Beautiful birds

Eagle Snapshots

Eagle

True Wild Life | Eagle | The eagle is a (generally) large sized bird of prey meaning that the eagle is one of the most dominant predators in the sky. Eagles are most commonly found in the Northern Hemisphere including Europe, Asia and North America. Eagles are also found on the African continent. There are more than 60 different species of eagle in the world with only 2 of these eagle species being found in the USA and Canada. However, one of these eagle species is one of the most common species of eagle, the bald eagle. Despite it’s name the bald eagle has a full head of feathers but their bright white colour makes the bald eagle very distinguishable. The golden eagle is the only other species of eagle found on the American continent.

The size of an eagle is dependent on the species of eagle. Eagles can range in size from 40cm to over 1m in height. The wing span of an eagle tends to be at least double the length of the eagle’s body. Eagles have feathers on the ends of their wings which the eagles move up and down to help them when flying. Eagles are dominant predators and are known as birds of prey. Eagles feed off smaller birds and bats in the sky and small mammals and fish on the ground. The eagle is well known for it’s incredible eyesight. An eagle’s eyesight is so good that an eagle can apparently see a mouse on the ground when the eagle is still high in the sky.

The eagle is used as a symbol in many national flags and emblems all around the world, as an eagle is believed to resemble power or good fortune. Eagles are dominant and ruthless predators in their environment and eagles therefore have very few natural predators themselves. Eagles are most likely to be hunted by smaller animals when they are chicks or still young and inexperienced so they are fairly vulnerable. Female eagles build their nests in tall tree tops or on high cliffs where they are at their safest. The mother eagle tends to lay two eggs, which hatch after about a month. In many eagle species however, one of the eagle chicks is naturally slightly stronger than the other chick, with the stronger chick generally killing it’s weaker sibling

Eagles have adapted well to their dominant predatory lifestyle. Not only do eagles have exceptional eyesight and are about to soar remarkably quickly through the air for such a large bird, but eagles also have pointed beaks and agile feet known as talons. The beak of the eagle is perfectly designed for ripping flesh away from bone, and the talons of the eagle are so strong that the eagle is able to carry it’s prey in it’s feet until it reaches a safe place to eat it.

taken from :http://true-wildlife.blogspot.com

Eagle Facts

Only fifty percent of Bald Eagle fledglings will survive their first year. Only two species of eagle are known to breed on the North American continent. One, of course, is the bald eagle. Immature bald eagles are often mistaken for the other North American native, the golden eagle. The golden eagle has a distinctive crown of feathers on the head and neck from which it derives its descriptive name. The golden eagle also has feathers all the way to its toes, unlike the bald eagle, which has featherless feet. Golden eagles also prefer rugged uplands to the watery habitat of the bald eagle.

The bald eagle, scientifically known as Haliaeetus leucocephalus, meaning white-headed sea eagle, is not true to its name it our modem language. A bald eagle is, of course, not bald. This eagle was named at a time when “bald” was a common description of white markings on the face or head of an animal.

The eagle belongs to the order Falconiformes, a grouping of birds that includes about 275 species worldwide. This order includes those birds considered carnivores by virtue of their unique design, which enables them to hunt and eat meat. The eagles’ razor-sharp talons, hooked beak, and keen eyesight all aid these remarkable birds in the hunt.
Eagles tend to use the same nests year after year. Each spring, they repair and refurbish the nest until it meets their approval. These continual additions to the nest enlarge it to enormous proportions. One observed nest measured eight feet in diameter and probably weighed over two tons. If an eagle’s nest is destroyed for any reason, they are known to build another very close by. Once the nest has been made egg-worthy the female lays one to three eggs, each a day apart. Incubation begins immediately with the female shouldering most of the nest-sitting duties. Her mate takes on the responsibility of hunting for both of them while they wait for the first egg to hatch, approximately five to six weeks after it was laid. Once the chicks hatch, they require near-constant attention and protection from the elements, with both parents now sharing the responsibilities.

Perhaps the greatest survival challenge for eaglets in the nest comes from each other. Since the eggs are laid a day or two apart, the first-hatching chick will have a head start on second or third chicks. The larger chick will peck at and attack the smaller chick(s), gobbling up the lion’s share of the food that the adults bring to the nest. Many second- and third-hatching eaglets fail to live beyond the first two weeks. Strangely enough, adults do not try to protect the eaglets from each other.

Even if the fledgling eagle survives life in the nest, the battle is not yet won. Young eagles take time to achieve the grace and know-how of an adult. This can be particularly disadvantageous with the coming of winter or in times of food shortage; only about fifty percent of bald eagle chicks will survive their first year. Despite this grim statistic, under normal conditions the number of young eagles that do make it is more than enough to sustain the current population.

Bald eagle migration can take many forms. Some eagles stay in their nesting and breeding grounds year round if food is ample and waterways remain open for fishing. Others travel a considerable distance to find a suitable place to spend the frigid months ahead. Some will even travel as far south as Texas from Canada and Alaska to spend the cold winter months.

Eagles are leisurely migrators. They ride obliging wind currents, traveling 100-125 miles per day, typically hunting in the morning and migrating in the afternoon when flight-enhancing thermals are more likely to occur. Once the eagle arrives at its destination it settles in for a relatively relaxing winter spent roosting and waiting for its life cycle to begin anew with the warm winds of spring.

Despite its status as our national symbol, the bald eagle has not always enjoyed widespread popularity and acceptance. Once thought to be an insatiable predator with a taste for the kill, thousands of blameless birds were shot on sight by ranchers and sportsmen intent on protecting livestock and wild game. In truth, most of the “kills” attributed to eagles were actually the victims of other predators or natural phenomena.

Eagles have faced serious survival challenges from other sources including DDT poisoning, accidental trapping and electrocution on power lines. The conservation movements of the 1970’s, however, made great strides in the understanding and preservation of the eagle. Today the survival of this most magnificent bird is a certainty – its legacy will endure.

taken from :http://webhost.bridgew.edu/

Through the Eyes of the Condor

An Aerial Vision of Latin America

By Marie Arana

Photograph by Robert B. Haas

Since the age of the Inca, we have believed that we spring from the soil as surely as seeds—that life in this volatile home holds the promise of plenty or the shock of seismic upheaval. The earth can feed us. Or destroy us. We are at once the blessed and cursed inheritors of a fierce and bountiful land.
Perhaps that is why the Inca so loved the sun and the Maya built stairs to the skies, and conquistadores clambered up hills to thrust crucifixes into high ground. We want to be free of the earth’s embrace. Sprout wings. Fly. We long to see through the eyes of the condor.
Imagine then, this native Peruvian, whose feet are most comfortable on terra firma, joining a photographer’s expedition to survey her home from the air. That was the position in which I found myself one autumn day, as I hung on for dear life in the rear of a Pilatus Porter, the breast of our tiny craft beating against the current.
We flew over the Callejón de Huaylas, a verdant canyon that cuts through two mountain ranges—the majestic, snow-peaked Cordillera Blanca and the rippling, brown spine of the Cordillera Negra. This is the cradle of one of the earliest known civilizations of Peru, the Chavín, whose highly developed notions of agriculture informed the later genius of the Moche and Inca cultures. (Qosqo, the Inca would later call their perch in the Andes: umbilical of the world.) The Callejón is also in the stretch of mountain that boasts one of the highest peaks in all of South America, the spectacular Nevado Huascarán, whose 22,205-foot (6,768 meters) summit lords over the valley, and whose ice and snows have alternately nurtured and extinguished all life below.
Latin America is full of such paradoxes. We leap to tell visitors that our countries hold a smorgasbord of landforms—coastline, desert, jungle, mountain, marshland, archipelago—all in defined geographic spaces, and often in dramatic contiguity. The white promontories of the Andes are not far from the impenetrable canopy of the Amazon, where every November the jungle floor is deluged by floodwaters, and jaguars are forced to swim with the pink dolphins. Not until I was flying 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) above the earth did I see how close and interdependent those landforms truly are. A few minutes in the air can take you from the vernal cliffs of Lima’s seaside suburbs to the windblown desert of Chan Chan, the once grand citadel of the Chimú; or from the unforgiving rock over which the conquistadores labored to the green vales of Cajamarca. All of it, interconnected. One.
For all the history that has spooled below, for all the suffering that still plagues the region, the view from above is calm and neutral—and the terrain it reveals, seamless and whole. It is, I can’t help but think, Latin America as the Great Liberator Simón Bolívar dreamed it, a vast land made one by the spine of its cordillera, by the intricate vascular system that flows from its dark Amazon heart. There are no borders in this America. No nationalities. One zone merges into another, towns and cities come and go, valleys yield to mountains, and high snows trickle down to feed an emerald forest.
Bolívar’s dream of a unified region, a place where all nations would gather to form a stronger people, never came to be. He died in exile, despised and penniless, and Latin America forged ahead in all its splendid diversity.
Yet Bolívar was not alone in dreaming about Latin America. It is a place, when all is said and done, built on dreams. The fearless seafaring Alacaluf of Tierra del Fuego and the Aztec of Mexico dreamed of greatness and, with considerable struggle, won it. As did the inventive Moche, the Maya, and the Inca. And then, when Spain turned its hunger westward, all Europe dreamed of what wonders it might acquire. Latin America soon became the object of wholesale fantasy. Fifteenth-century sages imagined a land populated by Pygmies, Cyclopes, fierce warrior women, and sullen, dog-faced men. They fancied a world replete with magical realities: The fountain of youth. A paradise of the senses. Gold.
Even before Columbus set sail, he worried his old copy of Imago Mundi and dreamed of a land unlike anything he knew. Then, in the 16th century, as the territory Columbus had chanced upon was being settled, Sir Thomas More imagined the Utopia it might become.
The dreamscapes in Robert Haas’s photographs hark back to that spirit of discovery. To the force of the imagination. For, despite all the hard business of life in Latin America—despite all the realities on the ground—we are a people who long to rise, who seek the sky, who patiently await the magic. Even if it will never come. Why else would we scratch lines into the parched clay of Nasca that only a winged creature might see? Why else would we pile stone on stone at Chichén Itzá to mark the sun’s passage through heaven?
At one point, as Haas and I soared through the skies, I glanced down and saw the sugar fields of Trujillo where I had played as a child, the rugged Pacific coast my brother and I had explored on horseback, the dense rain forest canopy under which my forebears had struggled against all odds to ride the Amazon until it coursed out to sea. All of it at this remove seemed oddly divorced from the sturm and drang of family history, free of the human condition. Something happens when we look on the earth in that way: Mankind becomes a mere anecdote against that staggering canvas; we see ourselves as we really are—bound to the natural world around us. Mites upon a mighty orb.

taken from :http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus )

Fast Facts :
Type:Bird
Diet:Carnivore
Average life span in the wild:Up to 28 years
Size:Body, 34 to 43 in (86 to 109 cm); Wingspan, 6 to 8 ft (1.8 to 2.4 m)
Weight:6.5 to 14 lbs (3 to 6.5 kg)
Did you know?The largest bald eagle nest on record was 9.5 ft (3 m) wide and 20 ft (6 m) high. It weighed more than two tons
.Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man

The bald eagle, with its snowy-feathered (not bald) head and white tail, is the proud national bird symbol of the United States—yet the bird was nearly wiped out there. For many decades, bald eagles were hunted for sport and for the “protection” of fishing grounds. Pesticides like DDT also wreaked havoc on eagles and other birds. These chemicals collect in fish, which make up most of the eagle’s diet. They weaken the bird’s eggshells and severely limited their ability to reproduce. Since DDT use was heavily restricted in 1972, eagle numbers have rebounded significantly and have been aided by reintroduction programs. The result is a wildlife success story—the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has upgraded the birds from endangered to threatened.

Though their numbers have grown in much of their range, bald eagles remain most abundant in Alaska and Canada. These powerful birds of prey use their talons to fish, but they get many of their meals by scavenging carrion or stealing the kills of other animals. (Such thievery famously prompted Ben Franklin to argue against the bird’s nomination as the United State’s national symbol.) They live near water and favor coasts and lakes where fish are plentiful, though they will also snare and eat small mammals.

Bald eagles are believed to mate for life. A pair constructs an enormous stick nest—one of the bird-world’s biggest—high above the ground and tends to a pair of eggs each year. Immature eagles are dark, and until they are about five years old, they lack the distinctive white markings that make their parents so easy to identify. Young eagles roam great distances. Florida birds have been spotted in Michigan, and California eagles have traveled all the way to Alaska.

taken from :http://animals.nationalgeographic.com

California Condor Gymnogyps californianus

Fast Facts :
Type:Bird
Diet:Carnivore
Average life span in the wild:Up to 60 Years
Size:Body, 3.5 to 4.5 ft (1.1 to 1.4 m); Wingspan, 9 to 10 ft (2.7 to 3 m)
Weight:18 to 31 lbs (8 to 14 kg)
Protection status:Endangered
Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man

The California condor is the largest flying bird in North America. Their wings may stretch nearly 10 feet (3 meters) from tip to tip. When in flight, these huge birds glide on air currents to soar as high as a dizzying 15,000 feet (4,600 meters).

Like other vultures, condors are scavengers that feast on the carcasses of large mammals, such as cattle and deer. When a big meal is available, the birds may gorge themselves so much that they must rest for several hours before flying again.

Condors were sacred birds to the Native Americans who lived in the open spaces of western America. Today, they are best known as the subjects of a famous captive breeding program that may save them from extinction.

After decades of decline, condors neared the point of extinction in the late 1970s, when only two or three dozen birds survived. No one is sure exactly what cause or causes contributed most to this decline. Many birds died from poison ingestion and illegal egg collection, and all felt the steady loss of the open lands over which they once soared. Fossil records also show that the birds occupied only a fraction of their former range when Europeans first reached America—perhaps because of the loss of the great prehistoric herds that formerly roamed the continent.

California condors mature and reproduce slowly. They don’t breed until they are between six and eight years old, and the female lays only one egg every two years. If that egg is removed, however, she will lay a second or a third. With this in mind, scientists began to collect eggs for captive incubation. They also captured wild birds for captive breeding and, when the wild population dropped below 10 individuals, all of the remaining wild condors were brought into captivity in 1987.

Through the efforts of many organizations and individuals, reintroduction of California condors began in 1992. Today about 127 birds live in the wild. Though they are protected, mortality rates are still high from accidental death. Powerlines are a particular hazard for condors, and they fare better in areas where human population density is low.

taken from :http://animals.nationalgeographic.com

Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus)

Fast Facts :
Type:Bird
Diet:Carnivore
Size:Body, 4 ft (1.2 m); wingspan, up to 10.5 ft (3.2 m)
Weight:Up to 33 lbs (15 kg)
Protection status:Endangered
Did you know?The Andean condor has the largest wing area of any bird.
Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man

Andean condors are massive birds, among the largest in the world that are able to fly. Because they are so heavy (up to 33 pounds/15 kilograms), even their enormous 10-foot (3-meter) wingspan needs some help to keep them aloft. For that reason, these birds prefer to live in windy areas where they can glide on air currents with little effort. Andean condors are found in mountainous regions, as their name suggests, but also live near coasts replete with ocean breezes and even deserts that feature strong thermal air currents.

These condors are mostly black, but males have a distinctive white “collar” around their necks and some white markings on their wings as well. Like their relatives, the California condors, Andean condors have bald heads.

Condors are vultures, so they keep their sharp eyes peeled for the carrion that makes up most of their diet. They prefer to feast on large animals, wild or domestic, and in picking the carcasses, they perform an important function as a natural clean-up crew. Along the coasts, condors will feed on dead marine animals like seals or fish. These birds do not have sharp predator’s claws, but they will raid birds’ nests for eggs or even young hatchlings.

These long-lived birds have survived over 75 years in captivity, but they reproduce slowly. A mating pair produces only a single offspring every other year, and both parents must care for their young for a full year.

The Andean condor is considered endangered but is in far better shape than its California cousin. Perhaps a few thousand South American birds survive, and reintroduction programs are working to supplement that number.

taken from :http://animals.nationalgeographic.com

Let’s Save the World – Red Panda

For many months I was going to start this category, but every day I used to have a lot of things to do and posts to write, so, I was putting it off. But, yesterday, I saw a picture of one froggie, it was cute and lovely, and suddenly I read an inscription – “Last time this frog was seen 15 years ago…” For a couple of minutes I was speechless and now I am already writing in a new category – ENDANGERED ANIMALS.

So, when an animal is endangered, it means that it is under a threat to become extinct. Why? Because they can be few in number, or at risk of environmental changes or not capable to reproduce. Many nations take care about such species and ban their hunting and exporting.

I would like to start from Red Panda or Ailurus fulgens (“shining cat”). From the 1st sight red pandas have much in common with raccoons: almost the same length, shape of the body and long fluffy tail. The fur of red pandas is dense and very warm, it covers the whole body of an animal, and its soles as well. Tails of red pandas are long and unfortunately, very often, they are hunted namely for this fur. Also, pandas adore wrapping themselves in a tail, while it is cold.

As a rule, red pandas live in China, Myanmar and the Himalayas and prefer staying in bamboo forests, where it is not so warm. Pandas adore eating bamboo leaves, various berries, as well as bird eggs and plants. Pandas have big and strong both teeth and jaws. Special wrist formation allows them to grab bamboo stalks. Adult pandas lead solitary live. Red pandas are endangered due to habitat loss. To tell the truth, in our world there are only 2.500 left. Maximum lifespan of any panda in 14 years.

Red pandas are so important, they are the symbol of the International Tea Festival in Darjeeling. But, pandas of this kind are threatened by hunting (both for fur and for skin), deforestation (it cuts sources of food and places of living).

Funny facts:
■1821 – the year when red pandas were discovered;
■in China red pandas are called firefoxes, because of their bright fur and resemblance with foxes;
■claws of pandas are very sharp;
■word “panda” means “bamboo eater”.

taken from :http://curiousanimals.net

Sweet Baby