Birds of southeast Texas in photos

For the last week there’s been a mockingbird strafing the cats when ever either would leave the house. This morning there were two mockingbirds strafing the cats. As I write this the number has grown to three.

Heading out to rescue the cats . . .

Fred bird watching

This young warbler has spent the last three days trying to figure out the bird feeder.  He flys to the suet cake, attempts to hover and grab a bite, then basically falls to the ground.

He has no trouble flying about the yard, just landing.

This warbler spent the rest of the winter using the feeder and occasionally still visits.

Brighter eggs keep male birds hanging around to help with the offspring but often at the cost of mother’s health. It is believed that high antioxidants give the eggs brighter colors, but the female bird gives them up to her detriment.

Now, researchers have found that female birds make a similar sacrifice when colouring their eggs, creating vivid hues at the expense of their health.

The blue in many birds’ eggs comes from the compound biliverdin, a breakdown product of the heme unit in haemoglobin, which circulates freely in the blood. But biliverdin is not just a pigment, it is also an antioxidant used by the body to prevent cellular damage. [ read more Female birds sacrifice health to create more colorful eggs ]