I realize I've shared this bird several times already...A real sweetheart of the passerines is quickly becoming a favorite of mine!! Their greeting is so identifiable; greeting me with a 'kiss' [short mp3 song linked above]. Their bold, beautiful colors and markings are striking. From a distance they remind me of a masked bandit. Standing under the trees' canopies, on the hilly area, I watch them from several yards away and enjoy their personality!! They're highly vocal; their song can carry across the entire park here in town. Seeing them flying from one tree to another, their brilliance is even more so. Their wings, opened wide, are a beautiful, rich, copper reddish-brown with a lemon twist upon their hefty breast below a snow white bib. The Great Kiskadee is quite large and bulky for a flycatcher. Their heads are large and nearly flat, black on the top. BUT!!! They have a yellow crown...and it can be raised!! It seems the male shows off this hidden coloring during courting. For the first time, I got a photo or two of the concealed yellow feathers, but yet to witness the raising...maybe some day. My zoom came in handy as I propped myself against the bridge railing and watched much of their activities. I knew they knew I was there, but I stayed quiet, with, hopefully, a safe span between me/them. After taking a few photos, I just left my camera and watched... I tried keeping myself immobile while they carried on with courting/nesting. This particular nest is atop a dead palm tree...
GREAT KISKADEE
photos taken: Blucher Park - downtown Corpus Christi, Texas
habitat map: Great Kiskadee
TRIVIA:
For U.S. birders, Great Kiskadees belong to a suite of South Texas specialties, along with Green Jays and Altamira Orioles—birds with mostly tropical ranges that extend just north of the Texas border.
Great Kiskadees eat both animal prey and fruit. They hunt like a flycatcher, fish like a kingfisher, and forage like a jay.
They can appear quite tame and are not scared off by humans. In fact, they often seek out people in order to find food [been seen eating from pet food dishes!]
Now, share your birding experiences:
Sorry about that. Can you remove # 2 entry. Boom, Bobbi and Gary.
ReplyDeleteno problem....the duplicate has been removed.
DeleteGreat close ups!! Boom, Bobbi and Gary.
ReplyDeletesuperb I love this [post especially the many views can never get enough
ReplyDeleteI thought indeed it might be cousin of the kingfisher - possibly a little slower and less shy it seems.
ReplyDeleteMarvelous post Anni, great photos. I have been able to link up today :)
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of the Great Kiskadee, beautiful photos, thanks Anni.
ReplyDeleteHi Anni, The Kiskadee is a great looking bird. A lovely sighting and wonderful photos.. Thanks for hosting, have a happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful bird and great photos.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous bird and great photos !
ReplyDeletesure is a beauty of a bird!
ReplyDeleteThat's a lovely looking bird, and fantastic pictures.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful bird.
ReplyDeleteHI Anni Wonderful close ups.
ReplyDeletethis was a new bird for me to see Anni; beautiful to watch and you picked up wonderful photos; tfs
ReplyDeleteWhat an attractive little bird. These are great shots, Anni.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful bird's pictures♡♡♡ Thank you very much for hosting.
ReplyDeleteSending you Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan, xoxo Miyako*
He is beautiful! And I love the last close up of his face. God has crowned him with beauty.
ReplyDeleteIt's a very pretty bird. I love the last shot.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful bird, Anni! I had never heard of it before, or seen a picture of one. I learn so much by following others bird posts! Great photos, too!
ReplyDeleteAnni, this is a first for me; what an amazing bird the Kiskadee is. Three birds in one! Thanks for affording me the opportunity to join this meme. I hope to add more bird posts after my Wild Bird Wednesday post during the week. Have a great [birding] day! xx
ReplyDeleteAnni, great photos and trivia regarding the Great Kiskadee. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletewhat a pretty bird that is and I absolutely love that last picture
ReplyDeleteAnn....I deleted your link for poetry...this is about birding.
Deletewhat a beautiful bird....i don't think i have ever seen that shade of yellow on a bird before!! i love all birds, all colors, but there is something special about yellow!!!
ReplyDeleteawesome captures and many thanks for the invite!!!
Lucky you to get a peek at the yllow. I like their sound. When my granddaughter was little, she used to sit on my lap and I would pop in the encyclopedia disc and we listened to bird sounds. She is 14 now and still loves birds.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your Lone Ranger Anni, and also your tips on "How to be a better birder". Trying to stay inconspicuous is a the best bet. "Don't look the bird in the eye" is my favourite for photography.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the birding party again.
A great bird indeed. I had the pleasure to meet it in CostaRica. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a striking bird indeed! Great photos. I love the way you always take care to respect nature. It helps me to be more mindful.
ReplyDeleteWhat a charming bird! We don't see them here in Virginia.
ReplyDeleteHi There, We are home from a trip to the gorgeous West VA mountains –where we celebrated our anniversary… I’ll be blogging about this time for awhile –since it was so special.
ReplyDeleteJust had to check out your bird blog. That Kiskadee is a gorgeous bird. I've never heard of one before nor seen one. Beautiful.
Hugs,
Betsy
Truly a wonderful and beautiful colored bird.
ReplyDeleteA very cool series that I have watched with pleasure :-)
Hearty greetings
Great images of this truely beautiful bird, one I haven't seen before.
ReplyDeleteWe were so lucky to have a Kiskadee visit us in central Kansas. I hope the bird eventually found its way home, but we were thrilled to watch it fish in our little pond.
ReplyDeleteHad to add...you had Gambel's quail nest in your back yard! Oh my gosh, how wonderful! When we lived here before in the early 80s we had an Anna's build a nest in the ivy over our back porch and we got to see the babies up close and watch them fledge. Big excitement...not many pictures and they all pretty much "suck"! :-( I love the types of animals and birds you see here easily (a friend photographed a bobcat in her sister's back yard when she was here visiting, but I haven't been THAT fortunate! :-) ) I do miss the woodlands and streams back east, but I embrace Tucson as my home now, and am celebrating it and learning about it in every way I can. Glad you liked both my bird posts this week! I did get three comments on the WBW but just printed the first one. Sometimes blogger can be "difficult" :-) Have an awesome week!
ReplyDeleteHi Anni. Wonderful shots especially the last shot. Brilliant
ReplyDeleteA wonderful bird! How did we miss this guy when we "lived" in your neck of the woods? I do remember birding that park, although we spent most of our time in PA. Your post really makes me want to come back ...
ReplyDeleteHello Anni :) Twice, I've thought I left messages on this wonderful post and twice, they've disappeared. Something about signing in that seemed to delete them.. or.. perhaps, a senior moment :) I loved your superb photos of the Kiskadee. It's a new bird for me (as in, never heard of it before), so quite the treasure to discover. Thank you for liking Tupper. You are welcome to share any part of that story and/or photos in whatever way you choose. You will be happy to know she survived the jazz festival and visited us last evening for a nice snack.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful bird, great shots. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete