{"id":765,"date":"2022-12-30T14:03:21","date_gmt":"2022-12-30T14:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/schweiz.media\/?page_id=765"},"modified":"2022-12-30T14:29:02","modified_gmt":"2022-12-30T14:29:02","slug":"birds","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/schweiz.media\/index.php\/birds\/","title":{"rendered":"Birds"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"feedzy-4b3c4411c73b74c4b8adf9d61114eae3 feedzy-rss\"><div class=\"rss_header\"><h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.10000birds.com\/\" class=\"rss_title\" rel=\"noopener\">10,000 Birds<\/a> <span class=\"rss_description\"> Birds, Birding and Blogging<\/span><\/h2><\/div><ul><li  style=\"padding: 15px 0 25px\" class=\"rss_item\"><div class=\"rss_image\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.10000birds.com\/species-spotlight-collared-scops-owl.htm?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=species-spotlight-collared-scops-owl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noopener\" title=\"Species Spotlight: Collared Scops Owl\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.10000birds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Collared-Scops-Owl_Taian-area-Taiwan-Nov-09-2025_DSC7724.jpg\" title=\"Species Spotlight: Collared Scops Owl\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\"><\/a><\/div><span class=\"title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.10000birds.com\/species-spotlight-collared-scops-owl.htm?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=species-spotlight-collared-scops-owl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noopener\">Species Spotlight: Collared Scops Owl<\/a><\/span><div class=\"rss_content\" style=\"\"><small>by <a href=\"\/\/www.10000birds.com\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"www.10000birds.com\">Kai Pflug<\/a> on May 15, 2026 at 11:00 am <\/small><p>This is probably easily the twentieth post in which I mention scops owls, but probably the first one in which I actually mention what scops means (probably: my memory is generally quite terrible). Not that it was really worth the wait. Scops apparently just means \u201cLittle Owl\u201d and is generally used in ornithology to describe small, ear-tufted owls. The specific one this post is about the Collared Scops Owl. Its scientific name, Otus lettia, is similarly boring \u2013 lettia is a Latinized version of the local Nepalese name for this owl. Even the name of the Taiwanese subspecies adds much excitement: Otus lettia glabripes means that the owl has hairless feet. And yet, an individual of this species attracted quite some attention in a park in Taiwan on a warm sunny Sunday afternoon, roosting fairly openly in a tree just a few meters above the ground, and quite unbothered by the many locals taking photos with their mobile phones, and even the weird foreigners with their larger cameras. Presumably, it is better than being mobbed by some small, noisy songbirds accusing you of eating their chicks, robbing their nests, and probably even supporting Donald Trump. Like the other bird species, Collared Owlets live in an environment polluted by humans. This shows in the mercury content in their bodies. A paper describing this adds another interesting aspect \u2013 the isotope distribution of the mercury is different in adult and juvenile birds, most likely due to a difference in what they feed on. The part of the paper stating \u201cSix tissues and organs (feathers, nails, heart, liver, gizzard, and muscle), as well as gastric contents, were examined for total Hg (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) contents\u201d makes me shiver, though. If mercury does not hurt the birds, maybe parasites will. This is not a topic that will make this site more popular, so I will just mention the title of the respective paper: \u201cHaemoproteus sp. infected in Collared Scops-Owl (Otus lettia): Parasite Morphology, Morphometry, Ultrastructure and Phylogeny\u201d. Apparently, on the subsequent day, the owl still used the same tree as its daytime roost, but a bit higher and somewhat better hidden. Maybe it decided it does not quite like people as much as it thought. Hell, I can relate to that.<\/p><\/div><\/li><li  style=\"padding: 15px 0 25px\" class=\"rss_item\"><div class=\"rss_image\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.10000birds.com\/which-birds-are-mentioned-in-shakespears-works.htm?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=which-birds-are-mentioned-in-shakespears-works\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noopener\" title=\"Which Birds are Mentioned in Shakespeare\u2019s Works?\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.10000birds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Oriental-Scops-Owl_DSC0012_Nanhui-Oct-2019.jpg\" title=\"Which Birds are Mentioned in Shakespeare\u2019s Works?\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\"><\/a><\/div><span class=\"title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.10000birds.com\/which-birds-are-mentioned-in-shakespears-works.htm?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=which-birds-are-mentioned-in-shakespears-works\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noopener\">Which Birds are Mentioned in Shakespeare\u2019s Works?<\/a><\/span><div class=\"rss_content\" style=\"\"><small>by <a href=\"\/\/www.10000birds.com\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"www.10000birds.com\">Kai Pflug<\/a> on May 14, 2026 at 11:00 am <\/small><p>Every birder has probably heard the \u2013 most likely untrue \u2013 story about starlings being introduced to the US by some Shakespeare fan who wanted to bring all birds appearing in Shakespeare\u2019s world to the US. Interestingly, starlings play only a very minor role in his works \u2013 they get mentioned exactly once, in Henry IV, Part 1. So, not really the ideal candidate for a culturally motivated introduction program. And only one species out of about 60-65 species mentioned in all of Shakespeare\u2019s work \u2013 the exact number is not easy to specify, as Shakespeare seems to have been more of a lumper than a splitter, thus speaking of herons, buntings, or owls rather than (as the archetypal splitter would nowadays) specify the bunting as a Long-crested Northern Reed Bunting (a name I just made up, of course \u2013 no worries, Peter, you did not miss another reed bunting species). Listing 60-65 species in a blog post is generally considered boring. However, there are some birds that are a bit more prominent in Shakespeare \u2013 and add a bit more meaning \u2013 than others. And thanks to ChatGPT (hey, do you think I would work on a post like this for three or four hours knowing that about 12 people will read it, and of these, 5 just to show me that I am wrong), here is a simple table with such \u201cmeaningful\u201d birds and their meaningful meaning. BirdTypical Shakespearean associationsRavenDeath, evil omens, battlefields, prophecyOwlNight, doom, ill omen, secrecyEagleRoyalty, power, nobilityFalcon \/ HawkAristocracy, hunting, control, passionCrow \/ RookBad omens, commonness, carrionDove \/ Turtle DoveLove, fidelity, gentlenessSwanBeauty, music, death (\u201cswan song\u201d)LarkMorning, joy, lovers separating at dawnNightingalePoetry, music, melancholy, loveCock \/ RoosterDawn, vigilance, masculinityGooseFoolishness, cowardice, comic insultSparrowSmallness, vulnerability, everyday lifePeacockVanity, prideCuckooAdultery and cuckoldryWrenSmall but spirited; humilityKitePredatory greed, scavengingPelicanSelf-sacrifice (medieval symbolism)StarlingMimicry, chatterHeronFalconry imagery, aristocratic sportWoodcockFoolishness, gullibility And that is it. I am just reading a wonderful series of mysteries (the Charles Paris series by Simon Brett, which I can recommend wholeheartedly), and that made me think of Shakespeare and birds. Interestingly, some of the observations in Shakespeare\u2019s plays are surprisingly accurate. Apparently (of course, I am relying on secondary literature here), he knew of crows and ravens scavenging, cuckoos laying in other birds\u2019 nests, falcon training, larks singing at dawn, and wrens aggressively defending nests. And (again, a different topic at the end) a music recommendation \u2013 the rather wonderful (I think this is a John Peel expression, but that is fine with me) song \u201cFree from the Guillotine\u201d by Ryan Davis &amp; the Roadhouse Band. Which starts with the wonderful line \u201cYou got a new tattoo of an old tattoo\u201d and gets better from there, though in a very relaxed way (the song duration is 8 minutes and 23 seconds, and I wish it were longer). Illustration: Oriental Scops Owl. The author acknowledges that this owl is entirely out of place and has decided to proceed anyway.<\/p><\/div><\/li><li  style=\"padding: 15px 0 25px\" class=\"rss_item\"><div class=\"rss_image\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.10000birds.com\/demotivational-posters-for-birds-xxxi.htm?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=demotivational-posters-for-birds-xxxi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noopener\" title=\"Demotivational Posters for Birds (XXXI)\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.10000birds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Picture3.jpg\" title=\"Demotivational Posters for Birds (XXXI)\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\"><\/a><\/div><span class=\"title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.10000birds.com\/demotivational-posters-for-birds-xxxi.htm?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=demotivational-posters-for-birds-xxxi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noopener\">Demotivational Posters for Birds (XXXI)<\/a><\/span><div class=\"rss_content\" style=\"\"><small>by <a href=\"\/\/www.10000birds.com\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"www.10000birds.com\">Kai Pflug<\/a> on May 14, 2026 at 11:00 am <\/small><p>After the last round of posters, a couple of readers raised an unexpectedly philosophical concern: whether birds might be slipping into existential despair, or\u2014more intriguingly\u2014whether a few especially pessimistic species might actually find the whole thing rather uplifting. In response, the birds have neither confirmed nor denied anything, but the series continues regardless, now with a fresh set of observations from the field of avian psychology.<\/p><\/div><\/li><li  style=\"padding: 15px 0 25px\" class=\"rss_item\"><div class=\"rss_image\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.10000birds.com\/the-brief-brilliance-of-the-lazuli-bunting.htm?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-brief-brilliance-of-the-lazuli-bunting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noopener\" title=\"The Brief Brilliance of the Lazuli Bunting\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.10000birds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DSC_1745-Lazuli-mbkshr.JPG.jpg\" title=\"The Brief Brilliance of the Lazuli Bunting\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\"><\/a><\/div><span class=\"title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.10000birds.com\/the-brief-brilliance-of-the-lazuli-bunting.htm?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-brief-brilliance-of-the-lazuli-bunting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noopener\">The Brief Brilliance of the Lazuli Bunting<\/a><\/span><div class=\"rss_content\" style=\"\"><small>by <a href=\"\/\/www.10000birds.com\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"www.10000birds.com\">Kelly Isley<\/a> on May 14, 2026 at 11:00 am <\/small><p>Every spring, northern Arizona receives a brief but unforgettable visitor. Along cottonwood-lined creeks, brushy canyon trails, and quiet woodland edges, flashes of brilliant blue begin appearing in the sunrise glow. For birdwatchers and photographers alike, the arrival of the Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena) is one of the season\u2019s small miracles and a vivid signal that migration is underway across the Southwest. The male Lazuli Bunting is difficult to mistake once you see one clearly. Its blue head and back seem almost tropical against the subdued greens and browns of early spring, while its soft cinnamon breast and crisp white wing bars complete the striking combination. Females are far more subtle, dressed in soft brown tones that help them disappear into dense shrubs and streamside vegetation. In northern Arizona, Lazuli Buntings typically begin appearing in April, with migration continuing through May. For some birds, Arizona is only a temporary stop along a much longer journey. After wintering primarily in western and central Mexico, they move north through the deserts and canyons of the Southwest toward breeding grounds in the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Northwest, and even southern Canada. Others remain in suitable habitat across Arizona through the summer breeding season before beginning their southbound migration later in the year. One of the best parts of spring birding is never quite knowing where a Lazuli Bunting might appear. I often notice them first by movement. A small shape darting from a shrub to an exposed branch, followed by the bright, jumbled song of the male as he claims a perch above the surrounding brush. Riparian corridors seem especially attractive to them. Creeks bordered by willows, mesquites, cottonwoods, or thick undergrowth provide shelter, food, and nesting habitat during their stay. Because many migrating buntings may only remain in one area for a few days or weeks, encounters might feel like they are fleeting. One morning, a canyon may seem empty, and the next, it suddenly holds three or four males glowing in the fresh spring light. Their arrival frequently coincides with warmer temperatures, leafing trees, and the return of other migratory songbirds, forming a sense that the entire landscape is waking up after winter. For photographers, the Lazuli Bunting offers both loveliness and challenge. Their constant movement through tangled branches can test patience, and strong midday light rarely does their colors justice. Early morning or late midday light usually produces the best results, especially when the bird pauses briefly on an open perch. One lesson many bird photographers learn over time is that the background matters almost as much as the bird itself. In classic bird portraits, the background is often rendered into a soft blur that helps separate the subject from its surroundings and creates a stronger sense of depth. This effect is known as shallow depth of field and is achieved by using a wider aperture. Settings such as f\/4 or f\/5.6 are ideal for creating this softer background effect. When the vegetation behind the bird falls out of focus, the Lazuli Bunting\u2019s vivid blue plumage becomes even more striking. Positioning yourself so there is a greater distance between the bird, and the background can further enhance the effect, turn busy branches and leaves into smooth washes of color. Even with careful technique, photographing Lazuli Buntings often calls for patience and luck. Sometimes the best moments last only seconds, a male singing in open sunlight or pausing long enough for the shutter to click before vanishing back into the brush. By midsummer, many Lazuli Buntings begin drifting south again, eventually returning to their winter range in Mexico. Their time in northern Arizona is relatively short, which may be part of what makes them so memorable. For a few weeks each spring, these brilliant songbirds bring flashes of color and motion to canyon trails and creek beds across the region, rewarding anyone willing to slow down and watch carefully.<\/p><\/div><\/li><li  style=\"padding: 15px 0 25px\" class=\"rss_item\"><div class=\"rss_image\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.10000birds.com\/various-vireos.htm?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=various-vireos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noopener\" title=\"Various Vireos\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.10000birds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Dwarf-Vireo-Header.jpg\" title=\"Various Vireos\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\"><\/a><\/div><span class=\"title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.10000birds.com\/various-vireos.htm?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=various-vireos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noopener\">Various Vireos<\/a><\/span><div class=\"rss_content\" style=\"\"><small>by <a href=\"\/\/www.10000birds.com\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"www.10000birds.com\">Paul Lewis<\/a> on May 14, 2026 at 10:00 am <\/small><p>For our Old World readers, Vireos are the 35 members of the single New World genus bearing that name. They look rather similar to our more colorful Wood Warblers, also exclusive to the New World, and a few look very much like the Kinglets found across the northern hemisphere. Vireos are distinguished from the members of those families by the their heavier hooked bills. The Mexican state of Michoac\u00e1n, where I live, is rich in Vireos. I have seen 11 of the genus\u2019 35 species here, as well as an emblematic Shrike-Vireo from another genus in the same Vireonidae family. Five (Cassin\u2019s, Plumbeous, Blue-headed, Black-headed, and Bell\u2019s) spend winters here but reproduce in the U.S. and Canada. The Hutton\u2019s Vireo is non-migratory but is resident in both western Mexico and the western United States. Most Western Warbling Vireos migrate from the U.S. to Mexico, but some remain in central Mexico year-round. Yellow-green Vireos actually winter in South America and migrate north to Mexico to breed. Golden, Slaty, and Dwarf Vireos are all endemic residents of Mexico, as is the larger Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo. In April I went out with my birder buddy Jonathan Vargas for what turned out to be a very Vireo-rich trip. Jonathan, who has been working hard to find reliable sites for all of Michoacan\u2019s endemics so he can include them in birding tours he leads, was eager to see if a promising new site might be a good place to see our endemic Dwarf Vireo. And indeed it was. But we also ended up seeing exactly half of my 12 Michoac\u00e1n vireos in a single day. I\u2019ll start with those Dwarf Vireos. True to their name, these are the smallest of all Vireos. Although Hutton\u2019s Vireos can also be just under four inches long (3.9 inches, or 10 cm long), Hutton\u2019s can reach larger sizes than the largest Dwarf Vireos. All other Vireos are at least 15% larger than Dwarf Vireos. Their small size makes these Vireos look disproportionately cabez\u00f3n (large-headed). The reason Jonathan was so interested in Dwarf Vireos is because they are an endemic that is, well, unusually endemic. You can only see them from central Mexico all the way to\u2026 central Mexico. We saw three in a single day. Each of our endemic Dwarf Vireos seemed to have a migratory Cassin\u2019s Vireo stalking it. Cassin\u2019s Vireos are quite a bit larger than Dwarf Vireos, and wear sharply defined white \u201ceyeglasses\u201d rather than the white \u201csuperhero mask\u201d of the Dwarf. I didn\u2019t manage photos of the day\u2019s one Plumbeous Vireo, but if you take away the yellow wash on the Cassin\u2019s flanks, you get the idea. Plumbeous Vireos are entirely gray and white. My photos of the day\u2019s Hutton\u2019s Vireos weren\u2019t great, but were just good enough to show their eyering which is interrupted at the top, giving them a perturbed look. They share this eyering with the surprisingly similar Ruby-crowned Kinglet. That frowning eye goes well with their disgruntled raspy calls. As mentioned above, I achieved no photos at all of the day\u2019s Plumbeous Vireos, or the bright yellow Golden Vireos we saw. But that was certainly not the case for one of our emblematic Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireos. He chose to get very up-close and personal. Of course, no single genus can be responsible for all the good images from a single day, especially one with a total of 84 species seen. So I\u2019ll share a few photos from other familes before closing. A Painted Redstart showed off two of its talents: 1) bark acrobatics, and 2) repeatedly snapping its tail open, a habit which gives these birds their Mexican common name of pavito (little turkey). Seeing a male Hooded Grosbeak was an exciting and rather rare treat. While more common, a Squirrel Cuckoo and a Blue Mockingbird gave me some evocative images. It was quite a day, considering we were trying out an entirely new site.<\/p><\/div><\/li><\/ul> <\/div><style type=\"text\/css\" media=\"all\">.feedzy-rss .rss_item .rss_image{float:left;position:relative;border:none;text-decoration:none;max-width:100%}.feedzy-rss .rss_item .rss_image span{display:inline-block;position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;background-position:50%;background-size:cover}.feedzy-rss .rss_item .rss_image{margin:.3em 1em 0 0;content-visibility:auto}.feedzy-rss ul{list-style:none}.feedzy-rss ul li{display:inline-block}<\/style>\n\n<div class=\"feedzy-7b83f447e0612aa7598d96f0f8800b1c feedzy-rss\"><div class=\"rss_header\"><h2><a href=\"\" class=\"rss_title\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a> <span class=\"rss_description\"> <\/span><\/h2><\/div><ul><\/ul> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_eb_attr":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-765","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schweiz.media\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schweiz.media\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schweiz.media\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schweiz.media\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schweiz.media\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=765"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/schweiz.media\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":793,"href":"https:\/\/schweiz.media\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/765\/revisions\/793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schweiz.media\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}