Spotted doves move around in pairs or small groups as they forage on the ground for grass seeds, grains, fallen fruits and seeds of other plants. They may however take insects occasionally and have been recorded feeding on winged termites. The flight is quick with regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings. A display flight involves taking off at a steep angle with a loud clapping of the wing and then slowly gliding down with the tail spread out.
The breeding season is spread out in warm regions but tends to be in summer in the temperate ranges. In Hawaii, they breed all year round, as do all three other introduced species of doves. Males coo, bow and make aerial displays in courtship. In southern Australia, they breed mostly from September to January, and in the north in autumn. They nest mainly in low vegetation, building a flimsy cup of twigs in which two whitish eggs are laid. Nests are sometimes placed on the ground or on buildings and other structures. Both parents take part in building the nest, incubating and feeding the young. The eggs hatch after about 13 days and fledge after a fortnight. More than one brood may be raised.
The vocalizations of the spotted dove include cooing softly with a Krookruk-krukroo... kroo kroo kroo with the number of terminal kroos varying in the Indian population and absent in tigrina, chinensis and other populations to the east.
The species has been extending its range in many parts of the world. Populations may sometimes rise and fall rapidly, within a span of about five years. In the Philippines, the species may be outcompeting the Streptopelia dusumieri. Their habit of flushing into the air when disturbed makes them a hazard on airfields, often colliding with aircraft and sometimes causing damage.


The spotted dove in its native range in Asia is found across a range of habitats including woodland, scrub, farmland and habitation. In India it tends to be found in the moister regions, with the laughing dove (S. senegalensis) appearing more frequently in drier areas. These doves are mostly found on the ground where they forage for seeds and grain or on low vegetation.
The species has become established in many areas outside its native range. These areas include Hawaii, southern California, Mauritius, Australia and New Zealand.
In Australia they were introduced into Melbourne in the 1860s and have since spread but there is insufficient evidence that they compete with native doves. They are now found in streets, parks, gardens, agricultural areas, and tropical scrubs in diverse locations throughout eastern Australia and around the cities and major towns across southern Australia. The original populations appear to be S. c. chinensis and S. c. tigrina in varying proportions.


The woodpecker is a resident breeding bird from southeastern Europe east to  Iran. Its range has expanded further northwest into Europe in recent years.  It is an inhabitant of open woodlands, cultivation with trees and scrubs, and parks, depending for food and nesting sites upon old trees. It is often an inconspicuous bird, in spite of the plumage.


The Syrian woodpecker's food mainly consists of those insects which bore into the timber of forest trees, such as the larvae of wood boring moths and beetles. Additional prey includes bees such as Xylocopa pubescens.  The woodpecker usually alights on the trunk, working upwards. During the ascent it taps the bark, breaking off fragments, but often extracts its prey from crevices with the tip of its sticky tongue. Seeds, nuts and berries are eaten when insect food is scarce. Its actions are jerky, and it hops rather than climbs, leaping forward with one foot just in advance of the other. Usually feeding in a vertically 'heads-up" position , it is not uncommon for the woodpecker to assume a vertically or horizontally upside-down attitude while probing a tree for food. When a space is crossed the flight is easy and undulating.


The neat, round 5 cm diameter nesting hole, is bored in soft or decaying wood horizontally for a few inches, then perpendicularly down. At the bottom of the shaft, a small chamber is excavated, where up to 11 creamy white eggs are laid on wood chips.  The hole is rarely used again, but not infrequently other holes are bored in the same tree. Almost any tree sufficiently rotten is used. The young, when the parents are feeding them, cluster at the mouth of the hole and keep a continuous chatter, but when alarmed slip back into the hole.


Cape ground squirrels live mainly in arid or semiarid areas. They prefer to live in veld and grasslands with hard ground. They can also be found in scrub along pans, on floodplains and in agricultural areas. Ground squirrel are generally active during the day and do not hibernate. They are burrowing animals that dig and live in clusters of burrows averaging around 700 square metres (7,500 sq ft) with 2-100 entrances.  Burrow serve to protect the squirrel from extreme temperatures at the surface as well as predators. Nevertheless, most of the day is spent feeding at the surface. For thermoregulation, ground squirrels shade their head and back with their bushy tails. Dust bathing is also done.
Ground squirrels eat bulbs, fruits, grasses, herbs, insects and shrubs. They forage daily and do not hoard food,. The Cape ground squirrel usually does not need to drink as it gets sufficient moisture from its food. A ground squirrel's daily activities are made of around 70% feeding, 15-20% being vigilant and around 10% socializing. The squirrels use the position of the sun as an orientation marker to hide and recover their food.
The burrows of Cape ground squirrels are also used by meerkats and yellow mongooses. While Cape ground squirrels and meerkats appear to have a mutual relationship, mongoose and squirrel relations appear to be more commensal. Predators of ground squirrels include jackals, snakes and monitor lizards. Ground squirrels may be able to scent the differences in the dropping of predators and non-predators. When threatened by predators ground squirrels engage in mobbing behaviour: several squirrels rush at the predator while using their bushy tails to block it.  When the predator strikes back, all the squirrels back off. However, multiple mobbings are usually successful in driving away predators.


The Cape ground squirrel or South African ground squirrel (Geosciurus inauris)  is found in most of the drier parts of southern Africa from South Africa, through to Botswana, and into Namibia, including Etosha National Park.
The name Cape ground squirrel is somewhat misleading as it actually has a much wider area of habitation.  This common name may have been arrived at to distinguish it from a tree squirrel (the eastern grey squirrel) found around Cape Town, which was imported from Europe by Cecil John Rhodes.
The species has also been known as the fan-tailed squirrel.


Cape ground squirrel mate and reproduce year-round but mating occurs mostly in dry winter months. Since females copulate with multiple males, the males' large testes are useful for sperm competition.  After copulation, males will masturbate, which could serve to keep the genitals clean and reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections. In groups, only one female at a time enters oestrus which lasts around three hours. Gestation lasts around 48 days or 42–49 days. Lactation begins not long before the pups are born. A lactating female isolates herself in a separate burrow to care for their young but she returns to her group after weaning or if her litter is lost for some reason. There are 1-3 pups in a litter. They are born altricial, hairless and blind. The pups stay in the burrows for their first 45 days. By 35 days, the eyes are open. Seven days after emerging from the burrows, the pups can eat solid food. Lactation ends at around 52 days.  Males reach sexual maturity at eight months while female mature at 10 months. The former leave their natal groups while the latter remain.


The brown falcon (Falco berigora) is a relatively large falcon native to Australia and New Guinea.
A number of plumage morphs occur, with the primary distinction being between the pale morph and the dark morph. Both morphs usually have dark brown upper parts and wing coverts. Dark morph birds have predominantly dark under parts, although some light streaking is common. Pale morph birds have white underparts that are varyingly streaked with brown, sometimes heavily so. Pale individuals may also have prominently white under tail coverts and these may be diagnostic. A distinctive aspect of their behaviour is shown in the breeding season when Brown Falcons make a loud, high pitched, cackle call (like a laying hen) and screeching while in flight.
The species name berigora has Aboriginal origins.


The brown falcon eats small mammals, including house mice. They also eat young rabbits in the summer. It also eats small birds, lizards, snakes, and a variety of invertebrates, particularly caterpillars, grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles. Insects form the bulk of the animals' diets during winter and the falcons often chase the insects on the ground.


Brown falcons breed from June to November, usually in an old nest of a larger passerine or another hawk species; they occasionally nest in hollow limbs of trees. The brown falcon lays between two and five eggs that have red and brown spots and blotches.


The Canada lynx occurs predominantly in the dense boreal forest of Canada, and its range strongly coincides with that of the snowshoe hare. In the past, the lynx occurred in the northern United States in 24 states, possibly southward to the Rocky Mountains in New Mexico and northward to the tree line in the Arctic through coniferous forests in Alaska and Canada. The lynx continues to occur in its former range in most of Alaska and Canada. In the United States, the Canada lynx occurs in the Blue Mountains and the Cascade Range in the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountains, the northern Great Lakes region (in Minnesota and Michigan's Upper Peninsula) and northern New England (in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont). The lynx was successfully reintroduced in Colorado with a stable population by 2019, after being extirpated from the state in the 1970s. Canada lynxes generally avoid open areas despite good prey availability; they face difficulty surviving in heavily logged areas and on agricultural land, though they can thrive well in deforested areas that have been left to regenerate at least fifteen years. Canada lynxes have been recorded up to an elevation of 4,310 m (14,140 ft). It is considered extirpated in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Nevada, Indiana, and Ohio.
A Canada lynx was shot near Newton Abbot in the United Kingdom in 1903 after it attacked two dogs. The animal remained unidentified at the time and was preserved by Bristol Museum and Art Gallery and was finally identified in a 2014 study. The researchers concluded it had probably been captive for some time, perhaps as an exotic pet or part of a travelling menagerie, but may have survived for a substantial period after escaping. They considered it "the earliest recorded example of an exotic cat on the loose in the UK".


The Canada lynx preys primarily on the snowshoe hare. These hares comprise 35–97% of their diet; the proportion varies by the season and the abundance of hares. However, at times when the hare's numbers drop, Canada lynxes will include other animals in their diet—such as ducks, grouse, moles, ptarmigan, American red squirrels, voles and young ungulates (Dall's sheep, mule deer and boreal woodland caribou)—though snowshoe hares continue to be the primary component. The Canada lynx tends to be less selective in summer and autumn, adding small mammals as a minor component of their diet besides the hare. The reason behind this is unclear—it could be due to a greater abundance of alternate prey, or reduced success in hunting hares. A study in Alaska found that lynxes played a role in the decrease in populations of red fox, caribou and Dall's sheep when hares were very low in number. They have also been reported feeding occasionally on succulent, sedges and grasses. Canada lynxes ingest 0.6–1.2 kg (1.3–2.6 lb) of food daily.
Canada lynxes hunt around twilight or at night, the time when snowshoe hares tend to be active. They rely on their vision and sense of hearing to locate prey. The lynx will roam or wait (in what researchers often term "ambush beds") on certain trails where snowshoe hares gather, pounce on a hare and kill it by a bite on its head, throat or the nape of its neck. Sometimes a chase of around ten bounds may be necessary to trap the prey. The lynx is assisted by its stereoscopic vision in detecting prey and measuring distances. Staying in cover while hunting helps the lynx conserve energy in its frigid habitat by avoiding unnecessary movement. Young ungulates are given a throat bite to suffocate them to death. The lynx may eat its kill immediately or cache it in snow or leaves to eat it over the next few days. Studies suggest success in hunting hares depends heavily on the distance between the lynx and the hare when the lynx begins chasing it and their relative speeds, which in turn depends on the hunting prowess of the lynx, the alertness of the hare and the vegetation cover among other factors. Canada lynxes will occasionally hunt together, though studies differ on how this affects the success rate compared to hunting solo. These lynxes may hunt in groups when hares are scarce. Scavenging is common; they will take ungulates killed by the cold or vehicles.
Apart from Canada lynxes, coyotes are also major predators of the snowshoe hare. A study showed that, compared to Canada lynxes, coyotes' feet sink deeper in the snow due to their smaller size and hence a larger body mass to foot area ratio, prompting them to ambush their prey instead of chasing it as lynxes often do. A study of those two animals in southwest Yukon showed that when the hare population increased, both killed more than necessary for subsistence; lynxes need to kill 0.4 to 0.5 hare per day to meet their energy requirements but were observed to kill 1.2 hares per day during this period. Coyotes, with a success rate of 36.9%, emerged as more successful hunters than lynxes that succeeded in 28.7% of their hunts; however, this may have resulted from the greater number of adult coyotes in the studied population. Lynxes rarely cached their kills, unlike coyotes, and this may have led to incomplete consumption of some kills. When snowshoe hare numbers declined, both predators hunted for the same time period as they did when hares were abundant, but lynxes killed more hares than they had earlier. Moreover, lynxes supplemented their diet with American red squirrels.


The Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a medium-sized North American lynx that ranges across Alaska, Canada, and northern areas of the contiguous United States. It is characterized by its long, dense fur, triangular ears with black tufts at the tips, and broad, snowshoe-like paws. Its hindlimbs are longer than the forelimbs, so its back slopes downward to the front. The Canada lynx stands 48–56 cm (19–22 in) tall at the shoulder and weighs between 5 and 17 kg (11 and 37 lb). The lynx is a good swimmer and an agile climber. The Canada lynx was first described by Robert Kerr in 1792. Three subspecies have been proposed, but their validity is doubted; it is mostly considered a monotypic species.
A specialist predator, the Canada lynx depends heavily on the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) for food. This leads to a prey-predator cycle, as Canada lynxes respond to the cyclic rises and falls in snowshoe hare populations over the years in Alaska and central Canada. The Canada lynx population increases with an increasing hare population; if the hare population decreases in a given area, it moves to areas with more hares and has fewer offspring. The Canada lynx hunts mainly around twilight, or at night, when snowshoe hares tend to be active. The lynx waits for the hare on specific trails or in "ambush beds", then pounces on it and kills it by a bite on its head, throat or the nape of its neck. Individuals, particularly of the same sex, tend to avoid each other, forming "intrasexual" territories. The mating season is roughly a month long (from March to early April). After a gestation of two to three months, a litter of one to eight kittens is born. Offspring are weaned at 12 weeks.
This lynx occurs predominantly in dense boreal forests, and its range strongly coincides with that of the snowshoe hare. Given its abundance throughout the range and lack of severe threats, the Canada lynx has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. This lynx is regularly trapped for the international fur trade in most of Alaska and Canada but is protected in the southern half of its range due to threats such as habitat loss.


The Canada lynx tends to be nocturnal like its primary prey, the snowshoe hare. Nevertheless, activity may be observed during daytime. The lynx can cover 8–9 km (5.0–5.6 mi) daily, moving at 0.75–1.46 km/h (0.47–0.91 mph), to procure prey. These lynxes are good swimmers; one account records a Canada lynx swimming 3.2 km (2 mi) across the Yukon River. Canada lynxes are efficient climbers, and will dodge predators by climbing high up in trees, but they hunt only on the ground. These lynxes are primarily solitary, with minimal social interaction except for the bond between mothers and female offspring, and the temporary association between individuals of opposite sexes during the mating season. Individuals of the same sex particularly tend to avoid each other, forming "intrasexual" territories—a social structure similar to that of bears, bobcats, cougars and mustelids. Intraspecific aggression and consequent cannibalism are rare, but may be more common when food is scarce.


The mating season is roughly a month long, from March to early April. Urine marking and mating calls are part of display behaviour and increase the interaction between individuals of opposite sexes. Females can be induced ovulators when the availability of mates is low, or spontaneous ovulators when several mates are available. Females have only a single estrus cycle; estrus lasts three to five days in captivity. Individuals have been observed making long wailing vocalizations, probably as mating calls. Before birth, the female prepares a maternal den, usually in very thick brush, and typically inside thickets of shrubs, trees or woody debris.
After a gestation of two to three months, a litter of one to eight kittens is born. Lynx reproductive cycles and litter sizes have been observed to vary with prey availability; litter size would typically contract in years of snowshoe hare decline (along with high infant mortality rates), and increase when hares were abundant. Kittens weigh from 175 to 235 g (6.2 to 8.3 oz) at birth and initially have greyish buff fur with black markings. They are blind the first fourteen days and weaned at twelve weeks. Most births occur from May to July. Kittens leave the den after about five weeks and begin hunting at between seven and nine months of age. They leave the mother at around ten months, as the next breeding season begins, but they do not reach the full adult size until around two years of age. Female offspring typically settle in home ranges close to their mothers and remain in contact with them for life, while male offspring move far from their mother's range. Females reach sexual maturity at ten months but often delay breeding another year; males mature at age two or three. Canada lynxes have been reported to live sixteen years in the wild, though most do not survive ten; in captivity they may make it to twenty-seven.


The Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep occupy the cooler mountainous regions of Canada and the United States. In contrast, the desert bighorn sheep subspecies are indigenous to the hot desert ecosystems of the Southwestern United States and Mexico. Bighorn sheep generally inhabit alpine meadows, grassy mountain slopes, and foothill country near rugged, rocky cliffs and bluffs. Since bighorn sheep cannot move through deep snow, they prefer drier slopes, where the annual snowfall is less than about 150 cm (60 in) per year. A bighorn's winter range usually lies at lower elevations than its summer range.
Bighorn sheep are highly susceptible to certain diseases carried by domestic sheep, such as psoroptic scabies and pneumonia; additional mortality occurs as a result of accidents involving rock falls or falling off cliffs (a hazard of living in steep, rugged terrain). Bighorns are well adapted to climbing steep terrain, where they seek cover from predators. Predation primarily occurs with lambs, which are hunted by coyotes, bobcats, gray foxes, wolverines, jaguars, ocelots, lynxes, and golden eagles.
Bighorn sheep of all ages are threatened by black bears, grizzly bears, wolves, and especially mountain lions, which are perhaps best equipped with the agility to prey on them in uneven, rocky habitats. Fire suppression techniques may limit visibility through shrublands, and therefore increase cover and predation rates by mountain lions. Bighorn sheep are considered good indicators of land health because the species is sensitive to many human-induced environmental problems. In addition to their aesthetic value, bighorn sheep are considered desirable game animals by hunters.
Bighorn sheep graze on grasses and browse shrubs, particularly in fall and winter, and seek minerals at natural salt licks. Females tend to forage and walk, possibly to avoid predators and protect lambs, while males tend to eat and then rest and ruminate, which lends to more effective digestion and greater increase in body size.


The bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to 14 kg (30 lb); the sheep typically weigh up to 143 kg (315 lb). Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered: O. c. sierrae. Sheep originally crossed to North America over the Bering Land Bridge from Siberia; the population in North America peaked in the millions, and the bighorn sheep entered into the mythology of Native Americans. By 1900, the population had crashed to several thousand, due to diseases introduced through European livestock and overhunting.


Bighorn sheep live in large herds, and do not typically follow a single leader ram, unlike the mouflon, the ancestor of the domestic sheep, which has a strict dominance hierarchy. Prior to the mating season or "rut", the rams attempt to establish a dominance hierarchy to determine access to ewes for mating. During the prerut period, most of the characteristic horn clashing occurs between rams, although this behavior may occur to a limited extent throughout the year. Bighorn sheep exhibit agonistic behavior: two competitors walk away from each other and then turn to face each other before jumping and lunging into headbutts.  Rams' horns can frequently exhibit damage from repeated clashes.  Females exhibit a stable, nonlinear hierarchy that correlates with age. Females may fight for high social status when they are integrated into the hierarchy at one to two years of age.
Rocky Mountain bighorn rams employ at least three different courting strategies. The most common and successful is the tending strategy, in which a ram follows and defends an estrous ewe. Tending takes considerable strength and vigilance, and ewes are most receptive to tending males, presumably feeling they are the most fit. Another tactic is coursing, which is when rams fight for an already tended ewe. Ewes typically avoid coursing males, so the strategy is not effective. Rams also employ a blocking strategy. They prevent a ewe from accessing tending areas before she even goes into estrus.
Bighorn ewes have a six-month gestation. In temperate climates, the peak of the rut occurs in November with one, or rarely two, lambs being born in May. Most births occur in the first two weeks of the lambing period. Pregnant ewes of the Rocky Mountains migrate to alpine areas in spring, presumably to give birth in areas safer from predation, but are away from areas with good quality forage. Lambs born earlier in the season are more likely to survive than lambs born later. Lambs born late may not have access to sufficient milk, as their mothers are lactating at a time when food quality is lower. Newborn lambs weigh from 3.6 to 4.5 kg (8 to 10 lb) and can walk within hours. The lambs are then weaned when they reach four to six months old. The lifespan of ewes is typically 10–14 years, and 9–12 years for rams.


Evernia prunastri, also known as oakmoss, is a species of lichen. It can be found in many mountainous temperate forests throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Oakmoss grows primarily on the trunk and branches of oak trees, but is also commonly found on the bark of other deciduous trees and conifers such as fir and pine. The thalli of oakmoss are short (3–4 cm in length) and bushy, and grow together on bark to form large clumps. Oakmoss thallus is flat and strap-like. They are also highly branched, resembling the form of antlers. The colour of oakmoss ranges from green to a greenish-white when dry, and dark olive-green to yellow-green when wet. The texture of the thalli is rough when dry and rubbery when wet. It is used extensively in modern perfumery.


The white-winged chough (Corcorax melanorhamphos) is one of only two surviving members of the Australian mud-nest builders family, Corcoracidae, and is the only member of the genus Corcorax. It is native to southern and eastern Australia and is an example of convergent evolution as it is only distantly related to the European choughs that it closely resembles in shape, and for which it was named.


The white-winged chough will forage in litter and rotten wood for termites and beetles. Although birds have eaten pieces of apple placed out for them on feeding tables, they have not been recorded eating fruit on trees. This species has been observed eating cherry tomatoes, whole, in eastern Australian, Newcastle region.
The diet is varied, the white-winged chough eats seeds of various grasses (Poaceae), Gahnia grandis, Atriplex, Epacris, Hibbertia, Solanum, Acacia and Exocarpos species, as well as introduced species such as the cursed thistle (Cirsium arvense), roadside thistle (C. vulgare), winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima), Convolvulus and Oxalis species. Berries of the introduced Cotoneaster and Crataegus are also consumed. It eats a wide variety of arthropods, including centipedes, millipedes and many types of insect—beetles, cockroaches, termites, grasshoppers and crickets, flies, butterflies and moths, and ants, bees and wasps. In some areas, it will readily approach tourist sites to find supplementary food.


Nesting and breeding is communal, all members of the family helping to raise the young - a process that takes several years, as young birds must learn the art of finding food in the dry Australian bush. Larger families have a better chance of breeding success: so much so that given the opportunity choughs will kidnap the youngsters of neighboring families in order to recruit them to the team.
Breeding season is from August to December. The nest is a deep cup-shaped structure made of grasses held together with mud or sometimes manure in a tree fork up to 10 metres above the ground. Three to five cream-coloured eggs sparsely splotched with dark brown and lavender shades are laid measuring 30 mm x 40 mm.
There is one report of white-winged choughs occupying and using a nest which was likely to have been built by the Australian magpie. However, this was unable to be confirmed as the nest was not witnessed being built.
All members of a family take turns to incubate, preen, and feed youngsters, and all cooperate in defending the nest against predators. However, the juveniles, who are highly inefficient foragers, have been observed to engage in deception; they bring food back to the nest and make to feed nestlings, but instead wait until unobserved, and then eat it themselves. This behaviour disappeared when food sources were artificially supplemented. There are three main threats to young choughs: starvation; predation by nest-robbing birds, particularly currawongs; and sabotage by neighbouring chough families anxious to protect their food supply by restricting competition. Larger family groups are better able to deal with all three threats.
Nesting in communal groups is essential: pairs, or even trios, of birds are almost never successful in raising young. Young take six to seven months to reach independence – a significant time-span for birds – but they repay the long investment by returning to the nest the next year and helping raise the next generation.


The wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) is a North American passerine bird. It is closely related to other thrushes such as the American robin and is widely distributed across North America, wintering in Central America and southern Mexico. The wood thrush is the official bird of the District of Columbia.
The wood thrush is a medium-sized thrush, with brown upper parts with mottled brown and white underparts. The male and female are similar in appearance. The song of the male is often cited as being the most beautiful in North America.
The wood thrush is an omnivore, and feeds preferentially on soil invertebrates and larvae, but will also eat fruits. In the summer, it feeds on insects continuously in order to meet daily metabolic needs. It is solitary, but sometimes forms mixed-species flocks. The wood thrush defends a territory that ranges in size from 800 to 28,000 m² (960 to 33,490 sq yd). The wood thrush is monogamous, and its breeding season begins in the spring; about 50% of all mated pairs are able to raise two broods, ranging in size from two to four chicks.


The wood thrush's breeding range extends from Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia in southern Canada to northern Florida and from the Atlantic coast to the Missouri River and the eastern Great Plains. It migrates to southern Mexico through to Panama in Central America in the winter, mostly in the lowlands along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. It generally arrives on the U.S. Gulf Coast during the first week of April. Fall migration usually begins in mid-August and continues through mid-September. Migration takes place at night, allowing them to find their direction from the stars and orient themselves by detecting the Earth's magnetic field.
The wood thrush prefers deciduous and mixed forests for breeding. It prefers late-successional, upland mesic forests with a moderately-dense shrub layer. Robert I. Bertin (1977) found that this thrush favors areas with running water, moist ground, and high understorey cover. The breeding habitat generally includes trees taller than 16 m (52 ft), a fairly open forest floor, moist soil, and leaf litter, with substrate moisture more important than either canopy cover or access to running water. The wood thrush can breed in habitat patches as small as 0.4 hectares (0.99 acres), but it runs the risk of higher predation and nest parasitism. The wood thrush's breeding range has expanded northward, displacing the veery and hermit thrush in some locations. In recent times, as a result of fragmentation of forests, it has been increasingly exposed to
nest parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds, as well as loss of habitat in the winter range.


Eggs and chicks are vulnerable to chipmunks, raccoons, blue jays, American crows, black rat snakes, brown-headed cowbirds, common grackles, southern flying squirrels, gray squirrels, least weasels, white-footed mice, domestic cats, great horned owls, and sharp-shinned hawks. Adults are primarily taken by hawks and owls.


Wood thrushes are monogamous. Breeding pairs form in mid-April to early-May, and usually last throughout the breeding season. Most thrushes find a new mate each year, and mate guarding and extra-pair copulations have not been observed in this species.
Some male wood thrushes arrive at the breeding grounds several days before the earliest females while other males arrive at the same time as the females, establishing territories ranging in size from 0.08 to 0.8 hectares (one-fifth of an acre to two acres). The female typically leads silent circular flights 1–1.8 m (3.3–5.9 ft) from the ground, with the male chasing. Six or more flights generally take place in succession. The pairs will perch together and feed each other in between flights. The male begins to sing at dawn and dusk a few days after arriving at breeding grounds. Early in the breeding season, the male sings from high perches in the tallest trees, but as the season progresses, it sings somewhat shorter and less elaborate songs from lower perches. Each day's singing begins and is most intense just before sunrise. The male may sing throughout the day but especially at dusk. The song season is usually over by the end of July.
Typically, the female chooses the nest site and builds the nest. However, there has been some indication that the male is able to influence the selection of the nest site by perching nearby and singing. Usually, though, the female chooses whether or not to accept or reject the nest site suggested by the male. The nest is usually sited in a dense patch of vegetation in a tree or shrub that provides concealment and shade. It is usually made of dead grasses, stems, and leaves, and lined with mud, and placed in a fork at a horizontal branch. The nest is not reused. Usually, two broods are attempted, although three to four separate nests may be built before a pair succeeds. Two to four pale blue eggs are laid at the rate of one per day. The eggs are incubated by the female only for 11 to 14 days, with the average being 13 days. Like all passerines, the chicks are altricial at hatching, mostly naked with closed eyes. The female broods the chicks during the first four days after hatching. Both parents feed the nestlings and remove fecal sacs from the nest. The chicks fledge 12–15 days after hatching, but the parents continue to feed them until they become independent and leave the parents' territory at 21–31 days old.
The young wood thrush is able to begin breeding the next summer. Most females lay their first eggs in mid-May, but older females may begin laying sooner. Pairs usually attempt to rear a second brood no later than late July, with the last of the young fledging around mid-August. About half of all wood thrush pairs successfully raise two broods.


The adult wood thrush is 18 to 21.5 cm (7.1 to 8.5 in) long, with a wingspan of 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16 in) and a body mass of 48 to 72 g (1.7 to 2.5 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 9.6 to 11.6 cm (3.8 to 4.6 in), the bill is 1.6 to 2 cm (0.63 to 0.79 in) and the tarsus is 2.8 to 3.3 cm (1.1 to 1.3 in). It is distinctly larger than the Catharus thrushes with which the species is often sympatric but slightly smaller than the common American robin. The longest known lifespan for a wood thrush in the wild is 8 years, 11 months. The crown, nape, and upper back are cinnamon-brown, while the back wings, and tail are a slightly duller brown. The breast and belly are white with large dark brown spots on the breast, sides, and flanks. It has white eye rings and pink legs. Other brownish thrushes have finer spotting on the breast. The juvenile looks similar to adults, but has additional spots on the back, neck, and wing coverts. The male and female are similar in size and plumage.


The southern ground hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri; formerly known as Bucorvus cafer), is one of two species of ground hornbill, which are both found solely within Africa, and is the largest species of hornbill worldwide. It can be found in the southern regions of Africa, ranging from Kenya to South Africa. Within these regions, they inhabit both woodlands and savannas. The other species of the genus Bucorvus found in Africa is the Abyssinian ground hornbill, B. abyssinicus.
Southern ground hornbills are carnivorous and mostly hunt on the ground, where they find the majority of their food. This food ranges from insects to small animals. Their nests are often found in high tree cavities or other shallow cavities, such as rock holes in cliff faces. These birds are a long lived species, having lifespans in the range of 50–60 years, and up to 70 in captivity. In relation to their long lives, they do not reach sexual maturity until 4–6 years old, and begin breeding around 10 years old. Their sex can be identified by the color of their throats, where the male's is pure red and the female's is a deep violet-blue.
Southern ground hornbills are a culturally pervasive and important species in southern Africa. Kruger National Park, located within South Africa, lists southern ground hornbills as one of their ‘Big Six’ bird species. However, their numbers have been declining, due in part to persecution, habitat destruction, cultural beliefs, and other factors. They are listed globally as ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN as of 2018, and ‘Endangered’ in South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland.


The southern ground hornbill is an obligate cooperative breeder, with each breeding pair always assisted by at least two other birds. It is known via experiments in captivity that birds without six years experience as helpers at the nest are unable to breed successfully if they do become breeders. This suggests that unaided pairs cannot rear young and that helping skill as a juvenile is essential for rearing young as an adult.
In captivity, a maximum lifespan of 70 years is recorded, and it is generally believed that the life expectancy of a bird that survives long enough to fledge is as high as thirty years or more, which is comparable to more famously long-lived birds like the wandering albatross.
Ground hornbills are believed to reach maturity at six to seven years, but very few breed at this age. Nests are almost always deep hollows in very old trees, though there exist reports ground hornbills have on occasions nested on rock faces. One to three eggs are laid at the beginning of the wet season but siblicide ensures that only one nestling is ever fledged. The eggs measure 73 millimetres (2.87 in) by 56 millimetres (2.20 in) and are pure white in colour but very rough in texture.
After a 40 to 45-day incubation period and an 85-day fledging period, the young remain dependent on their parents and helpers for between one and two years depending on climatic conditions, longer than any other bird. This means that ground hornbills can normally breed successfully only every third year. Triennial breeding is extremely rare in birds: probably the only other example is the ornate hawk-eagle of Neotropical rainforests.


This is a large bird, at 90 to 129 cm (2 ft 11 in to 4 ft 3 in) long. Females weigh 2.2 to 4.6 kilograms (4.9 to 10.1 lb), while the larger males weigh 3.5 to 6.2 kilograms (7.7 to 13.7 lb). The average weight of eight females was 3.34 kg (7.4 lb) whilst that of eight males was 4.2 kg (9.3 lb), thus they average around 35% percent heavier than any Asian hornbill species. Wingspan is apparently from 1.2 to 1.8 m (3 ft 11 in to 5 ft 11 in). Among standard measurements, the wing chord has been measured from 49.5 to 61.8 cm (19.5 to 24.3 in), the tail from 29 to 36 cm (11 to 14 in), the tarsus from 13 to 15.5 cm (5.1 to 6.1 in) and the culmen from 16.8 to 22.1 cm (6.6 to 8.7 in). Per Stevenson and Fanshawe, the Abyssinian ground hornbill is the larger species on average, at 110 cm (43 in), than the southern species, at 102 cm (40 in), but published maximum weights and standard measurements contrarily indicate the southern species is indeed slightly larger. Apparently average weights are not known for the Abyssinian species.
The southern ground hornbill is characterized by black coloration and vivid red patches of bare skin on the face and throat (yellow in juvenile birds), which are generally believed to keep dust out of the birds eyes while they forage during the dry season. The white tips of the wings (primary feathers) seen in flight are another diagnostic characteristic. The beak is black and straight and presents a casque, more developed in males. Female southern ground hornbills are smaller and have violet-blue skin on their throats. Juveniles to six years old lack the prominent red pouch, but have a duller patch of grey in its place.


The  African spoonbill  (Platalea alba) is a long-legged wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The species is widespread across Africa and Madagascar, including Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.


It lives in marshy wetlands with some open shallow water and nests in colonies in trees or reedbeds. They usually don't share colonies with storks or herons. The African spoonbill feeds in shallow water, and fishes for various fish, molluscs, amphibians, crustaceans, insects and larvae. The animal uses its open bill to catch foods by swinging it from side-to-side in the water, which catches foods in its mouth. Long legs and thin, pointed toes enable it to walk easily through varying depths of water.
The African spoonbill is almost unmistakable through most of its range. The breeding bird is all white except for its red legs and face and long grey spatulate bill. It has no crest, unlike the common spoonbill. Immature birds lack the red face and have a yellow bill. Unlike herons, spoonbills fly with their necks outstretched.


The African spoonbill begins breeding in the winter, which lasts until spring. The spoonbill's nest, generally located in trees above water, is built from sticks and reeds and lined with leaves. Three to five eggs are laid by the female birds, usually during the months of April or May. The eggs are incubated by both parents for up to 29 days, and upon hatching the young birds are cared for by both parents for around 20 to 30 days. The birds are ready to leave the nest soon afterward, and begin flying after another four weeks.
The African spoonbill is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.


The fruit bodies of Royoporus badius tend to be upright, growing solitary or in groups, sometimes with two or more fruit bodies arising from a common stipe. The cap is circular or kidney-shaped, and often lobed or with a wavy edge.
When young, the fruit bodies are convex, then become flat or funnel-shaped in maturity, reaching dimensions of 5–25 cm (2.0–9.8 in) across by 1–4 mm (0.04–0.16 in) thick. The upper cap surface is smooth and glossy, but develops radial wrinkles as it ages. The color of the cap is brown, often darker in the center and lighter-colored at the margins. The under-surface is white or cream-colored, yellowing when old. Pores are round and number 6–8 per mm, with decurrent tubes (running down the length of the stipe). The stipe, attached to the cap either centrally or laterally, is 2–8 cm (0.8–3.1 in) long by 0.5–1.5 cm (0.2–0.6 in) thick, velvety and dark brown to blackish-brown, black and longitudinally wrinkled when old. The fruit bodies are inedible because of their tough texture.
The spores are ellipsoid or cylindrical, hyaline (translucent), smooth, and 7.5–9 by 3–5 µm. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) are club-shaped with a narrow base, and have dimensions of 20–30 by 7–9 µm. Like other members of the genus Polyporus, this species has a dimitic hyphal construction, meaning that the hyphae are made of both generative hyphae and skeleto-ligative hyphae, a feature which tends to make the mushroom tissue hard and woody. There are no cystidia in the hymenium. The fungus has been shown to produce asexual spores when grown in pure culture conditions.


Royoporus badius is a saprobic species, and causes white rot. It grows on the standing or fallen trunks and branches of various hardwood genera, including Acer, Aesculus, Alnus, Betula, Castanea, Fagus, Fraxinus, Populus, Prunus, Robinia, Quercus, Salix, Tilia and Ulmus. The fungus grows in temperate regions of Asia, Europe, and North America.


Royoporus badius or Picipes badius, commonly known as the black-footed polypore or black-leg, is a species of fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It causes a white rot of hardwoods and conifers. The species is found in temperate areas of Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. It has a dark brown or reddish-brown cap that reaches a diameter of 25 cm (9.8 in), and a stipe that is often completely black or brown at the top and black at the base.


The Philadelphia vireo (Vireo philadelphicus) is a small North American songbird in the vireo family (Vireonidae). "Vireo" is a Latin word referring to a green migratory bird, perhaps the female golden oriole, possibly the European greenfinch. The specific philadelphicus is for the city of Philadelphia.


Their breeding habitat is the edges of deciduous and mixed woods across Canada. They make a basket-shaped cup nest in a fork of a tree branch, usually placed relatively high. The female lays 3 to 5 lightly spotted white eggs. Incubation, by both parents, lasts up to 14 days.
These birds migrate to Mexico and Central America. This vireo is a very rare vagrant to western Europe. They are unlikely to visit Philadelphia, except in migration.
They forage for insects in trees, sometimes hovering or flying to catch insects in flight. They also eat berries, especially before migration.
The songs and calls of Philadelphia vireo are three to five notes, weeezh weeezh weeezh, very similar to those of the red-eyed vireo.


The red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) is a small, hardy woodland salamander species in the family Plethodontidae. The species inhabits wooded slopes in eastern North America, west to Missouri, south to North Carolina, and north from southern Quebec and the Maritime provinces in Canada to Minnesota. It is also known as the redback salamander, eastern red-backed salamander, or the northern red-backed salamander to distinguish it from the southern red-backed salamander (Plethodon serratus). It is one of 56 species in the genus Plethodon. Red-backed salamanders are notable for their color polymorphism and primarily display two color morph varieties ("red-backed" and "lead-backed"), which differ in physiology and anti-predator behavior.


The red-backed salamander is a small terrestrial salamander, 5.7–10.0 cm (2.2–3.9 in) in total length (including tail), which usually lives in forested areas under rocks, logs, bark, and other debris. It is one of the most numerous salamanders throughout its range. Red-backed salamanders are mostly insectivorous, but prey on a wide assortment of other small invertebrates including isopods, millipedes, centipedes, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, spiders, and gastropods. On one occasion an individual was found to have cannibalized a P. cinereus embryo. Predators of the red-backed salamander are many and varied, and include small mammals, snakes, ground-foraging birds, and larger salamanders.
As with all amphibians, the red-backed salamander has permeable skin. They also lack lungs, a condition which is an ancestral trait of the Plethodontidae. Red-backed salamanders are thus entirely reliant on cutaneous respiration for gas exchange. Permeable skin is susceptible to desiccation and must be kept moist in order to facilitate cutaneous respiration; as a result much of the ecology and behavior of the red-backed salamander is restricted by climatic and microclimatic variables, particularly dryness and temperature. Individuals confine themselves to moist microhabitats (beneath rocks, woody debris, etc. as well as beneath the soil) for long periods of time in order to maintain hydration when surface conditions are inhospitably dry or hot, and are only active on the surface to travel, forage, or reproduce for short periods. The duration of surface activity is directly limited by the rate of cutaneous water loss to the environment, which is influenced by environmental variables such as altitude, forest canopy cover, and the amount of recent precipitation. Hydric limitations are thus a major constraint on red-backed salamander growth and reproductive success as well as the genetic interconnectedness of red-backed salamander populations.
The skin of red-backed salamanders was found to contain Lysobacter gummosus, an epibiotic bacterium that produces the chemical 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol and inhibits the growth of certain pathogenic fungi.


Males and females of P. cinereus typically establish separate feeding and/or mating territories underneath rocks and logs. However, some red-backed salamanders are thought to engage in social monogamy, and may maintain co-defended territories throughout their active periods. Breeding occurs in June and July. Females produce from four to 17 eggs in a year. The eggs hatch in 6 to 8 weeks. Not much is known about the dispersal of neonates, although neonates and juveniles are thought to be philopatric. The species largely consumes invertebrates and other detritus dwellers. In some areas with good habitat, these salamanders are so numerous, their population densities may surpass 1,000 individuals per acre (2,471 individuals per hectare). Pokagon State Park in Indiana is one such place.
As in many Plethodon species, female red-backed salamanders have the ability to store sperm as spermatophore, and have been evidenced in doing so up to eight months prior to the oviposition period in June and July. Sperm or spermatophores are not retained following the oviposition period.


The hardhead (Aythya australis), also known as the white-eyed duck, is the only true diving duck found in Australia. The common name "hardhead" has nothing to do with the density of the bird's skull, instead referring to the difficulty encountered by early taxidermists in processing the head. Hardheads are found in wetter, coastal regions of Australia, particularly in the south-east, but are known to disperse as far afield as New Guinea, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands.


Like the other members of the pochard group, hardheads feed by diving deeply, often staying submerged for as long as a minute at a time. They slip under the water with barely a ripple, simply lowering their heads and thrusting with their powerful webbed feet. They eat a broad range of small aquatic creatures, and supplement this with water weeds.
Hardheads are usually silent, but males have a soft, wheezy whistle and 'whirr'. Females have a loud rattling 'gaark' call.


Hardheads are common in the south-east of Australia, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin, but also in the wetter country near the coasts. They are moderately nomadic in normal years, but disperse widely in times of drought. Significant numbers reach as far afield as New Guinea, New Zealand, and the islands of the Pacific, where they can remain for some time, even breeding for a season or two.
Hardheads prefer larger lakes, swamps and rivers with deep, still water, but are often seen in smaller streams, flooded grasslands, and shallow pools. As a general rule, they avoid coastal waters. They rarely come to land and never perch in trees.
Widespread throughout its large range, the hardhead is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.


The cinnamon hummingbird (Amazilia rutila) is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found from northwestern Mexico to Costa Rica.


The cinnamon hummingbird usually forages from the understory to the mid-story, but also will visit taller flowering trees. It feeds on nectar from a very wide variety of flowering plants and also eats insects. It is territorial and defends feeding sites from intrusion by other hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies.


The subspecies of cinnamon hummingbird are found thus:
A. r. diluta, the northwestern Mexican states of Sinaloa and Nayarit
A. r. graysoni, Isla María Madre in Islas Marías off the coast of western Mexico
A. r. rutila, from Jalisco in western Mexico south through El Salvador and western Honduras and Nicaragua into northwestern Costa Rica.
A. r. corallirostris, from Chiapas in Mexico south to El Salvador
The populations in Mexico's Yucatán state, northeastern Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica are usually attributed to A. r. rutila but have sometimes been considered to be part of A. r. corallirostris.
The cinnamon hummingbird inhabits primary and secondary deciduous and semi-deciduous forests and thorn forest. It ranges from sea level to about 1,600 m (5,200 ft) of elevation.


The cinnamon hummingbird's breeding season varies throughout its range; every month is represented somewhere. Its nest is a cup made of plant material and spider web placed on a horizontal branch. Three nests in western Mexico had a small platform of wood pieces under the cup. The cup was made of kapok seed fibers with grass, bits of wood, and lichens on the outside. All three were in semi-deciduous forest. The clutch size is two eggs, but little more is known about the species' breeding phenology.


The cinnamon hummingbird is 9.5 to 11.5 cm (3.7 to 4.5 in) long and on average weighs about 5 to 5.5 g (0.18 to 0.19 oz). Adults of the nominate subspecies A. r. rutila have metallic bronze green upperparts and cinnamon to cinnamon rufous underparts that are paler on the chin and upper throat. The tail is deep cinnamon rufous to rufous chestnut; the feathers have dark metallic bronze tips and the outermost have dark metallic bronze outer edges. The wings are a dark brownish slate. Males' bills are red with a black tip and females' mostly black with red at the base. Juveniles are similar to adults but have rufous edges to the face, crown, and rump feathers and an all black bill.
A. r. diluta is similar to the nominate, with slightly less intense green upperparts and paler and pinker underparts. A. r. corallirostris is also similar to the nominate but overall its colors are richer and deeper. A. r. graysoni is significantly larger and darker than the nominate but otherwise similar.


The pine grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator) (this scientific name roughly translates to  "the bird that lives in the pines and shells the seeds") is a large member of the true finch family, Fringillidae. It is the only species in the genus Pinicola. It is found in coniferous woods across Alaska, the western mountains of the United States, Canada, and in subarctic Fennoscandia and across the Palearctic to Siberia. The species is a frugivore, especially in winter, favoring small fruits, such as rowans (mountain-ashes in the New World). With fruit-crop abundance varying from year to year, pine grosbeak is one of many subarctic-resident bird species that exhibit irruptive behavior. In irruption years, individuals can move long distances in search of suitable food supplies, bringing them farther south and/or downslope than is typical of years with large fruit crops.


Pine grosbeaks breed in the boreal forests of northern Eurasia and North America, and typically either remain resident near their breeding grounds or migrate relatively short distances to the southern extent of boreal forests. During irruptive years, more travel to southern boreal forests and some move further south. In such years in the New World, they can occur well south of their typical winter distribution, which is the northern Great Lakes region and northern New England in the United States. This species is a very rare vagrant to temperate parts of Europe; in all of Germany, for example, not more than 4 individuals per year and often none at all have been recorded since 1980. The birds have also been known to live in coniferous forests, and other woodlands of the sort.


The breeding habitat of the pine grosbeak is coniferous forests. They nest on a horizontal branch or in a fork of a conifer. This bird is a permanent resident through most of its range; in the extreme north or when food sources are scarce, they may migrate farther south. When breeding both sexes develop gular pouches which they use to store seeds before feeding them to the young.
Pine grosbeaks forage in trees and bushes. They mainly eat seeds, buds, berries, and insects. Outside of the nesting season, they often feed in flocks.


This species is one of the largest species in the true finch family. It measures from 20 to 25.5 cm (7.9 to 10.0 in) in length and weighs from 52 to 78 g (1.8 to 2.8 oz), with an average mass of 56.4 g (1.99 oz). The pine grosbeak's wingspan is 13.0 in (33 cm). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 10.2 to 11.6 cm (4.0 to 4.6 in), the tail is 7.8 to 9.5 cm (3.1 to 3.7 in), the bill is 1.4 to 1.65 cm (0.55 to 0.65 in) and the tarsus is 1.9 to 2.3 cm (0.75 to 0.91 in). Adults have a long forked black tail, black wings with white wing bars and a large bill. Adult males have a rose-red head, back and rump, They also possess black wings and tail, with a conical beak. Adult females are olive-yellow on the head and rump and grey on the back and underparts. Young birds have a less contrasting plumage overall, appearing shaggy when they moult their colored head plumage.
Its voice is geographically variable, and includes a whistled pui pui pui or chii-vli. The song is a short musical warble.


The sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia, New Guinea, and some of the islands of Indonesia. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being considered pests. A highly intelligent bird, they are well known in aviculture, although they can be demanding pets.


Sulphur-crested cockatoos may no longer be imported into the United States as a result of the Wild Bird Conservation Act (WBCA). However, they have been bred in captivity, with Eleonora and Triton cockatoos the most common subspecies seen in aviculture in the USA and Europe. They are socially demanding pets and have a natural desire to chew wood and other hard and organic materials. They are also loud, often unleashing loud squawks or piercing screeches. They may also make aggressive, unpredictable movements which can frighten people and animals unaware of the accompanying affection.
One cockatoo called Fred was still alive at 100 years of age in 2014. Cocky Bennett of Tom Ugly's Point in Sydney was a celebrated sulphur-crested cockatoo who reached an age of 100 years or more. He had lost his feathers and was naked for much of his life, and died in the early years of the twentieth century. His body was stuffed and preserved after death. Another 'cocky', born in 1921 and residing in Arncliffe with his owner Charlie Knighton, was 76 years old in the late 1990s.
Sulphur-crested cockatoos, along with many other parrots, are susceptible to psittacine beak and feather disease, a viral disease, which causes birds to lose their feathers and grow grotesquely shaped beaks. The disease occurs naturally in the wild, and in captivity.


In Australia, sulphur-crested cockatoos can be found widely in the north and east, ranging from the Kimberley to as far south as Tasmania, but avoiding arid inland areas with few trees. They are numerous in suburban habitats in cities such as Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane. Except for highland areas, they occur throughout most of New Guinea and on nearby smaller islands such as Waigeo, Misool and Aru, and various islands in the Cenderawasih Bay and Milne Bay.
There are four recognised subspecies:


Sulphur-crested cockatoos' distinctive raucous calls can be very loud, which is a result of an adaptation in order to travel through the forest environments in which they live, including tropical and subtropical rainforests. These birds are naturally curious, as well as very intelligent. They have adapted very well to European settlement in Australia and live in many urban areas.
Being intelligent, in Sydney, Australia they have learned how to open garbage bins as a source of food. The behavior spreads among the birds by imitation. In captivity some will spontaneously dance to music with a variety of unique moves.
These birds are very long-lived, and can live upwards of 70 years in captivity, although they only live to about 20–40 years in the wild. They have been known to engage in geophagy, the process of eating clay to detoxify their food. These birds produce a very fine powder to waterproof themselves instead of oil as many other birds do.
The sulphur-crested cockatoo is a seasonal breeder in Australia; little is known about its breeding behaviour in New Guinea. In southern Australia the breeding season is from August to January, whereas in northern Australia the season is from May to September. The nest is a bed of wood chips in a hollow in a tree. Like many other parrots it competes with others of its species and with other species for nesting sites. Two to three eggs are laid and incubation lasts between 25–27 days. Both parents incubate the eggs and raise the nestlings. The nestling period is between 9 and 12 weeks, and the young fledglings remain with their parents for a number of months after fledging.
Sulphur-crested cockatoos have range of visually observable expressions. A 2009 study involving an Eleonora cockatoo (the subspecies Cacatua galerita eleonora) named Snowball found that sulphur-crested cockatoos are capable of synchronizing movements to a musical beat. Sulphur-crested cockatoos use facial expressions (with their feathers) to indicate positive emotions.
Species that feed on the ground are very vulnerable to predator attack. The cockatoo has evolved a behavioural adaptation to protect against this: whenever there is a flock on the ground, there is at least one high up in a tree (usually a dead tree), keeping guard. This is so well known that it has even entered Australian slang: a person keeping guard for sudden police raids on illegal gambling gatherings is referred to as a cockatoo or cocky for short.


The Cape cormorant or Cape shag (Phalacrocorax capensis) is a bird endemic to the southwestern coasts of Africa.
It breeds from Namibia south to southern Western Cape. In the nonbreeding season, it may be found as far north as the mouth of the Congo, and also extends up the east coast of South Africa as far as Mozambique.  In the 1970s, the breeding population was estimated as over 1 million in Namibia alone.  However, the IUCN now classifies it as "Endangered" due to a very rapid decline in the population over the last three generations.
The Cape cormorant is an almost entirely glossy black bird, though in breeding condition it has a purplish tinge and a few white plumes on head, neck, and cloacal areas.  Its gular skin is a deep orangey yellow; unusually for a cormorant, its lores are feathered.  The bird's wing is about 240–280 mm in extent, and it weighs 800–1600 grams, with little sexual dimorphism.
Cape shags commonly forage in flocks, taking schooling fish from mid-water, such as pilchards, anchovies, and sand eels. Its prey are typically much smaller than those of the sympatric bank cormorant.  Their major predators are black-backed jackals, which take the occasional adult while it is roosting, and nest-site predators such as great cormorants, eastern great white pelicans, and kelp gulls.
Like a number of other related cormorant species, the Cape cormorant is placed by some authorities (e.g. Johnsgaard) in the genus Leucocarbo.


The gray-crowned rosy finch, or gray-crowned rosy-finch, (Leucosticte tephrocotis) is a species of passerine bird in the family Fringillidae native to Alaska, western Canada, and the north-western United States.  Due to its remote and rocky alpine habitat it is rarely seen. There are currently six recognized subspecies. It is one of four species of rosy finches.


The ancestor of the three species of North American rosy finches migrated from Asia. All rosy finches live in an alpine or tundra environment. The gray-crowned rosy finch has a wide range and large numbers throughout Alaska, and western Canada and the United States.  L. t. griseonucha permanently resides in the Aleutian Islands and umbrina on the Pribilof Islands.  A small number of gray-crowned rosy finches winters on the mainland in South-Central Alaska and visits feeders there. The other taxa: littoralis, tephrocotis, wallowa, and dawsoni are found from the Canadian and American Rockies and migrate south to the western United States. L. t. tephrocotis summers from Montana to the Yukon, while littoralis breeds closer to the coast, from northern California to west-central Alaska. Due to its remote habitat, few of its nests have been found, it is rarely spotted, and the population is stable. They are invariably found amongst rocks. The areas the subspecies breed in rarely overlap during breeding season. Males typically outnumber females throughout the year.
An individual was seen north of Boonville, in Lewis County, NY beginning on Sunday, March 4 through at least Thursday, March 8. This is only the second confirmed report for New York State.


Rosy finches are very environment-specific. In the summer their breeding habitat is rocky islands and barren areas on mountains from Alaska to the northwestern United States. These mountain breeding areas tend to be snowfields and rocky scree. When not breeding they form large flocks of over 1000 individuals which are sometimes known to include snow buntings (P. nivalis), Lapland longspurs (C. lapponicus), and horned larks (E. alpestris), as well as other rosy-finch species. They descend in flocks as far as the fringes of the western plains beginning in autumn when the snows get deep. They return to alpine regions when snow is still deep in early spring. They may breed at a higher altitude than any other breeding bird in North America. Due to these extreme breeding altitudes, they are very difficult to observe during breeding times. They build a cup nest in mid-June at a sheltered, hidden location on the ground or on a cliff and are monogamous. They are known to use protected areas such as mine shafts and abandoned buildings for nesting. Both sexes collect the nesting material of grass, roots, lichen, moss, and sedge, but only the female builds the nest. Lining material consists of fine grass, hair, and feathers. The female lays 3–5 eggs which she incubates for approximately two weeks. Both sexes feed the chicks, which leave the nest after 2–3 weeks. Chicks continue to be fed by their parents for about two weeks after leaving the nest in late July or early August. A male will defend its female's territory during breeding season, not just the nest but wherever she goes. This behavior is common with the rosy finches.
These birds forage on the ground; many fly to catch insects in flight. During the summer they mainly eat insects, such as cutworms, that were caught in updrafts and frozen in snowfields. They also feed in the meadows near snowfields. In the winter they eat seeds from weeds and grasses such as Russian thistle (E. exaltatus), mustard, and sunflower (H. annuus). When breeding, both males and females develop throat pouches, known as gular pouches or gular skin, to carry food to their chicks, a trait seen in only one other North American genus, Pinicola.  The three subspecies that live in mountain interiors have brown cheeks instead of gray cheeks. They show little fear of humans. They often feed in small flocks. Their call is a buzz-sounding "chew". They can be approached to within 1 to 2 m (3.3–6.6 ft).


Within the finch family, the gray-crowned rosy finch is medium-large with a comparatively long notched tail and wing. Adults are brown on the back and breast and mainly pink on the rest of the underparts and the wings. The forehead and throat are black; the back of the head is grey. They have short black legs and a long forked tail. There is some variability in the amount of grey on the head. Adult females and juveniles are similar. Overall length is 140 to 160 mm (5.5–6.3 in), wingspan 33 cm (13 in), and weight 22 to 60 g (0.78–2.12 oz). L. t. wallowa has an almost entirely gray head. The Pribilof and Aleutian subspecies have a length of 170 to 210 mm (6.7–8.3 in) and weight of 42 to 60 g (1.5–2.1 oz), about twice the size of the other subspecies. The black rosy finch has a black instead of brown body and the brown-capped rosy finch is a lighter brown and lacks the gray face patch.


The horned grebe is distributed in Eurasia and North America. In Eurasia, it breeds in a few isolated locations in Greenland (uncommon), Iceland, Scotland and northwestern Norway, while extensively from southeastern Norway to western China. It winters along the coasts of Iceland, Norway and the British Isles down towards the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. In eastern Asia, the horned grebe winters along the coasts of China, Korea and Japan.
In North America, it is restricted to the northwestern region of the continent, with 92% of its distribution located in Canada. The total North American range spans from south-central Alaska to northwestern Ontario. It breeds as far north as the Yukon and southern Nunavut to northwestern states, from Washington to Minnesota. Additionally, there is a small population who breed annually on the Magdalene Islands of Quebec. Its wintering range is also primarily coastal from southern Alaska down to the northern Gulf of California. Its eastern overwintering range is from southern Nova Scotia, down to the Florida Keys and sometimes west to Texas.
Horned grebes breed primarily in temperate zones, including prairies and parklands, but are also seen in boreal and subarctic regions. They breed in small to moderately sized (0.5-10 ha) shallow freshwater ponds, marshes and shallow bays on lake edges with beds of emergent vegetation. They prefer areas with sedges, rushes, and cattails along with large areas of open water. This habitat provides a suitable site for nest material, anchorage, concealment and protection for young.
During migration, they will stop along lakes, rivers and marshes. Following migration, they winter in marine environments of estuaries and bays or inland on large lakes, although in Norway, large concentrations congregate on inland lakes.


Horned grebes dive underwater using their large feet for agile manoeuvrability to feed on aquatic arthropods, fish and crustaceans. They will also catch airborne insects on the water's surface. Underwater they swallow or capture large prey and re-emerging at the surface to manipulate the fish headfirst. They usually feed solitarily or in small groups of up to 5 individuals. During the summer, aquatic and airborne arthropods are preferred, whereas winter selection favours fish and crustaceans.
The horned grebe has a unique adaptation for swallowing fish whole. They will eat their own feathers from a young age, so that their stomach has a matted plug that functions as a filter to hold fish bones until digestion.


Horned grebes are monogamous and develop their relationship through elaborate mating routines. There are four pair bonding ceremonies; discovery ceremony, weed ceremony, head-shaking ceremony and triumph ceremony. The discovery ceremony begins with advertising displays, which include an upright posture, erect "horns" and sounding of their advertising call. Then, both male and female engage in bouts of penguin dance and preening. This initial pair bonding ceremony is to ensure correct species identification, sex and compatibility. The weed ceremony follows the completion of a successful discovery ceremony. The male and female will dive, retrieve weeds and rise in synchronisation. The pair will come breast-to-breast with their weeds then turn side by side to continue swimming. This weed-rush can continue multiple times until both individuals are satisfied. Finally, the head-shaking ceremony and triumph ceremony are performed for primarily established pairs. Once copulation is to take place, it always occurs on a platform nest built by the pair.
Horned grebes usually arrive at breeding grounds in pairs or solitarily to seek out a mate, between April and August. Within a typical breeding colony there are approximately 20 breeding pairs, who nest solitarily. During nesting, horned grebes are known to defend their nests very aggressively. Those nests are built from plant matter and are most commonly affixed to emergent vegetation otherwise built on land or in shallow open water. In June, females lay a single clutch of three to eight eggs, which are coloured white, brownish or blueish green. These eggs measure 58 by 39 millimetres (2.3 by 1.5 in) on average. Both males and females share incubation time for 22 to 25 days. When the young hatch, they can swim and dive within the first few days, although they must be kept warm by their parents for up to 14 days. During this time, the juvenile chicks can often be seen riding on the backs of their swimming parents right in-between the wing and the back. Later the horned grebe will take their first flight at 55–60 days old. The species finally reaches sexual maturity at 2 years old.


Horned grebes can be easily recognised by its red-and-black alternate (breeding) plumage, its black-and-white basic (non-breeding) plumage, and its characteristic "horns". It is 31–38 cm long, has a wingspan 55–74 cm wide and weighs 300–570 g. It has a moderately long neck, flat forehead and a rear crown of black feathers. Its beak is straight and pointy with a white tip. Both subspecies are physically similar, with P. a. auritus (Palearctic) appearing darker than P. a. cornutus (North America), which has light grey feathers on its back, which are inconspicuous or absent in P. a. auritus. The horned grebe is often confused with the black-necked grebe, which is similar in size and colouring but differentiates by a steeper forehead, a more slender bill and a fluffier rump.
The alternate (breeding) plumage of the horned grebe has bright erectable "horns", black fan-shaped cheek feathers and an overall red-and-black colour. The neck, flanks, lores and upper-chest are chestnut brown, while the crown and back are black. The belly is a dull white. Males are slightly larger and brighter than females but are generally indistinguishable.
The basic (non-breeding) plumage is overall black and white. The neck, chest and cheeks are white, while the back and crown are a dull black-grey. The border between the crown and the cheeks extend in a straight line behind the eyes. The basic plumage does not have the "horns".
Juveniles appear similar to a non-breeding adult except they are a slightly duller shade of white and their back is tinged with brown. The line separating the cheeks and crown is less distinct and their beak is paler. The chicks are fluffy, with a dull grey back, a white belly and interesting black-and-white facial striping.


There are about 17 subspecies distributed widely across much of Africa south of the Sahara. They are present in most parts of East, Central and Southern Africa except for regions of desert or dense forest. In West Africa they are more local with the main population centred on Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Ivory Coast. Common waxbills inhabit open country with long grass and rank vegetation. They are often found near water in marshes and among reeds. They can be tame and will enter gardens, parks and farmland.


The diet consists mainly of grass seeds but insects are also eaten on occasions, especially during the breeding season when more protein is needed. The waxbills typically forage in flocks which may contain hundreds or even thousands of birds. They usually feed by clinging to the stems with their long, spindly claws and picking from the flower heads but they will also search for fallen seeds on the ground. They need to drink regularly as the seeds contain little water.


The nest is a large ball of criss-crossed grass stems with a long downward-pointing entrance tube on one side. It is built in a cavity, usually low down amongst dense vegetation. A rudimentary second nest ("cock's nest") may be built on top where the male sleeps. Four to seven white eggs are laid. They are incubated for 11 to 13 days and the young birds fledge 17 to 21 days after hatching. Both parents take part in incubating the eggs and feeding the chicks. The timing of the breeding season varies in different parts of the world. Nests may be parasitized by the pin-tailed whydah which lays its eggs in the nests of estrildid finches. In captivity they will breed in an aviary and can raise four broods in a year.


It is a small bird, 4 to 5 inches in length with a wingspan of 4 1/2 inches and a weight of 3/5 to 3/4 ounce.  It has a slender body with short rounded wings and a long graduated tail. The bright red bill of the adult is the colour of sealing wax giving the bird its name. The plumage is mostly grey-brown, finely barred with dark brown. There is a red stripe through the eye and the cheeks and throat are whitish. There is often a pinkish flush to the underparts and a reddish stripe along the centre of the belly depending on the subspecies. The rump is brown and the tail and vent are dark. Females are similar to the males but are paler with less red on the belly. Juveniles are duller with little or no red on the belly, fainter dark barring and a black bill.
Similar species include the black-rumped, crimson-rumped and black-lored waxbills. The black-rumped waxbill is black rather than brown on the rump and has a pale vent (area underneath the tail). The crimson-rumped waxbill has a dark bill, red rump and some red on the wings and tail. The black-lored waxbill (found only in the Democratic Republic of Congo) has a black rather than red stripe through the eye.
The common waxbill has a variety of twittering and buzzing calls and a distinctive high-pitched flight-call. The simple song is harsh and nasal and descends on the last note.


The brown-chested martin (Progne tapera) is a species of passerine bird in the swallow family.
It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, the United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, and is a vagrant to Chile and the Falkland Islands. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, rivers, and heavily degraded former forest.
It usually swoops at low heights, showing white on the sides of its tail, with wings bowed. It may dig burrows into banks to nest (or occasionally in snags) or sometimes use old hornero nests.


The white-winged swallow (Tachycineta albiventer) is a resident breeding swallow in tropical South America from Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, and Argentina. It is not found west of the Andes. This swallow is largely non-migratory.


The white-winged swallow is native to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Occasional vagrants reach Panama. They are usually not found on the Pacific coast, especially in the southern portion of South America.
The species is usually found in or near lowland areas along bodies of water such as rivers or lakes, at elevations of about 500 m (1,600 ft).
It is resident in most of its range, although in the most southerly part it is migratory. In Brazil and Argentina, it is only present from approximately mid-September to mid-April. Where this population winters is not well known, but it is most likely in the Guianas, Venezuela, and Colombia.


The white-winged swallow feeds primarily in flight at a low altitude, catching flying insects. It usually forages over water but may also feed over land. In between foraging attempts, it usually perches on branches near bodies of water. Flight paths are direct and they fly with a flapping flight.


The white-winged swallow builds a cup nest lined with other birds' feathers and some seed inside a tree hole, between boulders or in man-made structures. Nests are usually built a few metres above water; pairs nest separately. The clutch is three to six white eggs, measuring 17 mm–20 mm × 13 mm–14.6 mm (0.67 in–0.79 in × 0.51 in–0.57 in) in size and weighing 1.9 g (0.067 oz).


The adult white-winged swallow is 14 cm (5.5 in) long and weighs 14–17 g (0.49–0.60 oz). It has iridescent blue-green upperparts, white underparts and rump, and white edgings to the secondary flight feathers. The wings are otherwise black, along with the tail. It has dark brown eyes and a black bill and legs. The sexes are similar, although it is noted that the females have slightly less white on the wing. Juveniles have grayer underparts and are duller in general when compared to the adults. The juvenile also has less white on the wing.
White-winged swallows can be distinguished from the similar mangrove swallow by the lack of a white line above its lores and a greater amount of white on its wings.
The call is a harsh chirrup or a repeated, rising, buzz-like zweeed. The alarm call is short and harsh.


The fulvous whistling duck or fulvous tree duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) is a species of whistling duck that breeds across the world's tropical regions in much of Mexico and South America, the West Indies, the southern United States, sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent. It has plumage that is mainly reddish brown, long legs and a long grey bill, and shows a distinctive white band across its black tail in flight. Like other members of its ancient lineage, it has a whistling call which is given in flight or on the ground. Its preferred habitat consists of wetlands with plentiful vegetation, including shallow lakes and paddy fields.
The nest, built from plant material and unlined, is placed among dense vegetation or in a tree hole. The typical clutch is around ten whitish eggs. The breeding adults, which pair for life, take turns to incubate, and the eggs hatch in 24–29 days. The downy grey ducklings leave the nest within a day or so of hatching, but the parents continue to protect them until they fledge around nine weeks later.
The fulvous whistling duck feeds in wetlands by day or night on seeds and other parts of plants. It is sometimes regarded as a pest of rice cultivation, and is also shot for food in parts of its range. Despite hunting, poisoning by pesticides and natural predation by mammals, birds, and reptiles, the large numbers and huge range of this duck mean that it is classified as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.


The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates the population of the fulvous whistling duck to be from 1.3 to 1.5 million individuals around the world. This may be an underestimate since regional assessments suggest 1 million birds in the Americas, 1.1 million in Africa and at least 20,000 in South Asia for a grand total of 2.12 million ducks around the world. The population appears to be declining, but the decrease is not rapid enough to trigger the vulnerability criteria for extinction. The large numbers and huge breeding range mean that this duck is classified by the IUCN as being of Least Concern. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
The fulvous whistling duck has expanded its range in the West Indies, and into the southern US. A series of invasions from South America and reaching the eastern US commenced around 1948, fueled by rice cultivation, and breeding was recorded in Cuba in 1964, and Florida in 1965. Some Florida birds still winter in Cuba. In Africa, it bred on the Cape Peninsula between 1940 and the 1960s. A survey of eighteen species which had colonised the area in recent decades found that most were wetland species that had used irrigated farmland as "stepping stones" across the arid country separating the peninsula from the breeding main range. However, the status of the two whistling duck species featured in the research is dubious since they are popular ornamental species, so their origin is unclear.
Outside North America it is subject to hunting for food or because of its liking for rice, and persecution means that it is now rare in Madagascar. Pesticides used on rice fields may also have an adverse impact, causing liver and breast muscle damage even at sub-lethal levels.


The fulvous whistling duck feeds in wetlands by day or night, often in mixed flocks with relatives such as white-faced or black-bellied whistling ducks. Its food is generally plant material, including seeds, bulbs, grasses and stems, but females may include animal items such as aquatic worms, molluscs and insects as they prepare for egg-laying, which may then comprise up to 4% of their diet. Ducklings may also eat a few insects. Foraging is by picking plant items while walking or swimming, by upending, or occasionally by diving to a depth of up to 1 m (3.3 ft). Favoured plants include water snowflake, aquatic ragweeds, bourgou millet, shama grass, Cape blue water lily, waxy-leaf nightshade, beakrush, flatsedge and polygonums. Rice is normally a small part of the diet, and a survey in Cuban rice fields found that the plants taken were mainly weeds growing with the crop. However, in a study in Louisiana, 25% of the diet of incubating females consisted of cereal.


Breeding coincides with the availability of water. In South America and South Africa, the main nesting period is December–February, in Nigeria it is July–December, and in North America mid-May–August. In India, the breeding season is from June to October but peaking in July and August. Fulvous whistling ducks show lifelong monogamy; the courtship display is limited to some mutual head-dipping before mating and a short dance after copulation in which the birds raise their bodies side by side while treading water.
Pairs may breed alone or in loose groups. In South Africa, nests may be within 50 m (160 ft) of each other, and breeding densities of up to 13.7 nests per square kilometre (35.5 per square mile) have been found in Louisiana. The nest, 19–26 cm (7.5–10.2 in) across, is made from plant leaves and stems and has little or no soft lining. It is usually built on the ground (unlike the Black-bellied whistling duck), in marsh vegetation, and in artificial habitats such as shallowly-flooded rice fields, in dense vegetation and close to water, but sometimes in tree holes. In India, the use of tree holes, and even the old nests of raptors or crows, is much more common than elsewhere. Eggs are laid at roughly 24- to 36-hour intervals, starting before the nest is complete, resulting in some losses from the clutch. They are whitish and on average measure 53.4 mm × 40.7 mm (2.10 in × 1.60 in) and weigh 50.4 g (1.78 oz). The clutch is usually around ten eggs, but other females sometimes lay into the nest, so 20 or more may be found on occasion. Eggs may also be added to the nests of other species, like ruddy duck.
Both sexes incubate, changing over once a day, with the male often taking the greater share of this duty. The eggs hatch in about 24–29 days, The downy ducklings are grey, with paler upperparts, and a white band on the neck, and weigh 22–38 g (0.78–1.34 oz) within a day of hatching. Like all ducklings, they are precocial and leave the nest after a day or so, but the parents protect them until they fledge around nine weeks later. Eggs and duckling may be preyed on by mammals, birds and reptiles; one parent may try to distract a potential predator with a broken-wing display while the other adult leads the ducklings away. Birds are sexually mature after one year, and the maximum known age is 6.5 years.
In South Africa, a few records of hybridization with the white-faced whistling duck have been noted in the wild; in most parts of southern Africa, the two species breed at different times, bicolor during the dry season (April to September) and viduata during the rains (October to March). Hybridization in captivity is more frequent but limited to other species in the genus Dendrocygna.


The fulvous whistling duck is 45–53 cm (18–21 in) long; the male weighs 748–1,050 g (26.4–37.0 oz), and the female averages marginally lighter at 712–1,000 g (25.1–35.3 oz). The wingspan ranges from 85 to 93 cm.
It is a long-legged duck, mainly different shades of brown; head, neck and breast are particularly rich buff (fulvous) with a darker back. The mantle is more darker shade of brown with buff-tipped feathers, the flight feathers and tail are dark brown, and a dark brown to black stripe runs through the center of the crown down the back of the neck to the base of the mantle. It has whitish stripes on its flanks, a long grey bill and grey legs. In flight, the wings are brown above and black below, with no white markings, and a white crescent on the rump contrasts with the black tail. All plumages are fairly similar, but the female is slightly smaller and duller-plumaged than the male. The juvenile has paler underparts, and appears generally duller, especially on the flanks. There is a complete wing moult after breeding, and birds then seek the cover of dense wetland vegetation while they are flightless. Body feathers may be moulted throughout the year; each feather is replaced only once annually.
These are noisy birds with a clear whistling kee-wee-ooo call given on the ground or in flight, frequently heard at night. Quarrelling birds also have a harsh repeated kee. In flight, the beating wings produce a dull sound. The calls of males and females show differences in structure and an acoustic analysis on 59 captive birds demonstrated 100% accuracy in sexing when compared with molecular methods.
Adult birds in Asia can be confused with the similar lesser whistling duck, which is smaller, has a blackish crown and lacks an obvious dark stripe down the back of the neck. Juvenile fulvous whistling ducks are very like young lesser whistling ducks, but the crown colour is still a distinction. Juvenile comb ducks are bulkier than whistling ducks and have a dark cap to the head. In South America and Africa, juvenile white-faced whistling ducks are separable from fulvous by their dark crowns, barred flanks and chestnut breasts.


The golden-hooded tanager (Stilpnia larvata) is a medium-sized passerine bird. This tanager is a resident breeder from southern Mexico south to western Ecuador.
Adult golden-hooded tanagers are 13 cm (5.1 in) long and weigh 19 g (0.67 oz). The adult male has a golden head with a black eyemask edged with violet blue above and below. The upperparts of the body are black apart from the turquoise shoulders, rump and edgings of the wings and tail. The flanks are blue and the central belly is white. Females have a greenish tinge to the head, sometimes with black speckling on the crown, and more extensively white underparts. Immatures are duller, with a green head, dark grey upperparts, off-white underparts, and little blue in the plumage.
The golden-hooded tanager's call is a sharp tsit and the song is a tuneless rattled series of tick sounds.
It resides from sea level to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) altitude in the canopy of dense forests and semi-open areas like clearings, second growth and well-vegetated gardens.
Golden-hooded tanagers occur in pairs, family groups or as part of a mixed-species feeding flock. They eat certain small fruit (e.g. of Trophis racemosa (Moraceae)) usually swallowed whole, and insects are also taken.
The cup nest is built in a tree fork or in a bunch of green bananas, and the normal clutch is two brown-blotched white eggs. This species is often double-brooded, and the young birds from the first clutch assist with feeding the second brood of chicks.


The white-winged scoter is one of three North American scoter species and the largest species of scoter. Females range from 950–1,950 g (2.09–4.30 lb) and 48–56 cm (19–22 in), averaging 1,180 g (2.60 lb) and 52.3 cm (20.6 in).  The male ranges from 1,360–2,128 g (2.998–4.691 lb) and from 53–60 cm (21–24 in), averaging 1,380 g (3.04 lb) and 55 cm (22 in).  The white-winged scoter has a wingspan of 31.5 in (80 cm). This species is characterized by its bulky shape and large bill, which is feathered at the gape unlike the blocky bill base of the surf scoter. The white secondary flight feathers by which the species is named is visible in flight, but may be concealed when swimming.
The male is all black, except for white around the eye and a white speculum. The bill is orange and red with a large black knob at the base.  It takes 3 years for definitive (adult) plumage to be attained - second-year males resemble adult males but exhibit reduced eye markings and have browner flanks.  Females are brownish overall and best distinguished from other scoters by the feathered gape and body shape. The facial pattern in female-type birds is highly variable - younger individuals have conspicuous white spots in front and behind the eye, while adults may lack these patches and appear entirely chocolate brown in winter.  Juveniles resemble females but have more distinct facial patches and a mottled white belly. The greater secondary coverts of juvenile males have more extensive white than juvenile females which exhibit little to no white fringing.
There are a number of differing characteristics of the Stejneger's scoter and the white-winged scoter. Males of the white-winged scoter have browner flanks, dark yellow coloration of most of the bill and a less tall bill knob, approaching the velvet scoter. The male Stejneger's scoter has a very tall knob at the base of its mostly orange-yellow bill. Female of both species are very similar and best distinguished by head shape; White-winged Scoters tend to have "two-stepped" profile between the bill and the head, compared to the long "Roman nose" profile of Stejneger's Scoter similar to that of a Common eider.
The Latin binomial commemorates the French zoologist Dr. Côme-Damien Degland (1787–1856).


White-winged Scoters have the largest breeding range among North American scoters. They mainly breed in boreal forest from Alaska to Western Canada and are less common east towards the Hudson Bay and south towards the Canadian Prairies.  It winters further south in temperate zones, on the Great Lakes, the coasts of the northern United States and the southern coasts of Canada.. It forms large flocks on suitable coastal waters. These are tightly packed, and the birds tend to take off together. It has occurred as a vagrant in Europe, including Scotland, Iceland, Norway and Ireland,


White-winged scoters are benthic feeders and forage in open water diving between 5-20 m in wintering grounds and 1-3 m on breeding grounds. Their large size enables them to find larger prey and dive deeper than Surf or Black Scoters. In freshwater, this species primarily feeds on crustaceans and insects; while in saltwater areas, it feeds on molluscs and crustaceans. Their gizzards, which forms 8% of their body mass, are capable of crushing hard-shelled molluscs. The favorite foods are an amphipod (Hyalella azteca) in freshwater, and rock clams (Protothaca staminea), Atlantic razor clams (Siliqua spp.), and Arctic wedge clams (Mesodesma arctatum).


White-winged Scoters are monogamous and form pairs in late summer, suggesting long-term pair bonds. Their earliest breeding age is 2 years old. Some adults do not breed annually and gather on large lakes and marshes over summer.
The lined nest is built on the ground close to the sea, lakes or rivers, in woodland or tundra. 5–11 eggs are laid. The pinkish eggs average 46.9 mm (1.85 in) in breadth, 68.2 mm (2.69 in) in length and 82.4 g (2.91 oz) in weight. The incubation period can range from 25 to 30 days. Males remain with females during the egg-laying period, and typically gather in small groups before leaving the breeding grounds when the young have hatched.  After about 21 days, neighboring females may start to behave aggressively towards other nesting females, resulting in confusion and mixing of broods. By the time she is done brooding, a female may be tending to as much as 40 offspring due to the mixing from these conflicts. The female will tend to her brood for up to 3 weeks and then abandon them, but the young will usually stay together from another 3 weeks. Brood amalgamation is not uncommon in areas in densely populated breeding grounds, with as many as 100 ducklings gathering in a creche,. Flight capacity is thought to be gained at 63 to 77 days of age.


The smooth-billed ani (Crotophaga ani) is a bird in the cuckoo family. It is a resident breeding species from southern Florida, the Caribbean, parts of Central America, south to western Ecuador, Brazil, northern Argentina and southern Chile. It was introduced to Galápagos around the 1960s and is potentially impacting native and endemic species across the archipelago.


The smooth-billed ani feeds on termites, large insects, other invertebrates and even lizards, frogs, eggs and hatchlings of other birds, and fruit. They will occasionally remove ticks and other parasites from grazing animals.


This ani is found in open and semi-open country and areas under cultivation. This common and conspicuous species has greatly benefited from deforestation.


The nest, built communally by several pairs, is a deep cup lined with leaves and placed usually 2–6 m (6.6–19.7 ft) high in a tree. A number of females lay their chalky blue eggs in the nest and then share incubation and feeding. Each female is capable of laying up to seven eggs, and nests have been found containing up to 29 eggs, but it is rare for more than ten to hatch. Incubation is 13–15 days, with another 10 days to fledging. Up to three broods may be raised in a season, with the young of earlier broods helping to feed more recent chicks.


The smooth-billed ani is a mid-sized species, larger on average than the groove-billed ani but smaller than the greater ani. It measures approximately 35 cm (14 in) in overall length. Males weigh around 115 g (4.1 oz) while females are lighter and with a weight of around 95 g (3.4 oz). The adult is mainly glossy black, with a long tail, deep ridged black bill and a brown iris. The flight is weak and wobbly, but the bird runs well and usually feeds on the ground. This species is called "el pijul" in Venezuelan folklore. The calls include a whining ooo-leeek.


The white-faced ibis occurs in Canada, the United States, Central America and the southern half of South America.  In 2012, the total population size was estimated to be 1.2 million individuals, and increasing. The IUCN rates it as being of Least Concern.
Migration between North and South America does not occur. Within North America, birds breeding in northern areas of the range move south to wintering areas. For example, breeders in northern California and southern Oregon move to wintering areas in southern California and Mexico.


The white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) is a wading bird in the ibis family, Threskiornithidae.
This species breeds colonially in marshes, usually nesting in bushes or low trees. Its breeding range extends from the western United States south through Mexico, as well as from southeastern Brazil and southeastern Bolivia south to central Argentina, and along the coast of central Chile. Its winter range extends from southern California and Louisiana south to include the rest of its breeding range.