Birds, songs and sources

These waxbill finches were among several photos of birds just posted by Haole in DailyKos. The adult's brilliant beak is exactly the colour of sealing wax. Apparently the lower ones are juveniles. Like many other species in Hawaii, they may have been introduced. This adaptable tropical bird has spread around the world, often escaping from cages. They also line their nests with predator scat to keep enemies away. Bird brains are smarter than we think.

See also E-bird for US sightings of the common waxbill, its song on Xeno-Canto: bird songs from the Americas; other DailyKos bird pix from lineatus in San Francisco and juliewolf in New England. Birdlife State of the World's Birds (2008) reports one in eight wild bird species is threatened with global extinction, with 190 species now critically endangered. The trend is worsening, according to the IUCN's Red List.