What Bird Is That Forum

OK, I'll get this contest started. The theme of education seems tough for me but will try this photo of a House Finch father feeding his fledgling. A lesson in what's good to eat.

KTH wrote: Thu Sep 03, 2026 1:04 pm OK, I'll get this contest started. The theme of education seems tough for me but will try this photo of a House Finch father feeding his fledgling. A lesson in what's good to eat.

I was starting to worry that I had made the topic too hard. Should I expand it a bit? (I would give you the opportunity to switch to a different photo in that case.)

Edited to add: The question about expanding it is for everyone, not just KTH!

Ignore.

This is how we eat duckweed

Thanks for the great entries! Please feel free to post a photo of a species or situation that you can associate with education, even if the actual education isn't represented in the photo. A brief explanation or a longer story is welcome too. And I promise an easier topic next month!

(Those who have already submitted a photo may change it if they want to.)

Here's a Blue-and-white Mockingbird that taught me that size is very hard to judge in the field. I was still very much a beginning birder. I saw it through my binoculars and I was scouring my field guide looking for jays. Eventually he came close enough to see clearly without binocs and I realized he was smaller than I thought. Within a few minutes I had my ID!

Around 2020 when the Great Lakes were at or near record highs I had the opportunity to observe at close quarters the family life of Pied-billed Grebes.
The adults would defend the nest aggressively against all intruders - with Swans they would submerge and give them a nip from below.
When the chicks were in the nest the diet was almost exclusively crawfish, changing to mostly fish provided by the adults when they left the nest.
The juveniles were very quick at becoming self sufficient and very confident. I watched one toying with a Snapping Turtle for some time - swimming close to, around and under but always just out of reach.