The Urban Pantheist

As you know, since you read my journal, a house can be natural habitat for wildlife. In and around a house there can be many factors that encourage certain kinds of animals. At the house we stayed in Antigua, the main attractants were lights at night, and dining outdoors during the day.


Lesser Antillean bullfinches area attracted to the activities surrounding breakfast. These bold songbirds essentially fill the house sparrow niche, and are found wherever people are on the island.
( many more, including one dead one )

Photo by cottonmanifesto
Urban species #111: Gray kingbird

In Boston you are likely to see a pair of eastern phoebes or eastern kingbirds on any given river or pond. In Antigua we saw gray kingbirds almost everywhere we looked. Most likely this reflected the great density of insect prey available to them. Like other tyrant flycatchers (that's the common name of the bird family Tyrannidae) gray kingbirds perch on a high conspicuous lookout, and make quick flights out to catch insects in the air. Gray kingbirds catch insects from high perches over pastureland, hotel grounds, and the city.