#Bird crest

[eukaryotesrool]

Northern Lapwing

Or in Bigwordese Vanellus vanellus (Ah, I love species names that just repeat the generic name) AKA peewit or pewit, tuit or tewit, or even pyewipe,(all onomatopoeic of the birds song(s)) or green plover.

Their name 'lapwing' comes from the lapping sound their large wings make in flight, they are also known to make strange tottering motions in flight, but are capable of flying more regularly.

V. vanellus songs (catchy)

V. vanellus tottering example (majestic)

(A juvenile Northern Lapwing)

These shorebirds (or waders, for you Europeans) live/travel across much of the palearctic and oriental biogeographical regions, from Russia to North Africa and China, they mate in solitary pairs, the mother taking the head in incubating, and the father in protecting, though, these roles may be swapped out from individual pair to pair.

They are precocial, meaning that they're capable of moving and eating (mostly Earth worms and leatherjackets) on their own from the moment they hatch, parents and even unrelated Northern lapwings will participate in mobbing (where a prey species essentially gangs up on and bullies one of their predators) and deception to protect endangered chicks.

Adults eat grains, small fish, and invertebrates.

Rated near threatened by the IUCN their population has been on decline for several reasons including, but not limited to, newly introduced predators, hunting by humans, egg stealing by humans, new agricultural methods as they make good use of arable and otherwise agricultural land, and wetland drainage, which they also made use of.

Various actions are being taken by the EU and other groups to keep their situation from getting worse, lets hope it works out for these lovely feathered fellows.

LOOK AT THE LIL CHICK!!!!

[corvidaemnit]

every single day I think about how american black vultures are known for engaging in interspecific allopreening (preening between different species)

and they have a specific relationship with crested caracaras, in which the black vultures assist them by not only preening them after meals but also leading them to food in the first place, while the caracaras assist the black vultures by acting as a warning signal in case of danger

and while this is more typical of black vultures, this is not common at all for any member of the falconidae family— it’s a special bond!

yet another post in favor of vultures everyone , hope you enjoy:) and I implore you to do some more research on these incredible birds !!

EDIT: I meant interspecific allopreening! excuse my typo!

EDIT 2: black vultures do not have a superior sense of smell to caracaras, sorry for the misunderstanding!

[rongzhi]

A crested myna investigating a peach

English added by me :)

[way-out-there]

I fell in love with this cute little fella... red-crested turaco 😍

[michaelnordeman]

Crested Tit/tofsmes. Värmland, Sweden (November 27, 2018).

[life-on-our-planet]

🪶🪮curl-crested aracari🪮🪶

[draculavian]

Day 10-18 of birdtober 2024 [list by @/aholmesartstudio on Instagram]

Black crested titmouse ☆ Barn swallow ☆ House finch

Carolina wren ☆ American crow ☆ Red headed woodpecker

White winged dove ☆ Great tailed grackle ☆ House sparrow

[gracekraft]

Crest of Love

Happy Odaiba Day!

This year I wanted to revisit an old painting of mine with a new spin!

I wanted to capture the warmth of their loving bond, Sora and Biyomon mean a lot to me <3

[alonglistofbirds]

sometimes I get stuck on a bird because there are too many amazing photos and I can't decide which one to pick

bulk crested caracara post to help me along (it worked! decision made)

[todaysbird]

the gray-crested tit is a small, stocky member of the tit family found at the foothills of the himalayas along with south-central china. they feed on a variety of foods, but most commonly take insects and seeds. they are known to be noisy birds that will make alarm calls at the slightest hint of danger.

[birds--daily]

mayhaps i ask for a sweet little crested cormorant? :>

day 36

today's bird is the double-crested cormorant!

- the insides of their mouths are actually blue!

- cormorants have less preen oil than other birds, so their feathers get wet easier. they often dry them by standing out in the sun with their wings spread (like in my picture :0) )

- double-created cormorants use just about anything to build their nests, including rope, deflated balloons, fishnet, plastic, and parts of dead birds

[jagalart]

Bird stickers for my patrons 🕊️

They are available in the print tiers on my Patreon and will be available to buy at Gdakon 🕊️

[ornithological]

great-crested grebes (podiceps cristatus), adult with chicks, ireland

[extinctionstories]

Two hundred years ago, the wetlands of Japan rustled with pink-tinged feathers. Tall, pale birds stepped carefully through reeds and iris, hunting small fish, crabs, and frogs. 

Nipponia nippon, it would be dubbed by the national ornithological society, a bird emblematic of its country. The Crested Ibis. The Toki. The Peach Flower Bird.

Marshes slowly changed to rice fields, with farmers who resented the toki for ruining crops; to kill the birds was outlawed, so children chased them from the fields, singing warnings.

The doors of the country were pried open. Laws changed. Farmers bought their first guns, their sights set on birds who were no longer protected. The toki, the red-crowned crane, and many others began to suffer. But the worst was yet to come.

Pesticides are indiscriminate killers. The poison sprayed to kill a beetle can travel up the foodchain, toppling a cascade of larger animals, or affecting their ability to reproduce. It was reckless pesticide use that nearly wiped out the Bald Eagle. In the rice fields, the peach-flower-bird had little chance. 

In 1981, Japan’s last five living toki were removed from a wild that had become too dangerous for them.

I tell a lot of sad stories here, about mistakes we’ve made and animals we’ve lost. This isn’t one of those. This is a story about one of those precious times when we were able to fix the things we’d broken. 

A joint effort between Japan & China, and the discovery of seven more birds in that country, led to a successful breeding program, which in 2008 saw the first ibises fly free again in Japan. Today, at least 5000 toki exist in the world.

The last wild-born toki, one of those captured in 1981, lived almost long enough to see her species’ return. Reaching the equivalent age of a centenarian human, she died in 2003—not of old age, but injury after throwing herself against her cage door. 

Her name was ‘Kin’. ‘Gold’. 

Mended things can never be as whole as they once were. There will always be cracks that show, weak spots that remain vulnerable. Yet, like the shining seams of a kintsugi piece, these scars speak an important truth: here is a thing that someone chose to save; handle with care.

The title of this painting is ‘Restoration’. It is gouache on 22x30 inch watercolor paper, and is part of my series 'Conservation Pieces', exploring the effort to preserve endangered birds.

[michaelnordeman]

Crested Tit/tofsmes. Värmland, Sweden (December 15, 2017).

[fullfrontalbirds]

Crested Owl (Lophostrix cristata)

© Holger Köhler