Exotic, Non-Native Scavenger Bird Makes Appearance in Southern Indiana

It would be nice to be able to learn and discover like a child again. But that ship always sails; it's the natural order of things. Still, we should never lose are instinct to marvel when marveling is appropriate.

Exotic Birds in Indiana

That's why photographers are photographers; they channel that wonder into their work, and we're all the better for it. I ran across a wonderful collection of images from Marty Jones, and one of his pages is all about unusual birds he has photographed in Indiana. They're not all necessarily Hoosier natives, but, in terms of Marty and his camera, they had good timing.

One of his captures is the American purple gallinule. I've never heard of this denizen of the Everglades, and if I saw it, I would think it was some exotic species blown off course by whatever weather system it got caught up in. I'd probably be right. Anyway, it's a beauty.

Strange Bird Spotted in Southern Indiana

Marty should grab his equipment and high-tail it over to Sullivan County, Indiana where an exotic scavenger has flown off course...way off course. Typically, you'd have to be in southern Arizona, southern Texas, or southern Florida to see a crested caracara, and they're not very common there, as natives of Mexico and South America. But there it was, halfway between Vincennes and Terre Haute near the Wabash River. What's even stranger is that the crested caracara is Mexico's national bird.

You know, "snowbird" is a term we use for humans who spend the winter in the southern United States. Maybe this dude is a "sunbird"? Like the old Pontiac?

Whatever the case may be, this must have been an exciting moment for birdwatchers all across southern Indiana. I wonder if they (I'm sorry, I have to do this) "flocked" to Sullivan County when they heard the news.