Buds and Blooms: The mast (flower stalk) of an unidentified agave.
Tag: Tempe
Buds and Blooms: Unidentified agave inflorescence.
Buds and Blooms: Unidentified agave inflorescence.
Cavity building: Gila woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygilais), on a Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis). Kiwanis Park, Tempe, Arizona.
Cavity building: Gila woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygilais), on a Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis). Kiwanis Park, Tempe, Arizona.
Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis).
At Kiwanis Park, Tempe, Arizona.
Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis).
At Kiwanis Park, Tempe, Arizona.
Leaning in for a kiss.
Peach-faced lovebirds (Agapornis roseicollis), at Kiwanis Park in Tempe, Arizona. Both male and female lovebirds engage in mutual feeding – a behavior that reinforces their pair bond. The feeding behavior looks uncannily like an affectionate kiss, and is the source of their common name.
Leaning in for a kiss.
Peach-faced lovebirds (Agapornis roseicollis), at Kiwanis Park in Tempe, Arizona. Both male and female lovebirds engage in mutual feeding – a behavior that reinforces their pair bond. The feeding behavior looks uncannily like an affectionate kiss, and is the source of their common name.
Peach-faced lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis), at Kiwanis Park, in Tempe, Arizona.
These birds are native to the Namib Desert region of southwest Africa. Feral populations are common throughout Phoenix. In this photo the bird’s nest cavity (in a groomed Canary Island date palm) can be seen in the background – real estate probably made by a native woodpecker. Because the rate of cavity creation among native species is so high the lovebirds are not generally considered disruptive.
Bonus etymology: The generic name is a New Latin construction from the Greek words ἀγάπη (agápē, “love”) and ὄρνις (órnis, “bird”).
Dithyramb 