# What's your favorite bird??



## chic (Jan 21, 2016)

For me, it's the swan. They're regal, graceful and effortlessly elegant propelling themselves downstream in inimitable fashion while underneath the surface their overlarge feet paddle furiously.

Mute swans mate for life and make great parents raising their awkward grey babies into magnificent white beauties like themselves. 

Swans add a sense of serenity to any landscape. I could watch them for hours and have done. I come away refreshed and inspired.

There's a lot to like about a swan.

What's your choice?


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## Warrigal (Jan 21, 2016)

For me it would have to be the kookaburra. 
Their raucous call always cheers my spirits.


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## FazeFour (Jan 21, 2016)

Chicken. And this one looks particularly nice. When my parents divorced (I was 5) my sister and I went to live with my grandparents for a while, on their dairy farm. I appreciated the cows over the horses, but also became quite attached to a chicken named Gertrude. She produced scads of eggs, so fortunately, she didn't wind up on the dinner table. At least not while I was there.


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## SifuPhil (Jan 21, 2016)

Hunting falcons.

Ever since I saw demonstrations at Renaissance fairs and actually got the chance to handle them, they've been my favorite birds.


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## Ameriscot (Jan 21, 2016)

No specific bird, but I love the ones that are beautiful singers.  There is a huge amount of singing birds on this island and that's the sound we wake up to.


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## Shalimar (Jan 21, 2016)

Hummingbirds, beautiful, and fearless. I also love raptors. We have a rehab for them not far from where I live.


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## deesierra (Jan 21, 2016)

Mine is the Stellar's Jay. I love their plumage and their deep blue color. On the other hand they are raucous, bold, and downright annoying a lot of the time. But for me they are the bird of Tahoe, the place I'm grateful to call home. When springtime rolls around I love to watch them build their nests under the eaves of my house, then lay their eggs, then see the hungry little hatchlings gaping their mouths for what mom or pop has hunted down for them. I don't know where they all go in the winter, but it sure is quiet without them.....and the crows, robins, and woodpeckers too.


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## SifuPhil (Jan 21, 2016)

Shalimar said:


> Hummingbirds, beautiful, and fearless. I also love raptors. We have a rehab for them not far from where I live.



I put a hummingbird feeder on the window in the kitchen. When our resident hummer comes to drink, Mao sits quietly in the window watching. It doesn't seem to bother the hummer.


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## Shalimar (Jan 21, 2016)

I think they know they are safe. Perhaps they are aware of the barrier between Mao and outdoors.


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## SifuPhil (Jan 21, 2016)

Shalimar said:


> I think they know they are safe. Perhaps they are aware of the barrier between Mao and outdoors.



I think you're right, but still - that takes guts. Like you said, they're brave little guys. It's fascinating watching them hover, then dart away. 

Unlike pigeons. Big, bulky, slow things that peck each other in their competitive quest for food. Especially NYC pigeons - they've got the NYC attitude. :cower:

"Hey, yo *coo, coo* I'm STRUTTIN' here!"


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## Laurie (Jan 21, 2016)

Sigourney Ẃeaver.


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## Ralphy1 (Jan 21, 2016)

The one I occasionally flip...


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## Bluecheese50 (Jan 21, 2016)

The robin which is the Brit's favourite bird according to a survey last year.


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## hollydolly (Jan 21, 2016)

I'm with you Chic..I love swans we have loads in the lakes and rivers surrounding our house...I take pictures of them all the time..





















We have loads of Canadian geese too, and again I take many pictures of them...


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## hollydolly (Jan 21, 2016)

...but my favourite has to be the Mandarin duck which is very rare in this part of the UK, and I was lucky enough to find this one whose taken up home among the swans and ducks in our local river....

it's so tiny and soo beautiful.....and it's not at all afraid of the bigger birds...


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## hollydolly (Jan 21, 2016)




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## hollydolly (Jan 21, 2016)

Beautiful white dove...at our lake..


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## Ken N Tx (Jan 21, 2016)

SifuPhil said:


> Hunting falcons.
> 
> Ever since I saw demonstrations at Renaissance fairs and actually got the chance to handle them, they've been my favorite birds.
> 
> View attachment 25951



What bird?? I don't see a bird!!


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## Ken N Tx (Jan 21, 2016)

We have 2 Roadrunners that have adopted us for the past couple of months...Fun to watch..

.


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## QuickSilver (Jan 21, 2016)

Just about any Owl....


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## Karen99 (Jan 21, 2016)

My absolute first is hummingbirds..they are quick, bright, intelligent, endearing little creatures.  I see them constantly.  My second would be owls..gorgeous and I used to listen to one nightly years ago . We had a very tall pine tree and it perched there and had a soft, soothing hoot...


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## Jackie22 (Jan 21, 2016)

I like the roadrunners too, I've had one that walks around my yard and looks in the windows and doors...a study made about the secret lives of roadrunners...

http://www.livescience.com/5623-secret-lives-roadrunners-revealed.html


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## SeaBreeze (Jan 21, 2016)

I like a lot of different wild birds, I enjoy the blue ones, like the look of the Indigo Bunting.  Mallard Ducks, Cardinals and many others, can't pick a favorite.


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## fureverywhere (Jan 21, 2016)

Funny you mention the subject. Only in the last few years have I started to feed and notice birds. But the other day there was the most gorgeous cardinal. We have a huge Burning Bush that has berries. I tried to take pictures but couldn't get a clear shot. He looked like a bright red tennis ball...must be some good eatin' in this neighborhood!


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## jujube (Jan 21, 2016)

Mocking Birds.  They're the tough little alley cats of the bird world, completely unafraid to take on anything and everything.  I love to hear their repertoire of songs and sounds.  They're clowns, too.


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## QuickSilver (Jan 21, 2016)

Talk about a feisty little critter.. The American Blue Jay is one tough cookie and will attack anything getting near it's nest.  Still they are very pretty... IMO  AND very noisy!







Not to be confused with the Eastern, or American Bluebird..  I actually had a mated pair nest in one of my bird houses..


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## QuickSilver (Jan 21, 2016)

I also love the American Goldfinch.  I have lot's of these showing up at my thistle feeder..


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## Bobw235 (Jan 21, 2016)

I love to feed the birds in my backyard, except for the sparrows, who flock to the feeders and crowd out the other, more interesting birds.  My favorite is probably the cardinal.  We get many of them, but every once in a while we have a special visit from one of the hawks in the neighborhood.

This guy took a bath right off our deck on a hot summer afternoon.


Here's a good one of a cardinal introducing a youngster to the feeder.  I shot this a few years ago.


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## Bobw235 (Jan 21, 2016)

QuickSilver said:


> I also love the American Goldfinch.  I have lot's of these showing up at my thistle feeder..



Love these little guys.  I get a ton of them each year.


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## fureverywhere (Jan 21, 2016)

What a great picture!!!!! One of these landed at the town pool last summer. This is an urban area so you don't see the really unusual birds very often. But here was this hawk deciding to eat his squirrel lunch. Everyone gathered to take pictures, gruesome as it was. We have a few vultures too. Those suckers are so big they stop traffic.


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## QuickSilver (Jan 21, 2016)

We have to be very careful with our little doggie Murphy... who is only 6 pounds...  A big Red Tail would have no problem taking him away..


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## chic (Jan 22, 2016)

fureverywhere said:


> Funny you mention the subject. Only in the last few years have I started to feed and notice birds. But the other day there was the most gorgeous cardinal. We have a huge Burning Bush that has berries. I tried to take pictures but couldn't get a clear shot. He looked like a bright red tennis ball...must be some good eatin' in this neighborhood!



That's my second favorite bird. I love their vibrant color and the songs of the males. We have tons of cardinals where I live, and I feed the wild birds all the time. Cardinals are awesome beauties and a joy to have in any backyard. :love_heart:


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## Cookie (Jan 22, 2016)

I'm not exactly a bird person, but when we sit and have coffee and a muffin outside at a cafe, the little sparrows like to come and sit on the table to share our crumbs, its so sweet.


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## Capt Lightning (Jan 22, 2016)

My favourite garden bird is the Wren. There are usually a few that live in and around my garden.  Since I also live near the coast, I see a lot of wading birds, gulls etc.

Here are a pair of 'Bar Tailed Godwits' that I snapped last autumn...



Another bird that is common round here is the Chaffinch.  This one took a liking to the car while I was stopped for lunch.
Not the best picture, but it was taken from the reflection in the wing mirror..


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## NancyNGA (Jan 22, 2016)

Still the mockingbird.  You don't have to spot it to enjoy it.


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## Gail.S (Jan 22, 2016)

I will have to say crows are my favorite bird because they are so intelligent. For example, c[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]rows have such high level of intelligence that it has been observed that if a crow is unable to crack a nut, it puts it on a highway so that a passing vehicle can crack it open. It was also observed that they prefer to wait until a small vehicle is approaching to put the nut on the road so as to insure the kernel will not be reduced to pulp. Also they are opportunists, so when they have food they want to hide but see another crow watching them they will pretend to hide the food in their cache, when in reality, they stash it in their chest feathers. Then they fly off and bury it in another place. But her[/FONT] e's the kicker the watching crows have been observed to to follow the hiding crows, because they know that sometimes they pull a bait and switch themselves.


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## QuickSilver (Jan 22, 2016)

Did you know that Crows can talk?  Or rather can be trained to talk.  They are in the corvid family.. same as Magpies


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## Kadee (Jan 22, 2016)

Some birds in Australia have learned to mimic mobile phone ringtones 
My favourite bird is the Willy Wagtail they are so interesting to watch


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## applecruncher (Jan 22, 2016)

Penguins - aquatic and flightless, but still birds and I love them.


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## Susie (Jan 22, 2016)

Gail.S said:


> View attachment 26016
> 
> I will have to say crows are my favorite bird because they are so intelligent. For example, crows have such high level of intelligence that it has been observed that if a crow is unable to crack a nut, it puts it on a highway so that a passing vehicle can crack it open. It was also observed that they prefer to wait until a small vehicle is approaching to put the nut on the road so as to insure the kernel will not be reduced to pulp. Also they are opportunists, so when they have food they want to hide but see another crow watching them they will pretend to hide the food in their cache, when in reality, they stash it in their chest feathers. Then they fly off and bury it in another place. But her e's the kicker the watching crows have been observed to to follow the hiding crows, because they know that sometimes they pull a bait and switch themselves.


We have a lot of very noisy crows who swoop around our neighborhood.
Finally bought a big, ferocious looking owl, with huge beak and eyes, filled it up with stones, and placed it in front of house!
It worked!!! (I guess crows are scared of owls who like to eat them for dinner).
The noisy, swooping crows now confine themselves to the back yards, one of them frequently looking down at us from a very tall tree!    :jumelles:


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## chic (Jan 23, 2016)

Barn Swallows are cute little creatures. I once had a family of them living under the eaves outside my bedroom window. In the spring they awakened me every morning, but I loved them and watching their offspring grow and fledge.


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## hollydolly (Jan 23, 2016)

On the salt lakes in Southern Spain where I have my second home, we have hundreds of Pink Flamingos...I love to look at them, but the lakes are beyond the marshes so the closest I can get to them is to take a picture from the roadside of the marshes... but they are soo beautiful...here's just 2 of them..


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## Lon (Jan 23, 2016)

There is something elegant about the VULTURE






Vulture">


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## Yaya (Jan 23, 2016)

Crows - they are soooooooo smart.


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## Gail.S (Jan 23, 2016)

I knew this well, QuickSilver, as my mom once owed a pet crow (when she was a girl) and she told us she taught it to say, "I love you".


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## Ken N Tx (Jan 24, 2016)

Lon said:


> There is something elegant about the VULTURE
> 
> 
> 
> ...



They clean up our highways!!


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## QuickSilver (Jan 24, 2016)

This is the vulture I am familiar with here in the Midwest..  It's HUGE with a wingspan of up to 6 feet!..  People who have been up close to them have said the smell horrible.. as they eat carrion .. and have been know to crawl inside of a large dead animal..   But I agree.. seeing one in flight is impressive


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