Posts Tagged With: birds

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!

FEATHERY FRIDAY GREATEST HITS!

We went to the desert on this day to meet a famous bird! Have you ever seen the cartoon where there’s a coyote and a roadrunner? Did you know that there are real roadrunners? Well they are real and they’re pretty cool! So let’s meet our feathery friend the…

MEET THE GREATER ROADRUNNER!

   Range/Habitat: Southwestern United States-Northern Mexico/desert and scrub

   Diet: Carnivore: lizards, snakes, scorpions and spiders

   Length/Weight: 22”/12 oz

   Conservation Status: Common

Fun Facts:

• Greater Roadrunners can fly but spends most of its time on the ground.
• They can reach speeds of up to 18 mph! That is one fast bird.
• Greater roadrunners generally walk/run to catch their prey.
• They use their large beaks to attack prey.
• They have long tails that they lay flat when running.
• Greater roadrunners have black skin under their feathers. They expose the skin to the sun to absorb heat.

We all love watching the coyote roadrunner cartoons, but the real roadrunner is more fun! They are fast and furious little birds. How fast can you run? You should try and be a roadrunner for the day!

SUPER SURPRISE THURSDAY GREATEST HITS!

We went to Australia to meet this feathery animal! Who is it, you say? Well it’s a bird you think would say who but this one doesn’t! Whooooo is it then?

MEET THE BOOBOOK OWL!

   Range/Habitat: Australia-South New Guinea/forests, grasslands, farmlands

   Diet: Carnivore: insects, birds, mammals

   Length/Weight: 12-14”/6-10oz

   Conservation Status: Common

Fun Facts:

• Boobook owls are named after the call it makes.
• They are nocturnal like other owls, but often feed at dusk and dawn too!
• Boobook owls are specialists at catching prey in mid-air.
• They have grey beaks and feet.
• Both females and males take care of the chicks.

This funny little owl doesn’t make the typical who call! That’s what makes it so special! Listen to it here.