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Hi, I’m currently obsessed with Ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapilla) after taking a field ornithology course this spring. They were very common and we caught and banded several of them, very cute and chill birds. May I request some pics of them? Thanks!!

Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla), family Parulidae, order Passeriformes, Alabama, USA

This species is not related to South American Ovenbirds (family Furnariidae), but is instead in the New World/Wood Warbler family Parulidae.

The common name comes from the oven-shaped ground nest they make, which is domed, and constructed of woven together plant materials (such as grasses and pine needles).

photograph by Robin Rudd

Florida - photograph by Ken Schmidt

New York - photograph by Tim Lenz

Minnesota - photograph by David Brislance

Maine - photograph by Puffin Ponderings

photograph by Rhododendrites

#ovenbird #wood warbler #warbler #bird #ornithology #animals #nature

May I ask for some buntings? The brighter the better!

Rose-bellied Bunting (Passerina rositae), family Cardinalidae, order Passeriformes, endemic to a small area of southern Mexico

photographs: Birdquest & Saad Towheed

Orange-breasted Bunting (Passerina leclancherii), family Cardinalidae, order Passeriformes, endemic to Mexico

photograph by Greg Lavaty

Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea), male, family Cardinalidae, order Passeriformes

photograph by Robert S. Parker

Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris), male, family Cardinalidae, order Passeriformes, Eastern U.S.

photograph by David Morgan & Joseph Morlan

Varied Bunting (Passerina versicolor), male, family Cardinalidae, order Passeriformes, West TX, USA

photograph by David Hollie

Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena), male, family Cardinalidae, order Passeriformes, Idaho, United States

photograph by Ceredig Roberts

#bunting #bird #ornithology #animals #nature #north america #mexico

Black Lored Waxbill- rediscovered 2020

#art #nature #watercolor #bird #ornithology #lost birds #bird art #birdblr

New dove picture!!

new dove picture!! :D she lookin at you

thank you!!

#atticus' dove pictures #<- you get your own tag now :)#ornithology #ask answered

this is the cinereous antshrike of northern interior South America, with a second disjunct population in southeastern coastal Brazil. curiously, this disjunct population is the type species - as a layman, i think this of all situations would call for the separation of the species into different ones, but i digress. the cinereous antshrike contains five total subspecies, who live largely throughout the Amazon rainforest. "antshrikes" are not meaningfully related to true shrikes, though their intimidatingly hooked bill had whoever originally named them thinking otherwise. instead, they belong to the family of antbirds.

at risk of sounding like a broken record, i'll repeat the interesting fact i feel the need to bring up whenever we have an antbird; their name comes from a behavior developed by some members of the family, that being the following of swarms of army ants across the forest floor in order to catch insects which reveal themselves in their haste to escape the ants' path.

today's critter does dabble in antwatching; in fact, it is rarely ever seen outside the company of a mixed-species flock, ant-chasing or otherwise. this is to take advantage of the presence of the other birds; the ants aren't the only thing which inspires terror in insects! arboreal insects flushed from their hiding spots by birds who hadn't noticed them are another staple of this critter's diet. in fact, as more birds join the ant-watchers, it keeps its activity higher and higher in the trees, feeding on the increasingly abundant bird-flushed insects and not bothering with fighting for a good ant vantage point. (v-ant-age point?)

they exhibit the very characteristic chromatic dimorphism that antshrikes tend towards - females are red-brown and males are slate grey. all birds, however, bear a patch of white on their backs, usually hidden by their darker feathers. exposing this white patch is used as a distraction display to lead predators away from their nests. all birds also have big wet pathetic dewy eyes. all the better to see you with, my dear!

17 July 2026

#birds #daily post #ornithology #cinereous antshrike #thamnomanes caesius #forest bird #thamnophilidae #antbird #antshrike #passerines #passeriformes

today we have the very cute Cape batis (pronounced bah-tis, with the stress on the first syllable) of primarily South Africa. their range skirts the southern and eastern borders of the arid Kalahari Basin, confined to the montane forests of the Drakensberg and the Eastern Highlands region. they're overall rather prolific forest dwellers, capable of inhabiting a wide variety of terrain types. they bear very handsome dimorphic plumage; males have a sharp-edged black collar and yellow-ringed pupils, while females have finely detailed rusty-red chest markings and deep red eyes. their vivid irises give them the impression of a rather judgemental glare.

insectivorous, taking prey both in flight or off the ground. quite active little critters, constantly hopping between branches and whipping their somewhat disproportionately large heads around to ensure they don't miss anything of note. prey is sometimes struck to death against a hard surface before being swallowed. during courtship, birds will present their prospective partners with big yummy bugs to prove their foraging mettle. both partners take poorly to intruders, loudly telling off large, menacing creatures such as birds of prey and humans from the most conspicuous perch available. they're more territorial in the breeding season, whereas in the off season, they very often join the ranks of mixed-species foraging flocks.

16 July 2026