November302007

Nature Photos of the Week

November 30, 2007

White Birds and More!

With the holiday and snow season fast approaching, I thought it appropriate to offer you a set of white plumaged animals to help put you in the holiday spirit. Many of these pale beauties can be seen on our tours so please give us a call if would like to join us for an adventure.

The American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) is a very large (50"–70") white bird with black wing tips and a long, wide orange bill. They have a wing span of approximately 3m. They are graceful in flight, moving their wings in slow powerful strokes. Unlike the Brown Pelican, the American White Pelican does not dive for its food. Instead it practices cooperative fishing, often creating a circle of birds herding the fish to the middle.

The Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator is the largest native North American bird, if measured in terms of weight and length, and is (on average) the largest waterfowl species on earth. Males typically measure from 145–163 cm (57–64 inches) and weigh 11.8 kg (26 lb); females typically range from 139–150 cm (55–60 inches) and weigh 10 kg (22 lb). It is rivaled in size among waterfowl only by the introduced Mute Swan, which is native to Eurasia, but the Trumpeter usually is longer-bodied. Exceptionally large male Trumpeters can reach a length of 183 cm (72 inches), a wingspan of 3 meters (almost 10 ft) and a weight of 17.4 kg (38 lb). The Trumpeter Swan is closely related to the Whooper Swan of Eurasia, and even has been considered the same species by some authorities.

The Masked Booby, Sula dactylatra, is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. This species breeds on islands in tropical oceans, and in the eastern Pacific it is replaced by the Nazca Boody, Sula granti, which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of Masked Booby (Pitman & Jehl 1998, Friesen et al. 2002).

Peacock (albino) © Photographer unknown

The term peafowl can refer to the two species of bird in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. The African Congo Peafowl is placed in its own genus Afropavo. Peafowl are best known for the male's extravagant tail, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, though it is common to hear the female also referred to as a "peacock" or "female peacock."

The Great Egret Ardea alba, sometimes called the Great White Egret, White Heron, or Common Egret, is a wading egret, found in most of the tropical and warmer temperate parts of the world, although it is very local in southern Europe and Asia. It is called Kotuku in New Zealand. It is sometimes confused with the "Great White Heron" in Florida, which is a white morph of the Great Blue Heron.

The Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) is a bear native to the Arctic. Polar Bears and Kidiak Bears are the world's largest land carnivores, with most adult males weighing 300-600 kg (660-1320 lb); adult females are about half the size of males. Its fur is hollow and translucent, but usually appears as white or cream colored, thus providing the animal with effective camouflage. Its skin is actually black in color. Its thick blubber and fir insulate it against the cold. The bear's short tail and small ears help reduce heat loss, as well as its relatively small head and long, tapered body that streamline it for swimming.

The Polar Bear is a vulnerable species at high risk of extinction. Zoologists and climotologists believe that the projected decreases in the polar sea ice, due to global warming, will reduce their population by two thirds by mid-century. Local long-term studies show that 7 out of 19 subpopulations are declining or already severely reduced. In the USA, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned to up-list the legal conservation status of Polar Bears to threatened species in 2005. This petition is still under review.

The Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) is a largel owl of the typical owl family Strigidae. It is also known in North America as the Arctic Owl or the Great White Owl. Until recently, it was regarded as the sole member of a distinct genus, as Nyctea scandiaca, but DNA research data (Olsen et al. 2002) shows that it is very closely related to the horned owls in the genus Bubo.