Today's new bird, the final species in this year's Bonanza, is the Dollarbird.
This Old World species can be found throughout eastern Asia, southeast Asia, and eastern Australia. Named for light-colored discs on the underwings, Dollarbirds are part of the Roller family and are also sometimes known as Dark Rollers. Our cute Birdorable Dollarbird shows the glossy iridescent plumage and bright orange-red beak of an adult bird.
This concludes our 13th Annual Birdorable Bonanza! Thanks for following along as we added a flock of new birds all in a row! We hope you enjoy a safe, happy, healthy, and bird-filled holiday season.
Happy Thanksgiving! Today's new species isn't related to today's most famous bird, but the name is similar -- welcome the Australian Brushturkey to Birdorable!
Australian Brushturkeys are large, darkly plumaged birds with bare facial and neck skin. In males, the red head and yellow cowl are bright and unmistakable, especially during breeding season.
These large birds are clumsy in flight. They forage for food by scratching at the ground with their feet. Flight is used sparingly, to escape predators, or to reach safe roosting spots.
The Australian Brushturkey is known by a few other names, including Gweela, Scrub Turkey, or Bush Turkey.
Tomorrow our 13th Annual Birdorable Bonanza will conclude with the addition of a species in the roller family with an appropriate name for Black Friday. Can you guess the species?
Today we're adding the Snow Goose to Birdorable! This large goose is the most abundant waterfowl across all of North America.
Snow Geese are known for gathering in huge flocks, during the winter and during migration. They frequently visit favorite spots year after year; there are entire birding festivals dedicated to viewing Snow Geese flocks in all their glory.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! We already have a Birdorable Wild Turkey, so we're adding a different bird with turkey in its name -- this one comes from Down Under. Can you guess the species?
Today we add a small, dapper shorebird to Birdorable. It's our Ruddy Turnstone!
In breeding plumage, as depicted in our Birdorable illustration, Ruddy Turnstones have white underparts, black and rufous upperparts, with black and white detailing around the face and neck. Outside of breeding, the Ruddy Turnstone's upperparts are more uniformly drab greyish brown.
Ruddy Turnstones are opportunistic feeders who search for prey in a variety of ways, including searching rocky shorelines and breakers by turning over stones (naturally!).
Ruddy Turnstones have a wide global range. They breed across the low Arctic in places like northern Alaska and the northern coast of Siberia. These impressive migrants winter along ocean shorelines nearly all over the world, including around the entire continent of Australia, both coasts of South America, and all around Africa.
Tomorrow we'll add a species of waterfowl with a wintery name. Can you guess this bird?
Today Birdorable welcomes another bird named after the ornithologist Alexander Wilson to Birdorable, following Wilson's Warbler and Wilson's Plover. Today Wilson's Phalarope joins our flock!
Wilson's Phalaropes are the largest of all three of the world's phalarope species (the others being the Red-necked Phalarope and the Red Phalarope), but are still relatively small as wading birds go, reaching up to 24cm in length.
Wilson's Phalaropes breed across parts of the western and northern United States and western Canada. Winters are spent down across a wide range of South America, with some birds reaching the southern tip of the continent!
Phalaropes are known for their atypical sexual dimorphism attributes and parental behavior. Females are larger than males and have a more brightly developed plumage. Females also leave most parental duty to the male birds. They are also atypical by Birdorable standards, as our illustration depicts a female.
Tomorrow another shorebird joins Birdorable, one of two species in its genus. This small shorebird with a wide global range can be found wintering along ocean shores, where it might search for food by turning over stones. Can you guess this species?
Today we add a small wader to Birdorable: the Little Blue Heron!
Little Blue Herons are New World wading birds with a wide distribution covering parts of North and South America. They are found near wetland habitats, where they feed, roost, and breed. Some birds are year-round residents (especially in South America) while some birds in North America migrate to breed further north.
Little Blue Herons are named for the plum and blue plumage of adult birds. For the first year of life, Little Blue Herons aren't blue at all -- they are white! This gives the young birds an advantage when hunting among Snowy Egrets, who are more likely to tolerate a bird, all white like them, hunting in close proximity.
Tomorrow we'll add another wading bird to Birdorable. Our illustration will feature the female of the species! This bird is named for a famous ornithologist. Can you guess the bird based on these clues?
