On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Today in honor of New Year’s Day, we have our last holiday OTR post birds who should be Christmas ornaments!
Tomorrow we return to our regular programming. :-)
(click for larger, non-blurry image)
Albatrossity
Week 2 of Birds Who Should be Christmas Ornaments features some birds for which I have actually see ornaments based on them. If any of you have some of those, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Here’s one that for sure graces Christmas trees in the USA, the Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis). Indeed, it has a whole organization dedicated to it! Click here for more information about this bird, and here to embiggen the image.
Hummingbirds are also popular as models for Christmas ornaments, and we have a few in this house. Mostly they don’t represent any actual hummingbird found in the wild, but that’s just nit-picking, right! Here is a fancy male Lucifer Hummingbird (Calothorax lucifer), the bringer of light. I don’t know if this bird is on the list of birds who are named after people and therefore need to have their name changed to something less dominionist, but as I recall, Lucifer was a pretty bad dude. Click here for more information about this bird, and here to embiggen the image.
This bird probably has everyone’s vote for becoming an ornament, and I know for a fact that there are already some out there. Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris), the paint-by-number bird, and one of the most sought-after birds for North American birders. Click here for more information about this bird, and here to embiggen the image.
Warblers are also popular and colorful, and this Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) is also doing its best Christmas Angel imitation to audition for top-of-the-tree status. Click here for more information about this bird, and here to embiggen the image.
The rest of the birds in this post are all from south of the Equator, but would make might fine ornaments here as well. This Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) only has colorful bits on its beak and legs, but those are pretty colorful nonetheless! Click here for more information about this bird, and here to embiggen the image.
Another fine East African bird, the boldly-patterned Red-and-Yellow Barbet (Trachyphonus erythrocephalus) would light up any Christmas tree, IMHO. Click here for more information about this bird, and here to embiggen the image.
Little Bee-eaters (Merops pusillus) are ridiculously colorful, and just about the right size for an ornament. Click here for more information about this bird, and here to embiggen the image.
New Zealand has some impressive birds, and this is one of the most impressive. The world’s largest rail, and one of the most critically endangered birds on the planet. But it is making a comeback! It’s a Takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri), and despite that scary-looking beak, it’s vegetarian. Click here for more information about this bird, and here to embiggen the image.
Christmas colors look pretty good on this Kereru (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae). But you would not want a life-size one in your tree; it is the size of a small duck, twice the size of the pigeons in your local park. Click here for more information about this bird, and here to embiggen the image.
Finally, this Kākāriki (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae) is nothing but Christmas colors! Happy Holidays, and (shameless plug) if you didn’t get a wall calendar for Christmas, here are three for 2024 that feature birds Click here for more information about this bird, and here to embiggen the image.
TriassicSands
Thanks, as always, Albatrossity, for all the great bird photos. Happy New Year to you and everyone else.
SteveinPHX
I remember the first time I saw a Prothonotary Warbler. Sitting on a small stump in a cypress bay in low pasture land in North Florida. Many years ago. I could not get over how yellow this bird was!
Thanks as always and HNY!
Kristine
Gorgeous shots! Great first BJ post to read to start the New Year.
That saddle-billed stork looks like it had its beak taped shut.
A few years ago, I thought I saw a juvenile painted bunting (or possibly a molting male) in the local state park. This is NE Illinois—they’re not supposed to venture this far north. I likely erred in ID, but the colors were pretty distinctive.
sab
We have several boxes of hummingbird clip-on ornaments. We also have some cardinals that are hanging ornaments. We have some unidentified white clip-on birds with big tails and some blqxk trim.They look like swan/hummingbirds.
Spanish Moss
I love both of these “Christmas ornament” bird posts. Happy New Year!
Betty
You just can’t outdo Mother Nature for sheer beauty.
J.
@Betty: Agree!
Gorgeous birds and photos, as usual, Albatrossity!
KSinMA
What great photos! Thanks, and happy New Year!
Jim Appleton
You always impress. This bunch especially.
Missing from the list: the cassowary, though as an ornament should be scaled down from six foot or so tall.
I got into a very scary shoving match with a famous one, Blue Arrow, overlooking the Cairns airport.
WaterGirl
rotating tag?
WaterGirl
Red-and-Yellow Barbet. Just wow! And the last one, amazing!
WaterGirl
Maybe one of our Balloon Juice artists could make ornaments like some of these birds, and we could sell those to benefit the pet charity.
pat
OK, just ordered Hawks and Owls.
Happy New Year. And the Lucifer is the best. Those tiny feathers!
Madeleine
What a colorful first post of the New Year! Thank you, Albatrossity, and best wishes all!
way2blue
Um. I was going to say ‘gorgeous birds’ till I got to the Takahē. Yikes! Thanks for sharing Albatrossity—your photos enliven my Monday morning breakfasts. N.B., I have a hummingbird ornament, however, it’s made of glass & hangs year round from the chandelier above the dining table. Along with a glass dove—with a twig of olive in her beak…
BigJimSlade
Excellent!
Pete Mack
I vote for upupa epops! Also the cardinal, and the scarlet Tanager. (Alas, I’ve seen exactly oneof those in 30 years.)