Inspiration for Rito

Not satisfied with simple hawk or falcon plumage for your Rito OC? Want to incorporate an interesting bird fact into your headcanon? Look no further! Birds are varied and, honestly, sometimes kind of weird.

[amnhnyc]

Meet the Toucan Barbet (Semnornis ramphastinus)! This thick-billed bird inhabits cloud forests throughout parts of Colombia and Ecuador. It uses its bill to crush berries and squeeze nectar out of flowers. Both males and females have vibrant plumage; the main difference in appearance is that males have a black tuft by their necks.

Photo: David Martin, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist

[herpsandbirds]

I'm having a bad day :( could I have some funky birds?

Funky????

Red-capped Manakin (Ceratopipra mentalis), males, family Pipridae, order Passeriformes, Costa Rica

Also, these guys are pretty funky?

Purple-crested Turaco (Gallirex porphyreolophus), family Musophagidae, order Musophagiformes, South Africa

Photograph by Richard Flack

 South Africa

Photograph by Bernard DuPont

[herpsandbirds]

Speaking of gay ducks that reminded me of when me and one of my partners (#mypolycule) went to the park for a hangout before we started actually dating and we saw a group of mallards. The group consisted of one female and three males. They were all hanging out and being chill UNTIL!!! the female and two of the males pushed the third one out. Then the girl and her two boyfriends continued about their day together. So we saw duck polycule drama firsthand.

That was a tough day for us all. I have nothing to add... here are 3 of my favorite ducks.

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola), male, family Anatidae, order Anseriformes, NC, USA

photograph by Jeff Gresko

Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus), male, family Anatidae, order Anseriformes, Toronto, ONT, Canada

Photograph by Todd Clustivik

King Eider (Somateria spectabilis), drakes (males), family Anatidae, order Anseriformes, North Slope of Alaska

photograph by Grace Scalzo

Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus), family Anatidae, order Anseriformes, FL, USA

photograph by Kristen Grace

Smew (Mergellus albellus), male, family Anatidae, order Anseriformes, Mooka-Igashira Park, Moka, Tochigi, Japan

photo by anonymous photographer on eBird 

[kavohh707]

The first steps in life are not easy, not for humans and not for rooks. This rook probably just left the nest that day and walking on uneven ground the first time is not easy. They also cannot really fly at this stage, they manage a few flaps, but gaining height and landing is really difficult, so they rather walk.

[kedreeva]

I often get asked about the sounds the quail make. I bitch about the males being obnoxious, though they're a lot quieter after I bred against them constantly crowing.

But this is the noise I don't think I've ever talked about- the hen cricket noises. When I tell people they can just keep a few hens and they barely make noise and when they do they sound like a cricket, this is what I mean.

[kedreeva]

Roux pharaoh coturnix quail.

All my young girls are molting into adult plumage, but I don't normally have extra hands to help me take photographs so I wanted to grab a few while Sark is home.

[mostlybirdsandphotos]

male bufflehead showing off his beautiful iridescence ( ˙꒳​˙ )

[herpsandbirds]

Yellow-billed Cardinal (Paroaria capitata), family Thraupidae, order Passeriformes, Brazil

Not a true cardinal, birds in this genus are in the Tanager family.

photograph by Zoonaldo

[herpsandbirds]

Crested Partridge (Rollulus rouloul), L - female, R - male, family Phasianidae, order Galliformes, Sabah, Borneo

photograph by Partha Ghosh

[herpsandbirds]

Yellow-cheeked Tit (Machlolophus spilonotus), family Paridae, order Passeriformes, Rishap, WB, India

photograph by Prakash Sherpa

[patricianicoloso]

Curicaca/Buff-necked Ibis

Theristicus caudatus

[fatchance]

Found on the ground at the side of the trail.

The nest is lined with spider web silk and willow fluff, the softest imaginable cradle for a hummingbird chick.

[ambermaitrejean]

American robin. Jefferson County, Colorado. Photo by Amber Maitrejean

[mellifexfarm]

[mellifexfarm]

[mellifexfarm]

ugggg gross

[mellifexfarm]