Here is one in flight.
This cricket was one of many thousand seen and a plentiful food source for the flycatchers.
USA - 2022
As some of you know I have recently spent two weeks in the USA for two weeks. Here are just a few images from there.
The target was to attend the air show commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the United States Air Force (USAF). Previously it was known as the US Army Air Corps (USAAC). In 1947 the army air support was split off and integrated with the US Army ground forces. The air show was held at Nellis Air Force Base just outside of Las Vegas. For me the highlight of the show was this close formation trio of a WWII North American P-51 Mustang with two fifth generation fighters, a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor alongside the latest Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II.
The American Kestrel is smaller and more brightly coloured than our kestrels. A rather distant bird enlarged as much as I dare.
Turkey Vultures can be seen quartering the ground almost anywhere in the US in Summer. At this time of year they are mainly confined to the South with many thousand passing through Central America to the northern part of South America for the Winter.
As with all vultures they have unfeathered heads so they can stick their heads in all manner of unsavoury places without getting matted feathers. They detect their prey by smell.
Thrashers are a group of species mainly seen in the southern states. This Curve-billed Thrasher is by far the most common species.
There are many species of flycatcher in the New World. They are mostly migratory as they need to go where the insect are. This Say's Phoebe finds enough food to stay in the Arizona area.
Another flycatcher that can stay in the US all year is this Western Flycatcher. Hard to separate visually from Eastern Flycatcher the location of California provides the clue.
There are very many warblers in the US, none of which is related to any of the Old World species we are familiar with in the UK. Most migrate to South America for the winter but some, like this Yellow-rumped Warbler, often stays in border states.
There are plenty of introduced House Sparrows in the US but one of the most common urban birds is the House Finch. Here is a female.
And here is a splendid male House Finch on a TV aerial in Las Vegas. They are not all as brightly coloured as this one.