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Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
The Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a medium-sized bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk." It breeds almost throughout North America from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies, and is one of the most common buteos in North America. There are fourteen recognized subspecies, which vary in appearance and range. It is one of the largest members of the genus Buteo in North America, weighing from 690 to 2000 grams (1.5 to 4.4 pounds) and measuring 45–65 cm (18 to 26 in) in length, with a wingspan from 110 to 145 cm (43 to 57 in). The Red-tailed Hawk displays sexual dimorphism in size, as females are 25% larger than males. Red-tailed Hawk plumage can be variable, depending on the subspecies. These color variations are called morphs, and a Red-tailed Hawk may be light, dark, or rufous.
The Red-tailed Hawk is successful in large part because it tolerates a wide range of habitats and altitudes, including deserts, grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, tropical rainforests, agricultural fields and urban areas. It lives throughout the North American continent, except in areas of unbroken forest or the high arctic.It is also legally protected in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
The Red-tailed Hawk is a popular bird in falconry, particularly in North America. Approximately 60% of all raptors under 1 year of age taken from the wild for use in American falconry are Red-tailed Hawks. The Red-tailed Hawk also has significance in Native American culture. Its feathers are considered sacred by some tribes, and are used in religious ceremonies.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Red-Tailed Hawk".
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
The Great Egret (Ardea alba), also known as the Great White Egret, White Heron, or Common Egret, is a wading egret, found in most of the tropical and warmer temperate parts of the world, although it is very local in southern Europe and Asia. It is called Kōtuku in New Zealand. It is sometimes confused with the Great White Heron in Florida, which is a white morph of the Great Blue Heron.
The Great Egret is a large bird with all white plumage that can reach 101 cm in height and weigh up to 950 g. It is only slightly smaller than the Great Blue or Grey Herons. Apart from size, the Great Egret can be distinguished from other white egrets by its yellow bill and black legs and feet. It also has a slow flight, with its neck retracted. This is characteristic of herons and bitterns, and distinguishes them from storks, cranes and spoonbills, which extend their necks.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Great Egret".
Double-Crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
The double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It occurs along inland waterways as well as in coastal areas and is widely distributed across North America. Once threatened by use of DDT, the numbers of this bird have increased markedly in recent years.
Alternate common names of this bird include crow-duck, Farallon cormorant, Florida cormorant, lawyer, shag, devil bird, and Taunton turkey.
The double-crested cormorant is a large black bird 74–91 cm (29"–36") long, with a wingspan up to 132 cm (52"). It has a long tail and a yellow throat-patch, and can appear to have a green sheen in certain lighting. The white double head crest is seen for a short period during the breeding season in western birds; it is duller in eastern birds. Juveniles are brown with a white face, foreneck, and breast.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Double-Crested Cormorant".
Tri-Colored (Louisiana) Heron (Egretta tricolor)
The Tricolored Heron, Egretta tricolor, formerly known in North America as the Louisiana Heron, is a small heron. It is a resident breeder from the Gulf states of the USA and northern Mexico south through Central America and the Caribbean to central Brazil and Peru. There is some post-breeding dispersal to well north of the nesting range.
Tricolored Heron's breeding habitat is sub-tropical swamps. It nests in colonies, often with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs. In each clutch 3-7 eggs are typically laid.
This species is about 56 cm (22 in) long, with a 96 cm (38 in) wingspan and weighs 350 g (12 oz). It is a medium-large, long-legged, long-necked heron with a long pointed yellowish or greyish bill with a black tip. The legs and feet are dark.
Adults have a blue-grey head, neck, back and upperwings, with a white line along the neck. The belly is white. In breeding plumage, they have long blue filamentous plumes on the head and neck, and buff ones on the back.
Tricolored Heron stalks its prey in shallow or deeper water, often running as it does so. It eats fish, crustaceans, reptiles and insects.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Tri-Colored Heron".
Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga)
The Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga), sometimes called Snakebird, Darter, American Darter, or Water Turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of North America and South America.
It is a cormorant-like bird with an average body length of 85 cm (35 in), a wingspan of 117 cm (45 in), and a weight of 1,350 g. It is a dark-plumaged fish-eater with a very long neck, and often swims with only the neck above water. When swimming in this style the name Snakebird is apparent, since only the colored neck appears above water the bird looks like a snake ready to strike.
The Anhinga is a member of the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to Indian (Anhinga melanogaster), African (Anhinga rufa), and Australian (Anhinga novaehollandiae) Darters.
The Anhinga's feathers are not waterproofed by oils like those of ducks, and can get waterlogged, causing the bird to become barely buoyant. However, this allows it to dive easily and search for fish under the water. It can stay down for significant periods.
When necessary, the Anhinga will dry out its wings and feathers. It will perch for long periods with its wings spread to allow the drying process, as do cormorants. If it attempts to fly while its wings are wet, it has great difficulty getting off the water and takes off by flapping vigorously while 'running' on the water. Anhinga will often search for food in small groups.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Anhinga".![Moorhen juvenile (Rallidae Gallinula)<br />
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The moorhens are medium-sized water birds which are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Gallinula.[1] They are close relatives of coots, and because of their apparently nervous behavior (frequently twitching tail and neck) are sometimes called "skitty coots". Often, they are referred to as (black) gallinules.<br />
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A few species from the Australian region, sometimes separated in Tribonyx, are called native-hens. Tribonyx is better considered a subgenus however as the differences are not very striking and mainly plesiomorphic. The native-hens differ visually by shorter, thicker and stubbier toes and bills, and longer tails that lack the white signal pattern of typical moorhens<br />
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These rails are mostly brown and black with some white markings in plumage colour. Unlike many of the rails they are usually easy to see, feeding in open water margins rather than hidden in reedbeds.<br />
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They have short rounded wings and are weak fliers, although usually capable of covering long distances. The Common Moorhen in particular migrates up to 2,000 km from some of its breeding areas in the colder parts of Siberia. Those that migrate do so at night. The Gough Island Moorhen on the other hand is considered almost flightless - it can only flutter some meters. As common in rails, there has been a marked tedency to evolve flightlessness in island populations.<br />
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Moorhens can walk very well on strong legs, and have long toes that are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces.<br />
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These birds are omnivorous taking plant material, small animals and eggs. They are aggressively territorial during the breeding season, but are otherwise often found in sizeable flocks on the shallow vegetated lakes they prefer.<br />
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Moorhen".](https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel/Florida/Viera-Wetlands/i-hVwLg2v/0/b4ecdc71/XL/_DSC7341-XL.jpg)
Moorhen juvenile (Rallidae Gallinula)
The moorhens are medium-sized water birds which are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Gallinula.[1] They are close relatives of coots, and because of their apparently nervous behavior (frequently twitching tail and neck) are sometimes called "skitty coots". Often, they are referred to as (black) gallinules.
A few species from the Australian region, sometimes separated in Tribonyx, are called native-hens. Tribonyx is better considered a subgenus however as the differences are not very striking and mainly plesiomorphic. The native-hens differ visually by shorter, thicker and stubbier toes and bills, and longer tails that lack the white signal pattern of typical moorhens
These rails are mostly brown and black with some white markings in plumage colour. Unlike many of the rails they are usually easy to see, feeding in open water margins rather than hidden in reedbeds.
They have short rounded wings and are weak fliers, although usually capable of covering long distances. The Common Moorhen in particular migrates up to 2,000 km from some of its breeding areas in the colder parts of Siberia. Those that migrate do so at night. The Gough Island Moorhen on the other hand is considered almost flightless - it can only flutter some meters. As common in rails, there has been a marked tedency to evolve flightlessness in island populations.
Moorhens can walk very well on strong legs, and have long toes that are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces.
These birds are omnivorous taking plant material, small animals and eggs. They are aggressively territorial during the breeding season, but are otherwise often found in sizeable flocks on the shallow vegetated lakes they prefer.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Moorhen".
