Veterinary Info: birds

Showing posts with label birds. Show all posts

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Pelican

Pelecanus

A brown pelican

Photograph courtesy Gary M. Stolz/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

There are more than half a dozen species of pelicans, but all of them have the famous throat pouch for which the birds are best known. These large birds use their elastic pouches to catch fish—though different species use it in different ways.

Many pelicans fish by swimming in cooperative groups. They may form a line or a "U" shape and drive fish into shallow water by beating their wings on the surface. When fish congregate in the shallows, the pelicans simply scoop them up. The brown pelican, on the other hand, dives on fish (usually a type of herring called menhaden) from above and snares them in its bill. Pelicans do not store fish in their pouch, but simply use it to catch them and then tip it back to drain out water and swallow the fish immediately. The American white pelican can hold some 3 gallons (11 1/2 liters) of water in its bill. Young pelicans feed by sticking their bills into their parents' throats to retrieve food.

Pelicans are found on many of the world's coastlines and also along lakes and rivers. They are social birds and typically travel in flocks, often strung out in a line. They also breed in groups called colonies, which typically gather on islands.

Read full here...

Friday, June 21, 2013

Osprey

Pandion haliaetus

An osprey preparing to dive

Photograph courtesy NASA

Ospreys are superb fishers and indeed eat little else—fish make up some 99 percent of their diet. Because of this appetite, these birds can be found near ponds, rivers, lakes, and coastal waterways around the world. Ospreys hunt by diving to the water's surface from some 30 to 100 feet (9 to 30 meters) up. They have gripping pads on their feet to help them pluck fish from the water with their curved claws and carry them for great distances. In flight, ospreys will orient the fish headfirst to ease wind resistance.

Ospreys are sometimes confused with bald eagles, but can be identified by their white underparts. Their white heads also have a distinctive black eyestripe that goes down the side of their faces. Eagles and ospreys frequent similar habitats and sometimes battle for food. Eagles often force osprey to drop fish that they have caught and steal them in midair.

Human habitat is sometimes an aid to the osprey. The birds happily build large stick-and-sod nests on telephone poles, channel markers, and other such locations. Artificial nesting platforms are common in areas where preservationists are working to reestablish the birds. North American osprey populations became endangered in the 1950s due to chemical pollutants such as DDT, which thinned their eggshells and hampered reproduction. Ospreys have rebounded significantly in recent decades, though they remain scarce in some locales.

read full here... http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/osprey/

Friday, April 19, 2013

Canvasback

Aythya valisineria

Canvasbacks are diver ducks well equipped with their own form of flippers—large webbed feet that make them smooth and graceful swimmers.

Photograph by Jac6.Flickr, Flickr

Canvasbacks are diver ducks well equipped with their own form of flippers—large webbed feet that make them smooth and graceful swimmers. They spend much of their time in the water and use their long bills to feed by digging through bottom sediments in search of aquatic plant stems and roots, or submerged insects, crustaceans, and clams.

On land, canvasback movements are clumsy and the ducks seldom stray too far from the water’s edge. But when “cans” take to the air they can cover a lot of ground.

Each year when winter weather begins to chill northern lakes, ponds, and prairie wetlands, the canvasbacks’ food becomes scarce and the ducks take flight in enormous flocks. Thousands of birds migrate together each year to traditional wintering sites like the Chesapeake Bay, San Francisco Bay, Gulf Coast, and Mexico. The majority of North American canvasbacks breed in the Prairie Pothole wetlands and migrate via the Mississippi Flyway to the Mid-Atlantic and Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, or along the Pacific Flyway to the California coast.

The Chesapeake Bay’s Susquehanna Flats area was once the winter home of perhaps half of the North American canvasback population. But the shoals’ lush beds of wild celery have declined with compromised water quality and increased sedimentation. Chesapeake canvasback numbers followed suit and have declined some 80 percent over the last 50 years.

Rad full here.... http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/canvasback/

Monday, April 1, 2013

Canada Goose

Branta canadensis

Once threatened with dwindling populations, conservation efforts have made the Canada goose very common throughout North America.

Photograph by Stephen St. John

The ubiquitous Canada goose is one of the best known birds in North America. It is found in every contiguous U.S. state and Canadian province at one time of the year or another.

Canada geese are adaptable to many habitats and may thrive wherever grasses, grains, or berries are available. Because of changing weather, settlement, and farming patterns, many Canada (not "Canadian") geese have begun to alter their migrations. Typically, the birds summered in northern North America and flew south when cold weather arrived. This cycle endures, but some northern populations have shortened their flight to traditional wintering grounds in the southern U.S. and Mexico. Other Canada geese have become permanent residents of parks, golf courses, suburban subdevelopments, and other human habitats across much of North America. In some areas, such as airports, they are so numerous that they are considered a nuisance. Just 50 geese can produce two and a half tons of excrement in a year.

When the birds do migrate, they form impressive and aerodynamic "V-formations." They can cover 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) in just 24 hours with a favorable wind, but typically travel at a much more leisurely rate. These noisy groups honk their way along established paths that include designated "rest stops." These social birds remain in flocks year-round, except while nesting.

Link: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/canada-goose/

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Macaw

Psittacidae

Of the 17 species of macaws, several are endangered, including the beautiful hyacinth, seen here in flight.

Photograph by Joel Sartore

Macaws are beautiful, brilliantly colored members of the parrot family.

Many macaws have vibrant plumage. The coloring is suited to life in Central and South American rain forests, with their green canopies and colorful fruits and flowers. The birds boast large, powerful beaks that easily crack nuts and seeds, while their dry, scaly tongues have a bone inside them that makes them an effective tool for tapping into fruits.

Macaws also have gripping toes that they use to latch onto branches and to grab, hold, and examine items. The birds sport graceful tails that are typically very long.

Macaws are intelligent, social birds that often gather in flocks of 10 to 30 individuals. Their loud calls, squawks, and screams echo through the forest canopy. Macaws vocalize to communicate within the flock, mark territory, and identify one another. Some species can even mimic human speech.

Flocks sleep in the trees at night, and in the morning they may fly long distances to feed on fruit, nuts, insects, and snails. Some species also eat damp soil, which may help to neutralize chemicals in their fruity diet and ease their stomachs.

Macaws typically mate for life. They not only breed with, but also share food with their mates and enjoy mutual grooming. In breeding season, mothers incubate eggs while fathers hunt and bring food back to the nest.

There are 17 species of macaws, and several are endangered. These playful birds are popular pets, and many are illegally trapped for that trade. The rain forest homes of many species are also disappearing at an alarming rate.

Read full here... http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/macaw/

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Snow Goose

Anser caerulescens

Its numbers in dangerous decline in the early 20th century, the snow goose has made a stellar recovery, so much so that it has overrun its habitat.

Photograph courtesy Dave Menke/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Snow geese are known for their white plumage, but many of them are actually darker, gray-brown birds known as blue geese. These birds were once though to be two separate species, but they have recently been found to be merely two different color morphs of the same bird. A single gene controls the color difference.

Snow geese are harbingers of the changing seasons. They fly south for the winter in huge, honking flocks that may appear as a "U" formation or simply as a large "snowstorm" of white birds. They spend the colder seasons in southern coastal marshes, bays, wet grasslands, and fields. Their diet is entirely vegetarian, consisting of grasses and grains, grazed from damp soils or even shallow water.

At winter's end, snow geese fly north to their breeding grounds on the Arctic tundra. Pairs mate for life, and produce two to six eggs each year in a shallow ground nest. Chicks can swim and eat on their own within 24 hours, but families remain together through the young's first winter. Families can be identified as groups during both the southern and northern migrations.

Read full here... http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/snow-goose/

Monday, February 4, 2013

Sandhill Crane

Grus canadensis

Most sandhill cranes live in freshwater wetlands, feeding on plants, grains, mice, snakes, insects, and worms.

Photograph by Marc Moritsch

Sandhills are the most common of all the world's cranes. A fossil from the Miocene Epoch, some ten million years ago, was found to be structurally the same as the modern sandhill crane. Today, these large birds are found predominately in North America. They range south to Mexico and Cuba, and as far west as Siberia.

Migratory subspecies of sandhill cranes breed in the Northern U.S., Canada, Alaska, and Siberia. Each winter they undertake long southern journeys to wintering grounds in Florida, Texas, Utah, Mexico, and California. En route, more than three-fourths of all sandhill cranes use migratory staging areas in a single 75-mile (120-kilometer) stretch along Nebraska's Platte River.

Most sandhill cranes live in freshwater wetlands. They are opportunistic eaters that enjoy plants, grains, mice, snakes, insects, or worms. They often dig in the soil for tubers and can sometimes cause significant crop damage, which brings them into conflict with farmers.

The birds are naturally gray and their heads are topped with a crimson crown. Some cranes preen themselves by adding mud to their feathers and thus taking on a temporary brown hue. This may happen because the birds use their bills to probe for food in muddy wetland soil.

During mating, pairs vocalize in a behavior known as "unison calling." They throw their heads back and unleash a passionate duet—an extended litany of coordinated song. Cranes also dance, run, leap high in the air and otherwise cavort around—not only during mating but all year long.

Read full here... http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/sandhill-crane/

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Laughing Kookaburra

Dacelo gigas

At up to 18 inches (46 centimeters) in length, the laughing kookaburra is the largest member of the Kingfisher family. Their stout beaks can grow to 4 inches (10 centimeters).

Photograph by Medford Taylor

The laughing kookaburra is well known both as a symbol of Australia’s birdlife and as the inspirational “merry, merry king of the bush” from the children’s song.

Native to the eucalyptus forests of eastern Australia, the laughing kookaburra is the largest member of the Kingfisher family, with females weighing up to one pound (455 grams) and growing to 18 inches (45 centimeters) in length. Its beak can reach 4 inches (10 centimeters) long and is used to snatch a variety of invertebrates and small vertebrates, including the occasional small snake. Since being introduced in western Australia and New Zealand, the kookaburra has angered farmers by preying on their fowl.

The laughing kookaburra has dark brown wing plumage and a white head and underside. Dark brown eye stripes run across its face and its upper bill is black. Its reddish-colored tail is patterned with black bars.

It gets its moniker from its manic laughter-like call. And its early dawn and dusk cackling chorus earned it the nickname “bushman’s clock.”

Laughing kookaburras are monogamous, territorial birds that nest in tree holes. Females lay one to five eggs, which are tended by a collective unit composed of parents and elder siblings. Fledgling kookaburras generally remain with their parents to help care for the subsequent clutch.

Read full here... http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/laughing-kookaburra/

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Blue-Footed Booby

Sula nebouxii

Not just attractive physical features, the blue feet of this booby can be used to cover its chicks and keep them warm.

Photograph by Tim Laman

Blue-footed boobies are aptly named, and males take great pride in their fabulous feet. During mating rituals, male birds show off their feet to prospective mates with a high-stepping strut. The bluer the feet, the more attractive the mate.

These boobies live off the western coasts of Central and South America. The Galápagos Islands population includes about half of all breeding pairs of blue-footed boobies.

Read full here... http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/blue-footed-booby/