birds » A Cute A Day

Beautiful & Adorable Belted Kingfisher

Oct 012012

Penguin here.

Have you guys ever heard of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology? Whether you have or not, you should definitely visit their amazing site (one of our personal favourites) here http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Page.aspx?pid=1478, especially if you’re interested in birds. Look up any bird you can think of, and you will find it. Have you seen a bird and want to know what kind it is? You’ll find your answer there too. They posted this picture on their Facebook today, and I thought I should share it with you because the bird in question, a belted kingfisher here, is absolutely adorable. I love the rather large beak, and the adorable messy feather “haircut”. These guys are known as kingfishers because they hover over the water and plunge in head first to find fish (as described here).

Look at that beak and that goofy feather-style!

Posted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on Facebook

Grumpy, Goofy Eaglets

Animal Families, Birds, Eagles No Responses »

Sep 152012

Eagles are amazingly majestic creatures, soaring high in the sky, overlooking the world with their keen eyes and inspiring awe in anyone who sees their incredible wingspan. But here’s the thing about birds… their young always look REALLY goofy! There’s not a single type of bird out there whose young looks anything other than silly, goofy, and adorable. So what do we have as exhibit A in “The Case of the Goofy Bird Babies”? Two grumpy, goofy eaglets!

Enjoy.

Grumpy, Goofy Eaglets

Found Here: Friends of Blackwater

ACAD Cardinal Extravaganza => Male, Female and Cartoon Cardinals

Birds, Cardinals No Responses »

Sep 122012

Penguin here.

I was listening to Disney’s Sleeping Beauty song “Once Upon a Dream” from a video on youtube. As you know, Disney often draws birds, and I realized that Sleeping Beauty was singing with an adorable cardinal. Check him out:

Check out the birdy on the far left.

I have been meaning to share pictures of cardinals from my backyard, and thought that this would be an excellent opportunity to do so.

So here is Mrs. Female Cardinal (taken last autumn)

Don't I camouflage well?

Here is a Mr. Cardinal (taken a few days ago)

I'm super cute and my singing voice is pretty, too.

So, do you guys think that Disney did a good job in depicting these birdies?

Sleeping Beauty Cardinal Picture Found here: Disney: the Dettol of Storytelling?

Sparrow Feeding Young Chicks

Animals Eating, Birds No Responses »

Aug 282012

Penguin here.

Blue Bear and I love sparrows. We love watching them hop around especially. Although we have seen them behaving in such adorable ways, we never managed to catch them feeding their young. What a beautiful sight! (Extra points for the fact it took place at the very top of a pine tree).

Sparrow Feeding Young Chicks

Amazing photo taken by CT and found here Talk | Photography

Rainbow Lorikeets with Fuzzy Chicks

Animal Families, Animal Mother (or Father) with Baby, Birds No Responses »

Mar 252012

Penguin here.

On the back of my calculator that I used throughout university, I have a sticker of a beautiful lorikeet that my dad had given me. I didn’t know that it was called a lorikeet though, until last week when Blue Bear and I were surfing the net for animal pictures. We stumbled upon a rainbow lorikeet, and I was very excited to finally figure out what the sticker represented.
Rainbow lorikeets are colorfully feathered parrots found in Australia and parts of Asia such as Indonesia.
Today I’m putting up two images, because one is particularly cute, and the other, striking and beautiful. Enjoy!

Look at those incredibly fuzzy chicks!

Rainbow Lorikeet Flying

Rainbow lorikeets with fuzzy chicks: ZooBorns
Lorikeet in Mid-Flight found here: Pbase: Rainbow Lorikeet Flapping Its Wings c/o Sheila Smart

Grey Winged Trumpeter

Birds No Responses »

Mar 132012

Penguin here.

When Blue Bear and I visit our local biodome, we often see a bird called the grey-winged trumpeter. The grey-winged trumpeter is very friendly and actually walks around right next to all the visitors. According to our Biodome’s fact sheet, grey-winged trumpeters are very social and can in fact be domesticated, often acting as guards to their master or other domesticated animals. They are from the tropical forest in South America and can both fly and swim. Blue Bear and I have a special appreciation of the grey-winged trumpeter, because unlike most birds who fly away, these birdies practically hang out with us! These guys are really friendly and we will definitely be paying them a visit soon.

Grey-Winged Trumpeter

Found here: Wikimedia Commons

Goofy Baby Kiwi Bird

Birds, Goofy Animals, Kiwis No Responses »

Feb 232012

Penguin here.

Have you guys ever heard of a kiwi? I don’t mean a kiwifruit, I mean a kiwi bird! In fact, the fruit is named after the bird! Isn’t that neat? Kiwis are flightless birds native to New Zealand. You should check out the article about them here at Kiwi Web: Chemistry and New Zealand. According to the article, kiwi birds lay eggs that are very large compared to the female. In fact, their egg size to female size ratio is greater than for any other bird. I have one other tidbit to add about kiwis on my end: they’re super goofy and adorable!

Fuzzy Kiwi Chick

Found here: www.fruitsbenefits.com

Too Cute To “Bee” True: Bee Hummingbird (World’s Smallest Bird)

Birds, Hummingbirds No Responses »

Feb 202012

Penguin here.

Let’s calculate where the bee hummingbird falls on our cute meter.

1. Colourful plumage: check
2. Incredibly tiny (weighs 1.8 grams and measures 5cm according to Wikipedia’s Bee Hummingbird article) : check
3. Makes cute buzzing sound (their wings beat 60-80 times per second according to How To Enjoy Hummingbirds): check

Resulting rating: Absolutely Adorable!

Bee Hummingbird: World's Smallest Bird

Found here: Wild Facts

Love is in the Air: Check Out this Lovebird Pair!

Birds, Lovebirds No Responses »

Feb 132012

Penguin here.

Tomorrow is Valentine’s day, so I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to post an image of animals we often associate with romance. According to Wikipedia’s Lovebird article, eight lovebird species are native to Africa, while a single species, they grey-headed lovebird, is from Madagascar. Lovebirds are actually a type of parrot. These colourful birds earned their name because they often form long term monogamous bonds. You can often see them sitting with their partner and, if you’re lucky, resting side by side in their trademark pose like the rosy-faced lovebirds in the image below. Isn’t that so sweet?

Rosy-Faced (a.k.a Peach-Faced) Pair of Lovebirds

Found here: Birds-Pic Blogspot

Super Pudgy Black-Capped Chickadee

Birds, Chickadees No Responses »

Jan 092012

Penguin here.

I love chickadees. They’re so cute and small and pudgy. Blue Bear has a bird feeder. Whenever chickadees come by, they fly onto the perch very briefly and rush to take seed(s). They then return shortly after for a second helping. Larger birds like sparrows or cardinals have no problem staying on the perch and eating the seeds there. I find the chickadees’ bird-feeding behaviour to be absolutely adorable. They’re also a very noisy but super cute set of chirping birds. It’s always a pleasure to know that some chickadees are around!

Have you been eating a lot of seeds lately?

Photographed by Jerry Acton and found on All About Birds: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

A note from Penguin: You should definitely check that awesome bird site out. It’s one of my favorites.

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