Kern Audubon Society

“A wonderful bird is the pelican; his bill can hold more than his belly can,” begins the limerick by Dixon Lanier Merritt. And it’s true — a pelican’s pouch can hold up to three times more than its stomach.

Like the male Painted Bunting, this eye-catching species’ plumage seems an unimaginably gaudy patchwork of colors overlaying a familiar songbird form.

The bright crimson ‘Apapane is part of a group of native Hawaiian birds, reminiscent of – but even more diverse than – the famed Galápagos finches. Known as the Hawaiian honeycreepers, these birds evolved into a varied group of dozens of species that originated from a few wayward ancestors.

The Sharp-tailed Grouse is closely related to Lesser and Greater Prairie-Chickens, but has several characteristics that set it apart: The “Sharptail” has a white-edged, wedge-shaped tail with two long central feathers that give it an elongated, spiky appearance.

The elegant American Avocet is a striking sight at any time of the year. The avocet’s long, pastel-blue legs (very different from the stilt’s bright-pink striders) earned it the folk name “blue shanks.”

One Evening Grosbeak is a spectacular sight, but a flock of these big finches is unforgettable — an ever-shifting symphony of rich yellows, browns, and grays, set off by bright black-and-white accents.