Wednesday 25 January 2023

THE PEACOCK THE WOOD DUCK And THE GREY PARROT

 Continuing my visit to the reserve.
When I first arrived at the nature reserve, I saw a Peacock strutting along on a path ahead of me, then it seemed to disappear as if into thin air, but when next I saw it, he had flown up onto a wooden beam, and after tea I managed to capture a couple of photos.

The Peacock  Pavo cristatus

I like this photo because it shows the Peacocks legs, which I had never really noticed before I looked at this image.


The male Wood Duck   Aix sponsa  has a glossy green head with a prominent crest at the rear, in repose in this image.The Chestnut breast is speckled and it's red eye and red and white beak adds to it's beauty.


Neither photo of the Wood Duck does it justice. The male is the most colourful and beautiful duck, but it doesn't stand out in the shade. The female in contrast, unfortunately not seen here, has overall grey- brown plumage, the head has a glossed crest, a white tear drop shaped patch round the brown-black eye, and it also has a blue-grey bill and a white line on wings.


The Grey Parrot,  Psittacus erithacus. is native to the rain forests of central Africa. It is one of the largest parrots in Africa, and they live on average sixty years. They are highly social birds and have the ability   
            

 to mimic human speech, and other birds. It is thought to have the intelligence of a human five year old. 


Another photo of the beautiful Wood Duck which I have just found amongst the photos I took. As I look at it, it's difficult to believe this magnificent creation is a real duck, as it's varias colours divided by white lines makes it stand out among ducks as a work of art, perhaps only surpassed in beauty by the Mandarin Duck.

31 comments:

MadSnapper said...

they are gorgeous, especially the peacock. I love wood ducks, poor girl duck got none of the painting. Our Jungle Gardens has all kinds of parrots, most of them talk,but the Gray African parrot is maybe even smarter than a five year old. he has a huge vocabulary and laughs so funny he makes us laugh.

Marit said...

Hello dear Sonjia,

Your photos are very beautiful. The Peacock is a very special bird. The Wood duck is also very pretty. The colors are amazing. I once knew a man who owned a grey parrot. He had a Zoo shop where he had this grey parrot. It spoke many words. They are too very beautiful.
I wish you a very nice week!

Many hugs from Norway.

roentare said...

Very great variety of birds on your walk

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Welcome back, Sonjia. You will perhaps be happy to know that Wood Duck is quite common here, but we never fail to appreciate its beauty. There is a large breeding population at one of our favourite wetlands and it is always fun to see the ducklings trailing along behind their mother. Stay well now! Hugs - David

Teresa said...

Un precioso reportaje, tus fotografías siempre son maravillosas. Un abrazo.

Irma said...

What beautiful photos you took while walking.
The peacock is a very special bird.
The Wood duck is also very beautiful the colors are great, unfortunately this species does not occur with us, you only see it in a zoo.
Greetings Irma

eileeninmd said...

Hello Sonjia,
The walk at the reserve sounds wonderful. Beautiful photos of the Peacock. I would love to see the Grey Parrot, what a cool looking bird. I do see the Wood Ducks here, the male is beautiful. Take care, have a great day!

Lasse said...

Hi Sonjia, That walk was very successful - great photos of these lovely birds.
Best regards
Lasse

Lowcarb team member said...

Thank you for these beautiful photographs.
Such colourful and good looking birds/ducks.

All the best Jan

Nancy Chan said...

They are all beautiful birds. I don't get to see wood duck in the zoo here.

Veronica Lee said...

Your photos are fabulous and I enjoyed seeing the variety of birds on your walk.
Have a great weekend!

Richard Pegler said...

Hello Sonjia. I hope that you are continuing to recover well.

These are delightful immages of beautiful birds. I have only seen a wood duck twice, and one was local to my home, but I would love to see a 'wild' one.

My very best wishes - - - Richard

Linda said...

Well done! Spectacular birds!

eileeninmd said...

Hello Sonjia,
I would like to visit this nature reserve. Great sightings of the Peacock, they are beautiful birds. The Wood Ducks is lovey, they almost seem to be too pretty. I would love to see the Grey Parrot, it looks large. Wonderful post and photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great weekend.

Adam Jones said...

The Wood Duck is such a beauty. So colourful.

Shiju Sugunan said...

These are great sightings and captures!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

We walked to a pond this week to see Wood ducks but my photos aren't very good. You took amazing photos of these birds!

Phil Slade said...

I have seen one or two captive Grey Parrots and would agree about their mimicry. It is quite amazing how accurate it can be. A little scary too if you are not in the room with them but hear from elsewhere! There are some truly beautiful ducks too and you pickes good ones to feature Sonjia. Hope your weekend is good and that the warmer weather is helpful to your improving health.

Debbie said...

wow...wow...wow!!! your images are really beautiful, the wood duck is stunning!! i love his iridescent colors which your images show off so well!!

awesome capture of the gray parrot...all of your pictures today are so pretty!!

RedPat said...

The Wood Ducks are so handsome. I am always thrilled to see one.

Bill said...

Beautiful captures of the birds. The wood duck is so colourful and pretty, I've never seen one except in photos. Thanks so much for sharing and have a wonderful weekend.

Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie said...

Amazingly beautiful! Great captures!

Anni said...

My favorite are the wood duck. They are rare in my neck of the woods!!

Thanks for sharing!!!

Yvonne said...

It is clear by your photos that all birds are beautiful in their own way. I've always thought of peacocks as very exotic and wonderous, but then I see the wood duck who is like a precious jewel, and even the grey parrot who proves that even grey may be wonderful... your photos are full of beauty. I'm glad you are doing much better, and even though I'm one of your followers who took "no comments" to mean no comments, you have always been in my thoughts.

LEN said...

Once again your pictures have cheered me up,coinciding with a first taste of Spring like weather here. The birds are twittering so Sonjia, maybe this year will be better than 2022! You are so lucky to have such a variety of bid life. All I seem to be able to encourage in my garden are wood pigeons and starlings.

sami niilola said...

Ah, what a beauties. Have a nice evening.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Your last paragraph perfectly describes what I think about the male wood duck. They really are almost hard to believe! What a beautiful place to visit; I am so glad you got to go and thank you for sharing the joy! .... We went to a parrot rescue place here in Florida a couple of years ago and were told that many of the pet birds were brought there because they had outlived their owners. (There are a lot of us elderly people here in the Sunshine State, but few of them live 100 years the way the parrots can!).

J.P. Alexander said...

Bellas aves, te mando un beso. Enamorada de las letras

Rostrose said...

Dear Sonjia,
I am very happy that your health is improving!!! You brought wonderful photos from the reserve. I'm like you - I had never paid attention to peacock legs before. Usually they are well hidden... and we pay more attention to the beautiful plumage or that the peacock is doing a cartwheel. The Wood duck is truly mesmerizing - it's so beautiful what wonderful plumage there is in the bird world. The gray parrot doesn't look that interesting with his grey feathers, but he is a clever fellow. My friend Anita had a gray parrot named Vasco for several decades, who could speak well and imitate many sounds - e.g. the ringing of the telephone. Anita often ran unnecessarily to the phone ;-))
ALL THE BEST, have a good and healthy February,
Traude
😘
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2023/02/costa-rica-4-kapitel-streifzug-durch.html

Pooja Mahimkar said...

Just beautiful!

Mike Attwood said...

Hello Sonjia, Lovely blog as always. Just to let you know I am almost up and running again with my new set-up. Take care,
Mike.

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