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nonaserpent · 8 months

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Disney Villains as Birds

This idea just came in mind combining two fields I’m interested. Not just looking for the color but appearance, feeling and behavior also matters.

Very personal opinion you may disagree but friendly discussion welcomed :)

HERE WE GO!

Hans: Blue-breasted Fairywren (Malleus pulcherrimus)

Very cute and pretty-looking bird! Known for their unique courtship of delivering petals.

©Disney

©Laurie Boyle

Judge Claude Frollo: Demoiselle Crane (Grus virgo)

#That Hair

©Disney

©salis-

Hades: Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)

HE HAS TO BE A CORVIDAE. And just look at that hairstyle and that…eyebrows?

©Disney

©Daniel Plumer

Queen of Hearts: Papyrus Gonolek (Laniarius mufumbiri)

Fun fact: Like shrikes, they impale their prey on thorns.

©Disney

©Nik Borrow

Queen Grimhilde: Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris)

Fairest bird of all

©Disney

©I Am birdsaspoetry.com 

Jafar: Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus)

One of my fav. Now Iago has someone his same class.

©Disney

©pilot_micha

Yzma: Lesser Florican (Sypheotides indicus)

#THAT EYELASH

©Disney

There’s no copyright restriction on the other pic from website so I guess I’m good.

Cruella De Vil: Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata)

She would see the bird as her greatest accessory.

©Disney

©Frank Vassen

Dr. Facilier: Long-tailed Glossy Starling (Lamprotornis caudatus)

The metallic effect of their plumage just matches Facilier’s shadow power and colorful effects made by his friends on the other side.

©Disney

©Nik Borrow

Mother Gothel: Long-tailed Paradise Whydah (Vidua paradisaea)

Known to be brood parasites like cuckoos.

©Disney

©Brian Henderson

Gaston: Western Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus)

No one makes that mating call like Gaston!

©Disney

©sighmanb

Ursula: Peruvian Pelican (Pelecanus thagus)

Those who couldn’t pay their price were devoured, FOR SURE

©Disney

©Rogerio Camboim S A

Maleficent: Common Raven (Corvus corax)

Need I say more?

©Disney

©Henry

Captain Hook: Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)

Obviously

©Disney

©Andy Morffew

Lady Tremaine: Ruff (Calidris pugnax)

Her daughters would LOVE this outfit

©Disney

©Mibby23

THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING!

BONUS: Kuzco

©Richard Gibbons

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crowned-aeris · 6 days

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I don’t think I’ve actually listed out character and their bird species before, but here it is!

Also, the best way to check the birds out is using EBird. just search the names/scientific name and high-quality pictures of these birds as well as their description, vocalizations, and range will all show up!

Characters and their Birds:

(Also, sorry in advance for the weird formatting, i couldn’t get it to work)

The Bats:

Alfred- Tawny Owl (Strix aluco)

This plays into how Alfred is able to just… Appear and can hear almost everything going on. Also, tawny owls are common found in europe, and alfed is british 😔

Bruce- Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja)

Harpy eagles are some of the biggest eagles in the world, feeding primarily on primapes and slothes. Now, take into account Bruce’s bulk… Our man is huge.

Damian- Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja)

Within the League, power is everything, so to be born such a “powerful” raptor would’ve been seen as a good sign, but after Damian “goes soft (stopped killing ppl)” he’s seen as “weak”, or a “waste of immense power”, especially in Ra’s’s eyes.

Duke- Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)

Doves in general are seen as peacekeepers and pacifists in general (it might be sacrilegious, but I think Jesus Christ and Mary in this au would have been depicted as doves (aphrodite too), which would probably endear them to those who believe in the bible- I’m also an atheist, and this is just speculation— pls don’t kill me :,]) which leads a lot of people to underestimate Duke and drop their guards around him. He’s a nice person in general, but I think he’d use this to his advantage when undercover as Duke Thomas: Ditzy 2nd Wayne chick.

Also, since doves are the symbol of peace, he also acts as the promary peacekeeper and buffer between Damian and Tim, who’d constantly get into fights, especially once Tim becomes Shadow.

Cass- Barn Owl (Tyto alba)

Barn owls, since they have disk-shaped heads and displaced ears, have the best hearing of all owls. I think that was something David Cain took into account when he, uh, had Lady Shiva have his kid. And since she’s an owl, she’s perfect assassin material, and David Cain alongside Shiva trained Cass until she was perfectly silent both in the air and on land.

She also runs warm- courtesy of being an owl, and so her siblings (especially Jason and Dick) and Steph would huddle under her wings when watching movies and nesting, but if the arguments ever gets too rowdy, Cass would go to either Bruce, Damian, Duke, or Tim.

Tim- Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)

Being a peregrine falcon means he is well respected within the elites in gotham. His natural flight speed is also something he’s proud of, and as Shadow, Tim is capable of darting in and out of the fray and knock out criminals before they eve know he’s coming. His speed and skills are further honed later on, and he turns into a truly formidable oppendent.

Steph- Violet- backed Starling (Cinnyricinclus leucogaster)

While the males are really purple and flashy, the females are more neutral in coloration 😔 Stepha dyes her feathers while vigilante-ing, so ppl assume she’s a dude.

She and Duke looked after Jason while he was on the streets, and they would keep an eye out and make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble.

Jason- Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

When he was younger, he had duller coloration in his feathers. But as he grew older, more and more people looked at him weirdly when he was out on the streets- his mom having to shield him from their leers. Later on, he learns that the people staring had less-than-pure intent, and that incentivizes him to hind away his wings.

When Batman and Anubis go off their rockers in grief, helps protect who he can from their indiscriminate anger, and evenually, he gets dragged into the flock after getting caught inbetween two gangs and got injured.

Barbara- American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

She was originally going to be a baltimore oriole, but making barbara wouldn’t make sense. Then I debated making her an owl for wisdm, but the I remembered Apollo was the god of prophecies- Oracle of Dephi- and Apollo’s sacred bird was a crow (lets ignore how he smited them) so I made barbara a crow to lay homage to her as oracle :3

Plus, crows are hella smart, and I felt like it fit

Dick- Fischer’s Lovebird (Agapornis fischeri)

I could’ve easily took the coward’s way out and just made him a robin, but Dick needed to be colorful and bright, and he needed to be the light that illuminates Gotham’s eternally-gloomy skies. So i went searching for the perfect bird before finding the Fischer’s loverbird. It matches perfectly with the Grayson family colors- red, green, yellow- and so i went with dick as a fischer’s lovebird

Other Characters:

Thomas- Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) Like father like son!

Martha- Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) She was a beautiful woman, and thomas won her over by trying to catch a fish for her. He failed, ofc, and capsized their boat, but she had fun and decided to marry that silly man. (they’ve tone this story to bruce like… 12 times, but what wouldn’t he give to hear them tell it again)

Selina- Eurasian mgpie (Pica pica) You’ve heard about magpies and how they like shiny things and how they love to take said shiny things… well, here it is! Plus, I just think pica pica is really funny

Gordan- Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) Red-tailed hwk is THE most american bird, what with their shrieks being used in hollywood in place of actual bad eagle sounds, and Commish Jim Gordan works as a police, so I thought it was funny

Talia- Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) She is an imperial eagle because not only are they eagles, imperial conveys royalty, so i thought it was befitting

Ra’s- Haast’s Eagle (Aquila moorei) Haast’s eagles were huge, and I mean they were larger than harpy eagles with wigspans capable of reaching 8ft. the thing is, these eagles went exticnct partially due to humans sailing and traveling all over the place with rats and stuff being the main reason. i think that would make ra’s al ghul pretty pissed that his aves species was wiped out, or smth like that.

Either way, the Haas’s eagle is really cool and I think you should check them out

Joker- Glistening Green Tanager (Chlorochrysa phoenicotis)

I hope you all know how monstrous this bird is, like it is PEAK joker green, like literally. I got the idea off of a different blog i saw a few days or weeks ago talking about how the joker would be THIS bird, and i cannot agree even more. Also, the joker gnawed and tore his own wings off or the acid he fell into made it so the wings had to be amputated, either way idk and my brain is mush. What I DO know is that losing ones wings is terrible, horrible, and the joker probably gnawed it off himself in a fit of madness and craze directly after being acidified, or something like that

Metas/More Characters (No descriptions cos it’s 1am and I’m TIRED and I have a driving test tmrw):

Lois Lane- Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis)

Clark- No Bird, he’s an alien

Jonathan- Like his mom, a Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis)

Conner- Like his mom, a Purple Martin (Progne subis)

Luthor- Like his son, a purple martin (Progne subis)

Flashes- All of them would probably be a humming bird or a sunbird of some sort, I feel like its pretty self-explanitory. It’s not that being a hummingbird garentees you to be a speedster, it’s more like the speedsters just coincidentally end up as hummingbirds.

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lifesteal-headcanons · 8 months

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Bird headcanons for if lifestealers were birds!

(long list but i did try and decide a bird for at least most of them! i may be back with more [to complete the list]; i would provide images, but alas, the restrictions of being on anon. visual vibe checks for the most part but also some of these are because i thought it was funny / coincided with Lore)

Parrot: Pyrrhura picta (painted conure/parakeet) Spoke: Lamprotornis hildebrandti (hildebrandt's starling) Ash: Casuarius bennetti (mountain cassowary) 4c: Cyanocitta stelleri (steller's jay) Clown: Gypaetus barbatus (bearded vulture) / alt: Hamirostra melanosternon (black-breasted buzzard) Branzy: Chelictinia riocourii (scissor-tailed kite) Bacon: Dromococcyx phasianellus (pheasant cuckoo) Jumper: Tauraco fischeri (fischer's turaco) Subz: Ispidina picta (african pygmy kingfisher) Vitalasy: Cariama cristata (red-legged seriema) Cube: Coracias caudatus (lilac-breasted roller) / alt: Chloebia gouldiae (gouldian finch) Roshambo: Nipponia nippon (crested ibis / toki) Planet: Urocolius macrourus (blue-naped mousebird) Jaron: Steatornis caripensis (oilbird / guácharo) Mapicc: Opisthocomus hoazin (hoatzin) / alt: Lanius schach (roufous-backed shrike) Leo: Promerops cafer (cape sugarbird) / alt: Bubo bubo (eurasian eagle-owl) Spep: Harpactes erythrocephalus (red-headed trogon) Zam: Terpsiphone paradisi (indian paradise flycatcher) / alt: Corvus frugilegus (rook) Redd: Leistes superciliaris (white-browed meadowlark) Woogie: Diomedea exulans (wandering albatross) Vortex: Bombycilla garrulus (bohemian waxwing) / alt: Irena cyanogastra (philippine fairy-bluebird)

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#ask #headcanon #lifesteal smp #not tagging everyone it’s too late for that #nix’s faves

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edandstede · 4 months

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today’s good things #2: saw lots of birds on my morning dog walk! the european robin (erithacus rubecula), eurasian blue tit (cyanistes caeruleus), great tit (parus major), house sparrow (passer domesticus), very rowdy carrion crows (corvus corone) and equally rowdy eurasian jackdaws (corvus monedula), a wonderful little song thrush, (turdus philomelos), european goldfinch (carduelis carduelis), the eurasian blackbird (turdus merula), and one of my absolute favourites: the european/common starling (sturnus vulgaris)! hoping to take my camera out soon to photograph some of their sweet faces <3

#i’ll take some seed too. it is still winter after all <3 #today’s good things #quill to paper #personal

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acadjonne · 6 months

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for context: danny and tim are twins, and danny changes his name from phantom to polaris

#dcxdp #tim drake #danny fenton #drake twins

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nerosbeastiary · 10 months

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Rock doves (Columba livia), along with an American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), a European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), and way in the back, a house sparrow (Passer domesticus); March 2023

Washington DC

City bird extravaganza!

#2023 #march #chordate #avian #columbiformes #columbidae #columba livia #passeriformes #corvidae #corvus brachyrhynchos #sturnidae #sturnus vulgaris #passeridae #passer domesticus

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pronoun-checks · 5 months

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hiii, that new name&pronoun suggestion thing seems neat!

can i get some suggestions related to train/ train conductors/steampunk, maybe some minecraft, and all kinds of birds. genderfluid, so odd names or neutral or ones you can change are preferred. so far i've picked the name byrd/byrdie and they/griffin, but some more would be great!

Sure thing!

Cargo

Hopper

Train

Steam

Gear

Cog

Wolf

Blaze

Oak

Spruce

Birch

Lapis

Raven

Crow

Jay

Robin/Robyn

Finch

Sparrow

Wren

Phoenix

Blue

Lark

Talon

Corvid

Corvus

Corbin

Starling/Star

#name inspiration #name suggestions #name ideas #name recommendations #name recs #neutral names #bird names #minecraft names #train names

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namesetc · 2 years

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if you can do this, could i maybe request some names related to birds, nighttime or gold? thanks in advance!

we can do three lists! we'll start with birds

---

Avia

Aviary

Avian

Aderyn

Adler

Avis

Aviana

Adalie

Birdie / Birdy

Blue

Branwen

Byrd

Crow

Circe

Corbin

Corvus

Crane

Canary

Dove

Duckie

Ezio

Eagle

Finch

Falcon

Faulkner

Feather

Gull

Grey / Gray

Hawk

Jay / Jae

Kestrel

Lark

Mavis

Merle

Nesta

Nestor

Owl

Owlette

Phoenix

Peregrine

Quail

Raven

Robin

Sparrow

Starling

Swan

Swift

Talon

Teal

Wren

Wing

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as8bakwthesage · 22 days

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A Comprehensive List of my F/Os + Corresponding S/Is

The Narrator (The Stanley Parable) - Sage Seine

Alternate Gabriel (The Mandela Catalogue) - Eden Gavrani

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars/Star Wars The Clone Wars) - Savi Han/Darth Corvus

Dr. Cockroach (Monsters VS Aliens) - Sah/Crow Child

Blitzwing (Transformers Animated) - Sage Moonling/Anyas

Tarantulas (Transformers Earthspark) - (none yet)

Michael (The Good Place) - Kaz/Mkazas

Jonathan Crane (Batman The Animated Series) - Asobakw Minowis

Bowser (Mario Bros) - Prince Thyme

Medic (Team Fortress 2) - Hacker/Rook Zrin Corbeau

Sun and Moon (Five Nights at Freddy's) - (none yet)

Foxy (Five Nights at Freddy's) - (none yet)

Husk (Hazbin Hotel) - (none yet)

Thorin Oakenshield (The Hobbit) - Sercewe/Serce Curuwe

Karl Heisenberg (Resident Evil Village) -Cosette Cioara

Khonshu (Moon Knight) - Sava Seltic

Nathanos Blightcaller (World of Warcraft) - Saevis Soulborn

Ultron (MCU) - Solel Crowling

Future!Donnie (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) - Artemisia "Tem" Souldancer

Eddie Dear (Welcome Home) - Sage Fairly

Frank Frankly (Welcome Home) - Sage Fairly

C!Technoblade (Dream SMP) - C!As8bakwSage

Negaduck/Jim Starling (Ducktales 2017)

#self insert #self shipping #aso's self shipping garbage #fictional others

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octoberscrye · 4 months

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@rubiesintherough said:

"I think I am... Going to pass out..." ( Mahia / corvus )

Mahia had barely opened her mouth before Corvus had damn near launched himself off the couch. She really didn't have to say a damn thing. The tremble of her lower lip, the color draining from her face, and the slightest waiver in her step were enough to tell him exactly what was going on.

Years of living with a sister who frequently lost fights with gravity had definitely taught him the cues. His time knowing Mahia and her stubborn habit of pushing herself too hard only tuned those senses even harder. Corvus was at her side in less time than it took to draw in a breath. He caught her swiftly, scooping her up in a princess carry and pulling her close to his chest.

"Alright, little light, let's get you in bed." He murmured, kissing her forehead. He wrinkled his nose as he felt warmth there, more warmth than he was comfortable with.

"God, you stubborn, precious thing." All of his complaints were truely just affection and concern masking itself as irritation, mainly because he feared that showing too much worry would in turn make her feel guilty.

He was a wreck, and she was a mess, and they were making it work. Corvus carried her to his bedroom, gingerly setting her on the bed. His touch was gentle as he adjusted the pillows there, effectively making a barrier on the edge of the bed to prevent her from falling off if she moved to one side.

Old habits died hard.

"Hey, starling, look at me?"

#(t: corvus)#rubiesintherough #(mahia/corvus)#how many nicknames does corvus have for mahia?#well the answer is: it just muliplies ever time he opens his mouth

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travelnew · 1 year

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HSBC Mumbai Bird Race on 5 February 2023, Sunday

Race route: 8 am Behind Inorbit mall, Malad West > 1 pm to 3 pm New Zealand Hostel at Aarey Milk Colony, Goregaon East > 4 to 6 pm Bhandup Pumping station > 6:45 pm IIT campus for get together.

53 bird species seen:

Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus) Ashy Prinia (Prinia socialis) Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus) Asian Palm Swift (Cypsiurus balasiensis) Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) Baya Weaver (Ploceus philippinus) bee-eater sp. (Merops sp.) Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus) Black Kite (Milvus migrans) Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus) Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) Brahminy Starling (Sturnia pagodarum) Brown-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus) Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius) Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) Coppersmith Barbet (Psilopogon haemacephalus) Crimson-backed Sunbird (Leptocoma minima) Great Egret (Ardea alba) Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis) Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) House Crow (Corvus splendens) House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Indian Golden Oriole (Oriolus kundoo) Indian Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi) Indian Pond-Heron (Ardeola grayii) Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia) Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) Laughing Dove (Spilopelia senegalensis) Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) Little Cormorant (Microcarbo niger) Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach) Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis) Puff-throated Babbler (Pellorneum ruficeps) Purple Sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus) Purple-rumped Sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus) Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) Rosy Starling (Pastor roseus) Ruff (Calidris pugnax) Species Spotted Dove (Spilopelia chinensis) White-throated Fantail (Rhipidura albicollis) White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)

Check our previous Mumbai Bird Races here: 2015 , 2019 , 2022 & 2024.

#bird race #birdrace #Mumbai #HSBC #Nikon #India Bird Races #birds #birdwatching #birding #birders #birdwatch #bird #race

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petnews2day · 2 years

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EA discusses issue of invasive bird species

New Post has been published on https://petnews2day.com/?p=50228

EA discusses issue of invasive bird species

The Environment Authority (EA) held a meeting on Tuesday to address the problem of invasive birds in the sultanate.

In a statement, EA said, ‘The authority discussed the issue of invasive bird species in Oman with officials and representatives of relevant authorities. The meeting deliberated on intensifying efforts towards this end and limiting the damage caused by these birds.’

EA informed that invasive birds, such as the Indian jungle crow and mynah, are increasing in Oman. These birds cause widespread damage by destroying crops, eating bees and transmitting diseases, parasites and fleas to humans as well as animals.

In April, the authority formed a team to conduct a study on checking the spread of these birds and developing a national strategy. EA has on-boarded an international ornithologist and prepared an integrated plan to confront invasive bird species.

Mynahs, originating from India, China, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and Indonesia, belong to the starling family. These birds are 22-25cm long with wingspans of 36.5cm.

Mynahs affect the food chain in the areas of their existence. These birds attack other birds’ nests and kill the young ones. In 2000, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature declared the bird among ‘100 of the World’s Most Invasive Species’.

The Indian jungle crow (Corvus culminatus) is a species found across the Indian subcontinent south of the Himalayas.

It is an opportunist and generalist omnivore. It softens its food by dropping it in water and has also been observed to eat sand after feeding on meat from carcass. These birds have a range of cawing vocalisations.

Source link

#Birds News

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starwroughtchild · 3 years

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Junelezen- Day 1: Portrait

#Junelezen #Silene Charbonneau #Corvus Starling #Laelya DesJardins

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whimsyprinx · 2 years

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Help me and my roommate and friend choose a last name for my oc Trinket, who was raised by crows. The options are

Mine are: Trinket Omen, Trinket Crow, Trinket Vaunt, Trinket Starling

My roommate: Trinket Murder, Trinket Shiny, Trinket Saxon, Trinket Crawa, Trinket Corvus, Trinket Apollo, Trinket Morrighan

My friend: Trinket Charm, Trinket Caw (but you make a caw noise, I said maybe),

#rambles #we’re sat in a dark room #trying to figure out a last name because I suck at those

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carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory · 3 years

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Backyard Black Bird Mystery

It was a warm, almost-summer day in May 2020 when I accidentally stumbled upon an intense bird meeting. After a morning of attending online classes for school, I took a break by looking out a window that faced my neighbor’s fenced backyard. Perched on black fence posts and in the surrounding trees were a handful of crows watching a larger congregation of small black birds gathered on the ground below them. The scene was reminiscent of a playground full of children playing while under the watchful eyes of their parents. "Those must be baby crows!" was the thought that first came to mind. But something wasn’t right. I pressed my face to the window, squinting to see the smaller birds. (If my neighbors had walked into their backyard at that moment, it would have been an awkward explanation.) The birds’ beaks were bright yellow, unlike the dark beaks of the crows, and when they moved in the sunlight their feathers revealed a beautiful green and purple iridescence. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I googled “black bird with yellow beak.” Up came a list of various black birds, challenging me to match my observations with screen images. The birds I saw didn’t have a patch of red and yellow on the wing like a Red-winged Blackbird, had a more slender neck than a Brewer’s Blackbird, and had a shorter tail than Common Grackle. That’s when I discovered starlings. Clicking on the image, I knew that I had the right bird. As I scrolled through associated information, I found some riveting facts about these unassuming birds.

European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Photo credit: Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History The European Starling gets its name because it looks like a small, four-pointed star when its stubby, triangular wings are spread out in flight. Starlings tend to travel in mixed flocks of similar-looking bird species or one giant flock called a murmuration. Some murmurations can number several thousands of birds. The seemingly perfect flight coordination of such flocks make them a wonderful spectacle to witness. However, starlings can be rather aggressive in displacing other birds in feeding and nesting situations, earning them the title of a “bully bird.” The species is not native to North America. Instead, they were introduced from Europe by Eugene Schieffelin, a William Shakespeare enthusiast. His mission was to introduce birds mentioned in William Shakespeare’s works, although starlings appear only once in Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part I. From introduction points in New York’s Central Park in 1890, starlings have spread over much of North America.

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos). Photo credit: Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History The American Crow, on the other hand, is larger, measuring around 17.5 inches in length. Unlike the starlings’ shimmers of iridescent color, crows are all black, down to their beaks and feet. These relatively large plain-looking birds are better known for their intelligence. Studies have shown that crows can identify individual people and associated threat levels, and even pass that knowledge to their offspring and flock members. For example, John Marzluff, a wildlife biologist at the University of Washington, and two students trapped, banded, and released seven crows while wearing a caveman mask, creating, for the briefly captive birds, an association of danger with the mask’s exaggerated facial features. As an experimental control, the research team also used a Dick Cheney mask for neutral non-contact encounters with the targeted birds. In the following months, volunteers wore one of the two masks while walking around campus, not bothering the crows. Those wearing the dangerous mask were scolded by the crows, while those wearing the neutral mask were not harassed. As more time passed, the number of crows that attacked the dangerous-mask-wearers increased, indicating that crows learned to recognize humans from parents and other flock members.

As for the crow and starling meeting that afternoon? An overlap in their respective diets may explain the gathering. Starlings eat insects, invertebrates, berries, fruits, and seeds, while the omnivorous diet of crows includes all those items plus small vertebrates and carrion. Perhaps the crows had been simply waiting for their turn to feast on the buffet of insects and seeds in my neighbor’s backyard. The items on the menu must have been particularly delicious that day.

Angela Wu is a Teen Volunteer in the Education Department. Museum employees, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Works Cited

"American Crow: Identification." All About Birds, Cornell University, 2019, www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Crow/id.

BBC. 24 Apr. 2014, www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27055030. Accessed 21 Nov. 2020.

Bradford, Alina. "Facts About Crows." Live Science, Future US, 2 May 2017, www.livescience.com/52716-crows-ravens.html. Accessed 20 Nov. 2020.

"European Starling: Life History." All About Birds, Cornell University, 2019, www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/European_Starling/lifehistory. Accessed 20 Nov. 2020.

Nijhuis, Michelle. "UW Professor Learns Crows Don't Forget a Face." The Seattle Times, 26 Aug. 2008, www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/uw-professor-learns-crows-dont-forget-a-face/. Accessed 23 Dec. 2020.

NPR. Npr, 4 Jan. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2017/01/04/506400719/video-swooping-starlings-in-murmuration. Accessed 23 Dec. 2020.

"Starlings." Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, 2020, www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/living-with-wildlife/avoid-resolve-conflict/starlings.html. Accessed 20 Nov. 2020.

#Carnegie Museum of Natural History #Powdermill Nature Reserve #European starling #American crow #Birds #Identifying birds

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theramseyloft · 3 years

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“Nonswimming” birds actually great at swimming

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/01/watch-nonswimming-bird-swim-champ-giving-clues-evolution-penguins

Summary: starlings are about as good at swimming as puffins, despite having no obvious adaptations to swimming. This may imply that it is fairly easy for birds to evolve aquatic lifestyles. Not too surprising, to me at least Great kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus, a flycatcher) and house crows (Corvus splendens) were both already known to dive for fish, despite having no obvious swimming adaptations

Mother-of-Pigeons

Neat!

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