Wednesday, May 13, 2009

BYRD ID's BIRD!!!

I just had the most fun day-brightener I can think of! I was vegging out in my chair and checking email while watching Maddow on MSNBC. I found a message from a former student. She had wondered if I ever was able to indentify the little bird that I rescued about a month ago. Right now I cannot even remember where I posted his picture, but not here because I just looked. He had flown into a window on our campus and was sitting on the porch right in front of the building. I was afraid a campus cat would get him. I enlisted two student workers, and we scooped birdie into a roomy cardboard box. I had to go to a meeting, but I told them that if he were to start stirring around, they should take him outside and see if he would just fly away. He did, they did, and off he went! I posted his picture because I could not figure out what kind of bird he was, but never go a definitive ID. Just now I got an email from a former student with the last name of Byrd, who never met a reference question she didn't like. She sent the picture to her sister, who had studied ornithology in college. Sis emailed her prof, and we got an ID: He is a yellow breasted chat! Here is a link and his picture is up above. Maybe someone can tell me why the pic is sideways when it was right on my computer. Anyway, you can see that he was very brilliantly colored and quite lovely. Bless his little heart, he was just migrating though. I hope after his traumatic experience he reached his destination. Here is one of many locations where you can read more about him. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-breasted_Chat/id
For those of you who are nature freaks as am I, here is another link, with better pics. http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/342/_/Yellow-breasted_Chat.aspx
If you scroll down a bit, you see a great pic of a puffed up chat who looks just like my little guy.
PS Tech tidbit: Coincidentally, before even getting the email I downloaded the iPhone app with bird calls. It is fun to play if you have a cat in the house.

1 comment:

  1. Since your pic seems to be rotating 90* to the left, what if you inserted him beak down and when he rotates he will be horizontal? Just a thought...

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