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Who’s Your Daddy – 2017 September-October
(IMAGE: Photo of a featherless baby bird.) Answer: Lilac crowned amazon (Amazona finschi) (IMAGE: LILAC-CROWNED AMAZON (AMAZONA FINSCHI) PHOTO STEVE DUNCAN) The lilac-crowned amazon (Amazona finschi) is a parrot endemic to the Pacific slopes of Mexico. Also known as Finsch’s amazon, the parrot is characterized by green plumage, a maroon forehead, and violet-blue crown. The binomial of this bird commemorates the German naturalist and explorer Otto Finsch. In 2006, BirdLife International classified this species as vulnerable. In 2014, IUCN uplisted this species to Endangered. Feral Birds There are feral populations of this bird in several counties in southern California. It has been observed in residential and suburban areas, but…
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Steve’s Photo Pick – 2017 September-October
(IMAGE) Trumpeter Hornbill, Bycanistes buccinator, (6-week-old chick) – A common species of equatorial Africa, the Trumpeter Hornbill often lives in small groups but sometimes as many as 50. Trumpeters are a medium-sized hornbill at about 24” long and do have a loud braying call, much louder than the Tockus species of hornbills which are also from Africa. Trumpeter Hornbills are omnivorous but eat much more fruit than animal prey, which is mostly insects. Like most other hornbills, the female will seal herself into a tree cavity for the duration of incubation and most of the period that the chicks are being reared. Young hornbills often sit with their tails cocked…