birds

FEATHERY FRIDAY# 33

We just love our feathery friends and there are so many birds in the world! They come in all sizes and shapes and colors. They have common names and funny names, like today’s Feathery Friday bird! We’re off to Europe and Asia to meet a cute bird with a funny name.

MEET THE CORNCRAKE!

   Range/Habitat: Europe-Asia

   Diet: Omnivore: invertebrates, grass, seeds

   Length/Weight: 10 ½-12”/ 4-7 oz

   Conservation Status: Common

Fun Facts:

• Corncrakes have strong pointy bills.
• Corncrakes are also called Landrails.
• They are known for their loud raspy calls.
• Corncrake’s calls can be heard from a mile away.
• They can be heard calling up to 20,000 times in a night during the mating season.
• Corncrakes migrate to Africa in the winter.
• They migrate at night.
• Corncrakes are often heard but not seen. They usually stay well hidden.

These birds are just adorable and their calls are so fun! Our Twitter pal @catchthetoucan who is a bird keeper in the UK, she sent us a corncrake call, sadly we could not download it :(. We did find it on this website: http://www.hark.com/clips/mlhhmctfdy-corncrake-call

FEATHERY FRIDAY# 32

We were in South Africa yesterday and we’re staying on the continent today to meet a Feathery friend! We’re going to the forests today to meet a lovely little bird! Grab your binoculars because we’re going birding!

MEET THE RED CRESTED TURACO!

   Range/Habitat: Southwestern Africa/ forests

   Diet: Omnivore: fruits, leaves, snails

   Length/Weight: 16-17”/ 7-12 oz

   Conservation Status: Common

Fun Facts:

• Red crested turacos have a special cooper pigment that is unique to the Turraco family.
• If you stir a glass of water with a feather from the Red crested turaco, the water would turn pink!
• Red crested turacos live in the canopy of the forests.
• They have mobile outer toes for gripping branches.
• They hop from branch to branch looking for food.
• Red crested turacos are highly territorial.
• They live in family groups or flocks.
• Red crested turacos bond for life and both the female and male build the nest and incubate the eggs.
• Red crested turacos disperse seeds throughout the forest through their poop!

Wow, aren’t these birds amazing with their funny crests on their heads? We could watch them hop around tree branches all day!

FEATHERY FRIDAY# 31

We’re going down under again to meet a very special member of the cockatoo family! These bright birds are a fun shade of pink and who doesn’t love pink? Are you ready to meet this beauty? Let’s go mate!

MEET THE GALAH!

   Range/Habitat: Australia/ desert-grasslands- parks

   Diet: Omnivore: seeds, grasses, fruits, nuts, insects

   Length/Weight: 14”/ 300-400 grams

  Conservation Status: Common

Fun Facts:

• Galahs are the most widespread and numerous member of the cockatoo family.
• They have a short pink crest with a pink front and gray feathers on the wings, back and rear end.
• Galahs are intelligent.
• They are very noisy and gregarious.
• Galahs form loose groups or flocks.
• Galahs eat in those loose flocks and one bird watches for predators.

Galahs are so pretty and funny! They are very noisy too! Check out their call! Their bright pink feathers are just fantastic! These birds do make good pets, but just like other birds, they require lots of attention and maintenance, so do your homework before you decided to get one J!

FEATHERY FRIDAY# 30

Woohoo, we’ve made it to Friday and you know what that means! It’s time to meet another feathery friend! We met a bird who lives by the shore yesterday and today we’re heading to the rainforests of South America! We’re going way up in the canopy again, so pull on your zipline gear and let’s go! Wheeeeeeeee…

MEET THE SHARPBILL!

   Range/Habitat: South America/ rainforest

   Diet: Omnivore: insects, fruits, invertebrates

   Length: 6 ½”

   Conservation Status: Common

Fun Facts:

• Sharpbills have long sharp pointy beaks.
• Sharpbills are rarely seen.
• They are a small stocky bird.
• Sharpbills have bright orange-red eyes.
• They have a scaly face.
• They are known to travel in flocks of other birds.

We think Sharpbills are just so beautiful. There is not much known about these little shy birds! It’s hard for scientist to learn about animals that live in the canopy of the rainforest, because it is not easy to access. If you could spend your life way high up in the trees would you?

SUPER SURPRISE

THURSDAY# 30

We’re heading to the shore to meet today’s Super Surprise animal! Any guess on if it’s a bird, mammal or reptile? Well it’s small and has feathers and looks for bugs and snails in the sand! Did that give you any guesses? Let’s grab our beach blankets and head down to the water!

MEET THE RED KNOT!

   Range/Habitat: Worldwide-except Antarctica/ ocean coastlines

   Diet: Carnivore: eggs, snails, spiders, crustaceans

   Length/Weight: 9-10”/ 3-8 oz

   Conservation Status: Common

Fun Facts:

• Red knots are a member of the sandpiper family.
• They probe in the mud and shallows for prey.
• Red knots have gray plumage. Their face and underbelly turn red during breading season.
• Red knots have one of the longest migrations of any bird, up to 9,300 miles. They travel from the arctic to South America.
• Red knots in America spend part of their migration in the Delaware Bay to eat horseshoe crab eggs.

We just can’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon than to sit on the beach and watch the shore birds run around! Watch out for those seagulls though, they can be pushy! Do you have a favorite shore bird?