Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Alphadello: J is for Jay


While a friend and I were seated near a window, dining, we heard a song unlike that of any of the common birds with which we were familiar; it was not loud nor ringing, nor at all like whistling, but the notes were formed into a sweet and somewhat complex bird melody...it required from us only a lifting of the eyes to discover the singer, a Blue Jay, perching outside of the window on the lowest branch of a pine tree.

"The Song of the Blue Jay," by Isabel Goodhue (1919). Click here to read the book online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

Posted yesterday on Alphadello.

Monday, June 6, 2016

Alphadello: I is for Ibis

Fiddler crabs...abound on the island and are a popular food source.... Large male fiddler crabs may grab the ibises' bill. When this occurs the bird gives several billshakes until the crab relinquishes his hold.

Reproductive Behavior and Ecology of the White Ibis, [dissertation] by Thomas James Rudegeair (1975). Click here to read the book online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

Posted today on Alphadello.