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landandwater.ca
Two Wattled Cranes, in sync, looking for food in the mud in Botswana's Okavango Delta. December 2024.

#birdoftheday #birds #bird #africabirding #okavangodelta #botswana #wattledCrane #africa #africanbirds #naturephotography #birdphotography #safari #africasafari #wildlifephotography
October 19, 2026 at 10:10 AM
sianeez.bsky.social
A Shoebill painting for Day 11 of #birdtober2026 found in swamps in East Africa from South Sudan to Zambia and related to Pelicans and Herons.

#art #birds #watercolour #sketch #painting #birdtober #nature #shoebill #africanbirds
A watercolour painting with colour pencils for definition of a shoebill. A very large bird that stands upright like a heron with long legs and with an enormous bill like a pelican. It is pinkish with grey markings for feathers and bill. It has tufted feathers on the back of the head. Background is green with foliage and thin, darker branches of small shrubs in the background.
October 11, 2026 at 1:07 PM
pandaroselight222.bsky.social
The gray parrot #promosky #photography #animal #birds #Parrot #BirdOfTheDay #birdphotography #parrots #AfricanBirds #AfricanGreyParrot #GreyParrot #bird #birdsoftheworld #zoo

Fun fact: They are strictly monogamous and form lifelong pair bonds in the wild, sharing parenting duties meticulously.
September 6, 2026 at 3:52 AM
sianeez.bsky.social
Finished the background of the sketch of the African Grey Hornbill. Made its beak longer. It’s 5x7 in so will be hard to paint all the tiny details.
#art #sketch #drawing #birds #hornbill #africanbirds
August 25, 2026 at 5:25 PM
jami85in.bsky.social
Why Shoebills Only Live in Bangweulu Swamps

Only 1,000–3,000 Shoebills remain globally, with roughly 1,500 individuals (50%) living exclusively in Bangweulu Swamps, Zambia, making this single wetland the species' evolutionar...

#AfricanBirds #EndangeredSpecies #WetlandEcosystems #Nature #Science
Why Shoebills Only Live in Bangweulu Swamps
Only 1,000–3,000 Shoebills remain globally, with roughly 1,500 individuals (50%) living exclusively in Bangweulu Swamps, Zambia, making this single wetland the species' evolutionary anchor The Shoebil
mazingamazingly.blogspot.com
August 12, 2026 at 7:13 PM
jami85in.bsky.social
Why Shoebills Only Live in Bangweulu Swamps

Only 1,000–3,000 Shoebills remain globally, with roughly 1,500 individuals (50%) living exclusively in Bangweulu Swamps, Zambia, making this single wetland the species' evolutionar...

#AfricanBirds #EndangeredSpecies #WetlandEcosystems #Nature #Science
Why Shoebills Only Live in Bangweulu Swamps
Only 1,000–3,000 Shoebills remain globally, with roughly 1,500 individuals (50%) living exclusively in Bangweulu Swamps, Zambia, making this single wetland the species' evolutionary anchor The Shoebil
mazingamazingly.blogspot.com
August 12, 2026 at 1:21 PM
jami85in.bsky.social
Why Shoebills Only Live in Bangweulu Swamps

Only 1,000–3,000 Shoebills remain globally, with roughly 1,500 individuals (50%) living exclusively in Bangweulu Swamps, Zambia, making this single wetland the species' evolutionar...

#AfricanBirds #EndangeredSpecies #WetlandEcosystems #Nature #Science
Why Shoebills Only Live in Bangweulu Swamps
Only 1,000–3,000 Shoebills remain globally, with roughly 1,500 individuals (50%) living exclusively in Bangweulu Swamps, Zambia, making this single wetland the species' evolutionary anchor The Shoebil
mazingamazingly.blogspot.com
August 12, 2026 at 7:36 AM
kathisphotos.bsky.social
Giant Kingfisher scores a catfish lunch #ayearforart #buyandsellart #blueskyartists
#blueskyphotographers #wildlifephotography #birdphotography
#giantkingfisher
#africanbirds
#avian #birdsoftheworld
#colorfulbirds

kathi-isserman.pixels.com/featured/sco...
Scored by Kathi Isserman
Scored by Kathi Isserman
kathi-isserman.pixels.com
March 19, 2025 at 11:25 AM
birdingplaces.bsky.social
The Abyssinian Scimitarbill with its striking curved orange bill. Photo uploaded to Birdingplaces by Carolien Hoek. Don't forget to check out birdingplaces.com whenever you are planning a birding trip.
#Birds #BirdOfTheDay #Nature #birding #birdphotography #Wildlife #AfricanBirds #Birdwatching
February 26, 2026 at 1:22 PM
whatbirds.bsky.social
🌍🌏 Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) #EurasianBirds #EuropeanBirds #AsianBirds #AfricanBirds | #TawnyOwl #BrownOwl #StrixAluco | #Owls #TypicalOwls #TrueOwlFamily #BirdsOfPrey 📷: Photo by TheOtherKev🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜
🌍🌏 Tawny Owl or Brown Owl (Strix aluco) Appearance: The Tawny Owl is a stocky, medium-sized bird with a large rounded head, dark eyes, and no ear tufts. Its mottled plumage—usually reddish-brown or grey—provides excellent camouflage against tree bark. Distribution: Widespread across Europe and Western Siberia, they are common in the UK but notably absent from Ireland. They favour broadleaf woodlands, though they adapt well to parks and large gardens. Behaviour: Strictly nocturnal and highly territorial, they typically mate for life. They are famous for the "twit-twoo" duet and hunt rodents using silent flight and exceptional hearing. Gemini 3 (Edited) Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: Tawny Owls are incredibly sedentary. Once a pair establishes a territory, they rarely leave it. In fact, many Tawny Owls live their entire lives within 1km of where they were born. Gemini 3 (Edited) 📷: Photo by TheOtherKev via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/tawny-owl-owl-bird-animal-8445463/ XGAK
December 20, 2025 at 3:29 PM
whatbirds.bsky.social
New addition! 🌍 Hartlaub's Turaco (Tauraco hartlaubi) #AfricanBirds | #HartlaubsTuraco #TauracoHartlaubi | #Turacos #GreenTuracos #TuracoFamily #BananaEaters 📷: Photo by dragh🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜
🌍 Hartlaub's Turaco (Tauraco hartlaubi) The Hartlaub's Turaco is a striking, medium-sized bird endemic to the montane and sub-montane evergreen forests of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its appearance is characterized by bright green plumage, a glossy blue-black crest, a red orbital ring, and a prominent white "comma" patch in front of the eye, while a flash of crimson is visible in its flight feathers. They are arboreal and frugivorous, moving with great agility through the canopy, and are typically encountered as shy, but very vocal pairs or small family groups that defend a territory with loud, resonant croaking calls. No subspecies are recognised. Gemini 3 (Edited) Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: Turacos, including Hartlaub's, are the only birds in the world known to have true green and red pigments in their feathers. 📷: Photo by dragh via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/bird-plumage-feathers-beak-8908422/ FCSF
December 14, 2025 at 12:53 PM
whatbirds.bsky.social
🌍 Cape Gull (Larus dominicanus vetula) #AfricanBirds | #CapeGull #AfricanKelpGull #KelpGull #LarusDominicanus | #KelpGulls #Gulls #GullFamily #Seabirds #Shorebirds 📷: Photo by holmespj🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜
🌍 Cape Gull (Larus dominicanus vetula) The Cape Gull, the southern African subspecies of the Kelp Gull, is a large bird with a distinctive adult appearance featuring a white head and body, a black back and wings, a yellow bill with a red spot, and dark eyes. Its distribution is primarily along the coasts of southern Africa, from Namibia to the Eastern Cape. Behaviourally, they are gregarious, sedentary scavengers and omnivores, often found near human activity like landfills and fishing operations. Four other subspecies are recognised. Gemini 3 (Edited) Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: They are renowned for their clever foraging technique: picking up hard-shelled molluscs like mussels or limpets, flying up several meters, and then dropping them onto rocks to crack them open—a form of "tool use" in the bird world. 📷: Photo by holmespj via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/seagull-kelp-gull-south-africa-3406282/ MOKZ
December 3, 2025 at 10:26 AM
whatbirds.bsky.social
🌍🌏 Great Tit (Parus major) #EurasianBirds #EuropeanBirds #AsianBirds #AfricanBirds | #GreatTit #ParusMajor | #Tits #TitFamily #ChickadeeFamily #TitmouseFamily #PerchingBirds 📷: Photo by Ruiterlijk🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜
🌍🌏 Great Tit (Parus major) The Great Tit is a large member of the Tit, Chickadee, and Titmice family, sporting a deep blue-black head, white cheeks, olive-green back, and bright yellow underparts with a black central stripe. It is widespread across Europe and Asia, thriving in woodlands, parks, and gardens. The Great Tit is an active, adaptable, and bold bird, known for its resourceful foraging, dominance at feeders, and loud, distinctive 'teacher-teacher' song, especially during the breeding season. Fifteen subspecies are currently recognised. Gemini 3 (Edited) Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: Highly intelligent birds, Great Tits learned to open the foil caps on traditional glass milk bottles delivered to doorsteps to steal the cream, a behavior that spread rapidly in the mid-20th century. 📷: Photo by Ruiterlijk via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/great-tit-bird-forest-nesting-8673894/ NVHR
November 26, 2025 at 2:17 PM
whatbirds.bsky.social
🌍 Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus) #AfricanBirds | #GreyParrot #CongoGreyParrot #PsittacusErithacus | #GreyParrots #AfricanParrots #HolotropicalParrotFamily #Parrots 📷: Photo by Honustyle123🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜
🌍 Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus) The Grey Parrot, also known as the Congo Grey Parrot, is a medium-sized parrot, typically shades of light to dark grey with a striking, bright red tail. They are distributed across the lowland rainforests and forest edges of Central and West Africa. Highly social, they are intelligent, monogamous, and form large, noisy, communal roosts. Due to extensive trapping for the pet trade they are thought to be undergoing a rapid decline in the wild. They were previously known as the African grey parrot. 2.5 Flash (Edited) Conservation status: Endangered (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: The Grey Parrot is considered one of the most intelligent bird species in the world, often compared to the cognitive level of a 3- to 5-year-old human child. 📷: Photo by Honustyle123 via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/parrot-bird-wildlife-nature-animal-3350477/ EZEY
November 20, 2025 at 5:54 PM
whatbirds.bsky.social
🌍🌏 Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) #EurasianBirds #EuropeanBirds #AsianBirds #AfricanBirds | #GreyHeron #ArdeaCinerea | #Herons #HeronFamily #WadingBirds #Waterbirds 📷: Photo by dragh🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜
🌍🌏 Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) The Grey Heron is a large, tall wading bird with ashy-grey plumage, a white head featuring a black stripe and crest, and a long, sharp orange bill. It's widely distributed across Europe, Asia, and Africa, often found by shallow water like rivers, lakes, and marshes. The Grey Heron's behaviour is characteristic: it often stands motionless on long legs, patiently ambushing fish, amphibians, or small mammals with a lightning-fast strike. It flies slowly with its neck retracted in an S-shape and nests communally in "heronries," usually high in trees. 2.5 Flash (Edited) Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: If a heron catches a mammal like a rat or vole, it's been observed sometimes dipping the prey in water first to help soften it up before swallowing it whole and head-first. 📷: Photo by dragh via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/heron-grey-heron-lilypads-pond-9029702/ DGYK
November 14, 2025 at 8:14 PM
whatbirds.bsky.social
🌍🌏 Knob-billed Duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos) #AfricanBirds #AsianBirds | #KnobBilledDuck #AfricanCombDuck #SarkidiornisMelanotos | #Ducks #DuckFamily #Waterbirds #Waterfowl 📷: Photo by dragh🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜
🌍🌏 Knob-billed Duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos) The Knob-billed Duck, also known as the African Comb Duck, is a large duck with iridescent blue upperparts and a white head/underparts. Males are larger and have a distinctive, fleshy black knob on the bill, which is absent in females. It's found in tropical and subtropical wetlands across Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, and South Asia. They are largely resident, with some seasonal dispersion based on water availability. They often perch in trees and are usually seen in flocks that can reach up to 100 in the dry season. Males are polygamous, mating with multiple females, and the species nests mainly in tree holes. They feed by grazing or dabbling for vegetation, seeds, and invertebrates. 2.5 Flash (Edited) Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: Despite its striking appearance, this species is typically very silent. Its most common vocalization is a low croak or grunt, usually heard only when the bird is disturbed or flushed. 📷: Photo by dragh via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/buttonbilled-duck-duck-bird-animal-8940585/ ZZHH
November 8, 2025 at 5:34 PM
whatbirds.bsky.social
🌍🌏 Common Blackbird, female (Turdus merula) #EurasianBirds #EuropeanBirds #AsianBirds #AfricanBirds | #CommonBlackbird #EurasianBlackbird #Blackbird | #Blackbirds #TrueThrushes #Thrushes #ThrushFamily #PerchingBirds 📷: Photo by susannp4🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜
🌍🌏 Common Blackbird, female (Turdus merula) The female Common or Eurasian Blackbird has an overall sooty-brown plumage, contrasting with the male's glossy black. Her breast is often mottled or streaked with darker brown. She has a brown bill and brown legs and feet. Widespread across Europe, North Africa, and Asia, they are often found in gardens, parks, woodlands, and hedgerows. Typically seen hopping on the ground while foraging for insects, worms, and berries. They are generally solitary but pair up during the breeding season. Several subspecies are recognised. 2.5 Flash (Edited) Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: The female is solely responsible for constructing the nest. She weaves a solid, cup-shaped structure out of grass stems and small twigs, then packs it with mud and lines it with finer grasses. 📷: Photo by susannp4 via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/wildlife-bird-nature-songbird-3213931/ NOTG
October 26, 2025 at 11:08 AM
whatbirds.bsky.social
New addition! 🌍 Wattled Starling (Creatophora cinerea) #AfricanBirds | #WattledStarling #CreatophoraCinerea | #Starlings #StarlingFamily #PerchingBirds 📷: Photo by dragh🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜
🌍 Wattled Starling (Creatophora cinerea) The Wattled Starling is a medium-sized bird, mainly grey with a white rump and black flight feathers. Breeding males sport a distinctive featherless yellow and black head with dangling black wattles on the crown and throat. It is a nomadic species distributed widely across eastern and southern Africa, preferring open, arid habitats and grasslands. Highly gregarious, they are found in large, erratic flocks that move in response to abundant insect food sources, such as locust swarms, and they breed colonially. No subspecies are recognised. 2.5 Flash (Edited) Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: During the breeding season the male bird becomes almost completely bald on its head and develops dramatic, fleshy, black wattles on its forehead and throat. These features recede and the feathers grow back once the season is over! 📷: Photo by dragh via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/starling-bird-animal-feathers-8925834/ WXPA
October 19, 2025 at 10:38 AM
whatbirds.bsky.social
🌍🌏🌎 Sanderling (Calidris alba) #CosmopolitanBirds #EurasianBirds #AfricanBirds #AustralasianBirds #NorthAmericanBirds #SouthAmericanBirds | #Sanderling #CalidrisAlba | #Sanderlings #Sandpipers #SandpiperFamily #Shorebirds #Waders 📷: Photo by JacekBen🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜
🌍🌏🌎 Sanderling (Calidris alba) The Sanderling is a small, plump member of the Sandpiper family. In winter, it's very pale grey above and white below with a dark shoulder patch; breeding plumage adds brick-red. It breeds in the High Arctic tundra but migrates globally, wintering on sandy beaches of every continent except Antarctica. Its characteristic behaviour is running back and forth with the waves on the shoreline ("wave-chasing") to probe for small invertebrates. Two subspecies are recognised. 2.5 Flash (Edited) Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: The Sanderling is the only sandpiper that lacks a hind toe. This unique anatomical feature is believed to help them run more quickly and efficiently across soft, sandy surfaces. 📷: Photo by JacekBen via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/sanderling-bird-beach-north-sea-4359720/ IXCS
October 6, 2025 at 7:35 PM
whatbirds.bsky.social
🌍 African Hawk-eagle (Aquila spilogaster) #AfricanBirds | #AfricanHawkEagle #AquilaSpilogaster | #Eagles #TrueEagles #BootedEagles #HawkFamily #BirdsOfPrey 📷: Photo by GildAix🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜
🌍 African Hawk-eagle (Aquila spilogaster) The African Hawk-eagle is a medium-sized bird of prey, widespread throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Adults have slate black-grey upperparts and white underparts with bold black streaks. It favours woodland, savanna, and rivers. A largely sedentary, monogamous bird, it hunts small to medium-sized birds and mammals, often from a perch or by soaring, and may hunt in pairs. No subspecies are recognised. 2.5 Flash (Edited) Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: The African hawk-eagle has feathered legs all the way down to its feet, which is a characteristic that marks it as a member of the Aquilinae subfamily, often called the "booted eagles." 📷: Photo by GildAix via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/bird-eagle-ornithology-species-8049125/ CFJX
October 4, 2025 at 2:12 PM
whatbirds.bsky.social
🌍🌏 Eurasian Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) #EurasianBirds #EuropeanBirds #AsianBirds #AfricanBirds | #EurasianChaffinch #CommonChaffinch #Chaffinch #FringillaCoelebs | #Chaffinches #TrueFinches #OldWorldFinches #Finches #PerchingBirds 📷: Photo by Drosera74🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜
🌍🌏 Eurasian Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) The male Eurasian Chaffinch is colourful, with a blue-grey cap, rust-red breast, and prominent white wing bars. The female is duller brown/grey but shares the white wing markings. It is widespread across Europe, Northwest Africa, and Western Asia, favouring woodland, parks, and gardens. They are social outside the breeding season, forming flocks. Males have a loud, distinctive song. Eleven subspecies are currently recognised. 2.5 Flash (Edited) Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: Male Chaffinches have regional dialects in their song! Studies have shown slight differences in the typical song's final "flourish" depending on where in the country (or continent) the bird lives. 📷: Photo by Drosera74 via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/chaffinch-bird-finch-nature-9825010/ WUNE
September 29, 2025 at 12:20 PM
whatbirds.bsky.social
🌍 Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill (Tockus leucomelas) #AfricanBirds | #SouthernYellowBilledHornbill #YellowBilledHornbill #TockusLeucomelas | #YellowBilledHornbills #Hornbills #HornbillFamily #HornbillsAndHoopoes 📷: Photo by Mama_Africa🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜
🌍 Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill (Tockus leucomelas) The Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill is a medium-sized bird with a long, curved yellow bill. Its plumage is pied, with a white belly, grey neck, and black wings with white spots. Found in the savannas and woodlands of southern Africa, it is a common and widespread resident. They are typically monogamous and sedentary. They forage on the ground for insects and small animals. One subspecies is recognised. 2.5 Flash (Edited) Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: The female Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill seals herself into a tree cavity to nest, relying on the male to feed her and the chicks. 📷: Photo by Mama_Africa via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/yellow-hornbill-nature-bird-africa-2949787/ ADSQ
September 24, 2025 at 8:44 AM
whatbirds.bsky.social
🌍🌏🌎 Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) #CosmopolitanBirds #EurasianBirds #EuropeanBirds #AsianBirds #AfricanBirds #NorthAmericanBirds #SouthAmericanBirds | #GlossyIbis #PlegadisFalcinellus | #Ibises #IbisFamily #WadingBirds #Waterbirds 📷: Photo by BarbeeAnne🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds
🌍🌏🌎 Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) The Glossy Ibis is a medium-sized wading bird with a long, decurved bill and glossy feathers. From a distance, it appears dark, but in good light, its plumage shimmers with iridescent green, purple, and bronze. It has a widespread distribution, found in warm regions across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, favoring wetlands like marshes, swamps, and flooded fields. This is a highly social species that forages in flocks, often probing mud and shallow water for invertebrates. No subspecies are recognised. 2.5 Flash (Edited) Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: The tip of the Glossy Ibis's bill has special touch sensors that allow it to feel for prey like insects and crustaceans buried in the mud. 📷: Photo by BarbeeAnne via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/glossy-ibis-bird-wading-ornithology-2680553/ YCJU
September 22, 2025 at 6:36 AM
whatbirds.bsky.social
New addition! 🌍 Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) #EurasianBirds #PalearcticBirds #NorthAmericanBirds #AfricanBirds | #MeadowPipit #AnthusPratensis | #Pipits #WagtailFamily #PerchingBirds 📷: Photo by karsten_madsen🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜
🌍 Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) The Meadow Pipit is a small, slender bird with a brown back and a buff-coloured, heavily streaked breast. It has dull pink legs and a long hind claw. Meadow Pipits are common throughout the Palearctic, including much of Europe and Asia. They are migratory over most of their range but are year-round residents in western Europe. They prefer open habitats like grasslands, moorlands, and coastal marshes. No subspecies are recognised. 2.5 Flash (Edited) Fun fact: During the breeding season, the male Meadow Pipit performs a fluttering "parachute" display flight high in the air. Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) 📷: Photo by karsten_madsen via Pixabay BGJP
September 15, 2025 at 7:42 PM