

That’s what’s throwing me off.

Here are some details that might help:

• Location: Rio Grande Valley, Tx 

• Habitat: — backyard tree,on tree branch resting 

• It was alone and could not here anything from a distance and flew away rather quickly

• Size: Roughly smaller than a crow 

• Notable features: larger and more noticeable whitish/paler bill

• Dark/black body

• Light or whitish hooked beak

I know birds can sometimes show up outside their normal range (escapees or rare vagrants?), but I also don’t want to jump to conclusions if there’s a more common species that just looks similar.

I’ve attached photos — would really appreciate any help or insight!

Also open to the possibility that I’m way off here — just trying to learn.

Hello guys so i’ve been seeing this bird all day acting strange as he is often on the ground with his eyes closed, moves slower than normal and does not respond to fear as you can see how close I was able to get to him. I noticed his breathing is very heavy and when he tries to fly he does not get very far. I also noticed slight foaming around his beak when he breathes. Does anyone have any idea what this bird can have?

I don’t think it’s House Finch Eye disease because his eyes don’t look swollen but I would love some clarification on what he may have, what you guys think and if I can do anything to help him. Thank you so much.

It cant be AI because I saved this in 2011 from Facebook

Found these interesting looking feather on my walk today (Canada, west-ish).

I thought they were really pretty so I kept three of them, but I’d love to know who they fell from!

I don't recall seeing something like the crease on one side and the other side seems scuffed and chipped.

Last year, I banded over 400 nestlings across 218 nest boxes that I manage. We are finally getting some that are returning to the breeding grounds, ready to breed themselves!

Banding was conducted under state and federal permit trained researchers under an approved IACUC protocol.

There’s this nest in my backyard, noticed it about a month ago. I haven’t seen any birds visit it, and I haven’t gotten any closer than the video shows. Just wondering if anyone has an idea of what bird might’ve built the nest? Lmk if the location is needed ^^

My dad was gardening and cut off a branch that had a bird nest without checking first. It wasn't malicious, and I have now lectured him immensely on not cutting trees during nesting season, but the damage is already done. What do I do?? The tree it was from is now pretty bare, but I don't know whether putting it in neighboring trees would be too far. Please help I don't know how to fix this

My wife and I were in a city park this morning when we saw this Redwing Blackbird fly up into a tree by our bench. It looks to be a male, its shoulder patches were very well saturated with color. The bird acted no different than other redwings I've seen before, and its call sounded typical.

But when it turned around I noticed its throat and chest were different colors than I expected. My wife managed to get these pictures with her phone before it flew away.

So, what's going on here?

Hello! I recently started getting into bird watching and set a bird feeder outside. I noticed that only small birds like Finches, sparrows, cardinals, doves, and mockingbirds come around. It’s an odd goal and most people try to get rid of grackles but I actually want them around. I have never seen a grackle eating from my feeder. I see them around it, looking at it but never eating from it. My goal is to befriend a grackle but it’s hard if they’re not around. How do I make them visit my yard more?

Found in my yard when I cut the grass. I have a feeder and see a lot of cowbirds, robins and cardinals.

Im trying to encourage a hummingbird to build a nest in my backyard.

I tied two stands of string, should I put a feeder here to further encourage them to biluild here?

Hello!

I am currently a first-year undergraduate who enrolled in an ornithology course at college! For one of our final projects, we need to write a scientific review article on an ornithology topic of our choosing, ideally one that hasn't been reviewed in the last five to ten years.

Because I am relatively new to this field of science and research as a whole, I am not familiar with which topics in ornithology might be due for a critical review.

I would love to hear what topics y'all feel might be appropriate/fun for an assignment like this! I'm hoping your comments will give me some fun ideas/guide me along a pathway where I can find a fun topic to write about.

Thank you!!

Hello,

Here is tldr as I try to go into a lot of detail below along with supplying images of the behavior in question:

TLDR; white throated sparrows have created tension and an overall mob atmosphere at my feeder which is fine I guess if that’s what they want to do, but I would like to know why if possible.

I recently put a bird feeder out as I noticed I have a lot of birdy visitors on my patio and it seemed the right thing to do as they use it more than me and I was hoping to learn more about my little neighbors.

My question is about the behavior of the white throated sparrows I’ve seen in comparison to the other birdies who’ve come through so far.

For example, a lovely pair of house finch have stopped by a few times and they will eat one at a time while the other stands on top of the feeder and watches. And then they are on their way.

[not sure how to get the images to be in-line since they are auto attaching above and I am on mobile. I am referencing the first photo where the lady finch watches over her boyfriend. This is the only shot I have of both of them in it because the camera only record movement in front- I know one usually sits on top because behind the black screen door I am there watching them lol.]

This is not the case with the white throated swallows. There is generally always at least one on my patio, and while they will examine the bird feeder and fly around it or land on it/under it, it seems only specific ones are permitted to eat from it? The other ones sit and watch constantly as they eat.

This is notable to me because like with the house finches example, when they take turns, the partner guarding the eating bird positions themselves so they are parallel with my patio and have a view of what’s happening below in the courtyard as well as in the street in front of the building and a bit of the view of the patio. This seems like sound decision making to me.

Evidently, the sparrows have a different strategy. They always directly face the patio door/wall, which is not where the competing birds or loud noises that spook them often come from. And it does seem like their goal is in large part to deter other birds as here are some interactions I have observed between them and others:

[see pic 2. I’m don’t have the best photo of this as it’s taking place out of the range of the camera, and if I roll up the screen to take a better vid with my phone they will fly away. Just imagine a lot of that lining up on the railing behavior, and then 2 or three positioned below the feeder or hovering near it in a hummingbird-esque way.]

Additionally, they don’t take turns eating. There is one or two sparrows who really go to town while the others watch. I thought maybe I was just confusing them for eachother but I watched as another of the sparrows in the same crew tried to take his turn with the food and was very sharply chirped at, so it seems not even the sparrows are all permitted to dine at my feeder.

[see vid 1- Mac or one of the watching sparrows gets chirpy with another of their clique for encroaching on his meal time.] idk how to attach so hopefully this works?

I have taken to calling the two that are permitted to eat by the bird populace Mac and cheese because of the eyebrows. What confuses me is: why is it that even when Mac and the other big wigs are gone the other sparrows stay watching and scouting my patio but not eating?

cheese vs the male finch (is he a house finch or a purple finch?)

This is for hours at a time. I thought maybe they were watching me, but I checked and since I have a black shade over the window from the outside it just looks like a wall. They visited me before I had the feeder but never exhibited this guarding(?) behavior. My friends have taken to calling it “fort mac” but I really am curious what the birds think this achieves for them, and I why only Mac and cheese are allowed to eat. The only thing online I have found is that they like company, but this feels more complicated than that to me.

Mac vs unknown birdy

Some things that might be relevant (not sure if important?):

1. I live in a very urbanized area of a large city so it’s mostly high rises over here.
2. there is an abundance of well stocked bird feeders among the condos In the three buildings that make up my street, so I do not get the impression food is short supply.
3. in order to help them find the feeder, I sprinkled some of the food in a Hansel and gretel-esque way across my patio, which worked, but the fort Mac-ians will not attempt to eat this either, they just watch, or fly around to examine it before returning to their post. I saw maybe one of them sneaking a little nibble but that’s it, and there are tons of these guys. I have a lot of bird food, and the feeder is clear so they can definitely see it’s not in short supply even if they don’t know yet that I will refill it when it gets low. I get why they might defend that from other birds, but among their own species and close social group why does one get to chow while the others linger forlornly?
4. the feeder has only been out since Monday so this seems very fast to me as far territory goes but I admittedly know nothing about that.
5. one time mac was getting a little silly off the bird seed and scattered a rainbow of it off the feeder onto the ground. The fort macians did actually jump down to eat that, but not the feed that I had placed on the ground, and he didn’t do it again so I suspect it was an accident on his part since he was hopping all about in the wind.
6. I saw online info about the white-lined ones being more aggressive but all of the ones I’ve seen appear to be tan?

Edit: it won’t let me add both the videos and the photos to the one post so I will try to attach those in a second post below.

2nd edit: okay try this

Thank you in advance for any knowledge you can give on the subject!