Wild Facts

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/arudhio/98171881/

Congratulations for making it to the middle of the week. The weekend is just around the corner and to help make the ride there a little easier, we are going on a trip to learn about a passerine bird known as the Bulbul. So where exactly are we going? Well, you get to decide since this bird can be found in a variety of locations including Africa, Middle East, tropical Asia and where I plan on going, Indonesia. What are you waiting for? Get your passport and your binoculars and let’s get going.

What’s That Noise?!?

There are about 130 species of the Bulbul but instead of going through all of them, we are just going to focus on the general characteristics of the entire family. As mentioned, the Bulbul is a passerine bird that has a long tail and short wings. Although the Bulbul is known to be quite vocal, this isn’t necessarily a good thing as one author described their nasally calls as “the most unattractive noises made by any bird”. With a description like that, you know we are going to find a call to judge for ourselves. Follow the link below to hear the “most unattractive noise”.

Brown-Eared Bulbul Call

I don’t know, I find the shrill to be quite soothing. I think it would be a great sound to fall asleep to.

Photo by Shiva shankar (Wikimedia)

Family Ties

For the most part the Bulbul is a monogamous bird species and in some cases, a very tight family. The male will typically feed the female as she incubates her eggs, which takes up to 12 days, on average. In some species, the past chicks will stick around to help raise their new brothers and sisters, which is awfully nice of them. In on species, the Bulbul is actually polygamous and as a result these tight family bonds don’t exist. It would be interesting to see which method is more successful for the Bulbul.

A Noisy Pet

If you have been reading this Wild Fact trying to figure out why you have heard of this bird before, perhaps you know someone that has a pet Bulbul. The Red-Whiskered and Red-Vented Bulbul have been captured and widely distributed in the pet trade. Hopefully these birds have a nicer song than the Brown-Eared Bulbul, otherwise I would think there would be some unhappy pet owners.

Thanks for reading today’s Wild Fact. Enjoy the rest of your day and I will see you back here tomorrow.

Photo by Stephen Wolfe (Wikimedia)

I hope all of you enjoyed your last weekend leading up to Christmas. Today’s Wild Fact is another animal suggested by Jamie, who recommended that we learn about a beautiful bird known as the Northern Cardinal. If you live in the USA, you may be quite familiar with the Northern Cardinal considering they are the state bird for 7 different states. You know you are a pretty impressive bird when that many different places wants to make you their official bird! So lets grab our birding binoculars and find out some more about this magnificent bird, shall we?

A Dazzling Fashion Statement

As alluded to, the Northern Cardinal is a popular bird found in backyards throughout North America. To be more specific, they are found in woodlands, swamps, gardens and scrublands from Southern Canada all the way down into Mexico. These beautiful birds are well known for their stunning red colour and the distinctive crest on their head. Only the males have the brilliant red colouring while the females are a dull reddish brown colour. As with many other animal species, the brighter the colour, the better it is for attracting a female companion.

Photo from Wikimedia

The Defenders

Not only are these birds beautifully coloured but they are also very proficient singers. In fact, I believe it was a Northern Cardinal that won the second American Idol contest. Obviously, this isn’t true but I am certain this bird is a better singer than most of those contestants. They have a variety of melodies that they use for many different occasions such as mating and defending. What are they defending? Well, the Northern Cardinal happens to be very aggressive in defending their home territory and the males have no issues with attacking other males trying to enter their zone. In fact, this behaviour causes the Northern Cardinal to crash into many windows as they mistake their reflection for an intruding male. I guess this is a good excuse to keep your windows dirty .

Cardinal Population on the Rise as a Result of Human Activity

The population of the Northern Cardinal is actually on the rise. In fact, this bird used to only be found in the warmer regions of North America but have recently started expanding their range to the more northern sections. Scientists believe that the number of winter bird feeders has allowed for the expansion of the Northern Cardinal. It isn’t too often that I get to write about humans actually aiding the expansion or success of an animal species. Perhaps, this is an early Christmas present!

That does it for the first Wild Fact of the week. Enjoy the rest of your day and I will see you again tomorrow for another fun and exciting animal.

Photo by Patko erika (Wikimedia)

After hanging out in the ocean yesterday, I figured we could dry off by taking to the air. The Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock is a beautiful South American passerine bird that is pretty easy to identify. Normally, I like to share how animals get their names, however, I have absolutely no idea why this stunning bird is referred to as the Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock. But it is definitely an interesting name! So let’s grab our binoculars and head to the mountainous regions of South America to see if we can spot one of the most spectacular birds on the planet.

All in the Mohawk

Like I said, even the most amateur birder will have no problems spotting this bright orange bird with a half-moon crest on their head. Although, only the males have these stunning colours. The females are a duller blackish-brown colour with a grey head. Although the males are quite colourful, their vibrant colouring and crest are more than just a fashion statement. The male uses these two distinct features to help him attract a lovely lady during mating season. The males will generally gather in groups of 5 to 25 (but have been known to gather with as many as 50 individuals) and each bird will get a small area for their mating purposes. When the females come into the area, the males will puff up and remain motionless, except for their tail filaments which will move back and forth to entice the female. The males are polygamous and don’t share any of the nesting duties with the female after mating occurs. I guess the male Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock is not much of a romantic.

Photo by Marc Chretien

Taking Flight

The Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock is a strong flier that will rely on their short but powerful wings to escape any potential predators. The wing tips of this magnificent bird will make a loud hissing sound as they coast through the air. When they aren’t mating or escaping predators, the Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock enjoys a healthy diet of fruit. Although, they will supplement this diet with reptiles, frogs and large insects. Now that is the diet of champions!

It looks like we have come to the end of another interesting Wild Fact (well, I thought it was interesting). Have a great day and I will see you again tomorrow.

Photo by Linda De Volder (Wikimedia)

So here we are again, the last animal fact of the week. I really can’t believe how quickly this week has gone by but it is all good since we are approaching the long weekend. Don’t worry, there will be a wonderful, new Wild Fact on Monday. Actually, you are in for a treat next week since it will be a Themed Week of Wild Facts. Yep, I am heading out of town for the week so as usual we will look at animals that have “something” in common. But first, lets talk about a cool bird called the Hoatzin, which is also known as the Hoactzin (notice the “c”), the Stinkbird (my personal favourite name) and the Canje Pheasant.

Okay, so my first question is how in the world did this bird get the nickname “Stinkbird”? As you may have guessed, the Hoatzin happens to smell quite badly. Shocking, right? We are not sure what causes this stench but scientist believe it has something to do with their feeding strategy. You see the Stinkbird has an unusually large crop, which allows their vegetation to actually ferment. I wonder if they are making beer? Anyway, it is most likely fermenting leaves that causes this wonderful odour that lead to the name, Stinkbird. Either way, I feel bad for the poor bird. It is like he is getting picked on by his Grade 6 classmates.

Photo by Brian Ralphs (Wikimedia)

Besides the weird digestive system, the Hoatzin has another unusual quality. The young birds are actually born with claws on two of their wing digits. Perhaps this is for defending themselves against other animals that make fun of their raunchy stench. Actually, these claws help the baby Stinkbirds grab onto branches as they stumble about. Although, they had better learn to take care of themselves quickly since the mother usually abandons them about 10-14 days after birth. This is pretty quick amongst the bird world. I guess the Hoatzin has no problem being different from other birds.

Hoatzin Fast Fact – If you want to catch a glimpse of these incredibly unusual birds then you need to book a ticket to check out some of the swamps and mangroves in the Amazon Forest, which of course is in South America.

Well there you have it, another week of Wild Facts are in the books. We are rapidly approaching the half-way mark, which is unbelievable! Have a great weekend folks and I will see you on Monday.

Photo by Winfried Bruenken (Wikimedia)

Somehow this week of Wild Facts went to the birds. I have no idea how but I figured we might as well end the week with another one of our feathered friends. Today’s incredibly interesting bird species is the Kori Bustard, which can be found on the African continent. Actually, there are two sub-species for this particular bird, the East African Sub-Species which can be found in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya. The other Sub-species is the Southern Sub-Species, which can obviously be found in the southern countries such as Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and of course South Africa. To keep things simple, we are just going to look at the species as a whole.

Yesterday, we talked about one of the largest members of the Kingfisher family. Well, today we are learning about one of the heaviest birds that can actually fly. I know, I know…just how heavy is the Kori Bustard? The male, which is larger than the female, can weigh up to 20 kg (44 lbs), which makes you wonder how in the world they are able to lift off? To tell you the truth, I have no idea but their large wing span of 2.75 m (9 ft) probably helps them out. So what does a bird need to eat to get so heavy?

Photo by frank wouters (Wkimedia)

Believe it or not the Kori Bustard has a diet comprised mainly of hot dogs, pizza and chocolate. Ha! You probably thought I was going to say that they eat insects, reptiles, small mammals and of course seeds and berries. This would have made sense since it is exactly what the Kori Bustard feeds on. Just so you know, the Kori Bustard is more carnivorous than other Bustard species, so perhaps this is why they weigh so much more. Or maybe they eat other animals to get the required energy to run such a big body – I guess we will never know for sure.

Kori Bustard Fast Fact – During mating season the males are capable of inflating their throats to 4 times its normal size just to try and impress the little lady Bustard. The impressive thing is, once the male has mated with a female, he will immediately begin searching for another mate. Absolutely no loyalty with this species.

So it looks like we are at the end of another week of Wild Facts. I hope you enjoyed soaring the skies this week. Take a nice break this weekend and I will see you back here on Monday.

Photo by Noodle Snacks (Wikimedia)

It seems as though we have been studying quite a few birds this week and that trend will continue for today’s Wild Fact. Actually, we are also heading back to Australia and New Guinea to learn about a bird with the coolest call in the world, the Kookaburra. If you live in their range then I am sure you have heard of these interesting birds. Well, what are we waiting for, let’s get out there and see if we can hear the un-mistakeable call of this rather large bird.

I want you to close your eyes and picture yourself walking through the forest on a nice, humid, summer day. All of a sudden you hear someone laughing hysterically. Obviously, you want to find out what is so gosh darn funny so you explore a little further only to find a 42 cm (17″) tall bird looking at you. That’s right, the call of the Kookaburra is very similar to a loud, human laughing hysterically. It is actually uncanny how this bird is able to mimic genuine laughter. You know what, I can’t even describe this so you will have to give it a listen for yourself. The short video below will give you an idea what these large birds sound like.

You can’t tell me you didn’t laugh while watching that video clip.

So what exactly is a Kookaburra? Well, it is a bird, silly! Okay, I guess I can be a little more specific. They are actually part of the Kingfisher family. In fact they are the largest member of their family and interestingly enough one of the fastest fliers. No wonder they are laughing all the time – they are clearly living the good life as the family favourite.  Like other Kingfishers, the Kookaburra is a meat eater, typically feeding on young birds or snakes. They will also compliment their diet with insects and reptiles just because having a balanced diet is important.

Photo from Wikimedia

Kookaburra Fast Fact – If you have ever witnessed the Kookaburra capture a snake then you may think they are barbaric savages. This particular bird will usually catch a snake by the back of the head and will end their life by dropping them from a great height. If this doesn’t work then they will simply beat them with their bill before swallowing them. I definitely wouldn’t trust the Kookaburra to babysit your young child.

That does it for the second last fact of the week. Hopefully I will see you here tomorrow to learn about another interesting and unique animal. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Photo by A. Kniesel (Wikimedia)

I was incredibly surprised to find out that I had yet to write a Wild Fact on the largest bird on this here planet of ours. I just don’t understand how the amazing Ostrich managed to hide this entire time. Well this game of Hide n’ Seek is over because today we are going to learn a little something about the wonderful Ostrich. This really is a special bird since not only are they the largest but they are also the fastest running bird as well. I can’t even break one record but a big ol’ bird has managed to make it into the Guinness Book twice! Go figure!

So just how big and how fast are these interesting creatures? Well the male Ostrich has been known to grow as tall as 2.7 m (9′) and have a wing span over 2 m (6′) so that is pretty impressive. I bet they would make awesome basketball players, especially since they are also capable of running at speeds of 70 km/hr (40 mph) or more. I think I would be pretty afraid to see a 9′ tall bird racing towards me at those speeds (or at any speed for that matter).

When the Ostrich isn’t being tall and fast, they usually just hang out in the open savannas of their African home looking for insects and grubs to feed on. I am sure we have all heard how these birds feed but let’s go over it again, just in case. Yes, the Ostrich is known for putting their head into the sand. To me it seems like a perfectly logical way to find a yummy bug or worm. I definitely wouldn’t make fun of the Ostrich for this odd behaviour since their kick is so powerful that it has been known to kill many mammals. We don’t want to add you to that list, now do we?

Photo from Wikimedia

Ostrich Fast Fact – As you may expect, the largest bird in the world also lays the largest eggs. Believe it or not the Ostrich egg is about 10 times larger than your normal everyday chicken egg. Just imagine the size of omelette you could make with just one egg!  Interestingly enough, during mating season the “alpha” male will create a communal nest that will usually contain about 20 of these oversized eggs.  Unfortunately, these large eggs look scrumptious for predators such as jackals, cheetahs and hyena’s so only a couple of these eggs will ever get the chance to hatch.

So that does it for the long overdue Wild Fact on an amazing bird species. I hope you enjoyed learning about the Ostrich. See you tomorrow for another fun animal fact.

Photo from Wikimedia

After spending yesterday underground chasing after moles, I figured we would head back to the sky today to observe an interesting bird called the Chimney Swift.  Now, today’s Wild Fact was inspired by my dad who was telling me about a story he saw on the news.  Apparently there were about 150 of these birds that were flocking to the chimney of a school in Nova Scotia or something like that.  Sorry Dad, I don’t think I was actually listening too well . Regardless of my listening skills, I figured it was the Chimney Swift he was talking about so today we are going to climb up a chimney in Nova Scotia to see if we can learn something about these birds.

The Chimney Swift is often referred to as the “Flying Cigar” as a result of their cigar-shaped body and long slender wings.  For the most part it is extremely rare to ever catch a glimpse of the Chimney Swift in a perched position. This is probably due to the fact that they don’t actually sit on a perch like a regular bird.  Instead they use their incredible claws to hang onto the sides of chimneys and other man-made structures. Believe it or not the Chimney Swift is an animal that actually benefited from European settlement in North America.  Before humans came along, these little birds had to hang out in caves and similar natural structures.  Once we came along, the number of nesting spots increased dramatically with the creation of chimney’s.  Unfortunately, new chimney designs are making it very difficult for the Chimney Swift to utilize these structures.  Who would have thought that a population of birds may be on the decline because we changed the design of our chimney?

Photo from WIkimedia

When they aren’t hanging out in chimney’s the Chimney Swift will take to the skies.  Normally, you will hear the high-pitched twittering (no, they are not actually Tweeting while they fly – although, i wonder what they would say with their 140 character limit) as they fly high above the city feasting on insects. In fact, these birds spend pretty much all of their time flying and will generally only land at their nest or to roost for the night.  The Chimney Swift will even bathe while in flight! How is this possible?  Well, while flying around they will dive towards a lake or other body of water, crashing their chest onto the surface of the water before shaking the water off of their feathers as they fly away.  I would think that doing a belly flop every time you want to bathe would get tiresome and painful after awhile.

I guess it is time to crawl out of the chimney and brush off all of this soot.  As promised, since you read today’s fact, I will give you a free one tomorrow.  Make sure you stop by because it will be a good one to end the week with.  Enjoy the rest of your day!

Photo by Cyron Ray Macey (Wikimedia)

Phew! We made it through another week of Wild Facts and it is time to sit back and enjoy a well deserved break.  Before you get too relaxed, I need you to go and dig out your chest waders because we are going to play in some wetlands today.  Come on, everyone likes playing in the water and mud.  While we are wading through these swamps and marshes, be sure to keep your eye out for a beautiful bird called the Ibis.  The great thing about these large wading-birds is the fact that they can be found practically worldwide.  Your best bet for seeing them though is in the Temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere.

The Ibis is best known for their large size, long necks and curved beaks.  This long neck and curved beak comes in handy when they are trying to catch a nice snack.  These birds are specialists at picking frogs, insects, crabs and reptiles out of the mud using their curved beak.  How about that? Not only does the beak look cool but it plays a pretty important role in the life of the Ibis.

Like most other wading-birds, the Ibis is a sociable bird that likes to go for a beer or two with their friends. In fact, the Ibis is very open-minded and will even hang out with other wading-birds such as the Heron and the Umbrellabird.  It is important not to ignore you own species so the Ibis will also form large flocks of their own kind.  They will usually create these flocks in order to find food and a mating partner.

Photo by J.M.Garg (Wikimedia)

You would think that these huge flocks of very large birds would be safe from most predators but this does not appear to be the case.  In fact, the Ibis will generally rest in the trees instead of on the ground in an attempt to protect themselves from the hungry animals down below.  What type of animals will try to feast on the Ibis?  Well, there are wild cats, foxes, snakes and even birds of prey will swipe their eggs.  This just goes to show that size doesn’t matter.

Okay, so it is time to get out of the swamp and head back home so we can enjoy another beautiful spring weekend.  Thanks for hanging out with me today and I will see you on Monday.

Photo by Lichter (Wikimedia)

Welcome to the first day of April.  Hey, I guess that means it’s April Fool’s Day so make sure you are careful with all the pranksters out there.  There is an old saying that goes like this “April Showers, Brings May Flowers”.  Not only is this saying deep and profound but it also means we will probably need an umbrella this month.  Don’t worry, Wild Facts has you covered as we are starting the rainy month off with the Umbrellabird. Okay, so maybe they won’t be able to protect you from the rain but they should be able to keep your attention for the next minute or so.

The Umbrellabird is a rather large species of bird that can be found inhabiting the tropical rainforests of Central and South America.  I guess having a large crest on your head that acts like an umbrella would be a useful characteristic if you are living in the rain-forest.  Okay, so this umbrella-like crest isn’t used to protect the birds latest hairstyle.  Actually, the males will typically fan this crest out during mating season to attract a mate.  Not only that but they will make a loud rumbling noise, which is said to sound like a Hippo.  I don’t know about you but I am impressed that a bird can be so loud that you mistake it for a Hippopotamus.

Photo from Wikimedia

So how are they capable of making this loud noise?  You may have been distracted by the umbrella so you didn’t even notice the large wattle hanging from the Umbrellabird’s throat.  This wattle is able to inflate which basically acts as an amplifier.  They would make the perfect roadie for a band since they are always carrying an amp with them.

Umbrellabird Fast Fact – You have to be careful around this bird since they have some very influential friends.  In fact, they are even connected to the great Charles Darwin.  Well, he might be a friend of a friend but it still counts.  You see the Umbrellabird was discovered in the 1800′s by Darwin’s companion, Sir Alfred Wallace.

That is the end of another week of Wild Facts.  Enjoy your weekend and I will see you on Monday.