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danishaw.me
Dani Shaw
@danishaw.me
660 followers 1.5K following 790 posts
Founder + all things web @kaleidaweb.com. Cengage tech editor. T's Dings. Anti-racist. Queer. GenX. Mama. Birds. Photos. Ball. 🏀⚽🏳️‍🌈 she/they danishaw.me
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#MusicChallenge #BirdSongs 🪶

Violet Sabrewing
Campylopterus hemileucurus

Very large, spectacular, and aggressive hummingbird of humid forests in highlands and lowlands of neotropics. Feeds at flowers and roadside trees. Song is "cheep tsew cheep tik-tik tsew cheep" w/ explosive notes.

📷wirestock
Vertical closeup shot of a Violet Sabrewing bird perched on a tree branch sticking it's tongue out. Male’s amazing purple plumage often looks blackish overall, but when it catches the light—wow! Very large, thick arched bill. Big, flashy white tail corners.
November 10, 2025 at 5:32 PM
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European Greenfinch
Chloris chloris

Feathers of yellow + green. Inhabits wooded habitats, including parks, gardens, and farmland. Forms flocks in autumn + winter. Although sociable, they may squabble at the feeder. Chattering song w/ buzzy “dzweeee” calls.

📷tomek61
Profile of a bird on a tree branch/trunk with greenery growing on it. It's greenish overall with a rather stout pale pinkish bill, yellow flashes on wing and sides of tail. Female is much drabber, but shares male pattern; especially note the big, dull pinkish bill and yellow wing flash. A Eurasian native, now introduced to southeastern South America, Australia, and New Zealand.
November 6, 2025 at 5:13 PM
danishaw.me
November 6, 2025 at 2:34 AM
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Great Curassow
Crax rubra

Large, pheasant-like bird from the Neotropical rainforests. Distinctive curly crest. Males sing from high up: a very low-pitched, subliminal, booming song. Mostly eliminated by hunting. Found in protected parks/very remote areas.

📷wirestock
Black and yellow Crax rubra bird perched on a tree branch. Not likely to be confused if seen well. The male is black with a curly crest, a white belly, and a yellow knob on its bill (as shown); females come in three color morphs, barred, rufous and black.
November 1, 2025 at 4:46 PM
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Malayan Banded-Pitta
Hydrornis irena

Broad red-orange eyestripe glows like lava on this shy, jewel-like bird. Thin tiger-like barring. Forages quietly on dense lowland forest floors. Most common calls are a quiet roar + short, descending “pr-r-r-r-r”.

📷panuruangjan
Photo of a female banded-pitta on a tree with a green background, This colorful bird has a black head with a yellow/orange streak above the eye, an orange-red nape, a lemon-yellow, white throat, a chest barred with orange and black. Males show blue on the belly. The back is brown and the tail is blue (more prominent blues in males). Found around south-eastern Asia.
October 31, 2025 at 4:16 PM
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Red-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis

Common roadside raptor across N. America. Perches atop telephone poles, light posts, + trees. Slow, graceful wing beats interspersed w/ gliding. Expert hunter, relying on keen eyesight + powerful talons.

📷 @leciamichelle.bsky.social
This Eastern adult hawk, perched on a tree in fall, has brilliant reddish-orange tail and pale underparts with dark marks across belly. Western birds are typically darker. Immatures do not have a red tail. More beautiful photography from Lecia Michelle at leciamichellephotography.com.
October 30, 2025 at 3:11 PM
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#MusicChallenge #BirdSongs 🪶

Bearded Reedling
Panurus biarmicus

Known to do the splits between reeds. Wetland experts, found flying low in marshes, swamps, lakes + rivers with whirring wingbeats. Flocks often give a quiet “tue, tue”, as well as hard “tik” and buzzy “chew” calls.

📷GreensandBlues
Bird perched between two reeds with a light background. It has bright cinnamon-brown plumage, long tail, and yellowish bill; males have blue-gray head and broad black mustaches as shown. Found across areas of the U.K., Europe and Asia and remain year-round residents in their local range.
October 29, 2025 at 5:38 PM
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Eurasian Siskin
Spinus spinus

Small yellowish finch with prominent wingbars. Inhabits mixed + coniferous woodland and forests. Visits seed feeders. It is a trusting, sociable and active bird. Song is mix of twitters + trills w/ a nasal, rising “tuohweee”.

📷wirestock
Yellow songbird sitting on a branch with a light brown background. Male is distinctive with a yellow face and breast offset by a black cap and small chin patch, as shown. Female streaky overall, often with yellowish tones; note especially the yellow wing and tail flashes of both sexes.
October 28, 2025 at 8:17 PM
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#MusicChallenge #BirdSongs 🪶

Fire-tufted Barbet
Psilopogon pyrolophus

"Jewel of the Montane Forests." Strange song is loud accelerating creaking/rusty machinery revving up. Helps forest regeneration w/ seed dispersal. Prefers cooler, higher elevations. Robust, fruit-dominated diet.

📷Chun Fai LO
Beautiful emerald-green barbet perched on a branch. It has silvery cheeks, white forehead, and black chinstrap; namesake reddish tuft above the base of the bill is small and often difficult to see from a distance. Bulbous horn-colored bill has a large dark smudge down the center.
October 27, 2025 at 6:20 PM
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Song Sparrow
Melospiza melodia

Flit through dense, low vegetation/branches for food. Short and fluttering flights. Males sing throughout the year. Song is 3-4 short notes w/ trill, sounds like "maids, maids, maids, put on your teakettle-ettle-ettle ettle."

📷gjphoto1
A cute song sparrow is perched on a twig chirping and singing with a blue sky backdrop. One of the most common and widespread sparrows in North America. Fairly large with a long, rounded tail. Overall coarsely patterned with gray and brown, usually with more reddish-brown wings and tail. Look especially for thick brown streaks on the underparts and a broad dark mustache stripe.
October 26, 2025 at 11:01 PM
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Southern Fulmar
Fulmarus glacialoides

Distinctive, medium-sized silvery-gray petrel. Breeds around Antarctica, migrates to S. Africa, AUS, + NZ in winter. Often in groups near ships; feeds w/ giant-petrels at sewage outflows. Nest in clifftop colonies.

📷Image-Source
Photo of a bird in flight over water with it's wings open. Often referred to as the Antarctic fulmar, this largely gray bird features a white underbelly and distinctive patches on its wings. Note white flash in dark wing-tip, and at close range the pink bill with black tip and bluish tubenose.
October 24, 2025 at 5:38 PM
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Great Blue Turaco
Corythaeola cristata

Wonderful, cartoonish bird. Weak flier, strong climber. Move nimbly on branches through rainforest. Rarely come down to ground, only to drink or bathe. Make loud guttural 'kok-kok-kok' + soft trills.

📷 @markscheflen.bsky.social
From photographer Mark Scheflen: "Great Blue Turaco largest species of turaco, native to the tropical forests of Africa. Has striking blue and green plumage, a tall blue-black crest, and a large yellow and red bill." More from Mark at: markscheflen.com kiboko.org
October 22, 2025 at 6:50 PM
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Moustached Woodcreeper
Xiphocolaptes falcirostris

Large, heavy-billed w/ moustachial stripe. Inhabits deciduous dry forests of Central/South America. Song is a whining series of unmelodic notes, “nk-wiirh, week! weeer, weeer, weeur, weuur.” Pest controller.

📷CaioBrito
Photo of a bird perched on the side of a tree trunk. Its plumage is predominantly a muted brown with intricate patterns that provide excellent camouflage among tree bark. The most notable feature is its striking moustache—a pair of dark streaks extending from its beak to its throat. This distinct trait gives it personality and helps in bird recognition during field studies. Body is dark brown with lighter streaks, providing camouflage. Tail is long and pointed, aiding in stability while climbing.
October 21, 2025 at 5:04 PM
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Siberian Jay
Perisoreus infaustus

Charismatic. Found in lichen-rich coniferous forests. Usually quiet. Feeds on seeds, berries, carrion, insects also takes eggs and young of small birds. Often accepts food handouts from humans and can be quite tame.

📷wirestock
Profile of a Siberian Jay perched on an old stump. Dusky-brown and gray body with cinnamon on sides of tail, rump and on patches of the upper wing.
October 21, 2025 at 1:22 AM
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Serendib Scops-Owl
Otus thilohoffmanni

Very small rufescent owl, with yellow-orange eyes, and light speckles on the underparts. Although tuftless it shows “false” ones when alert. Song is a short “woOLoo”. Found in humid rainforests of Sri Lanka lowlands.

📷nsamenvato
A pair of Serendib scops owls, an endemic and rare species, perched on a green branch. One is facing the camera and the other is looking over it's shoulder back at the camera. The head is uniformly rufous, while the indistinct facial disk is brownish-rufous. Eyes are orange-yellow and each surrounded by a black ring. Eyebrows are whitish. The cere is fleshy-pink and the relatively long bill is ivory-white. Upperparts are rufous brown, spotted blackish overall, with some paler areas around the blackish spots. Wings and tail feathers have rufous outer webs and mostly blackish inner webs. Flight and tail feathers have broad, evenly spaced rufous and blackish bars. Breast is pale rufous with uniformly distributed triangular blackish spots. The belly and undertail-coverts are paler than the breast, and are without spots. Legs are feathered pale rufous to about the middle of the tarsus, with the lower half and toes bare and pinkish white. Claws are ivory-white.
October 19, 2025 at 9:34 PM
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Dark-eyed Junco
Junco hyemalis

Abundant, neat, flashy little sparrows found on forest floors + under feeders in N. America. "Snowbirds" of the middle latitudes. Distinct crisp markings + bright white tail feathers in flight. Flock is called a "blizzard."

📷wirestock
Profile photo of a Dark-eyed Junco bird perched on a wooden log. This junco has a gray head, neck, and breast, gray back and wings, and a white belly. The white outer tail feathers flash distinctively in flight and while hopping on the ground. The bill is pale pinkish.
October 18, 2025 at 11:49 PM
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Hoatzin (reptile bird, skunk bird, stinkbird)
Opisthocomus hoazin

S.American bird with strange features. Has an unusual digestion method, unpleasant smell, clumsy movement. Untidy crest of long, spiky, orange feathers for a "punk rock” look. Noisy.

📷Charles J. Sharp
Large bird perched on a tree looking to the back. The sides of the face are pale blue to sky blue in color and have no feathers. The eyes are dark red. The undersurface of the neck and body is buff or orange. The wings are dark brown, grey, or black, except for the outer feathers, which are a lovely red to rusty-red color. The sides of the body under the wings are orange or a shade that is referred to as “rufous-chestnut.” The tips of the dark tail feathers are buff to yellow.
October 17, 2025 at 4:44 PM
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White-Throated Kingfisher
Halcyon smyrnensis

Known for conspicuous perching on wires and exposed perches. Common in South Asia. Loud calls in the mornings. Male courtship: flicking open wings to expose white wing mirrors. Female: rapid kit-kit-kit call.

📷panuruangjan
Beautiful Kingfisher bird, standing on a branch showing back profile. It's holding an insect of some sort in it's beak looking back at the camera. It boasts a striking blue back, wings, and tail, while its head, shoulders, flanks, and lower belly are a rich chestnut. The throat and breast are a contrasting white, and the large bill and legs are a vivid red.
October 16, 2025 at 9:17 PM
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Hooded Crow
Corvus cornix

Crafty and adaptable corvid, who thrives in diverse habitats across Europe/Asia. Famous for distinctive two-toned plumage. To eat, they drop mollusks/crabs to break them. Scottish called empty sea urchin shells "crow's cups".

📷GreensandBlues
Crow in a green field perched on a rock looking to the side at the camera. The Hooded Crow is a distinctive bird with a grey body, black head, wings, and tail. It has a sturdy build and a thick, slightly curved black bill.
October 15, 2025 at 4:30 PM
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In honor of Indigenous Peoples' Day, I'm sharing the Wild Turkey. Their feathers were used by the Wampanoag Tribe in traditional headdresses. Wary & magnificent they walk/run + can fly strongly. Roost overnight in tall trees. Gobble can be heard a mile away.

📷wirestock
Beautiful side shot of a wild turkey in a green field during the day. Huge, with naked head and long wide tail. A Wild Turkey can stand four feet tall, with a large, bulky body covered with bronzy, iridescent feathers. This tom (male) has a reddish blue head and a hair-like “beard” protruding from the breast. The smaller female is duller in coloration than the male. Upland game bird native to North America. More info on the Wampanoag Tribe: https://mashpeewampanoagtribe-nsn.gov/
October 13, 2025 at 4:08 PM
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Eurasian Penduline Tit
Remiz pendulinus

A very small, masked inhabitant of the wooded borders of marshes where it builds distinctive pouch-shaped nests, often over water. Easily found by its high-pitched whistled call. Widespread through western Palearctic.

📷tan4ikk
Bird facing the camera on a branch with it's wings open. It has a sharp and finely pointed bill and a relatively long tail. The head is light grey with a black "mask" through the eye. The back is chestnut brown. The sexes are very similar in appearance, but the male has a broader mask and a more rufous back.
October 12, 2025 at 7:58 PM
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Schlegel's Asity
Philepitta schlegeli

Chunky, olive-backed bird from Madagascar. Visits flowering & fruiting trees. Sits motionless for long periods, flies weakly. Call is quick, rising very high-pitched notes.

Thx to @ursulaantiglobal.bsky.social!

📷Frédéric Pelsy
Bird hanging from a bulbous nest. Males have a black head, multi-colored bare facial skin, and yellow underparts. Females have pale underparts with scaly markings. More info: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/10/biodiversity-conservation-world-bird-species-declining-arctic-seals-green-turtles-iucn-uae-aoe
October 10, 2025 at 6:21 PM
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Slaty-breasted Wood Rail
Aramides saracura

Distinct slate-gray breast with a rich chestnut body. Long, slightly curved beak for probing. Slender body. Call is a quick tempo "kip-kip-kip-kow-kow". Found in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, & Argentina.

📷diegograndi
Bird standing on one leg on the dirt ground with it's beak open. It has grey on the head and neck that extends to the bird's belly and chestnut underwing coverts, with a greenish blue bill and yellow-brown legs.
October 8, 2025 at 4:17 PM
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Purple Honeycreeper
Cyanerpes caeruleus

Very small tanager, common in forests, edges, and gardens of northern S. America. Have a long decurved bill and bright yellow legs. Males have a black mask and females a blue mustache. Enjoy a nectivorous diet.

📷Gustavo Dallaqua
Profile of a blue bird perched on a branch. This male is stunningly gorgeous, mainly deep violet-blue with a black throat patch and wings, and bright yellow legs. Females are principally green, becoming streaked below with a buffy throat and cheeks.
October 7, 2025 at 5:24 PM
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Bronze Mannakin
Lonchura cucullata

Very social, small, passerine/perching bird of the Afrotropics. Considered a pest in grain & rice fields. Generally gregarious, but can be dominating while breeding. Song is a series of contact calls or quiet "purring."

📷Mint_Images
Three birds perched together on a thin branch, direct gaze facing the camera. A compact bird with a short black tail, and stubby black and pale grey (not distinctly bluish) mandibles. It is black to brownish black on the head, chin, throat and center of the chest, with some purple-green iridescence on the face and sides of the breast. It has greyish brown upper parts and white underparts with irregular barring on the flanks and rump. A small green iridescent patch is present on the outer scapular feathers, besides, especially in the western race, the sides of the lower breast. Wing coverts and remiges are bordered in a paler or warmer tone. The sexes are similar. Immature birds are dun brown above with buff head and underpart plumage. They moult into full adult plumage by age six months, when the males also begin to sing and exhibit breeding behaviour.
October 6, 2025 at 2:53 PM