Today is Christmas Day! And it’s the last day of our 2020 Birdorable Bonanza. Our final bird is the Christmas Shearwater, a species of shearwater found around tropical and subtropical islands in the Pacific Ocean, including Christmas Island.

This bird has a festive name but a rather drab appearance with an entirely dark brown body plumage.

Christmas Shearwaters eat fish and other aquatic prey. They depend on oceanic predators, like tuna, to drive small fish and other small creatures upwards where the shearwater can snatch prey either at the surface or after a short and shallow hunting pursuit. To help them retain their prey, Christmas Shearwaters have specialized indentations on their tongues and along the back of their beaks.

On this Christmas day we wish all of our followers a wonderful holiday and a safe season! Thanks for following along. We’ll see you in 2021!

Today’s new Birdorable is our third “king” before Christmas. Here is our cute cartoon King Penguin!

The King Penguin is a very large species of penguin, smaller only than the Emperor Penguin. Adult birds can be recognized by their black and white body plumage and by the golden orange patch at the back of the head.

King Penguins have an unusual breeding cycle which takes around 15 months to complete. They breed in large colonies. After a chick hatches, the parents take turns keeping the baby penguin safe and warm while the other adult forages for food for 3 to 7 days. The foraging bird returns, feeds the chick, and relieves the other parent to go off and find food for 3 to 7 days. This period, known as the “guard phase” lasts up to 40 days. Then, during the austral (southern hemisphere) winter, parents leave their chicks in a large communal creche. The chicks fast (eat nothing) for over 4 months, huddling together to keep warm as they wait for the parents to return. Fledging (which for penguins means achieving independence – not flight) occurs a few months after the adults return.

Tomorrow is Christmas day! We will conclude our 2020 Birdorable Bonanza with an appropriately named seabird. Are you ready? We sure are!

Today the second of our three “kings” joins Birdorable in the lead-up to Christmas. The King Eider is a large species of sea duck found in both the Old and New World.

King Eiders are hardy ducks, spending almost all of their time at sea. Breeding brings them to land, but females care for the nest and chicks alone, so they spend a bit more time away from the sea than males.

Speaking of male King Eiders, look at that crazy plumage! Males in breeding season are sensational, with a lot going on in terms of both color and form. They are pale blue from the forehead to the nape of the neck, with pale green cheeks and a bright yellow-orange frontal lobe framed inside a black outline. All this, and a red bill, too. It’s almost too much, but then they’ve got what looks like little “sails” on their backs, formed from special wing feathers. With a plumage so crazy, they fit into our cartoon bird family perfectly.

Tomorrow’s new Birdorable will be the third and final “king” bird before Christmas. The silhouette should make this one easy! Can you guess?

Today’s new Birdorable is one of three “kings” we’ll introduce in the days leading up to Christmas. Here is the Birdorable Eastern Kingbird!

Eastern Kingbirds are large flycatchers native to the New World. These migratory birds breed across much of the United States, except for in the far west. Winters are spent across western parts of South America.

The Eastern Kingbird is a “tyrant” flycatcher – its scientific name is Tyrannus tyrannus. Tyrannus translates to “king” or “tyrant” and refers to the aggressive behavior seen in these birds and others in the same family. There are about 437 species in the tyrant flycatcher family and all are native to the New World.

Tomorrow another “king” will join Birdorable. This species of sea duck is found in both New World and Old World waters. Do you know this one?

Today’s new Birdorable is one of four species of junglefowl in the world. It’s the Red Junglefowl, and the 750th bird species on Birdorable!

The Red Junglefowl is an exotic tropical species with a familiar look, due to it being a primary ancestor of today’s domestic chicken. It is thought that the chicken was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago, also using stock from the other three junglefowl species. The name Red Junglefowl is also sometimes used to describe feral chicken populations established from escaped farm chickens.

Our Birdorable bird is a male Red Junglefowl, with his flashy and fleshy red comb and wattles, long iridescent tail, and golden hackles. Females are cryptic with a camouflaged plumage to help keep them safe -- especially during breeding and brooding season, when they alone care for their chicks.

As we get closer to Christmas our remaining Bonanza birds will follow a theme. The first of three “kings” will arrive tomorrow. The bird is a migratory species of New World flycatcher with black and white plumage. Can you guess the species, if we tell you the name includes a cardinal direction?

Today we introduce a new species of Birdorable dove – it’s our Ring-necked Dove!

Ring-necked Doves, scientifically known as Streptopelia capicola, are a familiar sight across the vast savannahs and lush landscapes of southern Africa. With their distinctive trilling calls resonating through the air, these doves have become an integral part of the acoustic tapestry of the African wilderness. However, their presence extends beyond the savannah, as they are known to inhabit various types of environments, including forests, scrublands, and plantations.

One of the remarkable features of Ring-necked Doves is their dietary flexibility. These omnivorous birds predominantly sustain themselves by feeding on a diet of seeds and fruits. Occasionally, they diversify their meals by capturing insects, showcasing their adaptability in finding food sources.

In matters of the heart, Ring-necked Doves are renowned for their monogamous nature. When these doves find their avian soulmate, they commit to a lifelong partnership. Both parents actively participate in the nurturing of their offspring, sharing the responsibilities of caring for the eggs and raising their chicks. This strong sense of familial duty exemplifies the tight-knit bonds within Ring-necked Dove pairs.

Stay tuned for more fascinating bird species, as we continue to introduce you to the diverse and colorful world of birds, one Birdorable at a time! Tomorrow’s new species is the main ancestor of the modern domestic chicken. You can guess the species from this easy clue, can’t you?

Today’s new species is one of 10 hornbill species found in the Philippines. The Rufous Hornbill is a Philippine endemic found in forest habitat across 11 of the nations’ islands. It is also known as the Philippine Hornbill.

There is little known to science about Rufous Hornbills as they have not been studied in detail. Not much is known of their behaviors. They feed on a varied diet including fruit, seeds, and insects.

There are three subspecies of Rufous Hornbill. Our bird is of the Northern race (Buceros hydrocorax hydrocorax). These have an all-red bill. Northern birds have either red or blue eyes. Southern birds are in two subspecies (Buceros hydrocorax mindanensis and Buceros hydrocorax semigaleatus). These birds have yellow on the lower part of the bill and all have blue eyes. Some taxonomies split the Northern and Southern birds into two separate species.

Rufous Hornbills are vulnerable to extinction due to habitat loss and illegal hunting, with a decreasing population trend.

Tomorrow’s new bird is a common species found across sub-Saharan Africa. These widespread doves are named for a plumage attribute – can you guess the species?

Today’s new Birdorable is a bird of prey endemic to Indonesia. The Javan Hawk-Eagle can only be found on the island of Java.

Adult Javan Hawk-Eagles can be recognized by their very tall dark head crests and dark brown upperparts. They also have heavily barred underparts. Young birds have little to no barring and are lighter, more rufous in color.

Javan Hawk-Eagles are endangered, primarily due to habitat loss. The population trend is decreasing, and there is currently no plan in place to help the species recover. It is thought the Javan Hawk-Eagle may face extinction in as few as 5 years if a conservation plan is not implemented in time.

Tomorrow we’ll add an endemic hornbill of the Philippines named in part for the color of its body. There are 10 hornbill species found in the Philippines – can you narrow it down to our bird?

Today we introduce a New World species of waterbird. Meet the Birdorable Tricolored Heron!

The Tricolored Heron is a mid-sized type of heron named for its plumage of blue-grey, lavender, and white. They can be recognized especially by their white bellies and neck stripe, unique among dark herons or egrets.

Tricolored Herons range across coastal and freshwater habitat around the southeastern United States, as well as Central and far northern South America. They can also be found in the Caribbean. Tricolored Herons feed primarily on fish. Their hunting style ranges from slow methodical lethal bill stabs from a hunched position to comically running and chasing prey in shallow water.

Through bird banding data, we know that the oldest recorded Tricolored Heron lived to be at least 17 years and 8 months of age. Bird banding science has been around for a long time -- that particular bird was banded in 1958!

Tomorrow’s new species is an endemic and endangered bird of prey from the island of Java. The species is the national bird of its country. Do you know this one?

Today an Old World woodpecker joins Birdorable! We welcome the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker to our flock.

Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers have a large range in temperate and boreal forests across much of Europe and Asia. At least 10 subspecies are recognized, with a variety of plumage and size differences across the range. All birds have a recognizable black and white pattern with males showing a bright red cap. Some birds, like our Birdorable version, have a buff wash over the white underparts and various levels of buff coloration around the face.

This species is the smallest woodpecker in all of Europe. They nest in tree cavities and lay five to 8 eggs per brood. Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers that survive through fledging are thought to have an average lifespan of about 7 years.

Tomorrow we’ll add a New World wader with a newish name. Prior to the 1980s the species was named after a state in the southeast of the U.S. Do you know this bird?