Posts Tagged With: environment

ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE STARS- CROWS!

Let us tell you, crows and their kin are some smart birds! They can do things you couldn’t even imagine! These clever birds are thought of as a bit scary at times, even in a group they are called a murder! We have a professor the University that is a crow- and he is a smart one, but so far not scary at all! Whew!

CROW STATS:

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! That is one smart cookie!

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL VULTURE AWARENESS DAY 2014!

We’re celebrating vultures today! We bet you aren’t ready for your International Vulture Day party are you? Well, we have you covered! We’ve got pictures, fun facts and even some recipes for vulture snacks! Let’s get this party started!

This is our pal Vinnie!

FUN VULTURE FACTS:
• There are 23 species of vultures in the world. Fourteen of them are listed as endangered.
• Vultures are classified as Old world (Europe, Asia, Africa) and New world (Americas).
• Recent DNA shows that Old world and New world vultures are not related and probably have different ancestors.
• Vultures eat carrion (dead animals). We like to call them the garbage birds of the world as they can eat things no other animal can.

 
• Vultures are social animals.
• A flock of vultures is called a kettle. We wonder if they drink a lot of tea?
• Vultures have an excellent sense of smell and sight!
• Vultures have featherless heads. This keeps them free of bacteria and parasites!
• Vultures also urinate on their legs to keep them cool and free of bacteria. Eeeeewwww!
• The Andean Condor is the largest species of vulture. They have a 9-10 foot wingspan!

 
• The Hooded condor is the smallest species of vulture. They are about the size of a crow.
• When threatened vultures throw up! Double eeeeeeeewww!!!

You can learn more about these amazing creatures and conservation efforts to protect them at the official International Vulture Awareness Day website! Many of these amazing birds are threatened or are facing extinction. The magnificent California Condor was brought back from the brink of extinction by concerted efforts of people! YAY!!