As the majestic masters of sea, land and sky, birds of all kinds have become significant symbols in all our cultures. Many of us celebrate bird diversity every day without even knowing it. Just as every country has a flag, each nation also has a national bird. While it may be less known that the charismatic Common Hoopoe is the national bird of Israel, there is surely no bird more recognizable than the Bald Eagle. The very thought of the regal symbol of the United States stirs up notions of power and patriotism. The Andean Condor, one of the most impressive birds on earth is considered the ruler of the “upper world” by many South American cultures and is a state bird of Columbia, Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia.
In this post we celebrate some of the stars of the bird world as well as the lesser known characters who also hold a special place in our lives.
The Wild Bird! Revolution is proud to present the Top 25 bird photographs of the week #79, enjoy!
There is nothing in the world quite like the Osprey. This master of both land and sea has been given its own taxonomic grouping, the family Pandionidae. (Photo by David Ashley in Western Australia)
Like a choreographed ballet, a flock of Greater Flamingos takes flight in Pune, India. (Photo by Anil Oke)
The brilliantly colored Blue-throated Barbet is found in Asia but is a relative of the South American icons, the Toucans. (Photo by Dilip Gupta)
Few birds are more widely recognisable than the mighty Bald Eagle. This regal raptor has been the national emblem of the United States since 1782 and has been a spiritual symbol for the native people for far longer than that. (Photo by Janelle Pitula)
The perfect catch in the Pilansberg. A Pied Kingfisher lives up to its name. (Photo by Martin Heigan)
With plumage like that its no wonder that the Roseate Spoonbill is often mistaken for a flamingo. (Photo taken in Florida by Melissa Penta)
Anna’s Hummingbird are common along the Pacific coast and are best known for their striking plumage and exciting mating displays: males climb to almost 50m before plummeting to the ground where they produce a curious noise with their tail feathers! (Photo by John Olson)
So called for their preference for wild fowl, the Hen Harrier is best known for its impressive aerobatics. (Photo by Zahran CR)
The Sulawesi Myzomela is a small nectar feeding passerine endemic to Indonesia (Photo by Sabu Kurian Kinattukara)
Did you know that the Hoopoe is the national bird of Israel? They are by no means endemic to this region however and have an extensive range across Europe, Africa and Asia. (Photo by Dhirtiman Hore)
Short-eared Owls and Northern Harriers often share the same hunting ground. For most of the time the “sharing” works out well as Harriers take the day shift and the Owls the night. But as dusk arrives in the Orange County, this successful harrier best make way for its hungry neighbor. (Photo by Melissa Penta)
The magnificent Indian Roller claims the title of “State bird” of Karnataka, India. (Photo by Dipayan Chakraborty)
Named after their gypsy-like lifestyle, the Bohemian Waxwing is a perpetual traveller of Canada and the northern United States. (Photo by John Paterson)
A Great Hornbill is caught mid flight in Anamalai Tiger Reserve in India. Due to habitat destruction and range reduction, these birds are considered to be of “near threatened” conservation status. (Photo by Om Prakesh)
Named after the French naturalist Louis Antoine Francois Baillon, Baillon’s Crake is a widespread but small statured wader. (Photo by Narahari Kanike)
A resident of the far North, its unusual to see Glaucous Gulls as far south as the Mississippi River. Perhaps this juvenile was lost or in search of warmer climes (Photo by Janelle Pitula)
The prehistoric looking Shoe-Bill is an icon of the Ugandan swamps. Its clog-like bill is its most useful tool – perfectly suited to catching slippery lung-fish!
(Photo by Emiliano Benolich)
A green-throated Carib gets to work on a passion fruit flower in Puerto Rico. (Photo by Raymond De Jesus Asencio)
A Rufous Woodpecker does what it does best in Karnataka, India. (Photo by Narahari Kanike)
Wetland birds need water. The Painted Stork is listed as “near-threatened” across its Asian range due to wetland drainage and habitat degradation. (Photo by Gesudraz Ataullah)
A crepuscular hunter of insects, lizards and small birds, Spotted Owlets should not be underestimated. (Photo by Bidyut De)
A conservation success story. Red Kites were persecuted to the point of extinction across most of the UK by the 1900s. But a reintroduction program has seen a encouraging increase in these raptors across their British range. (Photo by Stephanie Lee Smith)
The Kārearea is New Zealand’s only endemic diurnal raptor and is also its most threaten bird of prey. It is also one of only four falcons worldwide who are adapted to forest life. (Photo by Tony Stoddard)
Despite its almost 8 foot wingspan, the Brown Pelican is considered small compared to its relatives. A well known pelican, it is also the symbol of Louisiana. (Photo by Leslie Reagan)
Considering both is weight and wingspan, the Andean Condor is the largest flying bird in the world. Its not surprising then that four South American countries including Bolivia and Chile have claimed it as their national bird. (Photo by Ricardo Varela)
Our mission is to build a global community around the freedom and beauty of birds in the wild as ambassadors for the natural ecosystems that they depend upon. They are the music, decoration and character of every terrestrial habitat on the planet and have been around since the dinosaurs. They are the witnesses and ambassadors of the awesome power of nature. Our blue-green living planet has seen cataclysms like us before and has always come back after the threat has subsided. The wide availability of good, cheap optics has opened their world to us for the last few decades. Amazing, affordable DSLR cameras with long lenses are delivery brilliant digital bird imagery to online communities.
We are in a day-and-age during which more bird species are threatened with extinction than ever before. The Wild Birds! Revolution aims to publish the “Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week” to 1 million people every week by the end of the year. That is a revolution that will change the world! Join thousands of other weekend naturalists, photographers, birders, experts, hikers, nature-lovers, guides, scientists, conservationists and artists that share the thousands of wild bird photographs submitted to the Wild Bird Trust website and Facebook page. Thousands of wild bird enthusiasts are going out everyday to photograph our planet’s beautiful birdlife. Pick up your camera, fill your bird feeder, open your heart, and join the Wild Birds! Revolution!!
Edited by Jordan-Laine Calder, Campaign Manager