Juvenile American Robin

 I have spent a lot of time birding this summer. Rain or shine, wind or no wind I have been out there. This has given me the opportunity to see a lot of different birds and a lot of juvenile birds. I must have been birding with my eyes closed last summer because I don't remember seeing so many young birds then.

The whole gamut of juvenile birds have some very similar behaviour. They are very curious and not so bothered by human presence which makes it quite easy to study them. They are also very responsive to pishing.

Their plumage is different from their parents. In some cases such as the Cedar Waxwing posted last time they are totally different from the adults. In other cases like the American Robin the juvenile is different but it is still very much like the adult bird. The red breast is the clear giveaway. It is interesting that the young birds become the size of an adult very quickly but their behaviour as well as their plumage clearly separates them.  The flesh color at the base of the beak is also a clear indicator of a juvenile, as well.

They are playful and will play with birds of other species. They are clumsy often losing their footing or are unable to land on a target branch.
 It sometimes takes them several tries to lift off and land as they are just getting used to flight.

Even when soaking wet the juvenile robin is unmistakedly a robin despite  its speckled breast.

It won't be any time before the young will evolve into a fully red-breasted adult able to fend for themselves and to land on a dime in order to feed on a lawn meal. I guess the American Robins will be moving on soon and will likely not return until late winter to feed on remaining berries, of which there seem to be a lot this year.

Note:  There have been a lot of American Robins around the St. John's this year.

Bird Toco Toucan

The Toco toucan is at home in South America's tropical forests but recognized everywhere. The toucan's oversized, colorful bill has made it one of the world's most popular birds. The 7.5-inch-long (19-centimeter-long) bill may be seen as a desirable mating trait, but if so, it is one that both male and female toucans possess. In fact, both sexes use their bills to catch tasty morsels and pitch them to one another during a mating ritual fruit toss. As a weapon, the bill is a bit more show than substance. It is a honeycomb of bone that actually contains a lot of air. While its size may deter predators, it is of little use in combating them.

But the toucan's bill is useful as a feeding tool. The birds use them to reach fruit on branches that are too small to support their weight, and also to skin their pickings. In addition to fruit, Toco toucans eat insects and, sometimes, young birds, eggs, or lizards. Toco toucans live in small flocks of about six birds. Their bright colors actually provide good camouflage in the dappled light of the rain forest canopy. However, the birds commonly keep up a racket of vocalization, which suggests that they are not trying to remain hidden.

Toucans nest in tree holes. They usually have two to four eggs each year, which both parents care for. Young toucans do not have a large bill at birth—it grows as they develop and does not become full size for several months. These iconic birds are very popular pets, and many are captured to supply demand for this trade. They are also familiar commercial mascots known for hawking stout, cereal, and other products. Indigenous peoples regard the bird with a more sacred eye; they are traditionally seen as conduits between the worlds of the living and the spirits.

Beautiful Duck

The Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata), or just Mandarin, is a perching duck species found in East Asia. It is medium-sized, at 41–49 cm long with a 65–75 cm wingspan. As the other member of the genus Aix, it is closely related to the North American wood duck.

The adult male is a striking and unmistakable bird. It has a red bill, large white crescent above the eye and reddish face and "whiskers". The breast is purple with two vertical white bars, and the flanks ruddy, with two orange "sails" at the back. The female is similar to female wood duck, with a white eye-ring and stripe running back from the eye, but is paler below, has a small white flank stripe, and a pale tip to its bill.

Mandarin ducklings are almost identical in look to wood ducklings, and appear very similar to mallard ducklings. The ducklings can be distinguished from mallard ducklings because the eye-stripe of Mandarin ducklings (and wood ducklings) stops at the eye, while in mallard ducklings it reaches all the way to the bill.

The species was once widespread in East Asia, but large-scale exports and the destruction of its forest habitat have reduced populations in eastern Russia and in China to below 1,000 pairs in each country; Japan, however, is thought to still hold some 5,000 pairs. The Asian populations are migratory, overwintering in lowland eastern China and southern Japan.

Specimens frequently escape from collections, and in the 20th century a large feral population was established in Great Britain; more recently small numbers have bred in Ireland, concentrated in the parks of Dublin. There are now about 7,000 in Britain, and other populations on the European continent, the largest in the region of Berlin. Isolated populations exist in the United States. The town of Black Mountain, North Carolina has a limited population, and there is a free-flying feral population of several hundred mandarins in Sonoma County, California. This population is the result of several Mandarin ducks escaping from captivity, then going on to reproduce in the wild.

In the wild, Mandarin ducks breed in densely wooded areas near shallow lakes, marshes or ponds. They nest in cavities in trees close to water and during the spring, the females lay their eggs in the tree's cavity after mating. A single clutch of nine to twelve eggs is laid in April or May. Although the male may defend the brooding female and his eggs during incubation, he himself does not incubate the eggs and leaves before they hatch. Shortly after the ducklings hatch, their mother flies to the ground and coaxes the ducklings to leap from the nest. After all of the ducklings are out of the tree, they will follow their mother to a nearby body of water.