Bird Images: Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) in Okinawa

Named After Lawyers

 

 

Some places in the world, attorneys wore black caps that resembled this bird's head.

Only, the ambulance chasers were called, advocates.

Now, I'm wondering if those dudes had crooked beaks, too.

This one was spotted in Tomigusuku, Okinawa this morning.

It didn't stand still very often so, I shot a few gigabytes of photos to capture it.

They like feeding in wetlands and will eat fish, invertebrates, bugs and worms.

In this species the male and female, take turns, incubating the eggs.

Since this was the only bird like this in the open, maybe another one was stuck egg-sitting.

Learn more about Avocets at ARKive.

Wildlife Photos: Pied Avocet in Okinawa Japan

Happy New Year From the Ryukyu Islands !

 

Today was one of the warmest New Years Days, I've ever seen in the Ryukyu Islands. 

RyukyuRusty came by and we packed up the cameras.

The first stop was the Kin Temple. More on that later. The urge to shoot wildlife took over.

A guy with a Canon camera and lens (that probably cost more than my first house) showed up.

He had a picture of this strange looking bird and guided us to the spot where he saw it.

 This bird is a Recurvirostra avosetta.  Pied Avocet is easier to remember.

It has a beak on it that looks like a bent sewing needle.

And, it has webbed feet, like a duck.

My "Birds of the World" book says they eat little aquatic animals.

ARKive has this to say about the Avocet,

"An elegant and striking bird,  the avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) gains its common name from the black colouration on its head, which resembles the cap once worn by advocates, a term used for lawyers in certain countries."

What more could a guy ask for, on the first day of a New Year ?

Somebody shot an attorney in flight.  Hah !

Visit my homepage for today's Feature Photo