Can you guess what Birdorable bird this is?

This diving bird can be found in North America. Check the meet the birds page to see if you can find it! The answer to the last ‘Spot the Birdorable’ was Eclectus Parrot.

Piping Plovers have been on our minds this last week since we’ve been reading about them on some of our favorite blogs recently.

These cute little shorebirds are unfortunately threatened / endangered (depending on the habitat / population) and several breeding areas, including Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras National Seashore, are off-limits to pedestrians to help protect the species.

Recently the Endangered Species Act itself has become threatened by a proposal from the Bush Administration. The proposal would allow federal agencies to decide on the effects their projects might have on species without expert, outside consultation. You can help fight this legislation, which does not require Congressional approval, by sending a message to the Secretary of Interior via the National Wildlife Federation website.

In case you’re visiting Birdorable from Birdchick’s post - here are the thongs.

Can you guess what Birdorable bird this is?

This bird is native to south-east Asia and northern Australia. Check the meet the birds page to see if you can find it! The answer to the last ‘Spot the Birdorable’ was Osprey.

Starting this summer we plan to send out a Birdorable Newsletter with news about this site, new bird alerts, information about special sales just for newsletter subscribers, contests and other fun stuff. You can sign up here.

The newsletter will be sent no more than twelve times per year and you can unsubscribe at any time. So if you want to stay updated by email about our cutest birds on the wing, sign up now!

The owner of an Audi A2 and Golf GTI in Worcestershire, England, thought that vandals were attacking his cars with pen knives but was shocked that the culprit was actually a cute little Chaffinch. He believes the territorial bird was attacking its own reflection. It had taken chunks out of the bodywork around the windows and mirrors of the cars.

Ciaran Nelson, of the RSPB, said: “Garden birds are very protective of their territories, particularly males. Shiny cars or car windows often provoke a very aggressive response, because they think their reflections are really a rival bird. It’s just a primeval reaction.”

Read more about this story here and here (with pics).

Can you guess what Birdorable bird this is?

This fish-eating bird can be found on all continents except Antarctica. Check the meet the birds page to see if you can find it! The answer to the last ‘Spot the Birdorable’ was Zebra Finch, which was guessed right by Ashira and jibi.

The Loggerhead Shrike and Northern Shrike can both be found across North America, so how do you tell them apart? Well, there are three important differences between these two species: 1. The Northern Shrike is bigger than the Loggerhead (one to two inches longer); 2. The Loggerhead Shrike has a shorter beak; and 3. The Loggerhead’s black mask extends across its forehead and above the beak, while the Northern Shrike’s mask doesn’t.

Did you know that both the Northern as well as the Loggerhead Shrike impale their prey on thorns to hold them down while it rips them apart with its hooked bill? Pretty gross, eh? It does this with larger prey, such as lizards, mice, shrews and even birds, because it lacks the talons that birds of prey have. So if you see a lizard stuck on a thorn it’s probably the handywork of your friendly neighborhood shrike.

We’re having a huge sale on our Jr. Jersey T-shirts! While supplies last, pick up Jr. Jersey T-Shirts, regular $30*, for just $15* when you use coupon code 4JRJERSEY at checkout!

Update 27-Jul-08: Sale over!

*Select shirts with two-sided printing are on sale for $18 with coupon, regular price $33. One-sided shirts are marked down to $19; you must use coupon code 4JRJERSEY to get the full discount.

Coupon cannot be combined with other offers, but you can pick up as many Jr. Jersey tees you want for this great sale price. Supply is limited and this sale can end at any moment - stock up while supplies last!! To get the full discount, don’t forget to use coupon code 4JRJERSEY at checkout.

Want to keep updated on future sales, Birdorable news, and promotions? We’re planning on launching a newsletter soon. We’ll have exclusive sales and contests just for subscribers. We’ll also keep you updated on new birds we’ve added to the Birdorable family. So don’t miss out! Sign up here.

The California Quail is being challenged for its position as State Bird of California by the Parrot for State Bird campaign. It is actually just a clever advertising campaign from a company that sells hands-free car kits, but the website is quite funny.

Which bird would you prefer as your State Bird? A quail or a parrot?

(please note that Birdorable is not in any way affiliated with Parrot S.A.)

Can you guess what Birdorable bird this is?

This little bird is native to Australia. Check the meet the birds page to see if you can find it! The answer to the last ‘Spot the Birdorable’ was Plum-headed Parakeet, which was guessed right by Ashira and J-Rod.

The California Quail is the latest bird to be cutified as a Birdorable. This beautiful bird, the state bird of California, lives on the west coast of North America and can be found from British Columbia southward to Baja California. The forward-drooping plume looks like a single feather, but it is actually made of six feathers. Check out our Birdorable version of this totally cute bird.

There are over 10,000 living species of birds on our planet and more than 800 (8%) of them live in the United States of America. Here are twenty-five of our American Birdorable birds. Happy 4th of July to everyone in the United States!

But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,
That one word, as if his soul in that one word deplorable.
Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarely more than muttered ‘Other friends, adorable,
have flown before. On the morrow he will leave me.’
Then the bird said, ‘Birdorable’

The Harris Hawk is a bird of prey that lives from the southwestern United States to Chile and central Argentina. Unlike most raptors, who only come together for breeding and migration, Harris Hawks hunt in groups of two to six. This behavior is an adaptation to the desert climate in which they live and it allows them to take down larger prey, such as hares.

Harris Hawks are used a lot in falconry because of their easy going nature. In European towns they are used to scare Pigeons and Starlings. They are also used at airports to scare birds away from runways to reduce the risk of birdstrikes with planes.

Today we’ve added five new parrots to Birdorable: the White-crowned Parrot, Blue-fronted Amazon, Spix’s Macaw, Alexandrine Parakeet and Peach-fronted Parakeet.

We continue to get a lot of new bird requests for parrots and parakeets, especially since our site was featured in the August edition of Bird Talk magazine. Of the 125 different species of birds on Birdorable today, 32 are parrots and parakeets.

One of the rarest and most critically endangered parrots in the world is the Spix’s Macaw. It is believed to be extinct in the wild! The species was feared to be extinct in the early 1980’s, until it was rediscovered in 1985 when just 5 birds were located in the north of Bahia, Brazil. Sadly, by 1988 it appeared the last 5 birds had been removed by trappers. In 1990, an exhaustive survey in the area resulted in the discovered of a single wild survivor! The Brazilian Authorities located a wild caught female Spix’s Macaw at a private breeding facility. In 1995 the female was released in the wild to join the last remaining one, but unfortunately shortly after she was found dead. The one remaining bird was last seen on October 5th, 2000 and is thought to have died of natural causes as he was in excess of 20 years old.

Currently there are approximately 120 individual Spix’s Macaws in captivity around the world. 78 of these are participating in an international breeding program managed by the Institute Chico Mendes of Biodiversity Conservation, the Natural Heritage Branch of the Brazilian Government. 50 of these are managed at Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation in the State of Qatar.

Show your support for this beautiful bird with this Birdorable Save the Spix’s Macaw t-shirt:

We’re so excited that Bird Talk Magazine has featured Birdorable in the Avian Flair section of their August issue!

Birdorable shown in Bird Talk Magazine’s Avian Flair, August 2008

The text reads:

Sport your Birdorable today! With more than 25 parrot designs to choose from, plus many other types of birds, you can have your favorite Birdorable on shirts, bags and more. Contact: Birdorable; www.birdorable.com.

Many thanks to reader Ellon for making us aware of this article. Have you seen Birdorable in the press? Please let us know!

The cover of the Aug 2008 issue of Bird Talk Magazine

Can you guess what Birdorable bird this is?

This colorful bird is native to India. The answer to the last ‘Spot the Birdorable’ was Common Loon, which was guessed right by Ashira and Trout.

The Hoopoe, a striking and unique crested bird, was named the official national bird of Israel in May 2008. The bird won a national survey to become the honored bird. Stephen Colbert had some fun making the announcement on his show last week.

We couldn’t miss the opportunity to further honor the beautiful Hoopoe, already a member of the Birdorable family, with a special Birdorable of Israel edition.

Look what we found on Flickr! Missi is using our free Birdorable Parrots Wallpaper on her office computer.

Have you seen Birdorables ‘in the wild’? Send us your pictures or Flickr links!

Today was Banding Day at the Rochester Falconcam. All five of Mariah & Kaver’s eyases were removed from the scrape temporarily in order to band them and take vital statistics. The eyases were also sexed and named. This year’s offspring have been named: Seneca (f); Diamante (m); Quest (f); Zephyr (m); and Susan B (f). Read all about it on the Falconcam’s Banding Day 2008 page. Birdorable congratulates the team on a successful banding day!