Showing posts with label Birds.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birds.. Show all posts

Monday, July 19, 2010

SeaGull Bird...


Gulls (often informally called seagulls or Seahawks) are birds in the family Lerida. They are most closely related to the terns (family Steroidal) and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders. Until recently[vague], most gulls were placed in the genus Lars, but this arrangement is now known to be polyphyletic, leading to the resurrection of several genera.
Gulls are typically medium to large birds, usually grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They typically have harsh wailing or squawking calls, stout, longish bills, and webbed feet. Gull species range in size from the Little Gull, at 120 g (4.2 oz) and 29 cm (11.5 inches), to the Great Black-backed Gull, at 1.75 kg (3.8 lbs) and 76 cm (30 inches).

Friday, April 9, 2010

Black Tern...



Adult are 25 cm (9.75 in) long, with a wing span 61 cm (24 in), and weigh 62 g (2.2 oz). They have short dark legs and a short, weak-looking black bill, measuring 27-28 mm, nearly as long as the head. The bill is long, slender, and looks slightly decurved. They have a dark grey back, with a white forehead, black head, neck (occasionally suffused with gray in the adult) and belly, black or blackish-brown cap (which unites in color with the ear coverts, forming an almost complete hood), and a light brownish-grey, 'square' tail. The face is white. There is a big dark triangular patch in front of the eye, and a brandish white collar in juveniles. There are grayish-brown smudges on the sides of the white breast, a downwards extension of the plumage of the upperparts. These marks vary in size and are not conspicuous. In non-breeding plumage, most of the black, apart from the cap, is replaced by grey. The plumage of the upperparts is drab, with pale feather-edgings. The rump is brownish-gray.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Whooping Crane.. really Tall

The Whooping Crane, the tallest North American bird, is an endangered species named for its whooping sound and call. Along with the Sand hill Crane; it is one of only two crane species found in North America. The whooping cranes lifespan is estimated to be 22 to 24 years in the wild. There is an estimate of only 250 left in the wild.
Adult whooping cranes are white with a red crown and a long, dark, pointed bill. Immature whooping cranes are pale brown. While in flight, their long necks are kept straight and their long dark legs trail behind. Adult whooping cranes' black wing tips are visible during flight
They stand nearly 1.5 meters (5 feet) with a wingspan of 2.3 meters (7.5 feet). Males weigh on average 7.0 kg (17 lb), while females weigh about 6.0 kg (14 lb).The only other very large, long-legged white birds in North America are: the Great Egret, which is over a foot shorter and one-seventh the weight of this crane; the Great White Heron, which is a morph of the Great Blue Heron in Florida; and the Wood Stork. All three other birds are at least 30% smaller than the whooping crane. Herons and storks are also quite different in structure from the crane.