Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bird

what bird is this?

griseus — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:57:55 -0800

Can anybody identify this bird, seen at the Biltmore Estate, NC in August of this year? Thanks.

Help me relive a happy childhood memory!

srrh — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:59:16 -0800

Sometime around '93-95, when I was living in Plymouth, NC, my elementary school class took a field trip to a bird farm. I would love to track down the place where I went. As a child, I lived in Plymouth, NC, and attended Pines Elementary School. In 2nd or 3rd grade, my class took a field trip to a bird farm. I know that I had a teacher named Mrs. Byrd in 2nd or 3rd grade, but I'm not sure which, and I don't know who the other teacher might have been. That's mostly beside the point, however, as the school website is very sparse, and there isn't even a teacher directory there for me to try to hunt down my old teacher with.

I give you the location of the school because, since it was a field trip, the bird farm could not have been too very far away from it. Maybe an hour or two at the most? I have done some googling and found a few bird farms, but most of them seem to be in central/Western NC, and so too far away. I haven't lived in NC since I was 7 years old, so I don't remember the geography at all.

As for the bird farm itself, I use that phrase because I remember specifically that my teacher and the people there referred to it as a bird farm, rather than an aviary or some other term. It was a small farm, and I'm not even sure if the animals were used for eggs or slaughter, or if it was more of a petting-zoo type thing. They had other birds besides your typical chickens and turkeys -- I specifically remember peacocks, and I believe they had swans and geese as well.

Hopefully someone here lives or has lived in NC and has some idea what I'm talking about, or maybe someone has an idea for a way I can search to point me in the right direction. Thanks for the help!

Production Company?

Timen — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:10:15 -0800

What feature film production company uses the introductory logo of a painted man that starts running very quickly and suddenly turns into a bird (maybe a raven)? It's one of those companies like ICON Entertainment, Lucasfilm, et cetera.

Its The Birds come alive!

lilkeith07 — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:02:30 -0800

What are these black birds that took over my yard today? Today there was at least a couple hundred black birds that were complete covering my mainly wooded yard. They were smaller then crows but bigger then robins. They would fly to the ground rest for a little while then fly up to the top of the oak trees and then across the street to the top of pine trees where there was plenty of pine cones, I assumed they were eating. What made me ask this was that there was just hundreds on them, and we see them once a year and its always the same thing, they land in our yard and the fly away after about 1/2 hour. This was in Central Mass by the Wachusett Reservoir.

Incey Wincey

Megami — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:35:57 -0800

Are all spiders of the same species equally adept at spinning webs? Watch any nature documentary about spiders, and you can't help but be amazed at how spiders seem to just 'know' how to spin their webs. But I was wondering - are all spiders as good as each other? For example - some humans seem to have more ability at certain skills than others. Does anyone know if this is also the case with other animals? I would also be interested in the same question for things like birds and their nests.

Note: I know that spiders can get parasites or diseases that affect their nervous system that will mean they are unable to spin webs properly.

baby pigeons on my desc that were aparently abandoned

santogold — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 17:39:49 -0800

There are three young pigeons on my deck that have been there all day with no mother around. (at least as far as I can tell) They look like they are about 75% of the size of an adult pigeon, and are not flying. Is there anything I can do to help them or should I ignore this situation because it is out of my hands?

What to do with a robin's egg?

inthe80s — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:02:33 -0800

There is an abandoned robin's egg in the nest in my bushes, is this something I can save/display somehow? I watched the Robin for a month, the eggs hatched and three birds were raised. The flew away one day last month. There's been one left over egg in the nest now ever since then. I know the mother Robin has not returned so the egg is most likely never going to hatch. I was going to trim the bushes this weekend and probably remove the nest.

I was wondering if the egg itself could be drilled and emptied and preserved?

I know there are laws about domestic migratory birds as well, but not sure if Robins are covered.

What bird is making this noise and what can I do about it?

Tin Man — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:54:03 -0800

What kind of bird is making this annoying noise (mp3 file; alternate link here) behind my Manhattan apartment building? And what can I do about it? This is our second summer living in our apartment in a residential area of Manhattan. During the spring and summer, we occasionally hear the above noise, which I assume is a birdcall, from somewhere behind our building. (You may have to turn up the volume a bit.) It went away during the winter, but then the weather got warm a few months ago and it started up again. Sometimes it happens every 10-20 seconds or every minute or every few minutes. Sometimes we don't hear it at all. Sometimes it's quite loud. It's usually during the daytime but sometimes at night. It's really annoying.

So I'm dying to know -- what kind of creature is making this noise?

Our apartment faces the back of the building, and there are other residential apartment buildings behind ours, so I assume someone behind us must own a bird and they have the windows open when the weather is warm. Or maybe some creature with a spring and summer migratory pattern roosts on a nearby roof. I've looked out the window numerous times scanning for birds in apartment windows and I haven't seen any. There's also more than one apartment building behind us, and sometimes sound can bounce around, so I have no idea where it's coming from.

Next question is, what can I do about it? I know the default answer would be to call 311, but how are they supposed to find a bird that makes noise only sometimes? Are the police supposed to come and hang around on the street for a few hours? What if they can't even hear it from the street?

So, (1) what kind of bird is it, and (2) what can I do?

Need to buy birdhouse in NYC, stat!

bergeycm — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:45:16 -0800

As my mom's birthday's coming up, I need to purchase a birdhouse in NYC today. I would like a wooden one that's mounted on the side of the tree. Cedar is preferable. Any ideas where I could get one?

What kind of bird did I see?

diogenes — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 05:46:06 -0800

What kind of bird did I see? It was light brown on top and white on the bottom. Both of the colors were solid (no stripes or spots). It was the size and shape of a thrush. It had a very distinctive black stripe going straight back from the corner of its eyes.

I figured it would be a cinch to identify, but I can't figure it out. It's driving me nuts! I went through my Audubon field guide, whatbird.com, and allaboutbirds.com.

What kind of bird was this unfortunate creature which was killed by my cat? Green/olive feathers with a white/black spotted breast.

h00py — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:44:17 -0800

My cat killed a bird which I was unable to identify and I'm wondering what it was. It had a greenish/olivish tinge to its feathers but its breast and underside was white with black spots. Its beak was similar to a doves. This poor bird somehow managed to find its way onto my balcony at night so my initial thought was that it was a nocturnal bird that somehow got lost, but it didn't really look anything like what I've always imagined night birds to look like (my knowledge of such is Extremely Limited) so I'm thinking that perhaps it wasn't a night bird, it was a day bird of some kind which just, very unluckily, fell out of its night time perch and ended up on my balcony where my incredibly quick cat decided to leap upon it and kill before I had a chance to do anything! I'm in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. I've done a quick google search for birds but alas, my google searching skills are pathetic and I wasn't able to narrow my search down far enough to get any meaningful results. If anyone could help, it would be appreciated.

How to convince a territorial seagull to leave me alone

itsjustanalias — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:19:56 -0800

Evil seagull filter: On the building opposite, in the last couple of weeks, a malign presence has appeared. A seagull that thinks he owns the block. Whenever I go out onto my terrace (I'm on the sixth floor, most of the nearby buildings are five or six floors, but I'm one of the few that has a terrace) it decides to take umbrage and comes squawking and crapping until I'm driven indoors. Is there anything I can do to discourage it? If not how long might I have to put up with its shenanigans? I'm in Spain, if that makes a difference and have no access to firearms or the like, and am unwilling to throw stuff at it for fear of braining some poor pedestrian six floors below.

What do you mean "black and white bird" is too vague

JaredSeth — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:26:26 -0800

I'm having no luck identifying this bird, seen in one of the South Florida wetlands parks. I've got a couple of the North American birding books but I'm coming up empty. I've also tried a GIS in the hopes that it would lead me to a site that identifies it, but obviously I'm being overwhelmed with results. Anyone?

Need to find this animation.

kaseijin — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:50:14 -0800

I saw a really great (seemingly circa 1970's?) stop-motion animation recently, and I really want to find out what it was... It had a folded-paper bird and a sun-dress that was caught in the wind. The bird and the dress flew around together over a bunch of backgrounds that were very washy... like they were painted with watercolor.

Bird and dress fell in 'love' or at least a deep friendship, then there was this smoke monster sort of thing that was composed of a bunch of shapes cut from dark paper or cloth. Dress defended the bird from the smoke, then bird saved dress from being overcome.

The whole thing was silent, save for a fairly calm and classical musical score.

Any ideas, HiveMind™?

What kind of bird is this?

basicchannel — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:20:33 -0800

What kind of bird is this? (photos: 1, 2) There are a large group of birds that nest in the lot next to my work. They are extremely aggressive and frequently kill each other (leaving their carcasses to rot in the disused lot). They nest in the very tops of these Eucalyptus trees and appear to have very little fear of humans. I've never noticed these birds anywhere other than this relatively small area. Any ideas?

The photos were taken in Long Beach, CA.

Music that helps drain that game winning three.

nudar — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 02:03:20 -0800

Can anyone tell me the name of this piece of music? (Warning: Splicd/Youtube link of teh oldskool basketball) It appears on 'Larry Bird: A basketball legend', an NBA home video production from the early nineties (hence the link), though I think this is not the only NBA video I have heard it on from that era. I used to watch these videos religiously, I always loved this composition and would love to track down a recording for posterity.

Caring for cockatiels

asras — Wed, 20 May 2009 07:54:15 -0800

We just got new cockatiels and we need all the help and advice we can get. We got new cockatiels yesterday! There is a two-year old male-female pair, and they have a three week old chick [pic].* The grey is male and the white is female. There are also three eggs. The birds have been hand trained, but for now they're keeping to themselves, and we're letting them be to let them get adjusted to their new environment. The male is also being extremely protective, hissing and puffing up his feathers every time I tried to take a picture. These are the first pets we've had, so it's really exciting. I'm looking for general advice, tips, and tricks about caring for these lovely birds.

*btw, that is not their cage. they have a bigger cage adjoining that little room, where the chick and eggs are staying put for now.

Identify bird at Masters

Minos888 — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:44:04 -0800

Any birders watch the Masters (golf) on television this past Easter weekend? Can you identify the bird that was heard repeatedly calling throughout the broadcast? Thanks.

Waste free bird seed recipes

sharksandwich — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:42:40 -0800

WILD BIRD FEEDING - I love my bird friends and they provide endless fascination for my house cats. I have bought "waste-free" bird seed in the past and the birds love it. Problem is, the stuff is expensive and my money is tight. I assume making my own waste-free seed would be less expensive. While I can simply read the bag for the ingredient list, I have no idea what the individual seed proportions are. Anyone have a waste-free bird seed "recipe"? Not suet, just seeds please.

SoCal bird places

Nattie — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:44:38 -0800

Looking for avian resources -- vets, toy stores, etc -- in SoCal! We're moving to SoCal this week with our Congo African Grey Parrot and cockatiel. We're going to be living around Arcadia or Pasadena, but we're willing to drive an hour or so in any direction to visit places. We're looking for the following:

- Places that have a wide selection of bird toys. Usually the store will specialize in bird toys; we're not looking for something like PetCo or PetsMart.

- A vet that is a trained avian specialist. This is extremely important. There are a lot of vets that can mostly only handle dogs and cats, but say they will see birds as well. We have had terrible experiences with these vets and our cockatiel has a long, difficult medical history with something a non-specialist would not be able to handle successfully.

This is (not) a bird.

ddaavviidd — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:26:44 -0800

I am looking for a fake bird (obviously real-looking), and just can't seem to find what I am looking for! I am looking for a common, north american bird for a film shooting. Robin, lark, these commonly seen birds. Taxidermists won't do it here because you can't legally hunt them. I am looking for a fake one, perhaps with real feather, and I imagine there is such a thing somewhere online for film purposes (a props company for instance), but can't find any. Anyone has suggestions?

Help for egg-bound cockatiel?

kch — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:02:50 -0800

Pet Bird filter: My friend's cockatiel is egg-bound (meaning that the egg is not passing) and she has no local or close access to a bird vet. What to do? She has tried many things, and is very familiar with birds. Any suggestions for pain relief, helping this pass smoothly, or safely getting more calcium into the bird's system would all be appreciated. If you suggest that a vet needs to be seen (realizing that this is a difficult proposition), can you please explain the importance of this or provide help to make the decision, or provide interim or alternate strategies.

My friend is heart broken, and we live in rural Canada and it's -25 C.
Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Who is pecking in my feeder?

thinds66 — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:52:01 -0800

I set up a cam on my feeder in GA. It saves a pic every few minutes, and when I can, I post the interesting ones here so my folks back in MA can check them out. (It's a long winter for them.) I'm not exactly sure what this one is. I was guessing a female red-winged blackbird, but it doesn't match exactly to sample pics I find online and nothing in my field guide looks like a closer match. Can someone lend me their expertise? Thanks! - Tom

Help me design a bird feeding station

primer_dimer — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 02:22:26 -0800

Help me design a bird feeding station for my garden. Last summer one of the best things about living out in the sticks was watching the birds in the garden. This year I want to build a bird feeding station so I can put out more types of food, attract different birds, maybe convince them to take a bath, etc. Can anyone share links to photos/websites that will give me inspiration for what to build? Or, can you comment on my plan so far (crappy graphics alert):

http://img206.imageshack.us/my.php?image=birdskj6.png

The blue is 2X4 posts (or whatever's cheap at the DIY store), the red is fence wire (which I already have and which the birds seem to love perching on) and the green is the feeders, water bath etc. I might replace the posts and cross bars with some suitably-sized logs that are lying around in the wood near my house.

In case it's relevant, the birds we currently have are assorted tits, green and fold finches, robins, chaffinches, and a family of woodpeckers.

Dead bird in stagnant pool -- health hazard?

spiderskull — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:11:29 -0800

This morning we found a dead bird in our pool -- unfortunately, this pool is half-empty and has been unfiltered and stagnant for a month. Considering that birds carry diseases, do we need to completely empty out the pool or will chlorine be enough to fend off any potential health hazards? About a month ago, my folks had to fix the pool light, so they emptied the water down to about half its regular capacity. Since it's winter and no one's swimming, they left it down there without new chlorine or the filter running.

This morning, we found a dead bird floating around and removed it. But it may have been there for about a day or two.

Since it's a 40,000 gallon pool, I'm wondering if chlorine shock and acid treatment will be enough to sanitize the remaining ~20,000 gallons, or if it's best to empty it out completely to avoid any avian-borne diseases. The former saves water, the latter is a health precaution at the expense of wasted water.

Thanks!