PhotoPost

PhotoPost, a new feature on Flying Lessons, tells the story through photos, videos and captions. Today’s topic is the omnipresent Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a hyperactive bird not much bigger than a hummingbird that nonetheless seems to be everywhere at once.

Except they always seem to have just moved on.

The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, which can be found in almost every state in the U.S., first strikes you for its crisp, pale-blue plumage and long tail that give it the look of a small mockingbird. But when you tune in and start to follow their manic, zig-zagging path, you realize it’s all about their constant motion. They almost never stop moving.

Like a circus act

Hard to even keep up with

Big round circled eyes

A long tail that constantly flicks

There’s a clear purpose to the frenetic travels of the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. It flicks its tail, jumps from branch to branch, turning upside down then upright again, all in pursuit of its next meal. The tail wagging stirs up insects and its speed helps it to catch up to the next morsel. As this video that’s almost as quick as the gnatcatcher shows, it’s not easy just keeping up with the little guy:

PhotoPost is a new feature on Flying Lessons built around photos and videos. Today’s subject is the bluebird, a conservation success story that can be found in every state in the U.S. The bluebird seems sent from central casting, with deep luminescent blue color, musical song and daily routines that make it easy to watch. All of this makes the bluebird an avian startlet. 

The most striking trait is its royal blue color, which is actually an illusion created by the refraction of light in its plumage. It’s depth of color varies with the sun, as this Eastern Bluebird shows in the soft afternoon light.

Bluebirds were in sharp decline in the mid-1900s, squeezed out of their habitat by starlings and finches. That led to a rescue campaign that planted bluebird boxes across the U.S. and brought back the three species, the Eastern, Western and Mountain Bluebird. Today, they are often on display where people tend to live, perched on fences, wires and branches, and simple to identify as a flash of blue. They’re active, expressive and don’t seem to mind an audience, as these photos show:

Here’s a 45-second video of an Eastern Bluebird in hunting mode. Watch how he studies everything around him: