Well here it is! Not only is it the last Flightless Bird Fact of the week but it is also the much anticipated Dodo Bird Wild Fact. I promised you folks that I would write about this bird even though they are extinct. I figured today would be a good day for the Dodo since they are a Flightless Bird and I like to write my facts for the special occasions. Today just happens to be my brothers birthday and I thought the Dodo Bird would be fitting. You know, since they are old and extinct. Happy Birthday, Bro!
Even though the Dodo Bird has been extinct for over 300 years they are still one of the most popular bird species out there. Heck, they even have their own expression named after them, “Dead as a Dodo”. Not exactly the saying I would want to have named after me but at least they have one. It is believed that the Dodo was related to modern-day pigeons and doves. They were about a meter (3.3 feet) tall and weighed about 20 kg (44 lbs). Obviously since they couldn’t fly they nested on the ground and would pluck the fruit from low lying bushes. It sounds like they had a pretty good life so what went wrong?
Dodo Skeleton - Photo by Heinz-Josef Lücking (Wikicommons)
Well I will give you three guesses to the cause of their extinction and the first two don’t count. Unfortunately, humans played a huge role in the demise of this awesome bird. You see the Dodo grew up on the island of Mauritus (east of Madagascar) where it had no predators. So when humans came over with their dogs, cats, pigs, rats and Crab-eating Macaques (Hey! That rhymes) the Dodo was fearless towards these new island inhabitants. Naturally this fearless behaviour and their inability to fly lead to major population declines. Apparently it was the pigs and Crab-eating Macaques (seriously, who brings monkey’s with them when they travel?) that did the most damage. They raided their nests and destroyed the future. To make matters worst Scientists have discovered mass mortality at the hands of flash floods. This would have just compounded the problem. Poor little guys didn’t stand a chance.
Dodo Bird Fast Fact – The common view of the Dodo Bird being a fat and clumsy animal has been challenged by researchers. It is believed that the old drawings of Dodo Birds were that of captive, over-fed birds. As well it is probable that the Dodo Bird fattened themselves up during the wet season in order to survive through the harsh dry season when food was limited.
So the Birthday Boy gets the Dodo Bird because even when he is old and extinct his memory will live on forever in the history books. I hope all of you enjoyed the Flightless Bird Theme and especially the fact on the Dodo Bird. I still love this bird for some reason. Have a great weekend everyone!
17th Century Drawing of the Dodo Bird (Photo from Wikicommons)
Since we were visiting the beautiful island of New Zealand yesterday I thought we would take a quick trip north to Tasmania. You know that island that gave birth to Bugs Bunny’s Friend, Taz. Well, we aren’t going to look at the Tasmanian Devil today but we will continue the Flightless Bird Trend by studying the Tasmanian Native Hen. As you probably have guessed these birds are found solely on the island of Tasmania. This particular bird is unique since it has thrived with the colonization of humans. You will find out why in a second.
The Tasmanian Native Hen is a sturdy bird which can grow to about 51 cm (20″) long. This flightless bird seems to be similar to the previous birds we discussed as they also have powerful legs, which makes sense since they can’t fly. The upper portion of this bird is usually brown in colour with a little white patch. Underneath they are usually darker with a bluish gray colour. If you check out the picture you will also notice they have bright red eyes. I am not sure the reasoning behind the red eyes but it sure is creepy. Don’t they have software these days that can remove red eyes from pictures?
You are able to find the Tasmanian Native Hen near marshes, rivers and wherever you may find short, grazed pastures. This last little bit of information should help solve the mystery as to why these birds did well with the colonization of humans. The Hens love the riverside farms that came with the settlers. They are perfect for nesting and for feeding since the Tasmanian Native hen eats grasses, leaves of shrubs, insects, etc. I am not sure how the farmers feel about these birds but I am willing to bet the Native Hens love the farmers….well their fields anyway.
Tasmanian Native Hen Chick - Photo by Felix Wilson (Wikicommons)
So what stops the population of Tasmanian Native Hens from exploiting the farmers and growing to huge numbers? Well, predation and food availability are the limiting factors for these little guys. They are preyed upon by Quolls, other birds and of course the infamous Tasmanian Devil. It is also known that in years with an abundance of food the Hen will lay about 10 eggs and have two broods. In contrast during those low food production years they will lay fewer eggs and only have one brood. At the end of the day, nature is controlling themselves.
Tasmanian Native Hen Fast Fact – Even though these Tasmanian birds can’t fly they have evolved pretty good swimming skills and can run like the wind. Remember those powerful legs I talked about earlier? Well, they are able to carry the Hen up to speeds of 50 km/hr. Not too shabby for a bird!
That does it for Thursday’s Flightless Bird Wild Fact. Make sure you tune in tomorrow for the last Flightless Bird Fact of the Week. I can guarantee it will be an interesting one tomorrow and will quite possibly become one of my all time favourite Wild Facts. See you tomorrow.
After spending the last couple of days talking about unique amphibians I wanted to mix up the Wild Facts today. My first instinct was to write about a cool insect but thought my readers may not appreciate that today. I made a compromise and decided to write up a Wild Fact on the Green Bee-Eater also known as the Little Green Bee-Eater. To witness this little green bird we need to make a travel decision. Do you prefer to go to Africa, Western Arabia or Asia? Personally, I have gone to Africa quite a bit with these Wild Facts so I think I will head out to India today, who is with me?
The Green Bee-Eater is a small bird often found in open forests and grasslands on either continent they reside on. They will usually only grow to about 18 cm (7″) in length but have a wingspan of 30 cm (1 foot). As you may have guessed they primarily feed on bees. In fact about 80% of their diet is comprised of honeybees. The rest of their diet consists of other bees or various flying insects. I personally think it would be better if they didn’t eat bees and they were just named that to throw us off. You know, call it the Green Bee-Eater but this little bird actually eats lions, zebras or some other ridiculous animal. I know, it is late and I am getting silly!
Green Bee-Eaters Sand Bathing. Photo by J.M. Garg
All right, moving on. The Little Green Bee-Eater and I have something in common. We are both slow starters in the morning. Yup, this little bird can often be viewed huddling up with other bee-eaters long after sunrise. Something this bee-eater and I don’t have in common is the fact that they like to bathe quite frequently. They are known to sand bathe, which sounds odd to me but I am not a bird so who knows. As well, they will mix up their sand baths with a more traditional water bath but do so during flight. Flying and bathing, now that is a talent! Oh and for the record, I was just kidding about me not bathing. Believe it or not, I try to bathe or shower at least once a month.
Green Bee-Eater Fast Fact – The Green Bee-Eaters nest in tunnels through the sandy banks. The female will lay 5 eggs which both parents will help incubate. Once the babies are born both parents as well as other bee-eaters will help raise the little fledglings.
Thanks for checking out today’s Wild Fact! See you tomorrow with the final fact of the week.
We have been spending the last couple of days in the water learning about interesting ocean animals so I thought we would come to land today. Once you get dried off we will take some time to go and learn about the Shoebill. In case you weren’t able to tell from the picture the Shoebill is a large stork-like bird that obviously gets its name from their unique shoe-shaped bill.
The Shoebill is usually between 115-150 cm (45-60″) tall and can weigh up to 7 kg (15.5 lbs). I told you they were a large stork-like bird but did you think they would be 5 feet tall? Adult Shoebill’s are usually a gray colour while the juveniles tend to be a more brown colour. If you want to check out these tall birds then you will need to make a trip to East Africa where you can find them in the swamps from Sudan all the way to Zambia.
The swamp is a perfect home for the Shoebill since they like to feed in the muddy water where they feast upon fish, frogs, small mammals and even baby crocodiles. Man, crocodiles have it rough. Either their skin is used to make boots or they are consumed by a large shoe. They must have a legitimate fear for footwear. A funny fact about the feeding habits of the Shoebill. When they are attacking their prey this big bird (no, not the Sesame Street one) has to put its wings back otherwise they would lose their balance. Trust me there is nothing more embarrassing than falling over as you are trying to catch your prey.
Photo by Fiorellino (Olaf Oliver Riemer)
For the most part the Shoebill is a solitary animal and will only pair up during their mating season. Considering they spend most of their days just standing around looking for food, you think they would want to have a friend to hang out with. Seriously, they will barely move when they are hunting except to move their head slightly or to switch their feet around. How boring would that be?
Shoebill Fast Fact - The large shoe-like bill of this aptly named bird is usually about 20 cm long by 20 cm wide. Why is this significant? These dimensions give the Shoebill the largest bill of all the bird species on this great planet of ours. Well out of the birds that we have discovered anyways.
That just about does it for me folks. Have a great day!
This post is for all of the women out there that have a tough time convincing their husbands/boyfriends to renovate the house. I want you to go and wake them up from their nap so they can read about the Bowerbird with you. I know they will be grumpy but trust me it will be worth it. Before we get into the details of their unique mating behaviour I guess I will tell you a little about this bird.
The Bowerbird is a medium-sized passerine bird, which doesn’t help since more than half the birds in the world are passerine birds. This particular type though can be found around New Guinea and Australia. As I alluded to the Bowerbird is best known for their unique mating behaviour so lets take the rest of the fact to explore this, sound good?
The male Bowerbird is the ultimate bachelor and should probably try out for a certain reality show. Come on what does Pilot Jake have that a male Bowerbird doesn’t, they can both fly! I am just not sure that this male bird would be able to live in such a hum-drum mansion during the taping. You see the houses they build are much more extravagant. That’s right, the Bowerbird is often called the “Avian Architect” since they build a lavish bachelor pad called a “Bower”. They use twigs, moss and leaves to construct the nest but then decorate it with shiny baubles, berries, feathers, shells, and anything else they can find. These beautifully built bowers are not at all like the nice house in the country with the white picket fence that is perfect for raising a family. No, they are more like the Penthouse suite in downtown New York. They are the ultimate bachelor pad designed to attract as many females as possible.
The Ultimate Bachelor "Bower"
Once an interested female bowerbird arrives to check out the finely constructed nest the male will begin to strut and sing hoping to convince her to stick around for a little bit. You know, it is eerie how similar the bowerbird is to the human bachelor. I just picture the male “dumb-dancing” while trying out cheesy pick up lines on the potential mate. After mating the female will fly off and build a nest close by while the male will work on convincing another female into his sweet bachelor pad. You know, I am starting to think that it may not have been a good idea to wake up your husbands/boyfriends for this Wild Fact. Sorry ladies, my bad!
Well folks I am off to collect some shells and feathers for my home. I will check back in with you a little later.
Today’s Wild Fact was suggested by my brother, Clayton. Thanks buddy for recommending such an awesome bird. So what bird are we looking at today? Well my friend we are going to explore the world of the Blue-Footed Boobie which as you can see are aptly named after their bright blue feet. The Blue-Footed Boobie can be found in Central and South America with half of the breeding pairs located on the Galapagos Islands. As if I needed another reason to check out the birthplace of evolution.
Believe it or not the blue feet are actually a status symbol. The males with the brightest feet are the most attractive. During courtship the males will show off their feet with a nice little strut. The feet aren’t just for fashion as they play an important role during the brooding period. These birds will use their feet to keep their eggs warm until they hatch. Once the one to three babies are born, both parents will take care of them. Awww, one big, happy, blue-footed, family.
Incubating the Eggs. Photo By RJ Hall
With so much emphasis put on these birds feet, I find it funny that they are incredibly clumsy and awkward looking on land. For this reason they usually only come to nest on land at night. Once that sun rises these birds hit the sky for some exciting hunting. Their food of choice just happens to be fish and will fly out to sea in order to find large schools. Once they spot their prey the dive is on. The Blue-Footed Boobie is an exceptional diver and will often plunge into the ocean from heights as high as 24 m (80′). I guess they wouldn’t have a problem jumping off the high diving board at the local pool.
Blue-Footed Boobie Fast Fact: The term “Boobie” is believed to come from the Spanish word “bobo”. In English this term means “Stupid”. Not the nicest name for these animals and it is believed they received this name for their lack of grace on land.
You are all very lucky that my family was watching the BBC Special, Planet Earth tonight. Otherwise this post would be about the “Cat in the Hat” instead of the Six Plumed Birds of Paradise. You see nobody made any suggestions but luckily my brother called while he was watching the incredible video and asked if I had completed a Wild Fact on this awesome dancing bird. After thinking about it I realized that I hadn’t talked about this bird yet so here it is.
As I mentioned the Birds of Paradise made it big time when they were featured on Planet Earth. It was the wicked dancing skills of the males that landed the Six Plumed Bird of Paradise on this hit documentary. As usual, it is only the mature males that are flashy. These guys are usually black with some bizarre plumage. For example they have 3 wire-like feathers protruding from behind each eye. If that isn’t weird enough for you than how about that iridescent patch of feathers on their chest? Still not impressed? Geez, you are harder to impress than the female bird that shot down the dancing male on Planet Earth. Well, the last thing they have to impress you with is the unusual feathers they have on their sides that extend past their torso. I don’t know how the women aren’t impressed by this since the females (and juvenile males) are boring in comparison with a typical brown colour and lighter coloured breast. Yaawwwn!
Unfortunately the women Birds of Paradise aren’t just interested in looks when they are selecting a mate. They want a man that can dance! What is it with women judging men on their dancing skills? Okay, I know the answer to this but I don’t think we should get into that here. If you have watched the above mentioned video (or the short clip posted below) than you will know the males have a very complex courtship dance. Before the dance starts the male will clear an area so it is free from leaves and debris. This display territory will usually have at least one horizontal perch such as a stick or a vine. This is basically a front row seat for the female to sit on while watching the show. Once the dance floor is cleared and the pretty lady is comfortable in her seat then the show can begin. All of a sudden an rather ordinary bird is transformed into an awesome looking dancing machine. I was going to try and explain their dance but I think it is best if you just refer to the video clip below. Trust me, you will like it.
Welcome back to another fun filled week of interesting animal facts. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. Today’s fact is going to be about another one of our feathered friends. My loving mother wanted to know about the Sandhill Crane and what is the point of having a son who runs a wildlife blog if he doesn’t answer your questions, right? So today we are discovering the most common of all the crane species.
The Sandhill Crane can be found in North America and as far south as Mexico and Cuba. If you happen to live in the wonderful area of Siberia then you will also have a chance to see these beautiful birds up close. Interestingly enough a 10 million year old fossil was found and was identified to be structurally the same as today’s Sandhill Crane. This just means that if I lived 10 million years ago, I could still be writing a Wild Fact about this bird. I don’t think blogging was that popular back then but who knows.
The Sandhill Crane is a large bird that can weigh up 6.5 kg (14 lbs) and has a wingspan of 5 to 6 feet. For the record their wingspan is about as long as me! If you are trying to catch a glimpse of these magnificent birds then I recommend you check out some local wetlands since they usually hang out there feeding on plants, insects, mice, worms and even snakes. Unfortunately, you can also find them in fields where they like to dig into the lush soil looking for food. Believe it or not, farmers don’t care for these large birds digging up their fields.
If you are bored one night, I highly suggest you find a pair of cranes. I can guarantee you that they will provide plenty of entertainment. During mating season the two cranes will come together and perform an amazing duet. They will throw their heads back and put everything they can into their beautiful love song. To go with the singing they will also dance, run and leap high in the air. For the record, they will practice their dance moves all year long. Just to show you how much fun they are to watch, I have included a 5 minute video of a couple of dancing cranes. ENJOY!
I am going to end this week of Wild Facts with a post inspired by my niece, Taylor. She sent me some photos of a bird that has been living in her backyard so I thought I would share some facts about this little bird. Before we get into the facts though, I am requesting some help from my readers. I have included several photos of the bird in case any of you are birders. I believe I have correctly identified it has a House Sparrow but I am personally not much of a birder. What can I say, mammals intrigue me a lot more. Well, lets get on with the House Sparrow.
Growing up in Canada, I am quite familiar with sparrows since they are fairly common. The thing about the House Sparrow though is it is not related to our native North American sparrows. Nope, this one actually comes from Europe and is related to the African Weaver. The house sparrow didn’t exist in North America until 1850-1852 when they were introduced to control insects in New York. Fast forward about 160 years and the house sparrow can be found across Canada and the USA. Not only that but they can be a problem since they out compete our native bird species. This is just one more example why humans shouldn’t mess with Mother Nature.
This seed-eating bird will generally create bulky, domed shape nests made from grass. They will nest in trees, buildings or cute bird-houses like above. The female house sparrow will lay 2 or 3 clutches of eggs from April to August. Each clutch will usually contain about 3 to 7 eggs. What I find interesting about the house sparrow is that some of them will actually nest in small groups. I don’t believe Taylor has a group of them nesting in her backyard so I guess she has one of the birds that nest all by themselves.
House Sparrow Fast Fact: The nesting and feeding areas of the house sparrow are very seldom more than 100 m (300′) from a human dwelling. For the record these birds will generally feed on seeds, grains and green vegetables such as lettuce and peas. So if you have a nice little garden growing in your backyard you had better watch out for these little thieves.
Again, I invite all of you to look at the pictures below to confirm my identification of this bird. The link below helped me identify the bird. Let me know what you think. Thanks and have a great weekend.
As usual, I enjoyed writing yesterday’s fact so much that I wanted to talk about another African bird today. These birds may not have different coloured wattles or really long eye-lashes but they are still pretty cool looking. Oh yeah, I completely forgot to tell you the name of the bird. We are going to learn about the Guinea Fowl, which some species have been introduced around the world for breeding purposes. Although you can find them on farms around the world, the Guinea Fowl is native to Africa.
The Guinea Fowl generally weighs about 0.7 – 1.6 kg (1.5 – 3.5 lbs) and can grow as long as 71 cm (30″). This larger bird is a ground dwelling creature that spends the majority of its time digging to find scrumptious insects and worms. We may not find them delicious but the Guinea Fowl sure does. But even they will grow tired of insects and consume some berries, seeds, small reptiles from time to time. The fowl is just a cog in the food web though. It may eat numerous animals but it is also prey to many larger predators such as dogs, wolves, humans and even crocodiles.
If you have looked closely at the picture above then you may have thought that this bird looks bald. If you did notice this, Congratulations! The Guinea Fowl resembles a vulture in that regard, which is why one species is called the Vulturine Guinea Fowl. Don’t be fooled though, they have no relation to the vulture. I am still scratching my head to try and figure out why these birds need to be bald. I understand that vultures have featherless heads so they don’t carry bacteria from the roadkill they eat, but the Guinea Fowl doesn’t feast on carrion. The only thing I can think of is the fact that these birds are constantly digging in the sand. Perhaps they are bald as a result of this foraging behaviour. I would love to hear all of your ideas on why the Guinea Fowl is bald so please leave a comment below. I am looking forward to your input to help solve this riddle.
Welcome to my ongoing project to provide you with 1000 Animal Facts. Every week-day I will provide a new and interesting animal fact counting down from 1000. My goal is to hopefully educate the young and old alike about the interesting adaptations of the animal kingdom. As well, I am hoping people will gain a greater appreciation of the animals we share earth with. If you have any questions, please feel free to use the Contact form or leave a comment.
