Hitchhiking Bird series, friendly bird at a Valles Caldera scenic overlook, August 3, 2008, all photos © 2008 by ybonesy. All rights reserved.
-Related to post What Is Your Totem Animal?
I Think I Figured Out What My Totem Animal Is
August 3, 2008 by ybonesy
43 Responses
Leave a Reply
red Ravine
- Follow on WordPress.com
Artists Statements
meta
- My Tweets
How To Submit
-
Daily Haiku
Post Yours Here
_______________________
BlackBerry 365
FoneFoto A Day
_______________________
-
recent posts
QuoinMonkey’s Library
author & artist interviews
poets & poems
QuoinMonkey On Instagram
No Instagram images were found.
We Write About
top posts
- Gertrude Stein On Writing --- Again Calls The Owl By Margaret Craven
- Sidewalk Poetry -- Public Art At Its Best
- Standing Your Ground -- Arroyo, Gulch, Gully & Wash
- The Bardo
- Writing Practice
- A Letter To Agnes Martin And A Surprise Reply
- Of Prayer And Art In New Mexico
- Thunder Moon haiku (July)
- the velveeta cheese of donuts haiku
- A Conversation With Lisa Loeb
recent comments
more photos by QuoinMonkey
-
archives
red Ravine stats
- 1,997,031 community visits
find us in
-
Join 2,186 other subscribers
redravine.wordpress.com 
Somebirdy likes you, Ybonesy! Too cute!
LikeLike
Oh how cool! Female of something. Not knowing exatly where you are it is hard to tell though. No distinguishing marks at all. Quite friendly though!
LikeLike
It was in the Jemez Mountains, north-central NM. I’ve looked through my Sibley Guide to Birds, and it looks kind of like a Cowbird or even a young Blackbird. It’s hard to tell, though. Jim suggested I take the photos to the Wild Birds shop nearby, but I’m not sure I will.
It seemed like a common bird.
LikeLike
Nothing like having your totem animal in your face. lol!
It reminds me of a mockingbird. So I looked up the mockingbird and came upon the Sage Thrasher (a cross between the mockingbird and the thrasher). I’m not sure, though, so here’s the enature.com link:
http://enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?allSpecies=y&searchText=mockingbird&curGroupID=1&lgfromWhere=&curPageNum=3
LikeLike
No, not a thrasher for sure – the bill is wrong. Cowbird – that’s what my brain could not bring up. Uncommon where I am, but yes, very common where you were. My first instinct was female Brewer’s Blackbird when thinking of what I see like that here, but this bird looks bigger which the cowbird is.
LikeLike
It looks like a young song thrush to me, they are very rare now in England
LikeLike
Robin, I told Jim that I thought it looked like the Bahama Mockingbird, except one problem, they’re only in the Bahamas. I don’t have a picture of the Sage Thrasher (p 415 if you have the Sibley book), and it does have the streaks on the underside, a couple of white wing-bars, and it is in the area.
tpgoddess, the bill on the Sage Thrasher is not at all curved like all the other Thrashers. It’s short-billed, and it doesn’t have that curve. Also, this one had dark legs, and the Sage Thrasher does too. The only thing is, this ones head and the part where it met the bill, that looks different. But I think it’s definitely on the shortlist.
LikeLike
Jo, the Song Thrush photo looked very similar. The only difference is the leg color. In my book, there are some rare Thrushes with dark legs, related to the Robin.
Wow, bird identification is really hard. So many birds with similar characteristics.
I like to think it’s the Mockingbird variety, which is the Sage Thrasher. I used to live on Mockingbird Lane. 8)
LikeLike
Cool photos, yb! Looking in Peterson’s Field Guide to Western Birds, I would guess juvenal Cowbird, because of the soft breast- streakings and the sparrow-like beak. Or, it may be a juvenal Starling. It says that young Starlings look a little like the female Cowbird. Regardless, it was one curious and friendly bird!
LikeLike
I wish I would have heard its call. That seems to be pretty central to differentiating birds. But yeah, the Cowbird looks very similar, has the black legs, too. Also, I think the photo makes the bird look bigger than it was. It wasn’t very big of a bird.
Here’s what happened after I finished taking those photos. It jumped from the hood to a spot on the roof right over my window. I opened my window, and then I thought it was going to jump in because it poked its head down at me. Then, we took off with the bird on the roof and the girls saying, “Don’t go too fast…it’s going to fall off!” and me going, “It’s a bird. Birds don’t fall!” Then the bird launched from the car and flew beside us for several seconds before we picked up speed and lost it.
I’m telling you, this bird liked us.
LikeLike
Definitely a cut-up. A Cowbird totem? Sounds like a totem you’d find in Wisconsin. 🙂
LikeLike
I’m an ol’ cow hand, from the Rio Gran’.
I’m hoping once QM is back in Minnesota, which isn’t until later this week, that she can shed light on the bird totem. All the links I have write about specific birds: blackbirds, bluebirds, ravens, hummingbirds. Nothing on cowbirds or Sage Thrashers. Maybe it is a blackbird.
LikeLike
I don’t know my birds, but Jo’s opinion sounds true. The bird looks young and curious. I wonder if it can recognize its reflection in the glass? I know they are finding out that elephants, dolphins, and monkeys are able to do that. Maybe this bird can!
LikeLike
Hey there! This little admirer is definitely not a sage thrasher just google image them and you’ll see the bill is all wrong, plus there’s no whiskers on yours (for catching bugs).
Before reading anyone’s comments, my first instinct was juvenile brown headed cowbird and the pictures fit the bill (pardon the pun) and the rest of the bird,quite nicely.
I did extensive fieldwork with a bird directly affected by brown headed cowbirds. Some variation from bird to bird is definitely to be expected, but especially so in the case of Juvies. After a while you learn which details to key in on for simpler bird identification.
In my experience with them, Juvie brown headed cowbirds are quite brave and curious from time to time, although this was definitely a particularly special meeting! =)
Check out these two pictures in particular, to see what you think…
http://thebirdguide.com/digiscoping/photos/brown_headed_cowbird.htm
http://www.pbase.com/joe_tn/image/32111812
Hope this helped!!
LikeLike
Oh yes, this is it. The beak — it’s the beak that was so peculiar, and the way the top of the head blended into the beak. Plus the leg color. Yep, this looked very much like that bird.
A juvenile cowbird. Interesting. I have put on six pounds. Mooo…
LikeLike
And thanks for that, lifeinthesack. (Hmmm, interesting moniker.)
Christine, although you can’t really tell from the photos, this bird seemed to be looking into the car at us. I’m trying to remember if we had anything inside the car that might have attracted it, but from the moment we walked away from the overlook toward the car, it followed me. Maybe it thought my camera was food, or people might feed it there at the overlook.
LikeLike
moniker is a play on the sexual connotaions of being “in the sack” and ripening in the sack as one would attempt, with fruit. I am avoiding the sexual sack and focusing on the ripening. =)
Was your moo directed at me? I am very confused. =)
LikeLike
No, assuming my totem animal is a Cowbird, well that makes me the Cow. Mooo… 8)
Yes, I do that sack method of ripening fruit. Works well. Thanks for that background. Something about the idea of ripening — it’s a good word for people, too.
LikeLike
ok, it is a young bird for sure. A juvenile cowbird! Would have been my last guess, as I only know of the brownheaded adults, but hey, I am from the eastcoast, what do I know about birds of the west?
I agree with Sam. Somebirdy does like you! I have a sign at my house that reads: Everybirdy Welcome. D
LikeLike
What a cutie! That’s great that you made a friend on your drive through the mountains.
LikeLike
Did you look up the totem/medicine for the Cowbird, ybonesy???? I just looked and this is what I’ve found (you may already know this)
-Cowbird – parent and child relationships, resolving old issues
– Cycle of Power: No Specific Period
– Teaching a time of renewal, new endeavors, creative thinking, pay attention to actions in relationships
As the smallest of the blackbirds, I think Blackbird medicine might also be applicable:
http://wolfdragon.net/animals/totems/blackbird.php
🙂 just a few notes…I find this stuff so interesting (I keep meaning to write about my recent encounters with the hummingbirds and a hawk…)
LikeLike
Ahh…I love it! Long ago someone told me that your animal will make itself known when the time is right. 🙂
When I didn’t get the message in awakened state they came to tell me in my dreams..until finally speaking to me. I think I was a challenge to connect with. eh,eh,eh
Look forward to hearing more about your juvenile cowbird or is it still a “to be determined” mystery bird?
LikeLike
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Molothrus_ater.html
yb, check out this link on the cowbird. The picture selection will show a juvenile one. That beak matches your photo to a T. D
LikeLike
It is the beak, diddy, isn’t it? Thanks for the link and for the earlier comment about east coast and west coast birds. 8) Love the Everybirdy Welcome!!
teaspoon, you know how they say New Mexicans are friendly. The birds, too. 8)
Grace, thank you so much. No, I hadn’t read it yet, as I was awaiting QM’s return and settling back down. I haven’t taken her suggestion yet and purchased my own set of Animal Medicine Cards.
This is all so insightful, and just off the top I do think this is where much of my energy and focus has been — personal relationships, and also a lot of fear and emotion around my parents and their aging and my role in helping them. Who could have known that such an ordinary bird could say so much?
I’ll also check out the blackbird link. When I saw an entry on Blackbird earlier in the week, it hadn’t dawned on me that the Cowbird was from that family. Thanks for that tip, too.
Suz, I think it is a Cowbird. I’m looking forward, too, to learning more. I’ll sit with it a while and let you know what I find.
LikeLike
It’s really neat that Grace posted the wolfdragon.net link to the Druid Animal Oracle online – I have the book and cards but love the fact it is on the web as well.
Sage Thrashers live in our courtyard, they have long curved beaks and yellow eyes. They look quite different than the one in the link Robin posted.
A Cowbird is your totem? That is funny and appropriate for the stage in life, as a Mom…Don’t Cowbirds take other bird’s nests and sit on their eggs?
The only thing I wanted to add to this discussion, lest I digress, is that your AnXiety post with that bird on it comes to mind!
LikeLike
Wow, lil, that blew by me completely until you pointed it out. After reading Grace’s comment, I thought of the Anxiety post, but I didn’t connect to the illustration with the bird. Thanks for making that connection. It was so obvious I should have tripped right over it but didn’t.
I really don’t know much about the Cowbird besides what folks have commented here. I’ll do some research — your nest/egg mention has piqued my curiosity.
LikeLike
Yes, look at the bird in your drawing, how he has his eye on you, and even the setting, it is as if he/she (she is pink after all) is right up in your face….
now here is something –
Don’t Blame the Cowbird
Brown-headed cowbirds are North America’s only brood parasites. They don’t build their own nests or raise their own young. They lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, which in turn raise the young cowbirds as their own.
http://www.woodlandhabitat.com/articles/cowbirds.htm
or
Stealth, Lies and Cowbirds – !
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_n22_v153/ai_n27533097
The temptation to park the kids in another nest, at least occasionally, may be widespread in the animal kingdom, but few creatures routinely do so.
YES! a bird after my own heart…(only kidding, love my kiddos) (lol, I can’t believe you picked this for a totem, it is pretty funny you must admit)
LikeLike
from Stealth, Lies and Cowbirds:
The temptation to park the kids in another nest, at least occasionally, may be widespread in the animal kingdom, but few creatures routinely do so.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_n22_v153/ai_n27533097
LikeLike
Well, you have to admit, it is a creative way of parenting…LOL!!
At least the research is showing they’re not as promiscuous as, say, the cuckoo. (Did you read that bit?) 8)
Oh, and there’s a reason for their parenting style — they’re birds on the move.
Oh my, this *is* funny. Dang.
LikeLike
Been out of commission for a while (couldn’t look at the dang lighted computer migraines) and just catching up. This one’s too funny yb. The first shot is hilarious. The bird seems to making up his mind about you…
🙂
LikeLike
Hey, Heather, good to hear from you. Yuck, a migraine, eh? No fun. (That’s an understatement, I’m sure.)
Yeah, the Cowbird. I’m thinking I might want a do-over now that I’ve read about its parenting style. 😦 (kidding)
LikeLike
ybonsey, don’t be disheartened. sometimes totems are for the day or the week (other totems follow us through life, kind of like spirit guides). Mom, Liz, and I drew from the Animal Spirits cards (Susan Seddon Boulet) when we were away and we’d draw a card for the day. It kept us grounded and anchored as we could be on a whirlwind trip like that. So maybe the cowbird is a totem for now? It may pass. 8)
Great photos BTW. They make me smile. And what a unique perspective.
LikeLike
What’s funny is that the day the Cowbird appeared, I was 15 miles away from the camp I was dropping Dee and Em off for a week-long stay. And all this week I’m kid-free, just flitting about. Yesterday Jim and I both said, OK, now we miss them. It took three days of freedom before we realized, we’re tired of being carefree. Give us back our kids!! 8)
LikeLike
QM, any interesting pulls from that deck during your trip?
LikeLike
Interesting connection. I bet it’s weird for parents to be long without their young kids. What happens to empty nesters? That must be hard.
Liz pulled Sea Horse when we got to St. Simons Island, Georgia. You can see some of the details in the comments on this post: Ode To A Crab (haiku & mandala) LINK.
I was on a general Cat theme during the trip. But I did see a TON of hawks along the roads, rivers, woods and dales. Hawk is one of my lifetime totems, red-tailed specifically. So I am always glad to see her. Mom draws a lot of Eagles. I think it’s one of her life totems. I’ll have to think about the weirdest card we drew.
LikeLike
QM – That must be a great totem deck. I love Susan Seddot Boulen’s artwork. I have a huge print of hers – a wolf – hanging in our bedroom. Wonder if it’s a deck that is currently available?
As for empty nesting, I think by the time you’ve had the kids around for nearly 20 years each (I’ve got 3 – ages 27, 24, 20) it seems right to let them go. And it’s actually a great feeling to see them succeeding with the tools you’ve given them. I think it would make me feel sad if they couldn’t leave home.
Too, I’ve found I have so much more time, I’m doing things I’ve been wanting to do for years. So much more writing time and starting a photo business and lots more.
I think everyone with kids at home might consider actually writing a “keeping” list of all the things you say “I’d do such and such if I didn’t have the kids around.” It would certainly be an interesting read once the kids fledged. Now that I’ve thought of it, I wish I’d kept a list like that myself. Wonder what would be on it that I don’t remember?
LikeLike
Bo, that’s a good take on empty nesting. I like what you say about giving your kids all the tools they need and then letting them fly (or fall) as they need to. And they’re going to do both, because we all do both.
About Susan Seddon Boulet’s cards, they are beautiful. I have always loved her work. (I posted a couple of her cards in the Summer Solstice post this year (LINK)). I bought the Animal Spirits cards at a New Age store that was going out of business. It was some time ago, maybe the late 90’s. There aren’t too many stores like that left because everything New Age is now mainstream (part of our spiritual evolution on this planet).
The cards were put out by Pomegranate, I think after her death. They seem to have the rights to some of her work. I did do some research however and found that you can still get them and they are affordable!
Here’s the link:
Pomegranate Publisher – Animal Spirits Knowledge Cards by Susan Seddon Boulet (LINK)
LikeLike
Thanks, QM. I checked out the source – I’m ordering a set today. It’s an 08-08-08 present just for me – not too many days were the parts of the date are the same. Certainly must be a good reason to celebrate! 🙂
LikeLike
That’s great, Bo. Hey, ho, it’s all 8’s! Got to be a good sign for the Spirit world.
LikeLike
Yeah, all 8’s. Lucky 8’s, eh? So far so good on this side.
LikeLike
I ordered the cards, too. Bo’s logic was persuasive. 8)
LikeLike
that’s fantastic. 🙂 he/she was really smitten with you.
LikeLike
[…] thorough turtle complemented my quick and often irreverant spirit. (What animal am I anyway? The brown bird, I guess.) We found ourselves in synch whenever we wanted to try something new or make a change. We […]
LikeLike