Find out how this photo of the "mad" bluebird changed Michael Smith's life.

Photo source: The Baltimore Sun

The Sharp-Shinned Hawk is a small, jay-size hawk, with dark gray back, a rusty-barred breast, a slender square-tipped tail. This one sat on my fence for awhile before finding his dinner (a mouse) in the bushes.

More info: See more photos of this hawk.

Want to know more about falcons?

The Keel-billed Toucan, known as the "bill bird", is the national bird of Belize. The most obvious characteristic of the toucan is the huge yellow, orange, red, green and black bill.

The toucan's bill is amazingly dextrous and allows the bird to feed on a variety of tropical forest fruits. More info here >

Feather color in flamingoes varies with species, ranging from pale pink to crimson or vermilion. Newly-hatched chicks are gray or white. Parents lose their pink coloration while raising young if they are still feeding chicks through the adult's molting period. More info here >

Parakeets are very social birds and like to have at least one other parakeet as a companion to keep them company and to help them to groom. They also like to have your attention — by talking to them and spending time in the room with them.

One balmy September afternoon this little fellow spent several hours in our backyard, feasting at the bird feeder and twittering in the cherry tree. He was too wary for us to catch him, so we hope he made his way back home safely.

Because they eat both small vertebrates and vegetation, egrets are categorized as omnivores. The distinction between a heron and an egret is rather vague, and depends more on appearance than biology.

This is generally a rather quiet bird, but during the breeding season the male makes a series of tuneful whistling calls kleeuu, kleeuu-ku-ku-ku from a tree-top perch.

Two eagles build a nest and return each year to add a bit here and a bit there.