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December 17, 2024

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No Time for Tuckerman -

Thursday, August 3, 2023

The Quitter Returns! -

Monday, March 21, 2022

Putting the goober in gubernatorial -

Friday, January 28, 2022

Return of Bird of the Week: Fawn-breasted Brilliant

Fawn-breasted Brilliant, West slope of the Andes, Ecuador

Another clade of hummingbirds that aren’t called “hummingbirds” are the Brilliants, which you will likely agree is a terrific name for a kind of hummingbird. One of the nine or so species of Brilliants is the Fawn-breasted Brilliant. The Fawn-breasted Brilliant is a medium-large humming bird, averaging 11.2 centimeters (4.4 inches) in length, with a stout, slightly decurved bill. Both sexes have chests that are decorated with delicate green scalloping against a fawn-colored background. The female’s coloration is less vivid than the male’s. And the female lacks the male’s brilliant pink iridescence on his throat. This is a mountain bird,…