Tuesday, March 10, 2009

White-eyed assassin

Hmm - bit of a bird posting spree all of a sudden. Partially this is due to being able to get some cool shots on Guana, partially it is due to a lack of diving (or at least of good diving photos) which I hope will be rectified by the time you are reading this. Anyway the image below is one I really really like. Not because it is a particularly good photo - its a bit soft and a bit dark - but because it really captures the jizz and personality of the species in question., that little gleam in their eye. This is probably our most common native bird, the Pearly-Eyed Thrasher. It is a rather clever little inquisitive generalist which makes good use of those sharp eyes and that sharp beak to do very well around humans.

pearly2

As you can see from the feet in top of shot below I blew a chance here to get the audubon-style family composition - ah well. I suspect they naturally are quite capable micropredators of things like small frogs and reptiles, big insects and so forth as well as foraging in bins so cleverly

.pearly1

I'm actually not particularly fond of it as a species. Like a lot of people I love birds but find them rather uncomfortable to be around when inside a building and these guys love robbing open-air bars, kitchens and restaraunts which gives me the creeps. Plus they look kind of creepy, Hitchcockian birds if you will. But you do have to admire their success - they are everywhere.

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