a blue moon

Blue-banded Pitta (Erythropitta arquata), family Pittidae, order Passeriformes, endemic to Borneo

Southern Emerald Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus albivitta), family Ramphastidae, Colombia

This year we will celebrate colorful birds this #AvianAugust! 🌈 I've focused on curating a list of birds that will flood our feeds with fun and vibrant-colored birds.

✨ How to join: * Use the daily prompts as your guide to create bird art each day in August~ or pick a few favorites and go at your own pace! * Post your work anywhere you like and tag it with #AvianAugust or #AvianAugust2026 so we can all find and share each other’s work. You are also free to tag me in your posts (this will help me keep up with your work).

If you decide to participate, don't pressure yourself to finish the full list. Be sure to take breaks and pace yourself, and *most of all* have fun!

I am SO excited to hear what you think of the chosen birds, and I'm even more excited to see your art of them. 🌈🐦

Like Gastornis was thought to be a carnivore for decades and then carbon isotopes were like, "nah this thing was basically a giant goose honk honk".

Art by Ja Chirinos

Oviraptor was thought to be an egg eater, then much ink was spilled about whether it ate mollusks, and now it's thought to be an omnivore, but mostly a fruit/seed eater like a parrot.

Somehow this Adobe Stock image is the only art of an Oviraptor eating plants I can find. How is that?

And even birds with some teeth are getting in on these dietary mysteries.

Longipteryx was first thought to be a kingfisher-like hunter of aquatic prey, but it has since been found with seed contents in its guts, making it another surprise frugivore.

Breathtaking Wildlife Photos From Around The World By Hari Prasad Sridhar

“Courtship display”

An Atlantic puffin stands silhouetted against a vibrant, purple and pink sunrise. 

Karsten Mosebach