today's bird

silverhawk:

the american coot looks pretty simple from this angle

just a bird with red eyes.

BUT

behold.

their feet!!

tinysaurus-rex:

tinysaurus-rex:

silverhawk:

silverhawk:

nicobar pigeon

golden pheasant

victoria crowned pigeon

kakapo

blue footed booby

long-tailed widowbird

greater bird of paradise

lesser bird of paradise

stork-billed kingfisher

frillback pigeon

The frillback pigeon is a breed of domesticated rock dove, not its own species. It’s the same thing as the feral pigeons you see in cities that look like this:

just like how pugs and huskies are the same species.

you are right that rock pigeons are under appreciated! all breeds of domestic pigeon derived from birds that looked much like my little feral pigeon from Brooklyn pictured above, and we believe they have been domesticated for over 10,000 years. they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, with different behaviors similar to how we have working or hunting dogs. some cool breeds:

the old Dutch capuchine

a classic old frill bred by @ramseyringnecks

beautiful Indian fantail, a very ancient breed

Voorburg cropper

and of course my beloved Rex, an Aachen Lacquer shield owl…however her breed isn’t supposed to have a crest so she looks more like an old German owl

bufflehead:

spix’s macaw:

blue lorikeet:

ziggystarling:

I went to the bird store the other day and met these three precious babies. They look like they’re in a boyband.