Food reviews, other interesting bits from Australian travel Josh took. Of course protect your screen and keyboard in prep for those little unexpected reactions/remarks he makes while telling a story!
Tag: Mental Health Moments
“Chickadee Warbler”
About
Tiny, nimble, and sporting a bold black mask and “bib” under its bill, the Golden-winged Warbler might be mistaken for a Black-capped Chickadee at first glance. But it’s the long, thin bill and the splashes of vivid golden-yellow on its crown and wings that distinguish this long-distance migratory warbler.
Though they are denizens of shrubby, early successional habitats (areas that are in the early stages of regenerating following a disturbance, such as a fire or a clearcut) in the nesting season, Golden-winged Warblers and their recently fledged young relocate to nearby mature forests that provide adequate cover for fledglings from predators. The loss of quality brushy, young forest habitat across much of its breeding range has contributed to sharp declines in an already uncommon warbler.
Another threat comes from a close relative, the Blue-winged Warbler, which shares more than 99 percent of its genetic material with the Golden-winged Warbler. The two species regularly hybridize, and the once-uncommon Blue-winged Warbler has surged northward into the Golden-winged’s range. The Golden-winged Warbler has become much scarcer and is at risk of being genetically “swamped” by its more numerous and widespread relative where their ranges meet.
To gain a foothold and begin to recover from the loss of more than 60 percent of its population, the Golden-winged Warbler needs active habitat conservation throughout its annual life cycle, from the shrubby, early successional habitats where it nests to the open forests of Latin America and the Caribbean, where it spends its nonbreeding season.
Threats
Birds around the world are facing threats, and many species are declining. The Golden-winged Warbler has experienced a drop in its population of more than 60 percent, including a loss of nearly all of its population in the Appalachians. In addition to competition and hybridization with the Blue-winged Warbler, the Golden-winged Warbler faces challenges throughout its full annual cycle from habitat loss and degradation, and collisions. (snip-More on the page, including the songs)
Josh Day Next Day
Enjoy, and be aware of your keyboard’s presence.
“Jewel Bird”
About
Considered sacred by several Mesoamerican civilizations, the Resplendent Quetzal remains culturally significant to this day. The Resplendent Quetzal likely inspired Quetzalcoatl, the “plumed serpent” god of Mesoamerica. Legend has it that Quetzalcoatl helped create Earth. Rulers and nobility wore headdresses made from this quetzal’s shining green feathers, which symbolically connected them to the god.
In some Mesoamerican cultures, it was considered a crime to kill a quetzal, so the plumes were procured by capturing the bird, plucking its long tail feathers, and setting it free. In several Mesoamerican languages, the term for quetzal can also mean “precious” or “sacred.”
These iridescent green tail feathers also symbolized spring plant growth to the Aztecs and Maya, who viewed the quetzal as the “god of the air” and as a symbol of goodness and light. The Maya also viewed the quetzal as a symbol of freedom (due to the difficulty of keeping them in captivity) and wealth and status, as its feathers were used as money. Even today, the currency of Guatemala is called the quetzal.
The Resplendent Quetzal is also the national bird of Guatemala, pictured on the country’s flag and coat of arms. It was thought to be the spirit guide of a Maya ruler and hero, Tecún Umán, who fought against the Spanish conquest. According to legend, Tecún Umán was killed as he fought the conquistador Pedro de Alvarado. As Tecún Umán lay dying, a quetzal flew down and landed on his chest, dipping its feathers in the hero’s blood. This is supposedly how the bird acquired its red breast and belly feathers.
This spectacular species belongs to the trogon family, a group of colorful, fruit-eating birds found in the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Other family members found in the Americas include the Golden-headed Quetzal, the Elegant Trogon, and Haiti’s national bird, the Hispaniolan Trogon.
Threats
Birds around the world are declining, and many of them, like the Resplendent Quetzal, are facing ever-increasing threats. Partners in Flight includes the Resplendent Quetzal on its Red Watch List as a species of high conservation concern, and also classifies it as a “Tipping Point” species — one that has lost more than 50 percent of its population within the past 50 years. (snip-so much more!)
A Merry Day To You!
While the name Christmas features here, this is interesting food history. Enjoy!
Josh Day Next Day
Earlier (yesterday by now,) I told Scottie I’m taking some time off posting because it’s become busy at my place, but I can’t not post Josh Day! Enjoy, and all keyboard protection protocols should be in place. 🤣
A Coupla Comics For Fun
The Universe
The Observable Universe
Illustration Credit & Licence: Wikipedia, Pablo Carlos Budassi
Explanation: How far can you see? Everything you can see, and everything you could possibly see, right now, assuming your eyes could detect all types of radiations around you — is the observable universe. In light, the farthest we can see comes from the cosmic microwave background, a time 13.8 billion years ago when the universe was opaque like thick fog. Some neutrinos and gravitational waves that surround us come from even farther out, but humanity does not yet have the technology to detect them. The featured image illustrates the observable universe on an increasingly compact scale, with the Earth and Sun at the center surrounded by our Solar System, nearby stars, nearby galaxies, distant galaxies, filaments of early matter, and the cosmic microwave background. Cosmologists typically assume that our observable universe is just the nearby part of a greater entity known as “the universe” where the same physics applies. However, there are several lines of popular but speculative reasoning that assert that even our universe is part of a greater multiverse where either different physical constants occur, different physical laws apply, higher dimensions operate, or slightly different-by-chance versions of our standard universe exist.
Explore the Observable Universe: Random APOD Generator
Tomorrow’s picture: stellar shell game
“Lotus Eater”
We get Mississippi Kites in late Spring; they’re about gone now. They give amazing air shows! Watching them makes a day better.-Ali
About
With pearlescent gray feathers and a sleek silhouette, the Mississippi Kite glides gracefully through the skies on wingbeats that manage to look effortless. While this medium-sized raptor with long, pointed wings and a squared-off tail may resemble a Peregrine Falcon in flight, the Mississippi Kite’s bouyant and easy flight can quickly distinguish it from the rapid, businesslike flight of the falcon. Its aerial acrobatics have earned the kite nicknames like “Hovering Kite.”
A long-distance migratory species, the Mississippi Kite breeds throughout the southern and central United States, making use of wooded areas in a range of settings — in large, low-lying forest tracts, windbreaks (stands of wind-resistant trees and shrubs) in prairies, and even in urban settings. Their habitat use and even their social behaviors vary throughout their range, with kites in the west being more likely to nest in colonies than their counterparts in the east.
Threats
The global Mississippi Kite population is increasing, and its range has expanded into parts of the Southwest since the mid-20th century. Even so, the cumulative impacts from threats like habitat degradation and loss, pesticide use, and collisions may make the Mississippi Kite more vulnerable across parts of its range.
Habitat Loss (snip-more on the page)
Whatever Else May Come
from the end of the shutdown,-and I have huge hope that we the people will continue to stand together to help each other through the days!-we do get the Astronomy Photo of the Day again!
Orion and the Running Man
Image Credit & Copyright:R. Jay Gabany
Explanation: Few cosmic vistas can excite the imagination like The Great Nebula in Orion. Visible as a faint, bland celestial smudge to the naked-eye, the nearest large star-forming region sprawls across this sharp colorful telescopic image. Designated M42 in the Messier Catalog, the Orion Nebula’s glowing gas and dust surrounds hot, young stars. About 40 light-years across, M42 is at the edge of an immense interstellar molecular cloud only 1,500 light-years away that lies within the same spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy as the Sun. Including dusty bluish reflection nebula NGC 1977, also known as the Running Man nebula at left in the frame, the natal nebulae represent only a small fraction of our galactic neighborhood’s wealth of star-forming material. Within the well-studied stellar nursery, astronomers have also identified what appear to be numerous infant solar systems.
Tomorrow’s picture: pixels in space
Scottie's Playtime 
