More birds.  Who knew birds could exhibit endless colors, shapes, attitudes, situations or perfect, precise moments caught by gifted and patient photographers.  Don’t miss the video at the end.  It’s worth the time, I promise.  And please don’t forget to share your favorites.

Blond-crested Woodpecker

Wine-Throated Hummingbird

Bird of Paradise

Golden Pheasant

Sarawak Malasia by Bjorn Olesen via National Geographic

Anhinga, photo by Justin Reznick

Albino hawk by Joyce Moody

Blackthroated bushtit by John Soong

Blue crowned Pigeon

Amethyst Starling

Blue-faced Honeyeater.

Blyth’s Tragopan. Don’t miss the amazing pattern on the feathers.

Crested Grebe

Purple-throated Sunbird by Lawrence Neo

Ooops

By Andreas612

Capuchinbird

English Fantail Pigeon

Frigatebird, Galapagos Islands

Oriental turtledove

Orange Bishop

Jalak Bali (Balinese Starling)

Albino owl

Purple-crowned Fairywren

From Joyce Regan Moody on pinterest

Love the name: Polish Frizzle Bantam

Saddle-billed Stork with crab lunch

Burrowing owls by Ary Bassous via National Geographic

From Our Beautiful World on Facebook

Mute Swan and American Coot

Vulturine Guineafowl, Kenya

Reddish egret by Pini Bini

Pink-headed Fruit Dove….I’ll say

Great Blue-Heron–Don’t miss the male Red-Winged Blackbird on his wing.

Crow By Konstantin Smirnov

If you want to browse other bird posts, go to:  Birds 3, or Birds 2, or Birds 1

You can also check out posts on specific birds:    Cuckoos and honey guides,   or Social Weavers, Hippie Birds, or Blue-Footed Booby or Bower Birds or finally Peculiar bird mating rituals.

Thanks to Mary I, Patricia S, Claire E., Kathleen, Micky,

To: Joyce Regan Moody at pinterest  and Candace Bingham at pinterest

To: Amazing things in the world on facebook

A video full of it.  Titled, “I don’t have any idea for a title.”  Thanks to Jen H.

Even if you’re not a particular animal lover, please be sure to check out the first video about sloths for the narrator’s dry wit. I”m sure you won’t regret it.  The other videos also made me laugh: the bear, the kitten and the hiccupping baby bat.  Favorite image or video?

By Stephen Oachs vis National Geographic

Fox by Roeselien Raimond via National Geographic

By manzaralar

Platypus

By manzaralar

From National Geographic

Via National Geographic

National Geographic

The balance between predators and prey

Via National Geographic

By Adrián González Guillén

Via National Geographic

Via National Geographic

South Georgia penquins by Ondrej Zaruba via National Geographic

By Mehmet Karaca via National Geographic

If you want to browse through other animal posts go here.

Thanks to Louise, Susan B, Kathleen, Karen

Amazing Things in the World on Facebook

Our  Beautiful World and Universe on Facebook

Fortunately, the unusual pairing of species seems endless.  This group has quite a few animal-human connections. Don’t miss the videos at the end, especially the last one, if you haven’t already seen it.  Enjoy.

What are each of them thinking?

Camel pulling boat by Merry Selk

Thanks to Neil via Dean via Lucas, Merry, Tim, Louise

Good News Network,   Manzaralar Foto on facebook,   Our World Views on facebook,

Dayfunny

Every year during autumn in northern Europe, Asia and N. America, thousands of starlings put on a spectacular show just before dusk in a phenomenon called murmurations.

A huge flock of migratory birds form a magical shape-shifting flight pattern.

Scientists aren’t sure how they do it. Even complex algorithmic models haven’t been able to explain the starlings’ acrobatics, which rely on the tiny bird’s reaction time of under 100 milliseconds to avoid aerial collisions—and predators—in the giant flock. The birds tend to flock together for protection and can reach speeds of up to 20 mph.

One starling. Image by Terry Sohl.

Be sure to watch at least one of the following videos.  I recommend all three.  They may well leave you in a peaceful state of awe.

This video is narrated if you want to both learn more and to have a musical accompaniment.

I’d say this is my favorite, set to Pachelbel’s Canon.  The swaying dance of the birds seems to magically keep time with the music.  Amazing.

Special thanks to amusing planet for many of the images and the first video.

The narrated and pachelbel videos are both by Dylan Winter.

What’s your favorite?

Sharing

This seal was rejected by it’s Mom because it was red-headed and had purple feet and nose. Can’t that Mom see how cute she is?

Check out the mixed species in this image!

Who knew a bug could be cute?

Swimming with manatees

Their colors clash.

Flapjack Octopus

Kahansi Spray Toad and friend? By 1999 MBARI

Hedgehogs

How do these fish make such a perfect ball?

Mandarin Fish

Couldn’t edit out the words, but the pic speaks for itself.

Lady bug in dew.

Golden lion tamarins

Sea Slug

Sea otters hold hands while sleeping.

If you’re still wanting more animals images go here.

If you want to see all the animal posts on this wondersite, go here.

Special thanks to Tim for forwarding many of these, and to Jen H, Louise, and Merry

Thanks to the internet, researching posts for this website and the patience and skill of some incredible photographers, I have become enamored of birds–or at least images of them.  I’ve gone from being someone interested in only a few striking breeds that live near me, like the blue herons and egrets, to someone totally charmed by the incredibIe diversity, the colors, the beauty and the sometimes awesome or funny  behavior of our flying friends.  I hope this leaves you feeling the same .  Don’t miss the videos at the end.

If I know what kind of bird it is, I label it.  Same with the photographer.  I welcome added info as well as comments, as always.

Coloruja

Please see comments below by Eduardo Bernardi to explain this next image.  The “Coloruja” does look like a photoshopped version of the Red-breasted toucan.  Sorry, but I think he looks better without the huge beak–at least more amusing.

Red-breasted Toucan (Ramphastos dicolorus)

Turaco

Green-backed twin spot

Hoopoe

Meadowlark

Fairy wrens

By Katya Horner

American Kestrel

European kingfisher

Bee-eaters

Saffron Toucanet

By Katya Horner

Egret by Greg Magee

Cockatoo baby

Flameback by Ric Seet

Spider bird, or Piping Plover with babes

Mandarin ducks

Crested Satinbird

Kentish Plover, by Armando Caldas

Baby flamingo

Lilac-breasted Roller

Kori Bustard by Paolo Maffioletti

Southern Red Bishop

Swan with babes

Great Indian Hornbill

Baby egrets

Crested owl

Painted bunting

Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise

Pileated Woodpecker and her babes

Doves, maybe inca doves

Rainbow lorikeets

Snowy owl

Female Saddled Bill Stork

Vulturine Guinea Fowl, aka the model for Dracula

Here’s what some photographers go through to bring us these pictures.

This Tragopan Satyra really knows how to strut his stuff to entice a mate.  Stay past the first few seconds and you’ll be rewarded.

Transformer owl, what a hoot.  If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth dealing with the music and other distractions.

This extraordinary video capturing the mating ritual of the Japanese Red Crowned Dancing Cranes is thanks to Anna Osetroff Productions.  The full video is available here.

powered by Splicd.com 

Also many thanks once again to Sam Pryor  and Maryann Rizzo  both at Pinterest

and to Amazing things in the World, on facebook.  Also thanks to Iva for helping identify several of the birds.

If you are interested in more birds on this site, click  Birds 1  or  Birds 2.  You can also check out posts on specific birds:    Cuckoos and honey guides,   or Social Weavers, Hippie Birds, or Blue-Footed Booby or Bower Birds or finally Peculiar bird mating rituals.

See?  You can spend a whole day absorbed in the wonder of bird variety.

First I share one breath-taking image.  Then some exquisite photography of animals.  Then a slew of cuteness, ending with a series of animals hanging out in a place that’s hard to believe.  As always, I’m happy to have you vote for favorites in the comments section.  Enjoy.

You knew whales were huge, but this image still astonishing.

Albino dolphin

If you like this pygmy marmoset and want to see whole post about them, here it is

What was this moose thinking?

A giant grape?

Is this guy too cute to be real?

Photo by Curt Fonger

What was this bobcat thinking?

Curt Fonger

A champion pigeon

Another champ.

Family Hug

What's that on the dam wall? Look closely!

This is the Diga del Cingino dam in Italy  and the animals are European Ibex.  They like to eat the moss and lichen growing on the wall. They also are licking the salt off the stone. 

This post was a group affair.  Many thanks to people who forwarded me images:  Claire Elizabeth, Louise, ABC news via Patty/Patricia, Neil.  Thanks also to:  Joan Stricker on Pinterest,, Sam Pryor on Pinterest, Roz Grage on Pinterest, and Orange Donkey.

“The best dog show ever”.  It’s long but keeps coming up with different tricks.

Best of all is these dogs are all rescues.

Thanks to Louise, Jeremy and Gary

Japanese photographer Tsuneaki Hiramatsu uses time-lapse photography to capture these stunning images showing the patterns of light made by fireflies.  None of the artist’s photographs were captured with camera flashes or artificial light.

Lightning bugs are able to light up come using bioluminescence, which is created when a pigment and chemical react and is most often seen in sea creatures.

Hiramatsu spent nearly four years between 2008 and 2011 photographing these tiny creatures in Okayama Prefecture, Japan.

Fireflies over a meandering stream as dusk falls

Fireflies can be found on every continent except Antarctica.

According to firefly.org, fireflies emit light mostly to attract mates, although they also communicate for other reasons as well, such as to defend territory and warn predators away. In some firefly species, only one sex lights up. In most, however, both sexes glow; often the male will fly, while females will wait in trees, shrubs and grasses to spot an attractive male. If she finds one, she’ll signal it with a flash of her own.

They can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
From: Daily Mail online    via Gary Whitney.  Thanks.