Delightful Discoveries- This is for the Birds! 11.04.10

So, what's up with this? There is no word in the English language for a bird lover! A scientist who studies birds is known as an ornithologist. A person who is irrationally afraid of bird is said to have ornithophobia. Ornithoscopy is the technical term for birding, or bird watching. Ornithochory is the spreading of seeds by birds. There's even a term for the practice of reading omens from a bird's actions - ornithomancy. But there's no word for a bird lover. Since book lovers are bibliophiles, and an icthyophile is a lover of fish, I think someone should create the world ornithophile. So bird-lovers unite! I hope the people behind Merriam-Webster are reading this!

In honor of today's subject - birds - I'm giving you just a little tidbit of information about the birds that have inspired these awesome works of artistry! Enjoy :)

Hand made Stained glass Greater Roadrunner by glassnwood

The roadrunner is the state bird of New Mexico. A member of the cuckoo family, can range from 18-24 inches from the tip of its beak to the tip of its tail. Like virtually all birds, the roadrunner can fly, but only for very limited distances - which is why they're usually seen scooting across their desert ranges.




Note Cards with Birds from peacoxtoo**

The symbolism of birds is common in folklore and culture. Some of the more common symbols are these: Doves/peace; Owls/wisdom; Crane/Long Life; Eagle/power; Quail/Family.







Vintage Homco Chickadee or Sparrow Framed 1982 from vintagenowandthen
Carolina chickadees are so similar to black-capped chickadee that they have trouble telling their species apart. Because of this they sometimes mate producing hybrids. The most obvious difference between the three chickadees is that the Carolina chickadee sings a 4-note song, black-capped ones sing 2-note songs, and the hybrids sing 3-note songs.







Make a Joyful Noise...Women's Organic Shirt in Black by zosai

In the Old Testament of the Bible, bats were included as birds most likely because of their wings.







Alfred Hitchcock Silhouette Pillow on Goldenrod Fabric by regansbrain
The Birds, a thriller by Alfred Hitchcock, was based on a real life occurence. In August of 1961, the town of Capitola, CA awoke to find sooty shearwaters slamming into their rooftops, and the streets covered with dead birds. It was believed to have been caused by the birds eating shellfish that had built up a natural toxin called domoic acid.




Backyard Bird Notecards - Set of 4 from orangecatart

The top 10 birds reported on the most checklists in the 2010 Great Backyard Bird Count were: 1. Northern Cardinal; 2. Dark-eyed Junco; 3. Mourning Dove; 4. Downy Woodpecker; 5. Blue Jay; 6. American Goldfinch; 7. Tufted Titmouse; 8. House Finch; 9. American Crow; 10. Black-capped Chickadee





Daney Birds on a Wire, vinyl decals by OffTheWallExpression


While there are many, many types of black birds in North America - including the grackle, raven, blackbird, and starling, there are only five species of the blackbird. Only one of these five, the Brewer's blackbird is completely black!




Let Your Dreams Soar Bookmark by MysticWynd

In the realm of dream interpretation, birds represent goals and aspirations.









Barn Swallow Hand Carved Wooden Bird by jjstudio

The most common swallow found world wide, the barn swallow is also known for its mating habits since it is a monogamous species and because it spend more time in the air than any other species of land bird!




Flight of the Sparrows - OOAK Beaded Gold Bird Earrings by faerymoongoddess


There are over 245 different types of sparrows and finches found across the world.







I'm Just a Pink Flamingo on the Green Grass of Life - PINBACK BUTTON - 1.25 inch round by Baymoonstudio


Flamingos have a good sense of hearing, a poor sense of smell, and virtually no sense of taste!





Felted Wool Decorator Pillow - Cardinal on a Branch by allwooledup

Seven US states claim the cardinal as their state bird - Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucy, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Kentucky was the first state to adopt the cardinal as their official state bird.




Gobbles The Turkey Organic Catnip Bell Cat Toy by AllAboutCats

Wild turkeys are hatched already having feathers - and usually leave the nest within 24 hours to forage for food with their mothers.

A turkey's snood ( the flap of skin that hangs over the turkey's beak) and wattle ( the flap of skin under the turkey's chin) turn bright red when the turkey is upset or during courtship.



With nearly 10,000 known species of birds in the world, this is such a tiny sampling of these amazing creatures, but I hope you've enjoyed my selections!

I'll be back tomorrow with a collection of sweet treats including candy, jams and jellies, sauces, and snacks to appeal to your sweet tooth! Sweet treats make great stocking stuffers as well as wonderful gifts for the people who have everything, or who prefer not to get tshatshke since once it's gone, it's gone! I have room for a couple more items if anyone has something they'd love to have featured! Just send me the link(s)!

I will be back a bit later with my weekly BESTeam feature of a great little jewelry shop called CKSilver - so be sure to stop by and read more about this member shop on my team :)

See you soon!
**designates an undiscovered or underdiscovered shop!