Spring is full of delights to the eye. Flowers and butterflies, for example, are incredibly beautiful when viewed up close. My favorites, though, as I noted the other day, are the birds: Here are pictures of three North American species that are particularly lovely. The first is found anywhere in the east there are mature trees in relatively open woodlots. It's the bird for which the major league Baltimore orioles are named:
This next is a fairly common migrant, and in fact I just had one in my backyard today. It's called a Rose-Breasted grosbeak and the combination of black, white and red makes it a gorgeous bird:
This striking creature is harder to find unless one lives south of the Mason-Dixon line. It inhabits wooded swamps and nests in cavities, mostly in the south. It's a prothonotary warbler, and it played a prominent role in the famous Alger Hiss spy trial back in 1948.
There are lots more feathered jewels of spring so I'll post a few more pics in a day or so.
RLC
