Eric Gofreed
Well-Known Member
It’s Winged Wednesday, where feathers, flutters, and flight steal the show! Whether they’re zipping, sunbathing, or striking a midair pose, we celebrate anything with wings—birds, bugs, bats, or butterflies.
This week, I’m sharing five perched portraits—each one featuring a species with “black” in its name. From rocky coasts to icy ridgelines, from desert scrub to dripping cloud forest, these birds aren’t alike—but they share a name and a moment of stillness. I picked each one for its personality, posture, or story. Captions will tell the rest.
All winged things are welcome here—whatever flies your fancy. Thanks for playing, and happy scrolling!
Black-bellied Hummingbird: Perched in Costa Rica’s cloud forest, he looked like a jewel with a superiority complex. Amid the riot of tropical flowers, he didn’t blend in—he rose above. A little iridescent monarch surveying his kingdom of color.
Black Oystercatcher: This coastal sentinel was bird #500 on my ABA list—back when I still kept score. That was 35 years ago, and I’ve long since stopped counting. But I remember that first shock of orange like it was yesterday.
Black Rosy-Finch: High-altitude. Cold-weather. Hard to spot. It forages where the snow retreats, scavenging seeds from windblown drifts and melt zones—tough as the terrain it calls home.
Black-billed Mountain-Toucan: When the light hits just right, this bird looks less like a toucan and more like something painted by a tropical surrealist. Every color crisp, every contour outlined.
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher: This tiny desert dweller paused just long enough for me to wonder if it was real. He posed nicely here, but blink and it’s gone.
They share a color in name, but little else.
One guards rocky shores, another flits through desert scrub.
One clings to cloud forest flowers like a jewel with wings,
While another endures snowline winds and scavenges melt-scoured seed.
Couplet:
Black by name, not by decree
Some perch like shadows, some like jewelry.
This week, I’m sharing five perched portraits—each one featuring a species with “black” in its name. From rocky coasts to icy ridgelines, from desert scrub to dripping cloud forest, these birds aren’t alike—but they share a name and a moment of stillness. I picked each one for its personality, posture, or story. Captions will tell the rest.
All winged things are welcome here—whatever flies your fancy. Thanks for playing, and happy scrolling!
Black-bellied Hummingbird: Perched in Costa Rica’s cloud forest, he looked like a jewel with a superiority complex. Amid the riot of tropical flowers, he didn’t blend in—he rose above. A little iridescent monarch surveying his kingdom of color.
Black Oystercatcher: This coastal sentinel was bird #500 on my ABA list—back when I still kept score. That was 35 years ago, and I’ve long since stopped counting. But I remember that first shock of orange like it was yesterday.
Black Rosy-Finch: High-altitude. Cold-weather. Hard to spot. It forages where the snow retreats, scavenging seeds from windblown drifts and melt zones—tough as the terrain it calls home.
Black-billed Mountain-Toucan: When the light hits just right, this bird looks less like a toucan and more like something painted by a tropical surrealist. Every color crisp, every contour outlined.
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher: This tiny desert dweller paused just long enough for me to wonder if it was real. He posed nicely here, but blink and it’s gone.
They share a color in name, but little else.
One guards rocky shores, another flits through desert scrub.
One clings to cloud forest flowers like a jewel with wings,
While another endures snowline winds and scavenges melt-scoured seed.
Couplet:
Black by name, not by decree
Some perch like shadows, some like jewelry.
