by hilzoy
Guess what I saw today? A Painted Bunting!
That's a picture that lets you see the full glory of the Painted Bunting. A photo of the actual bird I saw is here (I didn't take it.)
Painted Buntings are not supposed to be in Maryland. It was just my good fortune that this one got lost, and my even better fortune that he decided to have a nice long afternoon snack at a feeder that was clearly visible from a nearby biking trail.
He was really, really beautiful.
Open thread.
Oh, lovely!
Posted by: Jesurgislac | February 05, 2008 at 05:43 PM
OK I’ll ask the obvious question…. Who on earth goes around painting buntings?
(Yes, this does pretty much accurately reflect the full extent of my birding knowledge.)
Posted by: OCSteve | February 05, 2008 at 05:49 PM
OCSteve: *giggles*
Still, it's pretty clear where it got its name. Offhand, I can't think of a bird that looks more painted. It was so gorgeous.
Posted by: hilzoy | February 05, 2008 at 05:58 PM
Gorgeous.
Posted by: Bernard Yomtov | February 05, 2008 at 06:00 PM
In theory, painted buntings are found where I live in Florida, but in practice I've never seen one locally. I've chased a couple around my brother's backyard brandishing my camera but the resulting photos are pitiful.
I do see indigo buntings pretty regularly on our property. Birdwatching is great fun, but can't claim to be a true bird watcher until you've seen a yellow bellied sapsucker.
Posted by: Baskaborr | February 05, 2008 at 06:13 PM
Holy crap. I wish we had those here.
Offhand, I can't think of a bird that looks more painted
A macaw, maybe?
Posted by: double-plus-ungood | February 05, 2008 at 06:14 PM
Looks like the kitty assassin is taking aim at . . .
Posted by: jdog | February 05, 2008 at 06:14 PM
If you enjoy pictures of birds, I can recommend Julie's Magic Light Show
Just before Christmas she featured this pine grosbeak
Posted by: joel hanes | February 05, 2008 at 06:14 PM
"Looks like the kitty assassin is taking aim at . . ."
I think the shot goes just above the head, but it's reasonably close. A warning shot, probably.
Posted by: Gary Farber | February 05, 2008 at 06:16 PM
Birdwatching is great fun, but can't claim to be a true bird watcher until you've seen a yellow bellied sapsucker.
Naw. The North American Crested Myna.
Posted by: double-plus-ungood | February 05, 2008 at 06:17 PM
Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are common where I grew up in northern Iowa. They leave straight horizontal rows of holes in the trunks of smooth-barked trees.
In college, I frequently sighted the rosy-breasted matress thrasher. Less freqeuently since, alas.
Posted by: joel hanes | February 05, 2008 at 06:18 PM
Neat!
Posted by: Anarch | February 05, 2008 at 06:20 PM
Oh, pretty!
The photo of the actual-bird-you-saw is even prettier, being (or at least seeming to be) more brightly colored.
Posted by: CaseyL | February 05, 2008 at 06:33 PM
How beautiful! And how exciting! We have painted buntings here in the hill country in central Texas, and I'll never forget the first time I saw one. As brilliant as these little birds are, they are quite small and surprisingly easy to miss. Congratulations!
Posted by: AnnPW | February 05, 2008 at 07:12 PM
Umm, not having my birding guide at hand, can you tell us why painted buntings "aren't supposed" to be found in Maryland? What's their "normal" range/habitat?
Posted by: Jay C | February 05, 2008 at 07:41 PM
Umm, not having my birding guide at hand, can you tell us why painted buntings "aren't supposed" to be found in Maryland? What's their "normal" range/habitat?
Posted by: Jay C | February 05, 2008 at 07:42 PM
Oh ye of little faith: I give ye links, but ye click not...
"The species breeds in two different populations, one in the south-central United States, and one along the seaboard of the southeastern states."
They aren't normally found north of NC, iirc.
Posted by: hilzoy | February 05, 2008 at 08:01 PM
but ye click not...
Shouldn't that be, "but ye clicketh not"?
Posted by: Dianne | February 05, 2008 at 08:06 PM
Dianne: clicketh is third person singular; clickest would be second person singular. I think ye click is right, but suddenly I'm all uncertain, but too lazy to check. It's not clicketh, though.
Posted by: hilzoy | February 05, 2008 at 08:11 PM
Oops. You're right about "clicketh", it would be third person. But I think that ye is a form of thee, which is second person singular, informal, archaic. So I'd claim that clickest is probably right. Of course, a true purist would probably argue that "click" isn't a verb, but what do they know?
Posted by: Dianne | February 05, 2008 at 08:20 PM
Painted Buntings are not supposed to be in Maryland. It was just my good fortune that this one got lost
I seriously doubt the reason that it is in Maryland is that it is lost.
Posted by: now_what | February 05, 2008 at 08:40 PM
Painted Buntings are not supposed to be in Maryland.
They're not supposed to be in Rockbridge County, either, but every bird enthusiast I know has spotted one or two here.
And they're not a bird easily confused with another -- unlike the Baltimore oriole, about which a friend said resignedly, "Every time I see one, it turns out to be an orchard oriole."
Posted by: Nell | February 05, 2008 at 09:24 PM
It's not a real open thread until Bill posts a recipe involving Painted Buntings.
Posted by: dkilmer | February 05, 2008 at 09:51 PM
It's the weather... no, really. We were slammed with storms in the Midwest today... record heat yesterday.
Good bird movement. And great find. Perhaps my fav bird.
Posted by: Sniderman | February 05, 2008 at 09:55 PM
I don't know what kind they are except for the ducks and whatnot, but there are lots of pretty birdies to be seen along the bike/horse trails that follow the two rivers near this place where I'm living, and the lake that runs between them, and since I'm supposed to walk 10 miles a day as part of my Thoracic Outlet Syndrome therapy, I see a lot of them. Unfortunately, I'm coming to the realization that they open and close the gates to the Rio Hondo pretty randomly, so I tore my pants climbing over the fence today. Hey, it's kind of relevant.
Posted by: godoggo | February 05, 2008 at 09:58 PM
ye is a form of thee, which is second person singular, informal, archaic.
I think "thee" is both accusative (direct object: "I thee endow") and dative (indirect object: "Of thee I sing."). The nominative (subject: "Thou shalt not") is "thou."
According to my ancient and hence useful dictionary, "ye" is both nominative and accusative, but apparently not dative, hence not quite the same as "thee."
I'm just filling in until Gary gets here.
Posted by: Bernard Yomtov | February 05, 2008 at 11:09 PM
Joel Hanes,
Too bad about the endangered matress thrashers. I've discovered they are getting increasingly rare as I age.......
Posted by: Whammer | February 05, 2008 at 11:33 PM
Never seen a Painted Bunting.
I saw a Yellow Bellied Sapsucker with immature plumage the other day. We have Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, and White Breasted Nuthatches visiting us every day. There is also a flying squirrel that comes to the bird feeder at night, so we have the P.M. going for us as well.
Baltimore Orioles are very, very brightly colored. A lot of times you might hear them up in the trees, and only see the occasional flash of flourescent orange. I'd suggest this May, cut some oranges in half, and put the oranges on a picnic table under a tree. That might attract them
Posted by: DaveC | February 05, 2008 at 11:55 PM
Are we calling them Baltimore Orioles again? I have this hazy remembrance that the Baltimore and the Bullock's Orioles got lumped into the Northern Oriole about the same time that the Slate-colored and Oregon Juncos got lumped into the Dark-eyed Junco.
Whatever they're called, you can get orioles to come to a summer feeder. The oranges are a good attractant, but what they really go for is a little tub of grape jelly -- you can get it really cheaply in quart or larger jars. Stand a small plastic tub in a saucer of water (ants) and put in several large spoonfuls of jelly.
Boy are they noisy. Boy are they brilliant. Boy their nests are spectacular.
Posted by: joel hanes | February 06, 2008 at 02:26 AM
Jay C: can you tell us why painted buntings "aren't supposed" to be found in Maryland?
Criminal record.
Posted by: Jesurgislac | February 06, 2008 at 02:38 AM
I heard the charges were dropped.
Posted by: Gary Farber | February 06, 2008 at 02:54 AM
Oranges definitely work for Baltimore orioles. At my parents' house in Michigan, oranges are left in feeders designed for them every spring. Last time I was there at the right time, I counted at least 8 Baltimore Orioles feeding at the same time. That was a really good year for birds. They also had several downy woodpeckers, a pair of rose-breasted grosbeaks, at least one bluebird (I had never seen a bluebird before that year) and at least 2 pairs ruby-throated hummingbirds (my uncle, who lives two houses down, claims 3 pairs). All of that was in addition to the usual purple finches, goldfinches, sparrows, swallows (a nest in the barn every year), robins, bluejays, etc. It was a very colorful year!
Posted by: Tracy | February 06, 2008 at 08:40 AM
Pretty!
Posted by: Batocchio | February 06, 2008 at 03:54 PM
A birdwatching thread! Sweet! I'm pretty new to the whole birdwatching thing, but I'm learning. That is one spectacular bird. Birdwatching in MN in the winter is a little grim. Chickadees are cute. I still see the occasional cardinal. As long as there's open water there are geese and ducks. Always see a lot of hawks, and bald eagles in MN are practically a dime a dozen. I'm looking forward to more color, though.
Posted by: Gus | February 06, 2008 at 05:43 PM
Gus: you have much better owls than we do, up there in the frozen north.
Posted by: hilzoy | February 06, 2008 at 05:48 PM