Greater Roadrunner

There is no Lesser Roadrunner that I am aware of, but nonetheless this emblematic bird of the American southwest is pretty great. At almost 2 feet long, these zygodactylic (two toes front, two toes back) cuckoos (family cuculidae) are one of the more interesting ground specialists in North America. With its shaggy crest, long tail, and predatory nature, these birds do establish a certain harkening back to the dinosaurs.They also have bits of iridescent blue throughout their tail, head, and face, which makes them more than just an oddity to see, and the males sport an excellent, flame-like streak back from their eyes that moves from blue to orange.
I was very lucky to get some great shots of this Roadrunner at the Desert Botanical Garden in Arizona. A good birding trip really needs one of those power moments, when a cool bird is identified or photographed and done with extreme thoroughness and satisfaction. That was very much the case for me with this fine specimen. Be sure to click on the pictures for a larger image.

He first strolled rather lazily by while I was actually staking out my nemesis, the Wilson's Warbler

He then proceeded into the brush without too much urgency

He then emerged a few minutes later with, one might say, a cold-blooded kill.

After he had showcased his catch, he left again, exactly the same way he went before.

(08/2011) We had a couple run-ins with the Roadrunner, and have as of yet been unable to get a really satisfactory photo, but these few get the idea across.

This specimen did not have as dark or pronounced a crest as other roadrunners I've seen, nor did it have the nifty blue and orange eye-stripe, which leads me to believe it was either adolescent or a female, or both.

Red-Tailed Hawk

Red-Tails are the most common hawk in North America, and their variation in color and plumage can make them both beautiful and frustrating to observe on any given outing.
They have broad wings, a consistent bit of dark brown and white mottling on their back and wings, with a more pleasant, downy white and brown on their legs. Their reddish-orange tail is diagnostic.

This particular specimen paused for a drink at a drainage ditch at a park in Phoenix. Some bloody residue on his talons indicated a recent feast. He was kind enough to swoop just overhead right as I was beginning to despair at the skittish behavior of the other birds at the park. He briefly paused on a lamp post, and greatly disturbed the local grackle population before landing  at the little irrigation trench. I'd never seen a hawk on the ground like this, but he seemed pretty comfortable both with his position and the close proximity of a gawking two-legged land mammal (myself).

Rock Pigeon

The ultimate urban survivor, it often seems pigeons have adapted better to city life than people. In their original plumage, pigeons can still be attractive birds. Their large size and iridescent necks give them an unusual pizzaz for a city bird. However, pigeons are also often sooty, mottled, missing toes, and deformed in other ways from their unsavory lifestyle.
Still, they have uncanny navigating abilities. This has something to do with the highly polar magnetite mineral deposits above their beaks, which serve as built-in compasses.

A New Lead on Camelback

Wife and I hiked Camelback Mountain this last Saturday morning. I decided to leave the camera at home, thinking that birding would be minimal and collateral damage considerable. The hike was very nice. It was energizing and not unduly hot. It also provided a great excuse to spoil ourselves with restaurant brunch afterwards. However, I was totally off about the birds. Despite the summer heat having driven away many birds, the mountain top was teeming. We saw over a dozen ruby-throated hummingbirds, some wrens, blue-gray gnatcatchers (a first!), and even some fleeting glimpses of a western tanager and a loggerhead shrike.
I hope to follow up soon with some pictures.

Double-Crested Cormorant

The Double-Crested is the most wide-spread Cormorant in North America, and is really the only species to be found very far inland. I've seen them in flocks of hundreds, if not thousands, off the Trinity River in Dallas in the evening.

The crests become very visible during the spring months, when the Cormorants try to attract a little extra attention.

Lynx Spider

I don't know anything about spiders, and I find Spider-Man to be an underwhelming superhero. Still, this Green Lynx Spider was too cool to pass up. Shot on a macro 70mm lens.

Black-Chinned Hummingbird

The Black-Chinned Hummingbird is one of the less vibrantly colored species, being mostly iridescent green with a bit of dark, even purple on the chin. However, they live and breed in the Southwest and Arizona throughout the year, unlike most of the Southwest's pretty birds, so I give them respect for that.

Mourning Dove

 One of the most common doves in North America, and also the most commonly hunted, the Mourning Dove is still an interesting specimen in its own right. Apart from its tell-tale, gloomy song, the Mourning Dove is the fastest flying dove, and also has a uniquely long tail that fans out to help it break and stabilize when landing.
They can be found all over the continental U.S. nearly year round. Their blue eye-ring and black spotting on their backs help to tell them apart from their larger cousins, the White-Winged Dove.

Red-Winged Blackbird

Noisy and noticeable, this spring essential converges on riparian areas in massive flocks and fills the air with its metallic call. They can be beautiful at times, and also annoying, but they're always impressive.

Rosy-Faced Lovebirds

Also known as Peach-Faced Lovebirds, these small parrots were originally exotic imports from the arid regions of Southwestern Africa (Namibia), but have since established stable and growing populations in Florida, Arizona, and California. These birds are very gregarious and make their presence known. Lovebirds get their name from their monogamy and tendency to sit in pairs for long periods of time.

I recently discovered a large Lovebird population at the Encanto Park in Phoenix, where they're much easier to find and photograph. It also saves me the trouble to trespassing through people's yards.

Newer photos are at the bottom.
I've encountered these Lovebirds at Grenada Park, the Desert Botanical Gardens, and along the canals--their range seems to spread over the greater Phoenix area, and their shrill calls are unmistakable. They seem to enjoy life more than most other birds, though they're not necessarily good at living. Apparently, when one Lovebird gets stuck in a cholla  cactus, several others will try to extricate the helpless bird, thereby trapping themselves as well. They've extracted up to 8 Lovebirds from the same cholla at the Desert Botanical Gardens--they were all dead. I find this behavior mostly adorable however.

They'll even feed in groups on the ground, like mourning doves, clearly without any notion of desert predators lurking nearby. They could get these same seeds up in the mesquite trees just as easily.