Jenna Curtis

PhD student @oregonstateuniv, Bird communities | Ornithology | Ecology | Wildlife Science

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

@jbrunstrum @Mammals_Suck Also "Acrtic Tern" should be Arctic.

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

@jbrunstrum @Mammals_Suck Hey @jbrunstrum @Mammals_Suck, many thanks for the 2022 self-scoring bracket! FYI there's a typo in the Queens of Sea and Sky Division. #12 should be Northern Jacana. It currently says "Jacena".
(Is there a better place to communicate this?)

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

@DrBirdLady @allysonkjackson @JoeyKHubbard #realloud #realwrong

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

Our first 2019 #BirdoftheDay are the South American Comb Duck (Sarkidiornis sylvicola) and African Knob-billed Duck (S. melanotos). Two of the largest ducks in the world! Males of both speckled species grow ornate bill knobs to attract mates.

[Photos (c) Alexandria Zoo & Di G.]

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

Is today's #BirdoftheDay a crow? No, it's a Black Currawong! (Strepera fuliginosa) This Australian bird is more closely related to our last BoTD the Bristlehead than true ravens/crows or blackbirds. Another excellent example of convergent evolution!

[Photo (c) JJ Harrison]

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

Another fascinating October #BirdoftheDay. The Bornean Bristlehead (Pityriasis gymnocephala) is named for its bald, featherless crown with long yellow skin projections - like developing feathers, or some seriously tall goosebumps!

[Photos (c) Birdtour Asia and Robert Chong]

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

It's a #Compstober exam studying #BirdoftheDay. The White-crested Helmetshrike (Prionops plumatus) is a gregarious, vocal bird found across Africa. If the crest wasn't enough, the striking yellow eye wattles really set it apart!

[Photo (c) Allan Hopkins]

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

#BirdoftheDay is the Red-bearded Bee-eater (Nyctyornis amictus), one of several bee-eaters in Asia. Both Nyctyornis species (Red and Blue-bearded) are the only birds w/o the characteristic eye-stripe found on other bee-eaters.

[Photo (c) Paul van Giersbergen/@ibirdcollection]

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

#BirdoftheDay is the Black-faced Dacnis (Dacnis lineata), one of the world's smallest Tanagers. It occupies two separate geographic ranges in South America. The eastern population has yellow tufts, and may be a different species.

[Photos (c) Luis Esteves and Marco Valentini]

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

#BirdoftheDay the Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria) possesses the amazing ability to cling to vertical cliff faces, using its long, forked tongue to extract insects from rock crevices. Its colorful wing plumage reminds me of a butterfly.

[Photos (c) Christophe Sidamon-Pesson]

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

@suzannehaustin "Many will have killed before eating their first meal" Daaaamn. That is HARD core!

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

Both sexes of Spinifex Pigeon possess that distinctive spiked plume. It becomes a central part of their impressive "bowing display" - similar to that of a North American grouse!

[Video by Journey Jottings, full version here: https://t.co/3m0xloGEBE]

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

#BirdoftheDay is the fantastic Spinifex Pigeon (Geophaps plumifera). Found in the dry, arid grasslands of Australia; they live in small colonies exclusively near permanent water sources.

[Photo (c) Ged Tranter/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology]

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

#BirdoftheDay the Brown Boobook AKA Brown Hawk-owl (Ninox scutulata). My what big eyes you have! Boobooks are a group of true owls found throughout Asia and Australia. They are named for their unique "oo-ook" songs.

[Photo (c) Flickr user lonelyshrimp]

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

#BirdoftheDay the Bearded Barbet. Like a cross b/w a toucan and a woodpecker (all members of the same family!) The function of its bristles are unknown, but may protect its eyes from debris when using its bill to carve nest cavities in soft wood.

[Photo (c) Leszek Leszczynski]

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

#BirdoftheDay is it a Bluebird? No! It's a Blue-capped Rock Thrush. Its similarity to bluebirds is entirely coincidental. Bluebirds are thrushes, and Rock Thrushes are flycatcher chats, and Yellow-breasted chats are... wood-warblers maybe?

[Photos (c) Ram Mallya and Ian Brookes]

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

#BirdoftheDay is the Blue-naped Chlorophonia (Chlorophonia cyanea) from South America. Once thought to be a relative of the Tanagers, it's now considered part of the Finch family. OK, I admit - I'm a sucker for colorful birds!

[Photo (c) Aisse Gaertner/Internet Bird Collection]

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

Here's a BONUS #BirdoftheDay. Like the Asian Emerald Cuckoo, the closely related African Emerald Cuckoo is also a bright green brood parasite. It even has a green bill! [Beautiful photo by Randall Siebert/Macaulay Library at Cornell Lab of Ornithology]

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

#BirdoftheDay is the Asian Emerald Cuckoo (adult and juvenile males shown). Like Brown-headed cowbirds in North America, cuckoos lay their eggs in other nests to be raised by other species! [Photos (c) Jerry Coyle and Bird.soong/Macaulay Library at Cornell Lab of Ornithology]

[Jenna Curtis @thejennabird]

#BirdoftheDay is Ross's Turaco (Musophaga rossae). A frugivore and key disperser of fruit seeds. Also known as "Ross's Plantain Eater", their genus (Musophaga) translates to "banana eater". But this is a misnomer - they much prefer figs to plantains!

[Photo (c) Ondřej Prosický]