We received over 2,000 photographs for this week’s “Top 25″… Join our Wild Bird Revolution and introduce your friends to freedom and splendor of birds in the wild! Wild, free-living birds are ambassadors of the natural habitat they depend upon. Some eat only meat, while other eat only nectar. Some migrate from Cape Town to Siberia between seasons, while others stay at home to protect their patch. Some live 99% of the time in the sky, others live almost entirely underwater. The birds of the world have an astounding diversity of color, design, function, grace, power and creativity that can only come from millions of years of mastering life on earth, or, should I say, in the air. These feathered aviators come from the age of the dinosaurs and their ancestors can be found as ancient fossils from prehistory. From pole to pole they had just about found a home and a place everywhere, in the air, under the waves, in the branches, in your garden, above cities, and in our forests. We need to do everything we can as a society to ensure that future generations have the amazing diversity of birds in their gardens, towns, parks, reserves and wilderness areas that we still have…
PLEASE SHARE OUR “Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #20″ WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND BECOME PART OF THE WILD BIRD REVOLUTION!!!
Advances in digital photography have given us the opportunity to capture the beauty and freedom of birds in the wild like never before. In January 2011, the Wild Bird Trust set up a Facebook page with the intention of celebrating free flight and birds in the wild from around the world. Here are the “Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week” drawn from thousands of photographs submitted to the Wild Bird Trust. Celebrate the freedom and splendor of birds in the wild with us and stimulate positive change by sharing how beautiful the birds of the world really are…
Please join the Wild Bird Trust page on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to receive all wild bird photo updates and join the Wild Bird Revolution. Submit your own photos and become part of this important public awareness campaign to bring the magic of wild birds to the world. Prepare to be blown away every week…
Canary flycatchers are restricted to SE Asia where they breed in upland to montane oak and other broad-leaved forests in temperate to tropical S Asia, from Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka to Indonesia and S China. (Debapratim Saha)
Rock kestrel and their closest cousins are widespread throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa, preferring a variety of habitats with close proximity to rocky outcrops. (Anja Denker)
Retz's Helmetshrikes mobve around in flocks of between 5 and 30 individuals, which become nomadic in response to food stress. They are found throughout S, central and E Africa. (Chris Krog)
European robin perched on a signboard asking people not to feed birds. Photographed on a winter's morning in Cannock Chase (Staffordshire, UK) where garden birds has been developing skin infections most likely from feeding on food left out by local residents (e.g. stale bread). (Suranjan Mukherjee)
Brown shrikes have a distinctive black "bandit-mask" through the eye and are found in open scrub habitats perched on the tops of thorny bushes in search of prey. They are widespread and breed in temperate Asia, migrating to tropical Asia during winter. (Suranjan Mukherjee)
Southern white-faced scops-owl prefer a wide range of woodland habitat situated along dry river beds. They are locally common residents and feed on a numerous invertebrate and vertebrate prey. (Justin Klusener)
Harlequin ducks breed along cold, fast-moving streams in NW and NE North America, Greenland, Iceland and W Russia. The eastern North American population is declining and is considered endangered. Photographed in Stykkisholmur (Iceland). (Antero Topp)
Sapphire flycatchers are found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam where they prefer subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. (Debapratim Saha)
Yellow-vented flowerpeckers are found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. They prefer subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. (Soumya Sundar Chakraborty)
Red-headed trogons are found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam, preferring subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. (Debapratim Saha)
Rose-ringed parakeet is a gregarious tropical Afro-Asian parakeet species that has an extremely large distributional range and have demonstrated an ability to establish feral populations in cities around the world. (Pushpal Goswami)
Red crossbills breed in the spruce forests of North America. They specialize in feeding on conifer cones (particularly spruces). Their unusual bill shape is an adaptation to assist the extraction of the seeds from the cones. (Debapratim Saha)
NarinaTrogons are the most widespread and generalist in their habitat preferences of the three Apaloderma trogons. Their name is "Khoikhoi" in origin and is believed to come from the mistress of the French ornithologist, François Le Vaillant. They are distributed from Sierra Leone to Ethiopia, and E Africa to South Africa. (Justin Klusener)
Long-tailed broadbills are found in the Himalayas, SE Asia, and Indonesia, and are the only bird in the genus Psarisomus. They are highly sociable and normally travels in large, noisy flocks. (Debapratim Saha)
Little ringed plovers breed in open gravel areas near freshwater, including gravel pits, islands and river edges throughout Europe and western Asia. They nest on the ground on stones with little or no plant growth. (Soumya Sundar Chakraborty)
White-throated kingfishers are distributed throughout Eurasia and feed on a wide range of prey that includes small reptiles, amphibians, crabs, small rodents, and even birds. (Bulan Chakraborty)
Grey crowned cranes are found in the dry savannas of Africa south of the Sahara. They have a booming call that involves the inflation of the red gular sac (pictured), producing a honking sound quite different from the trumpeting of other crane species. (Justin Klusener)
Green-tailed sunbirds are found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam, preferring temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. (Debapratim Saha)
Great northern diver is distributed throughout Eurasia and North America. have disappeared from some lakes in eastern North America due to the effects of acid rain and pollution, as well as lead poisoning from fishing sinkers and mercury contamination from industrial waste. Photographed here in Myvatn (Iceland). (Antero Topp)
Great Indian hornbills are found in the forests of Nepal, India, the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, Indonesia. They are considered "Near Threatened" and are listed on CITES Appendix I. (Debapratim Saha)
Crested serpent eagles are found in forested habitats across tropical Asia. Photographed here in Meghalaya (NE India). (Israel Momin)
Cape weavers are endemic to South Africa and occur in grasslands, agricultural lands, and fynbos habitats, which are near rivers. They form noisy colonies in tall trees and reedbeds. (Gareth Robbins)
Common kingfishers have a wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. They are also known as the Eurasian kingfisher or river kingfisher. (Pushpal Goswami)
Purple herons breed in Africa, central and S Europe, as wella as S and E Asia. They have a slow flight pattern that shows off the amazing markings on the retracted neck. (Allan Holland)
Ruby-cheeked sunbirds are found in the forests of found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. (Debapratim Saha)
