I managed to get this photograph, one of my best shots yet, due to some interesting bird behavior. I think it was trying to get its young to fly? The very poor photo I managed to get into the hole in the neighbor’s eaves makes me think they were too young for flight. But the parent bird was flying back and forth, food in beak, to the nest, not letting go of the food that the chicks were crying out for, flying back to the tree or the roof, and managing to make some chirpy encouraging(?) noises without dropping the caterpillar, then repeating the whole thing again.

The lighting was mostly overhead (we’re somewhat northish, so it never is directly overhead), and really pulled out the reflective coloration of the feathers.

Photo Description: A starling sits on a maple branch, body facing the camera, head facing to the left. A bright greenish yellow caterpillar is in its beak. The visible parts of the bird are mostly black, with purple and green tinges where direct sunlight falls onto the head and neck.

Multiple image sizes available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/xersrowan/52044009510

Photo and text licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution license. Creator: Xer S. Rowan. Click this link to read the license on the Creative Commons site.