Beaky has big feet!  This lovely fellow is…

The White Ibis!

I like birds, but they scare me.  Their beaks, in particular, are frightening because they’re a combination of sword, knife, and skewer.

The pretty black bird behind the ibis is a Cormorant, another type of fishing bird.  We had lots of them in California, but I don’t recall seeing very many here in the Chicago area.  (That doesn’t necessarily signify; I’m not really a birder.)

The ibis decided he wanted to move off his perch.

I didn’t catch it until he spread them, but his wings have black edges.

And his wing-span is a lot bigger than it looks like when he’s just innocently standing there.  This is a big bird.

He apparently likes being talked to, because he looked right at me.

Or, he’s planning to leap clear over the branch and eat my face.  Take your pick.

Join me tomorrow for the hardest of the letter animals to find:  J.

Oh, and a quick word about ichthyology – when I was researching the letters, I had a devil of a time figuring out what to do for several of them (including “J”).  I couldn’t think of any “I’s,” so I settled on ichthyology – or the study of fish.  I have lots of neat pictures of fish.

But then I found the lovely ibis, and I had to use him for today instead.  🙂

---

Thank you for joining me for the A-Z Blog Challenge.  If you’re blogging in the challenge, please leave me a link so I can come visit you too.  If you have a moment, please check out these other fine blogs:

My theme on my Knoontime Knitting craft blog is Letterforms In Nature and the Built Environment.  I’ll be exploring my daily round, looking for shapes in the natural world and build environment.

The theme at Noon & Wilder is The A To Z of Chicago.  Since I live here in the city and we have our Chicagoland Shifters based here, I figured I’d share a window into the city, Noon & Wilder style.

The Nice Girls Writing Naughty have a new home, and we’re blogging in the challenge again this year.  Throughout the month you’ll be hearing from each of the Nice Girls, and during the RT Booklovers Convention from April 12th to the 17th, you’ll be getting live convention reports.  Join the conversation!

The Writer Zen Garden’s brand new website is up and running, and we’re bringing you posts from me, Noony; my partner in crime, Rachel Wilder (the Wilder half of Noon & Wilder); the talented Darla M. Sands – a blogger in her own right, see below; as well asGrace Kahlo, Evey Brown, and author Tina Holland.  Check it out!

My friends who are participating in the challenge (and if you’re not on this list, tell me and I’ll add you!):

• Darla M. Sands, Awakening Dreams and Conquering Nightmares with a Pen
• Kari Trenten, The Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration

Write on, and Happy Blogging!