Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Red-Breasted Nuthatch

The presence of this nuthatch is typically announced by its nasal calls. The red-breasted nuthatch has the un­usual habit of smearing resin around the entrance hole to its nest, presumably to deter predators and competitors from entering the nest. During the breeding season, the red-breasted is usually found in forests dominated by firs and spruces; during migration and winter, it is found in a variety of habitats. When not breeding, the red-breasted can be seen in small flocks with other nuthatches, chickadees, kinglets, and brown creepers. Monotypic. Length 4.5" (11 cm).Similar Species This is the only North American nuthatch with a broad white supercilium and contrasting broad dark eye line.

Snow Goose

Snow geese are known for their white plumage, but many of them are actually darker, gray-brown birds known as blue geese.ow 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.

Peacock

Peacocks are large, colorful pheasants (typically blue and green) known for their iridescent tails. These tail feathers, or coverts, spread out in a distinctive train that is more than 60 percent of the bird’s total body length and boast colorful "eye" markings of blue, gold, red, and other hues. The large train is used in mating rituals and courtship displays. It can be arched into a magnificent fan that reaches across the bird's back and touches the ground on either side. Females are believed to choose their mates according to the size, color.Peacocks are ground-feeders that eat insects, plants, and small creatures.The blue peacock lives in India and Sri Lanka, while the green peacock is found in Java and Myanmar (Burma). A more distinct and little-known species, the Congo peacock, inhabits African rain forests.

Greater Flamingo

Greater flamingos are likely to be the only tall, pink bird in any given locale. They also have long, lean, curved necks and black-tipped bills with a distinctive downward bend.Greater flamingos live and feed in groups called flocks or colonies. They find safety in numbers, which helps to protect individual birds from predators while their heads are down in the mud. Greater flamingos also breed while gathered in groups. Once mating is complete, a pair takes turns incubating their single egg. Young flamingos are born gray and white and do not turn pink for two years.

Bluebird


There are three species of these colorful North American birds. Eastern and western bluebirds have a reddish brown breast.They are much admired for their lovely coloring and for a distinctive song that many hear as "chur-lee, chur-lee."The mountain bluebird also inhabits much of western North America—often at elevations above 7,000 feet (2,133 meters).Bluebirds eat small fruits and hunt insects, spiders, and other creatures from above.  Females lay four or five eggs and incubate them for about two weeks. Young remain in the nest, cared for by both parents, for an additional 15 to 20 days. Bluebirds often have two broods in a season. Sometimes, a young bluebird from the first brood will remain in the nest and assist its parents in caring for the second.

Bluebirds living in higher latitudes may head south if food becomes scarce or temperatures too cold

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Opisthocomus hoazin

escription Opisthocomus hoazin; Beni River, Bolivia
English: Hoatzin, Beni River, Bolivia.
Date
Source Own work
Author Linda De Volder

BroadbilledHummingbird

cription Broad-billed Hummingbird male, Madera Canyon, Arizona
Date April 2007
Source http://www.naturespicsonline.com/
Author www.naturespicsonline.com
Permission
(Reusing this file)
www.naturespicsonline.com explicitly releases to public domain

Pelicans

Description Pélicans des Dombes - France
Date 2003
Source Own work
Author Arnaud 25
Permission
(Reusing this file)
See below.
Other versions Derivative works of this

Victoria Crowned Pigeon

Description
English: Headshot of a Victoria Crowned Pigeon, taken in Jurong Bird Park, Singapore.
Date 2011-02-03 02:28 (UTC)
Source
Author
Permission
(Reusing this file)
See below.
Other versions Derivative works of this file:

Lightmatter flaming

Description
English: Flamingo
Date -
Source photo taken by Aaron Logan
Author Aaron Logan
Permission
(Reusing this file)
quote of http://www.lightmatter.net/gallery/Animals/flamingo2 - Unless specifically noted otherwise, all of Aaron Logan's photographs are licensed for royalty-free use under CC-BY-1.0
Other versions Derivative works of this file:

Head Peacock


Thumbnail

Description   

The head of a Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) at a zoo in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Date   

20 April 2005, 07:33:33
Source   

Flickr
Author   

frank wouters from antwerpen, belgium
Permission
(Reusing this file)   

See below.
Reviewer   

Jeek