Birds

Yes, there really is a bird under all of that even though he looks more like an exotic desert. His name is Whipper and he is just a parakeet. Well, a very famous mutant parakeet that lives in New Zealand and overcame tremendous odds to survive. This little budgie has become known around the world for his totally wild do.

Okay--at least this isn't a car stuck in the middle of The Running of the Bulls.  This is more like The Waddling of the Ducks.  The sheer number of these little web-footed birds is astounding.

Hummingbirds are enchanting creatures. They have a Disney-esque quality to them that makes us question sometimes if they are real or fiction. Their mesmerizing wing-flapping sets them apart from all of their avian cousins. We think of them as illusive, disallowing us the opportunity to get up close and personal with them.

If you're familiar with Falcon cams which document the life-cycle of baby chicks (like the YouTube video I recorded at 101 Hudson Street in Jersey City recently), you probable know how live-streaming can capture the live footage of wildlife in urban settings. But what about out in the wild? Seems like that would present even a greater challenge.

Set, Match, Game on! Rufus, the Harris Hawk who keeps court at Wimbledon these days is in charge of keeping the skies and course clear of pigeons and their infamous droppings. This saavy predator knows there's nothing worse than having pigeons poop on the players - kind of puts them off their game!

Does this mean that Earth has already been invaded?  And what do they think about humans eating their children?

It's been long believed that parrots could only mimic human speech -- that they could not comprehend what they were taught to say. Differing from that position, it's been scientist Irene Pepperberg's mission to prove that theory a fallacy, and she's spent several decades debating this issue with the scientific community. The African Grey she named ALEX (an anagram for 'Avian Learning Experiment') was her subject and over the course of his 30-year lifespan. . .