Chicken Thoughts comics are inspired by the craftsmen's cockatiel named Chicken
Chicken Thoughts comics are inspired by the craftsmen's cockatiel named Chicken
Chicken Thoughts comics are inspired by the craftsmen's cockatiel named Chicken
Chicken Thoughts comics are inspired by the craftsmen's cockatiel named Chicken
Chicken Thoughts comics are inspired by the craftsmen's cockatiel named Chicken
Chicken Thoughts comics are inspired by the craftsmen's cockatiel named Chicken
Understand how wildlife and humans interact around the planet and what we can do to give animals the space they need.
Explore Thomas Winstone's 3229 photos on Flickr!
Australian research has found a bird that can make up new 'words'. The chestnut-crowned babbler (pictured) combines sounds to convey different types of messages.
One of the four potoo photos discussed in this ShukerNature post (photo source unknown to me / inclusion here strictly on Fair Use/non-commercial basis only) Facebook never disappoints me as a rich source of the exceedingly weird but also very wonderful when it comes to the animal world, and yesterday was no exception. During its early hours, I was browsing the recent posts of various FB friends when I came upon a quartet of photographs depicting a truly remarkable- (and macabre-) looking bird, equipped with a disproportionately huge mouth as well as large, unearthly black eyes. One of those four pictures opens this ShukerNature post, but here below are all four of them. Despite a prolonged internet search, I have been unable to uncover the identity of the person who snapped them. The potoo photo quartet (photos' source unknown to me / inclusion here strictly on Fair Use/non-commercial basis only) They had been posted by FB friend Michael J. Smith, who hoped that the bird portrayed in them was genuine, and I was happy to report that indeed it was. The taxonomic order Caprimulgiformes contains five families, whose members are generally nocturnal and insectivorous. These families are: Caprimulgidae (the nightjars, whip-poor-wills, and night hawks – of Old World and New World distribution) Podargidae (the frogmouths – exclusively Old World) Aegothelidae (the owlet-nightjars – exclusively Old World; and sometimes split off into an order of their own, Aegotheliformes) Steatornithidae (the single species of oilbird – exclusively New World) Nyctibiidae (the potoos – exclusively New World) Looking at the four photos, I readily recognised the bird to be a potoo. True, there is a superficial similarity to the frogmouths, but having recently seen and photographed a living specimen of Australia's tawny frogmouth Podargus strigoides at very close range, I could tell the difference straight away. Tawny frogmouth (© Dr Karl Shuker) As a good rule of thumb, whereas both bird types have strikingly large mouths, those of potoos are much bigger than their beaks whereas those of frogmouths are much the same size as theirs. And as can be seen from the photo quartet, the bird depicted in them had a very small beak in proportion to its mouth. Eager to discover the history of these photos, I spent some time searching for details online, but little could be found. They had apparently first attracted significant online interest just a couple of days earlier, when posted on the Reddit website, and had subsequently appeared on many others worldwide. However, I discovered that they had initially appeared much earlier, having traced one site that featured them in October 2013 and another that had featured them even further back, in mid-April 2013. On a Vietnamese website that I consulted (click here), it stated that the bird had allegedly been captured on the outskirts of a rural Venezuelan town, which if true provides further support for a potoo identity. Judging from the comments on a range of other websites that I accessed, however, there has apparently been much wild speculation among non-ornithologists concerning the nature of this bird. Some contributors have voiced the opinion that it is an alien creature, or even a demonic entity, and others that it is an effigy or a taxiderm gaff (presumably one with a beak capable of opening and closing, judging from the differences in beak appearance present in the photos!) created specifically to fool or horrify its observers. The common potoo (© Steve Gantlett/Guatemala International Birdwatching Encounter / inclusion here strictly on Fair Use/non-commercial basis only) In reality, however, comparing the photos with confirmed potoo images online swiftly vindicated my opinion that it is merely a potoo, most probably the common potoo Nyctibius griseus (based upon both morphological and zoogeographical correspondence) So is the mystery of the bird with the monstrously large mouth solved? Not quite. There is still the disconcerting matter of its uniformly black eyes to consider. This is because in the eyes of potoos, the black pupil is normally prominently ringed by a wide gold-coloured iris. Potoo showing normal eye appearance (Barnorama / inclusion here strictly on Fair Use/non-commercial basis only) Having said that, when I did a Google image search of photos depicting the eyes of potoos (click here), I discovered quite a few photos of specimens with entirely black eyes. So how can this puzzling discrepancy be explained? Could it be merely a lighting effect – the eyes appearing dark when viewed in subdued light? Bearing in mind that all potoos are nocturnal, it is more probable, however, that the pupil can dilate sufficiently in subdued light to obscure the gold iris encircling it. Judging from the range of eye states represented in the photos thrown up in the above-mentioned Google image search, I suspect that the latter hypothesis is the correct one, but if anyone out there can offer further information, I'd greatly welcome details here. Epilogue: on 26 January 2014, Steve Caffyn in FB's Monster Talk group offered a thought-provoking third theory: "I think some (maybe many) bird species' eye colours change with age. My own African Grey parrot Gizmo's eyes were entirely black as a baby. Then his iris changed to white after the first year and now he is eight the iris will go increasingly yellow with age." Finally: if you think that potoos look somewhat ghoulish, just wait until you hear what they sound like! Click here for the eldritch utterances of a great potoo Nyctibius grandis. Potoo showing very restricted gold iris and very dilated black pupil (Barnorama / inclusion here strictly on Fair Use/non-commercial basis only)
37 Funny Animal Pictures That Will Make Your Day
Source :flying of birds
Rusty-fronted Barwing
The purple eared hummingbird from Savegre , Costa rica found a moments rest in this lovely white lily. I was thrilled to see this but it only lasted a few moments. I have been out of town so my apologies but will try to catch up in the next few days. Have a wonderful weekend !!!!!!
Sugar bird on protea; South Africa Cape by Ann Shelbourne
Explore dgward55's 1788 photos on Flickr!
The “Birds with threatening auras” Facebook page gathers and shares pics of avians who do not give a single damn.
Birds dominated New Zealand's forests such as the kiwi, the burrowing parrot called the kakapo and takahē. There are other indigenous animals in the area like the skinks and geckos. Not only that, their water is abundant with Marine mammals like the whales, dolphins, and porpoises as well as fur seals. Many seabirds breed in New Zealand and there are more penguin species are found in New Zealand than in any other country. New Zealand is a country where you can find and admire the jagged mountains and rolling pasture land. From raging rivers, scenic beaches, and active volcanic zones, this country is famous for penguins, home to flightless birds in fact, they reflect to their art pieces. Did you know that the Kiwi is the national symbol in New Zealand? Another symbol in New Zealand is the silver fern leaf and koru. Now, have you checked their products yet? You can Buy Greenstone products in New Zealand. Their product such as the Greenstone Jewelry is a reflection of their culture. The art pieces are a genius creation uniquely found in New Zealand. And, if you plan to live there, check if the place you found has the proper Home Insulation. Their climate is mostly cool temperate to warm temperate with a strong maritime influence. If you planning to visit New Zealand sooner? You should know that this country has two main islands and a number of smaller islands with stunning and diverse natural beauty. It is blessed with long coastline and has large numbers of marine resources. I always encountered in my readings about these places in New Zealand: Stewart Island, the Chatham Islands, Great Barrier Island along the Hauraki Gulf, the d'Urville Island and Waiheke Island. Remember this: The national symbol of New Zealand is a nocturnal flightless bird with nostrils on the end of its large beak. If you want to see this bird, you should also know that the kiwi is now endangered that is why; it is hard to see in the wild. You can visit the zoo and the wildlife parks to see this cute little creature.
Find out more about these flightless Australasian birds and why they deserve to be treated with respect!
www.johnlovett.com After the workshop finished we flew back to Darwin, picked up our car and caravan, had a cracked fuel tank repaired, replaced the caravan springs and stocked up on food and water…
Monster bird? No, just a mom carrying her chicks under her wings. This is a JACANA, a tropical wading bird found all over the world. It took me a while to get this. This little piggy stayed home 🐖🏠☺ TP cake. Looks pretty real, doesn't it? A beautiful study in black and white. Cat unaware. Wonder what happened when she woke up? People are dreaming up so many ways to entertain themselves while in self-quarantine. I am still fine and hope you are too. Have a great weekend. All of the photos above were saved on my phone while reading various emails. Most are from Tumblr.
Dominic Couzens tells the stories of 50 of the rarest birds in the world
Baby kookaburra
