adventure

FEATHERY FRIDAY #44

We’re off to the UK to meet the ancestor of all domestic geese! These gorgeous birds are large and in charge! So let’s out together to meet this fine feathery friend!

MEET THE GRAYLAG GOOSE!

   Range/Habitat: Europe-Asia/ wetlands, lakes

   Diet: Herbivore: grains, vegetation

   Length/Weight: 30-35”/ 6 ½-8 ¾ lbs

   Conservation Status: common

Fun Facts:

• Graylag geese are the wild ancestor of domestic geese.
• They get their name because they migrate late in the year or lag behind other birds.
• Graylag geese are large birds; in fact they are the largest goose species in Europe.
• They live in large flocks and are very social.
• Graylag geese are very vocal. Check out their calls!
• Graylag geese mate for life.
• Male and females raise the chicks.

We just love geese and these Graylag geese are gorgeous with their gray and brown feathers. It is cool to meet the wild cousins of our domestic friends too! Can you make a goose sound? Honk! Honk!

ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE

 DAY # 3

Today’s smarty is a dark and mysterious bird. They can be found all over the world in your backyard and ours. These amazing feathery friends have some astonishing intelligence capabilities! Let’s take a stroll in our backyard to meet the dark and lovely bird!

MEET THE CROW!

   Range/Habitat: Worldwide/ farmland, parks, woodlands, suburbs

   Diet: Omnivore: insects, carrion, seeds, eggs

   Length/Weight: 16-21”/11-22 oz

   Conservation Status: Common

Fun Facts:

• New Caledonian Crows use tools. They have also been known to make tools.
• One group of crows has learned to place nuts in the street and have cars crush open the nuts. They wait til the red light appears and then get their prize.
• They hide and store food and must remember where they stored it.
• Crows have a variety of calls and vocalizations. These calls vary by the region that the crows live in.
• Crows have been known to answer the calls of other species of birds.
• They can recognize human faces and remember them years later.
• Crows almost always live near humans.
• They can be very sneaky. One group of crows will even pull up fishing lines left by ice fishermen.

Crows are super smart! We can’t believe that they even recognize human faces, check out the study here! Not only could these birds remember the researchers, they eventually taught other crows that those researchers posed a threat! Wow! Remind us not to make any crows in our neighborhood mad! Here’s a video of the crows in Japan using cars to crack nuts!