Cool Bird Fact's

what it says on the tin! Banner photograph taken by Gautam Apte. Profile picture by Me. trying my best to expose cool, niche birds to a wider audience. :>

[daily-bird-facts]

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hello i talk about birds.

i get my photographs from eBird uploads unless otherwise stated. photographers are credited in alt text. write-ups are done by me, daily, as i suppose i have nothing better to do.

while uploads may vary in time of day, i will do my damnedest to get a bird blurb up daily.

if i get anything wrong. tell me. i'm fairly layman as bird sciences go, and humans are nothing if not fallible.

please enjoy the bird s !! and maybe also my yammering as well but i can't tell you what to do

cedar waxwing courtship berry dance

[daily-bird-facts]

this is the accurately named orange-throated tanager, endemic to a small patch of rainforest in the Andean foothills of northern Peru. the mountainside forests they prefer are not overly steep nor wet, and within this standard, they're somewhat tolerant to human disturbance. while it's not extensively researched, it follows patterns seen in other tanagers, namely their social lifestyle and their fondness for fruit. they're most often in the company of other orange-throated tanagers - at least pairs, if not small groups, foraging and calling to each other. they often join mixed-species foraging flocks.

their diet is composed mainly of fruit, supplemented by insects and sometimes other plant material, namely tender young leaves, shoots, and very potentially nectar. their incredibly striking coloration is unique among birds of its habitat, making it unmistakable both within its range and in the whole of the Andes. notably enough, they seem to have no dimorphism, or at the very least, it's subtle enough to not have been properly recorded yet. their voice, both in calls and song, is endearingly squeaky, somewhat reminiscent of shoes on a recently waxed floor.

14 August 2026

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this is Madarasz's tiger parrot, a poorly documented critter from the middling-elevation mountainsides of the island of New Guinea. they're dimorphic, remarkably enough, with females bearing green heads with striped backs and males bearing all-brown heads. their common and scientific names both originate from Gyula János István Madarász, a Hungarian ornithologist from the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. they have four recognized subspecies, all from different sections of New Guinea's central mountain range.

the nominate is from the southeast; subspecies huonensis, distinguished by its less-orange females and more-orange males, is from the northeast; subspecies hallstromi, with dark-feathered males and richer-orange-headed females, is of the eastern central mountains; and subspecies major, distinct in its larger size, is of the west. generally, they tend more herbivorous, feeding largely on seeds and fruits. they also tend to be rather quiet, which doesn't help their study. sightings are sometimes reported by locals, but there isn't a concrete enough handle on their population to say for certain whether they're safe or declining. they often call at sunset, a rather unparrotlike (in my experience) clear cry repeated several times over. foraging is done alone or in pairs at varying levels of the forest.

13 August 2026

[daily-bird-facts]

hiii idk if u take requests.. but if u do could u do facts for the tree swallow and scrub-jay :333

not for daily birds, but I can definitely do some bite-sized entries! (peck-sized?) these critters are very lovely :>

the tree swallow! this critter's from North America, and despite its name, it keeps largely to fields, hunting for insects above them. it migrates to Central America and the Caribbean for the winter, and is an especially early arrival at the nesting site, as the tree cavities it likes are always fiercely contested. they'll also nest in boxes, and this has resulted in this critter being very thoroughly studied.

and the scrub-jays of genus Aphelocoma! this genus includes four species with the common name "scrub-jay", with three more besides. the genus name means "smooth-haired", and i will concede they all look rather sleek. they're all elegant shades of blue as well, with the type species, the California scrub-jay (depicted here), having some lovely white patterning. as corvids are wont to be, they are very social and often conspiratorial-looking.

if we randomly pull one of these elegant blue critters in the future, i'll see if i can remember to give you an @!

[daily-bird-facts]

today's bird is the olivaceous woodcreeper, a small critter unusual in its family for its lack of markings. it lives, as one might expect, in forests, with its wide range encompassing most of Central and South America's lowland rainforests. and with such a large range comes geographic variation! i suspect their variation in color is to match the trees or greenery they climb all day.

the olivaceous woodcreeper has up to fifteen recognized subspecies within five different subspecies groups, with some organizations dividing it into several different species altogether! which does make sense, as different populations have different environmental preferences - the green-hued Amazonian subspecies prefer non-flooding areas of lowland rainforest, the yellowish Olivaceous birds of southeastern Brazil prefer higher elevation cloud forests, and so on.

they also vary in vocalizations, which is the primary basis for some of the acting species divisions. the soft grey birds of Central and northeastern South America are divided into the eastern olivaceous woodcreeper for their longer, trilling calls, as opposed to the other, western olivaceous woodcreeper's sharp series of whistles. these birds are otherwise united by their active insectivory, as well as an unusual trait shared by some other arboreal birds in its family - its tail feathers' shafts extend beyond the plume, angling downwards. these fancy "rakes" they've got provide additional leverage for their hops up the sides of trees!

12 August 2026

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today we have the striking banded kingfisher, a terrestrial forest predator of southeast Asia and western Oceania. notable is its vivid red bill, almost comically bright - i'd figure this is likely to signal to other kingfishers. immature kingfishers' bills are much less bright, instead starting off black and fading to dark orange before finally reaching the impressive hue of an adult bird. speaking of hues, this critter has very striking dimorphic plumage - males are blue-backed with rusty-red faces, whereas females resemble a tiger's patterning, with their orange-black barred backs.

despite being pretty little birds, they're also voracious carnivores, consuming large insects as well as vertebrates. they have a strong preference for squamates, oftentimes taking lizards with bodies longer than their own! they have a sit-and-wait hunting style, perching perfectly still on branches for long periods of time and watching attentively for passing prey.

their only consistent movement is the rise and fall of their crest, near-constantly ongoing - possible reasons for this trait i can think of include matching the motion of nearby leaves or shedding heat from their head, though their bill should take care of the latter option quite handily. sometimes, they perform their species's trademark hoarse, repeated whistle, which gives their position away to other kingfishers and to any birders poking about in the rainforest.

11 August 2026

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so! i have a backlog of old birds from before this blog got started. 181, to be precise, with blurbs of varying length. some of the earliest ones lack blurbs altogether!

and this blog is intended to take the pressure off my phone when it comes to data storage - this is a bird facts archive!

i'd like to get the old ones stored on here. however, i'm also indecisive on how to do that! so i reckon i'd like to ask you folks!

How do I go about publishing the old birds?

Post a random extra bird on certain days of the week!

Have people submit numbers to pick a legacy bird!

Don't! Just keep doing dailies!

I have another idea! (comment it, if you would.)

Remaining time: 2 days 9 hours

[daily-bird-facts]

today we have the flesh-footed shearwater. it's a marine bird, named for its pale feet, which resemble the skin tone of light-skinned humans. it ranges throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans, with its breeding islands located off the coasts of southern Australia and northern New Zealand. they breed in burrows, which oftentimes have their entrances covered by grasses or herbage. it's very closely related to the more accurately named pink-footed shearwater, to the point where some question whether they should be declared the same species.

its feet are typically tucked neatly under its belly feathers to provide an optimally aerodynamic shape, so they're difficult to actually get a decent look at in its typical habitat unless the bird is taking off or landing. they feed on larger sealife, as opposed to foraging on zooplankton like some of their smaller relatives. i presume their diet consists largely of fish and squid; sometimes, while out at sea, large amounts of these birds congregate to feed on an abundance of food - this is by my figuring likely in association with the hunts of larger predators below the ocean's surface, such as cooperative predatory cetaceans or very large fish.

while birds in general aren't particularly known for their senses of smell, the tubenoses have uniquely adept sniffers, with the plankton-feeders able to track swarms across the featureless ocean surface. today's critter is likely well able to detect feeding congregations at very long distances. and they certainly aren't picky eaters, willing to eat leftover fish chunks of varying sizes along with whole prey. they also opportunistically follow ships, likely hoping they're fishing.

10 August 2026

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this is the jack snipe, one of the smallest of the snipe-woodcock clade. it measures at about twenty centimeters or eight inches long, and has a hell of a migratory pattern for such a silly little bird. it migrates from central Africa and southern Asia to northern Eurasia to breed, crossing Europe and Asia several times over - northbound in late spring and southbound in late fall. within its ranges, it likes wetlands the best, as they provide a wealth of tasty invertebrates to probe around in the muck for. its diet consists of insects, both adult and larval, worms, slugs, and snails, alongside seeds and other tender bits from waterside plants, plucked while foraging. its proportionally shorter-than-average bill seems not to hamper its foraging.

one of its most distinguishing characteristics is the constant bobbing it does - if one has seen videos of the related American woodcocks engaging in their odd bobbing strut, i assure you these critters put that to shame. when i say constant, i truly do mean constant, even doing so while preening or looking for danger. and even in a hostile environment, the urge to bob remains strong.

instead of flying immediately when danger is near, they press themselves close to the ground tail-up, wait for an opening, and then subtly fly away. the position they take while in a defensive pose renders their off-white stripes vertical - they blend in excellently with waterside reeds and grasses! thing is, while they're pressing themselves to the ground, they still bob up and down! however, it's very restrained, and the motion is nearly invisible if one has a poor view. i'm unsure why exactly they bob, though i'm guessing it could be to feel the ground or flush insects from the sediment, or possibly to mask the vibrations of its beak-probing with something that resembles footsteps.

9 August 2026

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this is the rufous-backed bunting, also called Jankowski's bunting! a native of extreme northeastern China north of the Korean peninsula, and was recently found breeding in Mongolia as well! it's a rather heavily endangered species, highly specialized to a very particular type of environment - gradient shrubland situated between forests and interior Asian steppe. they nest almost exclusively in Siberian apricot bushes, which are impacted by extensive grazing and clearing for livestock.

presumably, they feed on seeds in the non-breeding season, while switching to a more protein-rich insect-based diet for their chicks during the breeding season. these critters bear a distinct deep-red belly spot. males are orange-brown on their backs, while females are overall more cool in tone, with their facial markings less bold and accompanied by a "necklace" of small speckles.

as of more recent years, these critters have gained higher protection status in China, being one of the most securely protected birds by the country - this has happened between their last ICUN assessment and the present day, so it's very possible that these protections are having an impact upon the population. it'll be hard to say for certain until studies upon this topic are published, though; it seems they haven't recieved any more contemporary attention. hopes remain high, however - at the very least, mine do.

8 August 2026

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today we have the Australian swiftlet! swifts, birds of the family Apodidae, are ridiculously specialized little critters - they spend virtually their entire lives flying. they sleep, eat, and drink in the air, feeding on bugs and aerial plankton. their wings are capable of taking on an impressive variety of shapes for different circumstances. their legs have atrophied to such an extent that they are unable to take off from the ground, only able to properly land on vertical surfaces. nests are built on walls, composed of various materials and the swifts' gluelike spit, used to attach them to surfaces - nesting is often essentially the only ordinary circumstance under which a swift will contact a solid surface. their beak's small point disguises its rather large gape, optimal for catching midair snacks. what a beastie! their believed lack of feet by ancient Europeans gave rise to a heraldic beast - the martlet, which is simply a swift with no feet.

today's critter is endemic to coastal regions of northern Queensland, primarily confined to the Cape York peninsula. they breed in caves, and have thus developed echolocation! in these caves, they gather colonially to nest, sometimes in the hundreds. their cup nests are constructed on the walls and sometimes the ceilings of the cave systems they anually return to, formed of their gluelike saliva alongside grasses, pine needles, twigs, and shed feathers. outside the breeding season, they occur largely over savannah. within their range, they're fairly common. as, well, it's Australia, a notable part of their diet consists of ballooning spiders! yes, they can fly. wonderful!

7 August 2026

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this is the red-naped bushshrike, a native of the Horn of Africa. more specifically, it inhabits the savannah and shrubland of Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya. it belongs to the family Malaconotidae, as opposed to Laniidae, the true shrikes. while it's not the only bird that's been named for a passing resemblance to the famous butcherbirds (the antshrikes of South America are some truly spectacular critters!), Malaconotidae has some basis to this likeness, with many of its members preying on large insects and small vertebrates.

they're also rather shy, however, and don't engage in the pantry-keeping behavior of their cousins in Laniidae. today's critter's association with thorny brambles is used defensively, not offensively, as they spend much of their time sneaking about in thick thornscrub. their fortress of choice is very effective at deterring anything that may wish to threaten them, apparently including human photographers. their lovely bold markings are, by my figuring, meant to break up their sillhouette among dense branches.

you may notice that some of these birds are much darker than others - this separation is not sexual dimorphism, as one might assume at first glance, but rather, dependant on age! red-naped bushshrikes darken from soft brown to black as they mature - i imagine the prolific nature of photos of youngsters has to do with their inexperience with hiding properly. partners perform a distinctive duetting call; males begin it with a raspy quacklike noise, and their partner responds with an impressively mechanical-sounding series of quick clicks.

6 August 2026

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this is the stripe-headed sparrow! this bold-marked critter occurs in a handful of disjunct populations, ranging from southern Mexico to northern Costa Rica. it is divided into a surprising amount of subspecies, with a total of six recognized by some! they vary in the darkness of the plumage on their chest - birds from the north of their range are paler there, whereas southern birds are mottled grey on their fronts.

within its range, it's a common sight, very distinct and conspicuous - they forage in flocks for seeds, arthropods, and fruit, a more varied diet than I'd anticipated given those absolute pliers it's got. a flock utilizes endearingly squeaky contact calls to keep each other reminded that all is well - it's a clever technique, as rather than needing to warn others using a loud, revealing noise, it's a sudden lack thereof which indicates danger is near.

this method is why absolute silence is percieved as unnerving by us humans - we're prolific users of contact calls, and silence among a group is instinctually percieved as "hey, something is Very Very Wrong and we need to hide Now." which is why elevators and waiting rooms play music! it alleviates this tension. (checks "explain evolutionary basis for elevator music" off my to-do.) but i digress. these critters also breed cooperatively, with both a pair of partners and a small group of other birds (sometimes chicks from other seasons, sometimes birds too young to breed, et cetera) all attending to and caring for a single brood. takes a village and all that.

5 August 2026

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presenting the purple martin, a handsome swallow whose range encompasses much of North and South America. It spends the winter months in continental South America, sometimes going as far south as Uruguay, and breeds in eastern and central North America. both parents provide care for their young. it's well known in these regions, as it as a species is nearly entirely dependant on human-made nest boxes.

with the introduction of the cavity-nesting European starling and the house sparrow, these critters were brought nearly to extinction, as starlings' nests are not suitable living quarters for a martin and house sparrows are exceptionally rude when it comes to housing, fighting other birds for nice nesting spots.

these critters are considered colonial nesters, as they'll nest in groups in suitable cavities; however, their nesting is not in groups large enough to be considered true colonies, and they aren't obligate group-nesters by any means. i reckon this is simply a (possibly contemporary) adaptation to capitalize as much as possible on the limited nesting afforded to them. with this strong human connection in mind, they are often fitted with trackers to record their migration patterns, an effort helped by their keen memories and tendency to return to previously used nesting sites. as such, we know quite a lot about martin migration!

they're exclusively aerial insect feeders - you may notice their similarities in morphology to the much more specialized swifts, mainly the broad, stout beaks. this is owing to this similarity in lifestyle, though swifts take it to the extreme. unfortunately, this makes them vulnerable to cold spells, as their insect food becomes entirely inaccessible to their typical foraging strategy. no wonder swallows are much more diverse in the tropics! but nevertheless, our critter today does hold the trophy for the largest swallow north of Mexico, and it's one of the largest worldwide. its sexual dimorphism is by no means dramatic, but is still notable - males are glossy purple-black, and females are countershaded grey-and-white with a handsome neck ring.

4 August 2026

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this is the black guineafowl, an inhabitant of the forests of eastern central Africa. this includes the northern Congo rainforest. it's small for a guineafowl, about 40 centimeters (or sixteen inches) long, and is well characterized by its black body and red, featherless head. its head is adorned by a small yet conspicuous mohawk-like crest. they live in flocks, albeit smaller ones than their relatives, which roam across the ground together.

unlike the rather bold plains-living guineafowl, these critters are skittish to the extreme, which makes for an unfortunate lack of research about them - very hard to look into something that is sent bolting for cover the instant any of its buddies spots something awry and sounds the alarm. and they're very careful about always being within dashing distance of the most unpenetrable scrub available! in other news, its bare head is likely a heat-shedding effort, a feature which also appears in all other guineafowl. while our knowledge of them is very limited, it is suspected that their population is declining due to habitat destruction and, somewhat secondarily, hunting for food.

3 August 2026

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this is the Apurímac spinetail, a long-tailed critter endemic to a tiny bit of southern Peru - it lies on the border between the departments of Apurímac and Cusco, specifically the section of this border which is formed by the Apurímac river and associated valley. this river is a tributary of the Amazon, and possibly the remotest one from its mouth at that. it lives in dense, humid undergrowth, where it forages in pairs or families.

they tend to graviatate towards areas where fully grown trees are a minority, whether at forest edges or at areas that have seen disturbance, such as landslides or human logging. here, they spend their time hiding amongst vines and especially bamboo. their presence in heavily human-impacted cloud forest patches indicate they've got at least a decent amount of tolerance for areas with human presence, which always bodes well for birds whose environments are under human threat. they mostly feed on insects; any other dietary habits haven't really been recorded.

this critter belongs to the family Furnariidae, commonly known as woodcreepers and ovenbirds. "ovenbird" happens to also be the common name of what I'd suspect is a more familiar bird to some folks, being an inhabitant of eastern North America - this likeness is in name alone, and the ovenbird belongs to the New World warblers, Parulidae. however, it's an excellent name, and i'm glad it's seeing more extensive use!

2 August 2026

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today we have the black-eared ground thrush, a colorful little critter from western central Africa. occurs in two disjunct populations, each in small pockets of lowland forest on either side of the Congo Rainforest. they're divided thus into two subspecies. the type subspecies occurs for the most part in Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. it's more reddish than its cousin - subspecies graueri is found in the northeast DRC and western Uganda. it's a very elusive bird, having only nine photos on eBird and much less publicly available information than someone like me might prefer. what's more, all eBird's photos are frankly abysmal. hardly more than a reddish-orange blur.

there's a bird in there i guess.

the splendid-quality in-hand photo we have today is courtesy of Patrick Arua, an environmental researcher who was at the time working in the Budongo Forest in Uganda. Arua has contributed to several published ornithology studies while at this station, and seems a dab hand with a camera! his comment which accompanies this image states this is a previously sighted (and banded) individual - apparently this species has only been seen through the use of mist nets, and in fact, until a recent second specimen, they've caught none but this same unfortunate individual over and over again! but i do digress. this critter is a specialist of the dense Guineo-Congolian variety of rainforest, and is extremely sensitive to environmental disturbance, being entirely absent from habitat that might seem ideal at a glance. we're not sure what exactly it's specialized to do, and with how things are going, we may never know.

1 August 2026