Hunting Birds with Green

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet." William Shakespeare

There are 8 birds fairly common to North America that have the word "green" in its English name and all of them can be found in Texas:
Black-throated Green Warbler
Green Kingfisher
Green Heron
Green Jay
Green Parakeet
Green-tailed Towhee
Green-winged Teal
Violet-green Swallow

On this trip, however, we only saw 3 of these, the Green Kingfisher, Violet-green Swallow and Green Heron. But are these green birds really green as their name implies? See below...

Black-throated Green Warbler

Green Kingfisher

Green Heron

Green Jay

Green Parakeet

Green-tailed Towhee

Green-winged Teal

Violet-green Swallow

Well, at least some visible part of each bird is green!

This was the second time only that I saw the Violet-green Swallow and the first time that I was close enough to see the green. They are beautiful birds and it was fun to watch them feed and then visit the Ocotillo to rest.

The references and gear I used for this blog are:
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon EF100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS USM
Camera: Canon EOS 10D
Lens: Canon EF28-105mm F/3.5-4.5 II USM
Steiner 10x42 Predator Binoculars
The SIBLEY Guide to Birds