Are you Ready?
North Texas
will soon be invaded by masses of Goldfinches. They’ll be with us ‘til about
April, as they avoid the freezing climate up north. Several cof you, however,
have mentioned that they aren’t yellow at first; right now they’re mostly dark
olive. Gradually, through the winter, the small birds will molt to a golden
yellow. All you may see now is a little hint of yellow on their heads.
Some of you have already spotted beautiful Cedar Waxwings, another cool-season resident. This probably means that flocks of them are on the way! They’ll feast on berries and fruit (Beautyberries and Yaupons are their favorites), perching calmly and socially until a shrub is picked clean. They like fruit-flavored suet too. They’ll stay around north Texas until well into spring if the food is good.
“A
cardinal by any other name would be as red”
The name “cardinal” actually comes
from the red color worn by the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. The bird, Cardinal, was named after the
religious cardinals. Religious cardinals took their title, long ago, from the
Latin “cardinalis” meaning “important” or “that on which things depend”,
derived from the Latin root word
“cardo”.
HOLLOW? Almost
all birds have hollow bones. It helps enable flight by reducing their
weight. An exception is Penguins– who
don’t fly (and would have difficulty swimming).
Owen Yost, in addition to blogging, is a Landscape Architect emeritus
from here, who‘s worked in north Texas for over 30 years. He is a member of the American Society of
Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Society of Landscape Architects, the
National BirdFeeding Society, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon
Society. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award by the Native Plant
Society of Texas. His design office is at birdpoop@charter.net