Category Archives: Birds

Time to get up!

A rooster crows in Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Awakening.’ See more responses here.

There’s no shortage of roosters and hens in Hawaii and the roosters are keen to fulfill their role in making sure everyone knows a new day is dawning. However, it has to be noted that they’re just as likely to awaken you from an afternoon nap as from a good night’s sleep. That’s because they can be heard crowing most any time of day, and sometimes half the night, too. This one was going off at five in the afternoon.

Ready and waiting

A young myna bird waits for food

I saw this Myna at Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach Park. It was standing just as you see, before moving to do a bit of preening. Then it resumed this position. It repeated this process several times.

The bird was clearly waiting for mum or dad to return with food and, by golly, it wanted to be quite clear that it was ready and waiting to eat. Apparently, the parents weren’t overly impressed by this display, since they didn’t show up while I watched.

Northern Mockingbird singing

A Northern Mockingbird sings from the top of a tree

I heard this Northern Mockingbird long before I saw it. These birds have a wide variety of songs and seem to like broadcasting them from the very top of trees. It took a while to find a place where I could see the bird making all the noise, though noise is perhaps unfair. Their songs are very melodious.

A bit of a dust up

Birds bathing in the dirt in Hawaii
Birds bathing in a puddle in Hawaii
Birds bathing in a puddle in Hawaii

These House Sparrows enthusiastically embraced a dust bath. They’d just hopped over from a wash in a puddle, which they shared with a couple of African Silverbills. Even there, they got engaged in a tussle, all in good fun I expect.

Kalij Pheasant

A Kalij Pheasant in a tree in Hawaii

Recently, I heard a soft chucking noise up in a Kiawe tree that was certainly not from one of the usual residents in the area. So I grabbed my camera and circled the tree trying to locate the source. It turned out to be this female Kalij Pheasant, a bird I almost always see on the ground.

The pheasant clambered through the branches as I tried to get a clear shot. Eventually, it found a good spot and stayed still, as pheasants do, and I was able to get close enough to snap a couple of photos.

Kalij Pheasaants are native to Southern Asia. They were brought to Hawaii in 1962 as game birds.

A Kalij Pheasant in a tree in Hawaii