DAY 230: JACKIE JACKDAW!

Much is known about how humans use their eyes to convey sentiments, but very little is known about how birds use this mode of communication. New research suggests JACKDAWS — a bird in the crow family found in Europe, western Asia and North Africa — use their peepers to deter competitors from approaching their nests.

This is the first time scientists have shown that animals besides primates use their eyes to communicate. 

Jackdaws are perching birds, or passerines. About 10 percent of passerines have colored irises, the circular structures in the eyes that control how much light gets in.

Unlike their dark-eyes relatives, rooks and crows, "jackdaw eyes are almost white, and their striking pale irises are very conspicuous against their dark feathers," Gabrielle Davidson, lead author of the study, said in a statement.

"But do jackdaws use their bright eyes for communication?" asked Davidson, an animal behavior researcher at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

The answer is "yes" - but you'll have to come back tomorrow to read more about THAT! 

DAY 229: BLACK SKIMMER

 
The Black Skimmer has an unusual way to fish. It has a huge lower bill that is not like other birds; it doesn’t move!  The Skimmer uses this lower bill to plow or “skim” through the water until it strikes a fish, then the head snaps down so that the upper bill can grasp the fish. The Skimmer then drags the fish from the water and swallows it head first while still in flight or takes it back to the nest.
The Skimmer rarely swims or dives, instead it uses its sense of touch to find its prey. It flies fast above the water with its lower beak open and just skimming the water (thus its name).  It skims along until it strikes a small fish or crustacean; the upper bill snaps shut and traps the prey. It forages for food at night, early in the morning, and towards dusk when more fish are near the surface of the water. It can only feed in calm waters such as lagoons, inshore waters, and rivers.  
The Skimmer is a social bird and hangs out with other Skimmers during the daytime. You will be able to hear them calling “auk” or a soft “keow, keow, keow”.  Skimmers are graceful flyers and sometimes synchronize their movements by twisting and turning and circling together in the air.  They show agressive behavior by “barking” like a dog and posturing.  Posturing includes head tossing , standing upright,  and sometimes opening the beak without making sounds.  They preen and clean themselves in fresh water.  When they sleep, they tuck their heads into the wing feathers on their backs.

DAY 228: RED-NECKED PHALAROPE

A Red-Necked Phalarope migrated 16,000 miles, breaking the record for longest European bird migration, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The epic round-trip journey, took the well-traveled bird across two oceans. The bird flew from the island of Fetlar in Shetland, Scotland, across the Atlantic, south down the eastern seaboard of the United States, across the Caribbean, and Mexico, ending up off the coast of Peru. After wintering in the Pacific, it returned to Fetlar following a similar route.  Amazingly, it's not the longest bird migration ever, but the feat is still a record-breaker for Europe.

Scientists tracked the red-necked phalarope's travels using a geolocator device that weighs less than a paperclip. Ten of the birds were outfitted with the device while on the Scottish isle.

The researchers couldn't believe how long and far the birds traveled. They conducted the study just trying to figure out where the birds spent the winter. Little did they know that these were world-class fliers.

"To think this bird, which is smaller than a starling, can undertake such an arduous journey and return safely to Shetland is truly extraordinary," Malcie Smith of the RSPB said in a press release. "This tiny tracker has provided a valuable piece of the puzzle when building a picture of where phalaropes go when they leave our shores. We hadn’t realized that some Scottish birds were traveling thousands of miles to join other wintering populations in the Pacific Ocean."

Info from www.livescience.com

DAY 227: DONT WORRY, OWL WAIT!

                                      

Have you noticed how often the word owl is used when the moment is right for

a play on words, eg:

'Owl’s about that’ 

‘Owl always love you’ 

'Don’t worry owl wait’ 

‘Owl see what I can do about that’ 

'Owl you need is love'

DAY 226: TALL CHICK

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him. The waitress asks them for their orders. The man says, "A hamburger, fries and a coke," and turns to the ostrich, "What's yours?" "I'll have the same," says the ostrich. A short time later the waitress returns with the order. "That will be $9.40 please." The man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for payment.

The next day, the man and the ostrich come again and the man says, "A hamburger, fries and a coke." The ostrich says, "I'll have the same." Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change. 

This becomes routine until the two enter again. "The usual asks the waitress?" "No, this is Friday night, so I will have a steak, baked potato and a salad," says the man. "Same," says the ostrich. Shortly the waitress brings the order and says, "That will be $32.62." Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the table. 

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer. "Excuse me, sir. How do you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every time?" 

 "Well," says the man, "several years ago I was cleaning the attic and found an old lamp. When I rubbed it, a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes. My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, I would just put my hand in my pocket and the right amount of money would always be there." "That's brilliant!" says the waitress. "Most people would ask for a million dollars or something, but you'll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!" "That's right…Whether it's a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there," says the man.

The waitress asks, "What's with the ostrich?" The man sighs, pauses and answers, "My second wish was for a tall chick with long legs who agrees with everything I say......"

DAY 225: THE TAILORBIRD

This bird, called the Cambodian Tailorbird, has a very loud call.  Despite this, it has remained hidden in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, and has only recently been discovered. Sporting a red cap, gray-to-olive wings, and a black throat, it joins the Cambodian Laughing Thrush as the only bird species unique to Cambodia.

While the Laughing Thrush is only found in the remote Cardamom Mountains in the southwest part of the country, the Tailorbird prefers the city of 1.5 million. The noisy new species was found in the dense, humid lowland scrub in Phnom Penh. It was also documented in other locations just outside of the city, including a construction site and a dense conservation area where other bird species enjoy protection.

DAY 224: BEAUTIFUL BLUE CRANE

 
 

While driving down the West Coast road on Sunday morning, we saw a solitary Blue Crane in a big empty field.  As you undoubtedly know, this is our country's national bird.  It's a very classy looking bird - gunpowder blue plumage, that does the most elegant courtship dance. I would love to see that!

Blue Cranes are almost entirely restricted to South Africa, but there is a dwindling population in Namibia’s Etosha National Park and a few pairs in Botswana. Their numbers have dropped dramatically there, but seem to be  increasing in the southwestern Cape.

DAY 223: HOT BIRDS!

You're not the only one sweltering in our current crazy hot weather!
This little guy decided to take the opportunity to indulge in a nice cool shower to help him through. 

Birds certainly do feel the heat, but they can't sweat, so they use other ways to keep cool. You may have noticed birds with their beaks open, panting like a dog. This allows air to pass through the bird’s lungs and air sacs to carry heat away from the bird’s body. The throat of a bird has a lot of blood vessels which tend to make it especially warm, so in addition to panting, a bird sometimes flutters its throat to cool off.

Birds more readily lose heat through the featherless parts of their bodies, like their legs and feet. They spread their wings out and ruffle their feathers when they are hot, allowing the air to penetrate to their skin and draw out the heat. Some birds even turn the lighter-shaded portions of their bodies toward the sun so that their feathers can reflect the heat.

DAY 222: VALENTINE'S DAY BIRDS

You may or may not know this....

You may or may not want to know this.....

Valentines day is surrounded by superstitious beliefs! 

People in time past have believed that the kind of person they were likely to marry was dependent on the first bird they laid eyes on on February 14th:

• A ROBIN..... you will marry a sailor.
• A SPARROW...... a poor man
• A GOLDFINCH .....a millionaire
• A DOVE ......a kind hearted man
• An OWL ..... this is a bad one, signifying that you will NEVER marry

Fortunately, we need not be superstitious!

Happy Valentine's Day!

DAY 221: MORNING SLEEP

Cute!   

Parrots are widely noted for their talking abilities and clarity. 

The Amazon parrots have another trick up their sleeves -- they can produce shrill screams in frequencies that seem to cut right through human ears. 

If you're in the market for a pet bird but you don't want to risk dealing with a screaming parrot first thing in the morning, then an Amazon is definitely not for you. 

Depends on how much you value your sleep......

DAY 220: THE CASSOWARY

Big and vicious, but I don't know about beautiful?

This creature from down under is called the behemoth of the bird world, and is nearly as big as the ostrich.  It has a face that will scare a grown man, and the handle of vicious should give you a clue. 

The cassowary is considered the most dangerous bird in the world - each 3-toed foot has a dagger like a claw on the inner toe that is up to 10cm long. It can slice open any predator with a single swift kick.  It can jump nearly 2m straight up in the air, and is a strong swimmer. It can gallop at a speed of over 30mph!Hide

DAY 219: THE URAL OWL

    

      Here's a fascinating article from National Geographic on the beautiful URAL OWL:

A Love Affair With the Ural Owl.                                                                    They’re fierce, they have a four-foot wingspan, and they punch with their talons. But one female didn’t mind becoming a photographer’s muse.

By Amanda Fiegl

Photograph by Sven Začek

The young hunter was stalking moose in a frigid Estonian forest when he found himself locked in the sights of another creature: a Ural owl. He looked into her ebony eyes and softly fringed, heart-shaped face. Sven Začek was smitten.

He soon returned to the woods armed for a different kind of shot. He pulled his hood tight, fearing the owls’ reputation for clobbering intruders’ skulls. But the next female he met was aloof, matching his advances with equal retreats. After two months of silent standoffs, she dared to dive for a vole right in front of his lens.

“That was the turning point,” says Začek.

With the blitheness of a reality TV star, the owl let him record her domestic dramas for over three years. Courtships unfolded. Rodents were gobbled. Chicks chirped and wobbled their way to adulthood. In 2010 she disappeared. Začek blames nearby logging, which culls the rotten-at-the-core trees that Ural owls use as nests.

The species numbers a few hundred thousand in Europe, with millions more in northern Asia. Začek knows he will find others, but says none could replace his lost lady. —Amanda Fiegl

DAY 218: THE FABULOUS LYREBIRD!

This morning I received a FB post about the fabulous Lyrebird!

How come I've reached this age in my life and never heard of it!
Oh wow!  I'm excited.........

So to share the excitement, here's a taster:

How about a bird that can do more than issue its own personal cry/call?
One that can imitate just about anything it hears!  And I mean anything.

The following link will take you to a website where there are about 3 short
clips with none other than the great David Attenborough showing off
the Lyrebird.

Words aren't enough to describe how marvellous this bird is - and it got me
thinking - God our Creator made these things not just for His pleasure,
but for our pleasure.  Please go look, people!


http://wrd.cm/1ixQZqu

DAY 217: THE HIGHWAYMAN

Because of its hooded eyes, the beautiful Brown Shrike has aptly earned the nickname 'highwayman.'

Cute it may look, but it is actually a very noisy, conspicuous and very aggressive character.  It preys on large insects, small birds and mammals, as well as bats and mice.  

When one considers it's size (small) and the size of its prey, it makes sense that it's Creator decided to equip it with an aggressiveness that enables it to boldly tackle and subdue the type of creature upon which it feeds.  

DAY 216: OLD LAPPET-FACE!

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If someone called me lappet-faced, I would not take it well. But then if they called me a vulture, they would have to run!!

But this is what this bird is called, so let's look at its attributes:

• It has an impressive wingspan of nearly three metres.
• It will take on a jackal to defend a carcass.
• Smaller scavengers often depend on the lappet-faced vulture to break through hides of bigger carcasses.
• Lappet-faced vultures will feed on body parts other raptors avoid, such as skin and bone.

Hmmm, some gory but good points - the unpretty vultures have an important role in the eco system & I've heard them referred to as nature's undertakers - they do the clean up job.

DAY 215: KIWI - GREAT AND SPOTTED

Today's blog takes a trip down under to New Zealand, where we take a look at their national symbol - the Kiwi bird.  This particular one is called the Great Spotted Kiwi, and is the largest of the Kiwi species.

Often used in crossword puzzles is the clue - 'a flightless bird' - and this is the answer.

Some of the Kiwis distinguishing characteristics:

- tough, leathery skin and feathers like hair.                                                     - it is the only bird in the world with external nostrils on the tip of its beak,enabling a highly developed sense of smell.                                             - Kiwis use dens instead of burrows within their territory. The dens are several metres long and have more than one exit.

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DAY 214: THE EMPEROR PENGUIN

The Emperor Penguin is the largest of all the penguins - it grows to over 1m tall and can weigh up to 40kgs.

Male Emperor Penguins huddle in groups of up to 5000 to survive the harsh Antarctic winter.  This is interesting because it brings to mind some of the Old Testament bible stories, where the number of men are recorded - and then one thinks: um.....what about the women and children?  So what about the 5000 Empresses and all the Emprinces and Emprincesses in these statistics?

All I could find is that the male Emperors do have a very passionate interest in their offspring because apparently for about 9 weeks through each Antarctic winter they incubate a single egg laid by their mate.  Ok, their shares have risen!

Also of interest is the fact that this species of penguin is the first to have its population estimated by studying images taken from space.  
 

DAY 213: SEAGULL THREE - BRIGHT RED SPOT!

                          

The HERRING GULL mom or dad arrives home at the nest with a bellyful of food – but in there, it’s of no use to the hungry chicks.  Then the chick pecks at the parent’s bill, upon which they open their bill & disgorge the partly digested food for the chick to feed.   

But here's the fascinating thing - the chicks don’t peck at the parent’s beak haphazardly.  As you can see, there is a bright red spot near the tip of the gull's beak – and scientific testing has shown that the baby gulls will not peck at the beaks if the red spot was painted over.   

Somehow the red spot releases the pecking instinct of the chick, and the pecking in turn releases the disgorging of food by the parent. 

I think that is awesome......... 

DAY 212: SEAGULL TWO

Continuing our chat about sea gulls, this was a photo I took while visiting the gannet colony at Lamberts Bay a while ago.   The notice above shows that the seagull is really not very fussy about its diet......whatever, whenever, that's it!