BIRDS OF A FEATHER...

 

I awoke this morning, grabbed my cup of cappuccino, sat in my rocking chair on the porch, and was serenaded by a sweet bird singing its morning song.  Not sure what kind it was because I never actually saw it.  Oh how I love birds!

My husband is an avid bird feeder and keeps our neighborhood birdies fat and sassy!  We enjoy watching the various ones that come to visit our backyard including cardinals, blue jays, doves, buntings, finches, brown thrashers, and we have 3 mischievous woodpeckers. 

Did you know that until not long ago it was believed there were 9000-10,000 species of birds, but recent revelations have doubled this number to an estimated 18,000 with a possibility of more species being discovered in the future.  The U.S. is home to 1107 different species of birds.  That’s a whole lot of feathers!!!!

I was recently researching a bird I had seen and I got giddy intrigued at all the lovely feathered creatures I discovered.  So for this post I thought I’d share with you some of God’s handiwork.  Enjoy!

One of my very favorite birds (which seems to be popular with most people) is the CARDINAL.  We have quite a few that visit our feeders daily.  Of course, the male is the prettiest with it’s bright red feathers….the better to attract lady friends😊  I recently discovered that cardinals do something called “anting.”  They smear their feathers with crushed or living ants!!!  Scientists aren’t sure why but some think it’s to help get rid of lice and other parasites.        Have you ever heard that when you see a Redbird/Cardinal, it means someone in Heaven is thinking about you?  I love that!

We also have bluebirds that build nests in our birdhouses each year, but these birds don’t normally visit feeders.

HUMMINGBIRDS are always popular.  We have two or three each year.  Did you know most weigh less than a nickel? The average man would need to eat around 285 pounds of meat per day if they had the metabolism of a hummingbird.  Wow!

These next birds don't make their way to our neighborhood but sure wish they did!  

AMERICAN  FINCH

BLUE  BIRD  WREN

PAINTED  BUNTING

COLLARED  LORY

I couldn't identify the following birds, but they were just so breathtaking and interesting I wanted to include them.

“I’m feeling a tad grumpy this a.m., but I'm lookin' good!”

“So, who hasn’t put on the Corona 15?”

“Just struttin’ my stuff!”

When I first saw this little OWL, I thought “WOW!  Unbelievable!”  After looking at it for several minutes, I realized it’s not real but handmade.  But I thought it was just too cute not to include😊  Oh, the creativity of some people!

And I just had to include this BURMESE JUNGLE FOWL.  Our little town actually has these roaming the neighborhoods and downtown streets.  These elegant birds were imported here many years ago and released into the woods for hunters, but over the years they migrated into the town, and now we are actually famous for them!!!  In fact, we are in the process of building the WORLD’S LARGEST CHICKEN TOPIARY.  Hey!  We all have to make our mark somehow!!!

     God surely does know how to use His paintbrush to make the world beautiful, so tomorrow morning grab a cup of coffee (or cappuccino), venture out on your porch or patio or just stroll around your yard and enjoy the beautiful choir there waiting for you.  

Ok…just had to share one more…not for its beauty but for it’s “unusual” means of providing lunch for itself…and because I thought it was just plain funny….

This is the BASSIAN THRUSH…it “passes gas” to scare worms out of hiding!  Poor worms…they get a double dose of bad luck!