Hiya Newdists.
I hope you are all doing well, keeping safe and hanging in there. 2020 eh?!
Among all the conspiracies growing wildly, I’m surprised no one has begun to go full bore on the Book of Revelations and the Four Horsemen yet!
Diary bird: Crimson Sunbird — Aethopyga siparaja [The national bird of Singapore]
Adult male —
A common sight throughout much of its range, this medium-sized sunbird can be found in parks, gardens, and plantations, as well as more pristine open forest and forest edge environments. Male is bright red with a dark gray belly and iridescent blue cap and “moustache.” Female is dull olive-yellow overall with brighter underparts. High, squeaky repetitive song is loud but often difficult to locate in high branches. Calls frequently, giving various squeaks and “tsip” notes while foraging. LINK
Adult female —
This is an Old World species that is strongly dichromatic, so adult males are unmistakable, having a crimson breast and maroon back, yellow rump and an olive-
coloured belly. The female has an olive-green back, yellowish breast and white tips to the outer tail feathers.
The sunbirds are placed into the taxonomic family, Nectariniidae, which was so named because most of these birds feed on (you guessed it), nectar. Their thin downward-curving bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues are adapted specially for nectivory. Flower tubes that are shaped to prevent access to nectar are pierced at the base near the nectaries so the sunbirds can feed. Like all nectarivores, sunbirds supplement their diet with insects, particularly when rearing chicks, and some species also add fruits to the menu.
The sunbirds are the Old World equivalent to the Australian honeyeaters and to the New World hummingbirds, although they are very distant relatives (sunbirds and honeyeaters are passerines whilst hummingbirds are placed into a different order, Apodiformes). LINK
Juvenile —
The Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja) is a species of bird in the sunbird family which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed most of the time.
Crimson Sunbird is a resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from India to Indonesia and the Philippines. Two eggs or three eggs are laid in a suspended nest in a tree. This species is found in forest and cultivation.
Crimson Sunbirds are tiny, only 11 cm long. They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations to their nectar feeding. LINK
[Click on the arrow in image.]
Newdists, please grab a cuppa and something to eat; admire some photos and join us in the thread.
All are welcome to join the fun, the silliness, the conversations. If you don’t know...just ask! Some things really do require a bit of explanation.
There will be a few surprises along the way, all good ones, we hope.
We are here to keep building the Daily Kos Community.
We post Mon-Sun at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
Pie fights will be met with outrageous ridicule and insults. Trolls will be incinerated and served at the next group BBQ. As briquettes.
Similitude
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Paintbrush Canyon [first tow pics] and Cascade Canyon [last two pics]
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Berchtesgaden National Park — Hagen Mountains
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Folgefonna National Park
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Saar Loop, Mettlach, Germany
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Horseshoe Bend, Arizona
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Galloway Forest NP
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Curbar Edge
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Kings Canyon, NT, AU [Watarrka National Park]
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Kings Canyon National Park.
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New Day Cafe is an open thread.
What do you want to talk about today.
