Strange Birds
Could be the strange, mild weather here in Toronto that accounts for a strange, as yet unidentified bird in my front yard this morning. Could also be that I don’t know enough about birds. This one was brown, utterly fearless, something like a pigeon or dove in colour but closer to a mockingbird in shape – just fatter. It had yellowish eyes, with a slight streaking of black and white when it fluttered its wings.
While looking around for identification help, it became clear what a great place Toronto is to both look at birds and find sources about them.
There are message boards . . . http://outdoorontario.net/birds/phpBB/
And ornithological clubs . . . http://www.torontobirding.ca/.
Sites that protect birds . . . http://www.toronto.ca/lightsout/pdf/development_guidelines.pdf
Sites that document them . . . http://www.birdsontario.org/atlas/index.jsp
Great places to take a pair of binoculars . . . (for more, click the image above).
And of course, library resources:
(And any leads on my front yard bird are most welcome . . .!)
3 thoughts on “Strange Birds”
Are you sure that what was on your front lawn wasn’t a squirrel? Could it be that you didn’t have your glasses on?
I remember the first time I spotted a blue jay in my backyard trees. They’re always so impressive to see.
Thanks for the blog!
Thanks for your post, Emma. But no! Really! It was about four feet away and definitely avian. It looked like either a thrush or a pipit, but neither of those birds are local – at least not usually.
or, who’s that squirrel?
Did you check the collection for hidden notes from the bird? Call the local avian and outdoor rodent university professors? Have we gotten to the bottom of this blog prank yet? Or is the author conveniently ‘out of the country’?