Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Alphadello: Z is for Zone-Tailed Hawk


While we were walking down the bed of the stream we were delighted to see a zone-tailed hawk fly from the leafy top of a tall cottonwood...The hawk began screaming and was soon joined by its mate; both birds circled about in the vicinity as long as we were there.

The text is from "Zone-Tailed Hawk," Life Histories of North American Birds of Prey, by Arthur Cleveland Bent (1887). Click here to read the book online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

Bonus:  check out this beautiful Picture Alphabet of Birds published by Thomas Nelson Company in 1874. Some of their choices were similar to mine, and some different!

Posted yesterday in "ABC of Birds" on Alphadello.

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Please stay tuned for a NEW Alphadello alphabet--coming soon!
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Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Alphadello: Y is for Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

...a rapid drumming on a tree behind me made me turn in that direction to discover a big, red-headed woodpecker. On going nearer it proved to be a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker busy on a thrifty tree extracting sap.

The text is from an untitled article by Nellie H. Hunt, The Wilson Bulletin (1902). Click here to read the article online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

Posted yesterday in the ABC of Birds on Alphadello.

Monday, January 2, 2017

Alphadello: X is for Xenops


A very extraordinary and not inelegant little creature, having a bill totally different from any other bird...Inhabits Brazil, but is rare.

The text is from the book Zoological Illustrations : Or Original Figures and Descriptions of New, Rare, or Interesting Animals, by William Swainson (1821). Click here to read the book online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

Posted yesterday in the ABC of Birds on Alphadello.