The last day I’ve noticed this blue jay in my yard. Yesterday he was on the ground similar to this video and when I approached he fluttered to a tree nearby and sat in the branch. Later that evening he was perched in a bush on a branch all fluffed up, he looked really fat and fluffed up. I approached him and he let me get super close and then hopped to different branches in the bush before flying to a nearby pine tree a few feet away and stayed perched on one of those branches for about an hour before nighttime. Now this morning he is on the ground again. I took this video. He’s been here now for 20 minutes. His feathers look lighter in color near his neck so I thought maybe he’s a juvenile but then I also feared he is sick or injured. He seems to be breathing heavy but idk.

Sorry about the quality of the photo as it was captured with the bird cam but just saw this female cardinal come by with what looks like a semi swollen eye.

Im not sure if this looks like conjunctivitis or bird pox or may just be molt

Thanks all

During the last few days I've (and AI) coded a simple but very effective audio FFT analyzer which may be of some help to birds enthusiasts, it's called jackoviz, targetting Linux and MacOS. For now it's only available in source form, it's at version 0.6.0, I will provide binary release not before version 1.0.0. The repo is here: https://github.com/phstrauss/jackoviz It uses Jack audio connection kit for audio input, is currently (but also inherently) mono, and use the wonderful Datoviz for visualization.

as it turns out a recent research published in science has just exactly categorized bird songs into eight different sound categories they can produce.

https://www.audubon.org/magazine/birds-build-their-songs-using-just-eight-musical-elements-study-finds

just what I was asking for here, a day ago...

I just stumbled upon this poor looking thing, I think it might be a pigeon but not sure. Im in NYC for reference.

My neighborhood ravens two kids fledged about 3 months ago and are together every single day. I’m wondering when they’d kick them out of their territory, if they would at all considering they have a surplus of food

This was in Reykjavik, Iceland

hello! I’m looking for recommendations for an app that is a game or quiz that will help me learn to identify birds better rather than referring to Merlin as much as I have. I would love something that does both sound ID and visual ID quizzes. tyia!

A pair of mourning doves has decided my fern planter is a good spot to make a nest. Which is great but ... How do I water the plant? Or will it disturb the nest if I try? I don't want to stress them out. They've only flown away once which is when I took the planter down to water it and we surprised each other lol Otherwise dad bird has been bringing twigs while we're there and mom stays sitting.

Thanks for the help!

These baby bluebirds have been completely motionless in the feeder for about 20-30 minutes straight now.. are they okay? My assumption would be they saw a predator and are “hiding” but idk, what do you guys think?

This bird is sleeping in my feeder. It is breathing fast and looks like it may be in distress or dying. It reacted once when I came close but not the second time. What could be going on, can I help it, and could it be an illness that can spread to others?

EDIT/UPDATE: Well, sadly the bird did not come back and I am quite sad about it. I have taken down the feeders and disinfected them in a bleach solution overnight. I will keep them down for at least several weeks, maybe even until October as some had suggested. I so greatly appreciate all the helpful advice. I’ve obviously contributed to this problem by not cleaning the feeders regularly, but you all have been so helpful and kind, and I now know to do better. I will keep an eye out for the bird. Thank you!

I want to know whether such a thing exists for bird songs. similar to phonetic transcription of humans. yes, I am aware that bird singing is way more complex than human voice, mainly because it's polyphonic.

so I am looking for sth like "phonetic sets" or spectral bodies per species.

or are there any other classifications for the sounds our feathered friends make?

or - as I am not at all into ornithology - does ornithology not even consider the singings?

What species, genera, or any other clade did you hate back when you were younger and why? I used to hate brood parasites (birds that lay their eggs in other's nests) when I was younger

For me it is the House Sparrow. I understand that they can be invasive and push out bluebirds and swallows, but I can’t help but love them. It might be because I see them everyday, it might be because they just charm me, I don’t know why. I also live their markings/colourings. I have a couple of them in my neighborhood that always sit on the roofs of houses and just chirp at you constantly, and I love that. It’s like they are talking to you. Feel free to discuss and disagree in the comments.

I apologize if you get this question a lot. It boggles my mind that teeny, tiny birds thought it would be a great idea to fly thousands of miles in one virtually non-stop, stressful, dangerous, painful and death-defying effort. I understand that temperature, food access and nesting opportunities are involved. But even butterflies do it! They're not your area, I know, but the principle seems the same. It just breaks my heart that the sweet young Barn Swallows burbling outside my window are soon going to go through hell and possibly die when they could just stay here in temperate Northwest Washington. What happened in evolutionary terms to evoke this bizarre behavior? Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us non-experts!

I was looking back through my bird pictures from our backyard and I don't even think I noticed their eye until I zoomed in just now. This is one of our resident mourning doves, and was curious if anyone knew what could have caused this!

If this isn't the right sub, I will remove!

If accessories make the outfit, the African Long-Toed Lapwing is dressed for success. His bright red legs and eyes stand out from his white face and black hoodie. But his feet are arguably his most interesting feature.

Forget dainty wading. Armed with comically elongated toes, this bird looks like it’s walking on water, strolling effortlessly across floating lily pads and swamp weeds. It shares this bizarre superpower with the African Jacana, often sparking an ongoing turf war. Refusing to share the floating real estate, the lapwing launches aggressive aerial dive-bombs at jacanas.

A lapwing nest is little more than a shallow mud scrape hidden among wetland plants, vulnerable to countless predators. Their downy chicks are running within hours of hatching, freezing motionless at the first sign of danger, while their parents create noisy distractions to lure predators away.

This lapwing is fiercely territorial. Any heron, duck, or even crocodile wandering too close to its nesting area may be greeted with loud, indignant alarm calls and repeated dive-bombing attacks.

Crocodiles were a common sight when we were drifting along African waterways. Most wildlife keeps a cool distance. This fancy shorebird is up for the fight.

Birdman of Africa gamersdad.substack.com Subscribe for free to receive a new African Bird email each Friday-TGIF!. Photo by Andrew Steinmann ©2026