Earlier this month, I happened to encounter a small flock of Golden-crowned Kinglets.
The yellow stripe on the top of the head makes the name easy to remember. My friend, Elaine, likes to point out that they also wear golden slippers i.e. in good light their yellow feet are very noticeable.
The Kinglets I saw were flitting about in a thicket of salmonberry beneath the long bouncing branches of a Douglas Fir. They moved quickly from one spot to the next. Sometimes, flying straight up to inspect the underside of the branches. The tiny creatures, that powered their flight, were so small I could not see them, even though the Kinglets were obviously eating them.
With Kinglets, it is a now-you-see-them, now-you-don't type of experience. Many of my photos ended up showing a bare branch, i.e. taken just after the Kinglet departed.
I always feel lucky to catch a photo of a male showing off his crown.
Only the males have the striking orange highlight.
In this post, I am trying to find the bird species that best fits with a Halloween, trick-or-treat, theme. The Golden-crowned Kinglets are definitely a treat, and they are tricky quick, plus the males even have Halloween colors, i.e. orange and black, on the top of their heads.
However, Kinglets are not the least bit scary and they are just too tremendously cute to be considered a Halloween creature.
When both genders of a species look consistently different to us, we call them sexually dimorphic. When we cannot see any difference, between the males and females, we call them monomorphic species.
Curiously, the way we see birds is not how they see themselves. How is it that the birds themselves seldom seem to be confused about gender? Typically, humans cannot see ultraviolet (UV) light, specifically, in the 300 to 380 nanometer range. Ed Yong in his book "An Immense World" explains that many bird species not only see UV light, but they often have gender-specific, UV-reflecting feathers. Calling birds monomorphic may have more to do with our limitations than it does with the way the birds actually look.
A Red-breasted Sapsucker has more black on its body than a Golden-crowned Kinglet, and all the red on its head and breast could be said to look a bit like blood. (Actually, to me, they look like somebody poured red paint on them.) However, for me, the Sapsucker is a beautiful little woodpecker who simply doesn't inspire any Halloween feelings.
Barred Owls, on the other hand, operate in the dark of night. They have eyes and ears that allow them to function fine, even when we would be virtually helpless. If you happen to be walking through a dark forest in the middle of the night (I would not suggest it) an owl could easily swoop over your head without you seeing or hearing it. I have been equally surprised when this exact experience happened in broad daylight.
But, regardless of their scary skills, they are simply brown and tan. They lack the Halloween coloring.
A few years back, my friend Kelly Brenner, spotted this Long-eared Owl in the Arboretum. It does have some orange coloring on its face, which is a bit more Halloween-like. However, these owls are generally much smaller than Barred Owls. Plus, those shockingly long ears, curving up like a smile on top of the head, definitely counteracts any scary Halloween feeling.
This Great Horned Owl (Amazingly, it was also first located by Kelly Brenner in the Arboretum) is bigger than a Barred Owl and also operates perfectly well in darkness. They are even big enough that they will eat Barred Owls. Plus, owls have tricky feathers on the leading edge of their wings that break up the air currents and enable their virtually silent gliding. If the Great Horned Owl was a black bird with orange eyes, I think it would be the perfect Halloween symbol.
Speaking of black birds, here is a murder of crows, gathering in the tops of nearly leafless trees as darkness begins to fall. I admit these birds should be considered as finalists for my Halloween species.
However, when I looked through my files for the scariest American Crow photo I could find I found this grimacing creature.
It turns out, that the grimace is enhanced by its pink gape, i.e. the pink corners of the mouth, and that this is an indicator of a young bird. Also, it is still sitting down on its tummy, like it might do in the nest, plus its feathers still look a bit fuzzy and its eyes have not yet turned black. In spite of its grimace, this bird's youth makes it decidedly un-scary.
Next, I considered the Common Raven. It is just as black as an American Crow but can be three or sometimes even four times heavier. It has a deeper voice, longer wings, and from my experience is considerably smarter than a crow. However, technically, it is the world's largest songbird. At best, it could be considered an honorary raptor.
If it operated at night, like an owl, I think I would chose a Common Raven to be my number one selection as the best Halloween bird species.
I do wonder, Why are there no pure black owls? Doesn't it seem like that would be an appropriate color for a bird that specializes in hunting in the dark?
This black and yellow mellipede, harpaphe haydeniana, which exudes cyanide when threatened, certainly deserves honorable mention as a potential Halloween creature.
From an artistic perspective, the black and orange of a Varied Thrush also deserves to be mentioned as my winner for a Halloween-Color-Coordination-Award. I will admit that is no more scary than an American Robin, but its colors are appropriate.
By the way, Varied Thrush are sexually dimorphic, i.e. the females and the young are not as strikingly colored as the mature males.
Sadly, I have not found the perfect Halloween bird. However, my file of photos is primarily limited to the local area. I do wonder if somewhere among the approximately ten thousand bird species on this planet there might be one species that would be a perfect fit for Halloween.
Forgetting about birds for the moment, the conventional airborne creature that we all associate with Halloween is a bat. Returning to the book "An Immense World" by Ed Yong, in Chapter 9 he mentions bats. He describes at least ten different challenges and amazing adaptations related to their echolocating ability.
One example, is the very loud sounds bats must make. At 138 decibels, many bat calls are louder than rock concerts. Bats would go deaf if they constantly heard their own calls while searching for food. (Lucky for us their calls are higher pitched than we can hear.)
To make their volume challenge even harder, bats need to hear the bounce-back from their calls for echolocation to function. One amazing adaptation are muscles inside their ears that close each time they call. Then milliseconds later the muscles relax so the bats can hear and utilize the echo. Ed goes on to describe many other impressive "bat tricks" and numerous other sensory specialists whose skills and world views were new to me.
I hope you found this post to be a bit of a Halloween treat!
Update:
Dennis Paulson just sent in these five wonderful candidate Halloween birds. Thank You! Dennis. These are stunning photos of Male Orioles that are sexually dimorphic and not normally seen around Union Bay. (Where possible their names are linked to appropriate range maps.)
Have a great day on Union Bay...where nature lives in the city and Black Birders are welcome!
Larry
Going Native:
Each of us, who breathes the air, drinks water, and eats food should be helping to protect our environment. Local efforts are most effective and sustainable. Native plants and trees encourage the largest diversity of lifeforms because of their long intertwined history with our local environment and the local native creatures. Even the microbes in the soil are native to each local landscape.
I hope we can inspire ourselves, our neighbors, and local businesses to respect native flora and support native wildlife at every opportunity. I have learned that our most logical approach to native trees and plants (in order of priority) should be to:
1) Learn and leave established native flora undisturbed.2) Remove invasive species and then wait to see if native plants begin to grow without assistance. (When native plants start on their own, then these plants or trees are likely the most appropriate flora for the habitat.)3) Scatter seeds from nearby native plants in a similar habitat.4) If you feel you must add a new plant then select a native plant while considering how the plant fits with the specific habitat and understanding the plant's logical place in the normal succession of native plants.
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Keystone native plants are an important new idea. Douglas Tallamy, in the book "Nature's Best Hope ", explains that caterpillars supply more energy to birds, particularly young birds in their nests, than any other plant eater. He also mentions that 14% of our native plants, i.e. Keystone Plants, provide food for 90% of our caterpillars. This unique subset of native plants and trees enables critical moths, butterflies, and caterpillars that in turn provide food for the great majority of birds, especially during the breeding season.
Note: Flowering plants and trees, i.e. those pollinated by bees, are also included as Keystone Plants.
This video explains the native keystone plants very nicely:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5cXccWx030
The Top Keystone Genera in our ecoregion i.e. Plants and trees you might want in your yard:
Additional content available here:
https://wos.org/wos-wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Native-Plant-Resources-10-7-22.pdf
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In the area below, I am displaying at least one photo with each post to help challenge us to know the difference between native and non-native lifeforms.
Fall is a great time to plant trees because they need less care over the winter and are more likely to survive and thrive come spring. The most beneficial trees (for bird, insects and the ecosystem) are native trees.
Which of the following photos of leaves are from native trees or shrubs?
A)
D)
Scroll down for the answer.
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A) Japanese Maple - Non-native. (A Vine Maple would be a good native alternative.)
B) Vine Maple - Native and a Top Ten Keystone species.
C) Thimbleberry - Native
D) Horse Chestnut - Non-native. (A Bigleaf Maple would be a good native alternative.)
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The Email Challenge:
In response, I have set up my own email list. With each post, I will manually send out an announcement. If you would like to be added to my personal email list please send me an email requesting to be added. Something like:
Larry, Please add me to your personal email list.
My email address is:
LDHubbell@comcast.net
Thank you!
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The Comment Challenge:
Bottom Line:
If you write a long comment, please, copy it before hitting enter. Then, if the comment function fails to record your information, you can send the comment directly to me using email.
My email address is:
LDHubbell@comcast.net
Larry
Final Photo:
Wonderful commentary and photos - thank you Larry!
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