Non-birders, s.k.i.p!

The birds do include some birds in captivity on the Zoo lake (apparently, they CAN fly away if they want to…but they don’t, as they get regular food here! Does that remind you of grown children who live with their parents? Well, that’s the culture in India…)

But first, let me list the local birds…

Here are two views of the SONG SPARROW:

and its front view:

This is the Northern Mockingbird, that I have posted about earlier, too. It's a frequently seen bird: And here's a RED-TAILED HAWK, sitting high up and saying, quite clearly and loudly, "Ha, ha, you don't have the Canon 20D or the 300mm lens, ha, ha..." And when a shot like this on the S3 is zoomed, this is the kind of grainy result I get. Just look at the eyes of the bird looking directly at me.... if ONLY I had the 300mm lens!! Here's the RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD: This one seems to be the female, though I am not sure: I had to be swift to get this shot of this possible juvenile Red-Tail, as it winged past into some trees, but didn't get a good image: I went to where I thought I could see some DOWNY-HEADED WOODPECKERS, but all I got to see were what I *think* are woodpecker-made holes... Then there are the birds on the various water bodies in Forest Park...I spent most of my time at Jefferson Lake: The most common (and yet beautiful) one, the MALLARD...those curly tail-feathers are typical: Here's the ROSY-BILLED POCHARD: A couple of RED-CRESTED POCHARDS: This one is the CHILOE WIGEON: I don't know if this is a variety of MALLARD, or one of the CHILOE WIGEON: This, I think, is a GADWALL, a very common duck: Here's a CANADA GOOSE doing a...what else?...goose-step: Though the birds are indeed wild, they are very used to human beings...here's one giving me a look as if to say, "Are you going to feed me, or just keep on clicking pictures?" I think this one is an AUSTRALIAN SHELDUCK, though I am not completely sure...if anyone knows, do id it properly! If that one's an Australian Shelduck, what's this one? If this is it, what's the one above? Dunno... This one's a HOODED MERGANSER: This BAR-HEADED GOOSE was one of a few on the lake; one seemed to have a ring but was too far for me to look properly: These AMERICAN WOOD DUCKS really look like brightly-painted toys; I spotted them in the far distance one day, which explains this grainy shot. I never found them at that place on my subsequent visits, alas: id'd this one for me as the female COMMON MERGANSER: And here's another one, indulging in a most self-absorbed scratch in mid-water! These BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS are very similar to the herons we have in India: Just when I thought I was getting my geese, swans, and ducks in order, along came this SWAN GOOSE to confuse me again! A few of the birds have been brought in by the Zoo, and are neither captive nor wild, such as this BLACK SWAN: And this BLACK-NECKED SWAN: The term "Feeding Time at the Zoo" has become a very metaphorical phrase, so here, for a change, it is, with quite the literal meaning! These American Pelicans can, apparently, fly away if they want to, but they stay put at the Zoo Lake: Here they are, having a good old gossip as they wait for food (they congregate at one part of the lake shore by about 4pm, I think they know that food comes regularly at that time!) The pelicans look like venerable old men with their snowy crests and the wrinkles around their eyes: </lj-cut> I close with this shot that I call "Black and White":