Except for my dear little hummingbirds, I lament that, in general, our birds are rather drably colored, and mostly sparrows and doves. So on this rare occasion that I happened to be sitting in the yard with two cameras at hand, along came this startling beauty! I'd seen it once in the past, eating with other birds in my yard, but I had no camera at hand. This time I got a dozen good pictures and one as he leaped into the air, his feathers making curves like streamers!
When he left I made a dash to find out what this was, and there was no mistaking his features. However, what, pray tell, was this Pin-Tailed Whydah from sub-saharan Africa doing in my back yard?!!! Further research showed it had been seen and noted on a birding roster as having been in Southern California about a year ago. Surely it was someone's exotic pet who escaped! In that same vein, in years past, I caught in my yard 2 cockatiels and a canary, all on different occasions! (The canary lived with us for 13 years!)
The female of this species is a surprisingly plain bird, so if there is one about, I might not take note of her. If I knew where to report this sighting, I'd do so as it seems to me an exciting bit of news!
Wow what a beauty! What a fabulous tail! Wonderful and interesting link Louise. I wonder if he is an escapee from somewhere which might mean he is on his own. I know here in the UK we do get some exotic birds brought here from Africa on the winds apart from those annual visitors we do get. If news gets out of an unusual sighting the Twitchers are very quick to turn up with their scopes and cameras. If you notice lots of people in your yard you know news has leaked about your visitor! Lol! Fav for you great capture!
What a fabulous looking fellow! Yes, he has to be someoneâs pet, he really couldnât fly from the Sahara to California! âTwo camerasâ, of course you had two cameras, lol!
How fortunate for you to get to see this strange bird. We had a pack of parrots hanging out in our yard when we lived in Point Loma. What a sight that was. I hope you have more sightings!
This is amazing news Louise, they are local birds here and very far from home! In fact they are regular visitors in my garden and I posted one on the lawn 3 days ago. Such beautiful males (as usual in the animal world) A fabulous find and capture, fav!
@salza@ludwigsdiana I was so hoping my South African friends would chime in with their take on this bird! How exciting to read that they're rather "commonplace" in your yards! (That's more "Sub-Saharan" than I'd have guessed!) To have been at the ready with a camera (yes LouAnn, two @louannwarren ) couldn't have been more perfect! If I do happen to see him again sometime, I don't have to worry about more photos but just enjoy watching him! Wow!
@golftragic Why Thank You! We still have phone and electric wires behind the house which usually distract from photos I'd like to capture, but every once in a while they serve just the trick!
