A supremely lovely bird; the most beautiful, all things considered, that I have ever seen. He owes his beauty to the intensity and arresting contrast of his coloration, the resplendent sheen and glitter of his plumage, the elegance of his ornamentation, the symmetry of his form, and the noble dignity of his carriage.

Alexander Skutch, Life history of the Quetzal, Condor. 46: 213-235 (1944)

This is, for WC, the most beautiful bird in the world. WC has only seen the species twice, and only gotten a photo the second time. It was a mess. WC’s tripod had jammed, and could only be used as a monopod. The bird was badly backlit, and the wind was making that breathtaking tail flutter all over the place. WC has reprocessed the image for this post, but it’s still a little soft.¹ Even so, this comes reasonably…

Vireos, a family of songbirds distributed around the world, might be one of the families of birds least familiar to non-birders. Vireos don’t make it to Alaska; WC only had limited experience with this family of birds from trips to warmer climes before moving to Idaho. They aren’t as flashy as their warbler cousins, but do sometimes have a subtle beauty. WC was lucky enough to see and photograph six members of the Vireo family on that recent trip to Texas. The photos aren’t uniformly good, but may be good enough to serve as an introduction for readers. All of these photos were taken in April 2022 in Texas.

The Black-capped Vireo has only a small range in the U.S., confined to Texas and a small part of Oklahoma. This male was singing on territory and very nearly cooperative. The species is regarded…