I took a (free) guided tour of the Moore Lab of Zoology at Occidental College in Eagle Rock and wow, it did not disappoint. The vast majority of the 65,000–specimen collection is whole bird study skins, mostly collected in Mexico in the early 20th century. The lab welcomes visits from students, scientists and artists, so I’m keen to go back for more extensive sketching time (and a peek into more of the drawers!).
New-to-me bird! The scaly-breasted munia or spotted munia (Lonchura punctulata) is a finch known in the pet trade as nutmeg mannikin or spice finch. The species is endemic to Asia, but feral populations have established in Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, as well as parts of Australia and the US.
Here’s an interesting fact: L. punctulata frequently serves as a brood host for the parasitic pin-tailed whydah in Southern California, where both have become feral. In this setting, the munia raises the whydah’s chicks as if they were its own. This interaction is unusual since the two species do not naturally coexist in their native habitats—the whydah is from Africa—and have no evolutionary history as parasite and host. Now I want to see a pin-tailed whydah!
The small and large feathers were so different in colouring and size, that I didn’t suspect they came from the same bird. I was trying to come up with a scenario as to why both birds might have lost so many feathers in the same place. My reference book, and iNaturalist, led me to the much more likely explanation.
I wonder who ate the meadowlark?
The dark-eyed junco, a small New World sparrow, is found through most of the US, Canada, and northern Mexico. There are a bunch of sub-species classified into different groups; we have the Oregon or brown-backed group here in Southern California. They mainly eat seeds, and the occasional insect. This one flitted away through the branches then turned back to look at me. I see you, Mr Junco!
Charcoal and graphite. From a class with Maggie Hurley.
From the kitchen window, I can see the huge creeping rosemary bush on the hill above the house. While I sip my morning tea, I watch flocks of finches swoop in to eat the flowers for breakfast.
As I was falling asleep last night, I could hear adult and young Great Horned Owls out in the darkness. The babies were screaming for food; I imagine the parents were hooting “Patience little ones! We’re coming!“
The most common bird around here is the House Finch, a gregarious participant in the life of the yard and bird bath, with a long twittering song. The red plumage of a male House Finch comes from carotenoids in the food it eats during molt (birds can’t make bright red or yellow colours directly). Females prefer to mate with the reddest male they can find.
House Finches are native to the Western United States. They were introduced to Oahu from San Francisco sometime before 1870, and had become abundant on all the major Hawaiian Islands by 1901. In 1940, they were turned loose on Long Island, New York, and spread across almost all of the eastern United States and southern Canada within the next 50 years. They can be found in a wide variety of habitats including dry desert, coniferous forests, suburbs, and cities.
Unlike most other birds, House Finches exclusively feed their nestlings plant-based foods, including seeds. Most other vegetarian adult birds feed their babies protein-rich insects. At our place, the favourite lunch seems to be rosemary flowers.
hashiworks 