Bird Breakdown

Birds. Birds. Birds. Who doesn’t love a nice tweety bird. Song birds to birds of prey, a good bird can change the way that you look at nature and life in general. They come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors, so there is bound to be one that sticks out to everybody. 

“I’m a big fan of the Pileated Woodpecker!” science teacher Mrs.Venesky said. “They are large while also being graceful. There are many of them around my house, and the holes that they make fascinate me.”

Birds are one of the many things on this planet where it doesn’t take much to get you hooked. You often just need some eyes, ears, and maybe even a camera. But, even then, you still can get away with just your eyes and ears.

The way that birds please multiple senses in your body is downright incredible. You have the ability to both admire their beauty, while also listening to their beautiful calls, chirps, and gobbles. This also gives the ability to have multiple favorites in different categories, from favorite bird all around, to favorite call, and even favorite plumage. 

When it comes to Mrs. Venesky, she has a different favorite for a call. 

“I absolutely love the sound of the Eastern Phoebe in early spring. With calls like ‘Phē-bē’ from the Western Pennsylvania woodlands during their migration,” Venesky said.

Another thing about birds is that they can often easily be confused, from species to species. For example, in early spring I can often get the Red-Winged Blackbird confused with the less common Baltimore Oriole. They both have very similar color plumage. However, their calls are very easy to tell apart, with the blackbird being the more vocal, loud bird of the two species. But, that brings us back to the idea that birds are incredible, mainly because of the fact that they appeal to multiple senses.

But if you really want to know my favorite birds, you’ve read the right article. Here are the top birds from a bird nerd.

When it comes to best vocalization, I personally have a toss up between three birds: the Red-Tailed Hawk, the Bobwhite Quail (more specifically the males), and the Mourning Dove. 

When we really take a dive into these birds, there isn’t one that doesn’t blow you away. With the Red-Tail never ceasing to amaze you with their scream that truly makes you wonder, “What is a kilometer?”, as the call makes you think of one thing. America. Then you got the male Bobwhite, with the ‘bob, bob-hwhite’ call. That call is like the roosters crow in the morning. Easily one of the best migratory bird calls. Then, last but certainly not least, you have the Mourning Dove. One word describes this call: nostalgic. Waking up on a summer morning, dew on the grass, sun still rising, hearing that ‘whoo, hoo, hooooo’. Oh, how the memories flood in. 

Now, there are plenty of birds that could fit into this next category, with the best pelt or plumage category. But, I have cut this one down to another 3 birds, all in western Pennsylvania. It come down to the Barn Swallow, the Wood Duck, and the Belted Kingfisher. 

Let’s start with the Barn Swallow. These guys are one of my favorite birds. They are fast, great bug and tick eaters, and they are absolutely beautiful. They have a dark blue and copper orange coat with a split tail, one of my favorite parts of these little guys. There is nothing like watching a barn swallow swoop down into a pond to get a quick sip of water, truly incredible.

Next, let’s go with the Wood Duck. These are easily my favorite species of duck. The males are one of the best looking birds in western Pennsylvania. Imagine, if you will, a mallard with an iridescent crest on the back of its head. They also have white stripes on their face, almost like eyeblack on a duck. These truly are beautiful creatures.

Finally, you got the Belted Kingfisher. What a glorious bird. A bird of prey that has the size of a small crow, truly a one of a kind bird. Their pelt colors are very similar to the barn swallow, with dark blues and the occasional copper breast on the Kingfisher. However, the Kingfisher also has significantly more white on the body. For those of you who are familiar with the Laughing Kookaburra out of Australia and New Guinea, these two belong in the same family of birds. Both the Belted Kingfisher and the Laughing Kookaburra are in the kingfisher family.

Like many others here at Knoch, I have dreams. And one of those dreams is to see one specific bird in the wild. That being a male Sage Grouse during early March to mid May. A true spectacle of a mating call these birds have. The males have two large sacs on their breast, which they fill up with air. They then take the filled sacs and beat them together, creating a very strange sound that I can’t even explain using words. If you want to see (or hear) what I’m talking about, head over to this video, The Dance Of The Sage Grouse, courtesy of Getty Images, for some more information. So, in simpler words, my dream bird is the Sage Grouse.

Now, it is time for what you’ve all been waiting for. The G-BOAT, or the Greatest Bird of All Time, in my opinion. 

This is possibly the toughest question you might ever get asked in your lifetime. There’s so many options, so many possibilities. According to the best source ever made, allaboutbirds.org , there is no conclusive number to how many birds this planet has to offer. However, most estimate that there are around 11,000 different species of birds on this planet. 

However, in my very biased opinion, I believe that the greatest bird of all time is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. 

Nothing puts a smile on your face like opening the door on a nice summer morning, and seeing that little guy buzzing around. They mainly feast on nectar from flowers. Which, on top of being the best bird of all time, makes them one of the best pollinators in the continental United States and entire world. They are quick, with some of the fastest wings in the animal kingdom, beating their wings upwards of 200 times a second. They are also the only birds that can fly backward, and even fly when facing upside down. A truly fascinating creature that will never cease to amaze.