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Christian Cooper, board member of the New York City Audubon, hands out yearbook-style superlatives to numerous bird species and shares some memorable birding encounters.

What’s the most underrated bird? Most mysterious? Hear Chris Cooper’s opinion.

Christian Cooper, board member of the New York City Audubon, hands out yearbook-style superlatives to numerous bird species and shares some memorable birding encounters.

Christian Cooper's Bird Yearbook Superlatives

What’s the most underrated bird? Most mysterious? Hear Chris Cooper’s opinion.

Nature

Christian Cooper's Bird Yearbook SuperlativesPublished: September 30, 2020Christian Cooper: Oh, that’s a difficult question!The most overrated bird is the European starling. A lot of people look at them and they think, “Oh, they're so pretty, they're glossy and iridescent and shiny.” Not a fan. They're an invasive species, hurting our native species. Don't belong here. Not all that pretty.Most Underrated... I'm going to go with the mourning dove. They're not spectacularly colored, but when you really take the time to notice them, they’re like, made out of satin and all these delicate shades of beige and browns and a hint of blue on the crown and the back of the neck.Mourning here is mourning as in sadness for the dead, m-o-u-r-n-i-n-g. And that's because of the sound they make, that, “whoo hoo whoo whoo whoo.” And a lot of people hear it and they think, “Oh, what's that owl? I'm hearing an owl in the daytime.” But they’re actually hearing the mourning dove. But the other reason why I think it's so underrated is because it's everywhere. I mean, this bird thrives in the middle of Manhattan. It thrives in the deep woods north of here in the Hudson Valley. It thrives in the deserts of California. It finds a way to survive everywhere, it seems. And I find that spectacular and fascinating.Bird with the Most Attitude… Hummingbirds. They just, they don't take crap from anybody. You walk into their territory and they're like, “Buzzz, who are you, why are you here?” I had a hummingbird feeder, and I had to change the hummingbird feeder with the liquid in it for the hummingbirds. So I took the hummingbird feeder down and I started to walk away with it, and the hummingbird, as I'm walking away, is flying over and eating from the feeder  like, “No, no, I'm not done yet. I’ve still got more eating to do.” So I’m like, “OK, waiting for you, waiting for you.” And then the best hummingbird story ever, I was in Palm Springs, I was sitting in the courtyard, so I was spending hours in front of my computer not moving. And all of a sudden, I feel this kind of tingling electric feeling going up and down my leg. And I'm like, “What the heck is that?” I looked down, there was a female Costa’s hummingbird running its bill up and down my leg as it flew along my leg. The only theory I can come up with is that it was the nesting season. She decided to check out my leg hair as potential nesting material to build her nest with. It was the most awesome thing. It was the best ever. I was just enthralled. I think she was like, “Oh, this soft downy stuff would be great for building my nest.” Thank goodness I don't shave my legs.Ooh, Most Mysterious… the nighthawks. They strike me as very mysterious because they're so easy to overlook in the daytime, and yet at night, they're flying around on these big flapping wings, almost like a ghostly presence. Least Bird-Like Bird… I mean, I gotta go with penguins. They're kind of waddling along, making their way down to the ocean and then flopping, throwing themselves in. They don't fly, they look like they're wearing tuxedos, they spend most of their time in the ocean. They've adapted their wings into flippers and their feet into paddles. And that's where they thrive, is in an aquatic, underwater environment.A nemesis bird is… a bird that you really, really, really want to see. And you've come really, really close to seeing it a couple of times, but you haven't seen it yet. And it's almost like the bird is going “nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah, you can't see me.” But the gyrfalcon is the largest falcon on the planet. And it can take down gulls, it can take down ducks, you know, really big birds. But I've never seen one. They are restricted to really, really northern places like subarctic regions. I hate cold weather, hate it, hate it, hate it. So it's hard to get me out there birding in those places. I've just never made a trip up there to find one. Though, I have been to Iceland. Twice. Still haven't seen the gyrfalcon. And they’re certainly in Iceland, so that's incredibly annoying. I’ve seen captive gyrfalcons, I’ve seen falconer’s birds, but I’ve never seen one in the wild, and that’s what counts.Well, the good thing is that birds are everywhere. Whether you have binoculars or not, you’ve gotta start tuning into the birds and try to figure out what you’re seeing. And once you start tuning into it, then you’re really gonna want to know more. Just keep your ears and your eyes open.

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Christian Cooper's Bird Yearbook Superlatives

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