Here are some more desert birds from Arizona for this #featheredfriday
This is a first sighting for me. A hooded Oriole!
It seems the blooming ocotillo cacti really attracted them. They also are way more tame than the Baltimore Orioles in Illinois.
They have quite an interesting call and I suddenly heard one right above my head in catclaw tree.
It was so close I had to back away so my zoom lens would be able to focus on it. They must like to eat bugs and nectar off all the blooms happening in the desert in the spring.
Next up is a cactus wren. They have a distinct call and are quite large compared to other wrens.
Also it was a treat so see a cactus wren on top of a large saguaro, you can see they are expert at perching on sharp thorns. They usually build their nest right in sharp cholla cacti to have a nice protective fortress from predators.
Another first for me was a canyon towhee. Sadly it was high up in a tree so I could only get this small shot of it.
Now for a common sighting. Just a house finch but it looked nice and colorful chewing on this strange desert plant.
Now back in Illinois I have a problem with these mourning doves trying to setup shop on my balcony. I have instructed my daughter to scare them away whenever she sees them so they won't be pooping all over her sandbox below.
That's all for now, thanks for looking :-)