The great crested grebe is the largest member of the grebe family found in the Old World, with some larger species residing in the Americas. They measure 46–51 cm (18–20 in) long with a 59–73 cm (23–29 in) wingspan and weigh 0.9 to 1.5 kg (2.0 to 3.3 lb). It is an excellent swimmer and diver, and pursues its fish prey underwater. The adults are unmistakable in summer with head and neck decorations. In winter, this is whiter than most grebes, with white above the eye, and a pink bill.
The young are distinctive because their heads are striped black and white. They lose these markings when they become adults.


The great crested grebe breeds in vegetated areas of freshwater lakes. The subspecies P. c. cristatus is found across Europe and east across the Palearctic. It is resident in the milder west of its range, but migrates from the colder regions. It winters on freshwater lakes and reservoirs or the coast. The African subspecies P. c. infuscatus and the Australasian subspecies P. c. australis are mainly sedentary.


The great crested grebe feeds mainly on fish, but also small crustaceans, insects, small frogs and newts.


The great crested grebe has an elaborate mating display. Like all grebes, it nests on the water's edge. The nest is built by both sexes. The clutch averages four chalky white eggs which average 54 mm × 37 mm (2.1 in × 1.5 in) in size and weigh 42 g (1.5 oz). Incubation is by both parents and begins as soon as the first egg is laid. The eggs hatch asynchronously after 27 to 29 days. The precocial young are cared for and fed by both parents.
Young grebes are capable of swimming and diving almost at hatching. The adults teach these skills to their young by carrying them on their back and diving, leaving the chicks to float on the surface; they then re-emerge a few feet away so that the chicks may swim back onto them.


Bronchocela jubata is generally to be found in low bushes or hidden in dense trees. It can frequently be seen having fallen from the bushes or trees while chasing its prey, although it will quickly run back into the security of the nearest bush or tree. The lizard preys on butterflies, moths, dragonflies, flies and other small insects. To catch its prey, Bronchocela jubata will generally wait in silence at the top of a tree, or it will rock slowly back and forth as if swaying in the breeze. It can also frequently be found utilising domestic electricity cables to cross from one place to another.


Bronchocela jubata, commonly known as the maned forest lizard, is a species of agamid lizard found mainly in Indonesia on the islands of Singkep, Java, Bali, Sulawesi, Karakelang, Salibabu; Nias Island, Singkap Island, Borneo (Kalimantan) also in Thailand, Cambodia and Philippines. Although in the past it was thought the species may be found in India, either on the mainland or in the Nicobars, this is not the case according to herpetologist Das. It is also known by the common name of "bloodsucker", although this is a misnomer.


Bronchocela jubata is 550 mm (22 in) in total length, with a long hanging tail making up four fifths of its total length. It has a jagged crest on its neck which more closely resemble hairs, as opposed to the crest of its close relative, B. cristatella, which more closely resembles the points on a crown. The crest consists of elongated scales, although it is flabby like skin.
The head is square in shape, and there is a soft sack under the chin. It has large, flexible eyelids made of fine speckled scales.
The dorsal area is coloured from light green to dark green, and the lizard can change to brown or black if feeling threatened. A rusty-coloured stain appears under the throat. More spots, often blurring to form a stripe, appear on the shoulder and the front lateral side. Towards the back of the lizard, the colour becomes duller.
The underside of the lizard is yellowish to white under the chin, neck, stomach and the back of the legs. The bottom of the hands and feet are a yellowish brown. The tail is coloured green at its base, with bluish stains. Towards the end of the tail, the colour becomes a dull brown with whitish spots on the tip.
The scales of Bronchocela jubata are hard, course and strong. The tail has an angular feel.


Bronchocela jubata lays its eggs in loose earth, sand or humus. Like most members of the Agamidae, the mother lizard excavates the earth to form a hollow for the eggs with her snout. The eggs are white, waxy, and leathery in texture.
A study carried out in the Situgede jungle, near Bogor, noted that the eggs of Bronchocela jubata were buried in sandy soil beneath a layer of humus, directly beneath bushes in a fairly open part of the forest. The two eggs were elongated, approximately 7 x 40mm in length, placed side by side, and covered by a thin layer of soil. In Walat Mountain, Sukabumi, there were eggs covered by a thin layer of humus in the middle of a jungle path.


The ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris) is a diving duck from North America commonly found in freshwater ponds and lakes. The scientific name is derived from Greek aithuia, an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including  Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin  collaris, "of the neck" from collum, "neck".


Their breeding habitat is wooded lakes or ponds in the northern United States and Canada. The main breeding area is Northwest boreal forest territories. Their breeding habits also take place in the eastern boreal region of Canada but no where near the same amount in the northwestern region. In the winter months they are usually found in southern North America in lakes, ponds, rivers or bays. Ring-necked duck pairs start during spring migration. Unpaired ducks showing up on breeding grounds will most likely end up being non-breeders. The pairs stay together only for reproduction, after that, they separate. The nest is bowl-shaped, built on water in dense emergent vegetation with sedges and woody plants. The female lays one egg per day until 8 to 10 eggs are laid. They are incubated 25–29 days and the female may remain with the young until they are able to fly.


These birds are omnivores and feed mainly by diving or dabbling at the surface. Ducklings are dependent on animal matter such as insects, earthworms, leeches, midges and snails. As they mature they tend change their diet to submerged plants such as pondweed and coontail, and emergents such as annual wild rice and snails.


Ring-necked ducks are small to medium-sized diving ducks with the following length, weight, and wingspan measurements:
Length: 15.3-18.1 in (39-46 cm)
Weight: 17.3-32.1 oz (490-910 g)
Wingspan: 24.4-24.8 in (62-63 cm)
The adult male is similar in color pattern to the Eurasian tufted duck, its relative. Males are a little bit bigger than the female. It has two white rings surrounding its gray bill, a shiny black angular head, black back, white line on the wings, a white breast and yellow eyes. The adult female has a grayish brown angular head and body with a dark brown back, a dark bill with a more subtle light band than the male, grayish-blue feet and brown eyes with white rings surrounding them. Females also make a noise like trrr. The cinnamon neck ring is usually difficult to observe, which is why the bird is sometimes referred to as a "ringbill".


The berylline hummingbird (Saucerottia beryllina) is a medium-sized hummingbird. It is 8–10 cm long, and weighs 4-5 g.
Adults are colored predominantly metallic olive green with a rusty gray lower belly.  The tail and primary wings are rufous in color and slightly forked.  The underwing is also rufous.  The bill of the male is straight and very slender.  It is very dark red in coloration, almost black.  The female is less colorful than the male.
The breeding habitat is in forests and thickets of western  Mexico to central Honduras in Central America.  It regularly strays to southeasternmost Arizona in the United States where it occasionally breeds–(the Madrean sky islands).  The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or tree.  Females lay two white eggs.  This hummingbird is essentially non-migratory.
These birds feed on nectar from flowers and flowering trees using a long extendable tongue or catch insects on the wing.
This species was formerly placed in the genus Amazilia. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the genus Amazilia was polyphyletic. In the revised classification to create monophyletic genera, the berylline hummingbird was moved to the resurrected genus Saucerottia.


The snail kite breeds in tropical South America, the Caribbean, and central and southern Florida in the United States. It is resident all-year in most of its range, but the southernmost population migrates north in winter and the Caribbean birds disperse widely outside the breeding season.
It nests in a bush or on the ground, laying three to four eggs.
The snail kite is a locally endangered species in the Florida Everglades, with a population of less than 400 breeding pairs. Research has demonstrated that water-level control in the Everglades is depleting the population of apple snails. However, this species is not generally threatened over its extensive range.
In fact, it might be locally increasing in numbers, such as in Central America. In El Salvador, it was first recorded in 1996. Since then, it has been regularly sighted, including immature birds, suggesting a resident breeding population might already exist in that country. On the other hand, most records are outside the breeding season, more indicative of post-breeding dispersal. In El Salvador, the species can be observed during the winter months at Embalse Cerrón Grande, Laguna El Jocotal, and especially Lago de Güija. Pomacea flagellata apple snails were propagated in El Salvador between 1982 and 1986 as food for fish stocks, and it seems that the widespread presence of high numbers of these snails has not gone unnoticed by the snail kite.
This is a gregarious bird of freshwater wetlands, forming large winter roosts. Its diet consists almost exclusively of apple snails, (especially the species Pomacea paludosa in Florida).
Snail kites have been observed eating other prey items in Florida, including crayfish in the genus Procambarus, crabs, black crappie, small turtles and rodents. It is believed that snail kites turn to these alternatives only when apple snails become scarce, such as during drought, but further study is needed. On 14 May 2007, a birdwatcher photographed a snail kite feeding at a red swamp crayfish farm in Clarendon County, South Carolina.


Snail kites are 36 to 48 cm (14 to 19 in) long with a 99–120 cm (39–47 in) wingspan. They weigh from 300 to 570 g (11 to 20 oz). There is very limited sexual dimorphism, with the female averaging only 3% larger than the male. They have long, broad, and rounded wings, which measure 29–33 cm (11–13 in) each. Its tail is long, at 16–21 cm (6.3–8.3 in), with a white rump and undertail coverts. The dark, deeply hooked beak, measuring 2.9–4 cm (1.1–1.6 in) is an adaptation to its diet. The tarsus is relatively long as well, measuring 3.6–5.7 cm (1.4–2.2 in).
The adult male has dark blue-gray plumage with darker flight feathers. The legs and cere are red. The adult female has dark brown upperparts and heavily streaked pale underparts. She has a whitish face with darker areas behind and above the eye. The legs and cere are yellow or orange. The juvenile is similar to an adult female, but the crown is streaked. Adults have red or orangish-brown irises, while juveniles have dark brown irises.
It flies slowly with its head facing downwards, looking for its main food, the large apple snails. For this reason, it is considered a molluscivore.


The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but migrates from areas where rivers freeze in winter.
This sparrow-sized bird has the typical short-tailed, large-headed kingfisher profile; it has blue upperparts, orange underparts and a long bill. It feeds mainly on fish, caught by diving, and has special visual adaptations to enable it to see prey under water. The glossy white eggs are laid in a nest at the end of a burrow in a riverbank.


The common kingfisher is widely distributed over Europe, Asia, and North Africa, mainly south of 60°N. It is a common breeding species over much of its vast Eurasian range, but in North Africa it is mainly a winter visitor, although it is a scarce breeding resident in coastal Morocco and Tunisia. In temperate regions, this kingfisher inhabits clear, slow-flowing streams and rivers, and lakes with well-vegetated banks. It frequents scrubs and bushes with overhanging branches close to shallow open water in which it hunts. In winter it is more coastal, often feeding in estuaries or harbours and along rocky seashores. Tropical populations are found by slow-flowing rivers, in mangrove creeks and in swamps.
Common kingfishers are important members of ecosystems and good indicators of freshwater community health. The highest densities of breeding birds are found in habitats with clear water, which permits optimal prey visibility, and trees or shrubs on the banks. These habitats have also the highest quality of water, so the presence of this bird confirms the standard of the water. Measures to improve water flow can disrupt this habitat, and in particular, the replacement of natural banks by artificial confinement greatly reduces the populations of fish, amphibians and aquatic reptiles, and waterside birds are lost. It can tolerate a certain degree of urbanisation, provided the water remains clean.
This species is resident in areas where the climate is mild year-round, but must migrate after breeding from regions with prolonged freezing conditions in winter. Most birds winter within the southern parts of the breeding range, but smaller numbers cross the Mediterranean into Africa or travel over the mountains of Malaysia into Southeast Asia. Kingfishers migrate mainly at night, and some Siberian breeders must travel at least 3,000 km (1,900 mi) between the breeding sites and the wintering areas.


Like all kingfishers, the common kingfisher is highly territorial; since it must eat around 60% of its body weight each day, it is essential to have control of a suitable stretch of river. It is solitary for most of the year, roosting alone in heavy cover. If another kingfisher enters its territory, both birds display from perches, and fights may occur, in which a bird will grab the other's beak and try to hold it underwater. Pairs form in the autumn but each bird retains a separate territory, generally at least 1 km (1⁄2 mi) long, but up to 3.5 km (2+1⁄4 mi) and territories are not merged until the spring.
The courtship is initiated by the male chasing the female while calling continually, and later by ritual feeding, with copulation usually following.
The nest is in a burrow excavated by both birds of the pair in a low vertical riverbank, or sometimes a quarry or other cutting. The straight, gently inclining burrow is normally 60–90 cm (25–35 in) long and ends in an enlarged chamber. The nest cavity is unlined but soon accumulates a litter of fish remains and cast pellets.
The common kingfisher typically lays two to ten glossy white eggs, which average 1.9 cm (3⁄4 in) in breadth, 2.2 cm (7⁄8 in) in length, and weigh about 4.3 g (5⁄32 oz), of which 5% is shell. One or two eggs in most clutches fail to hatch because the parent cannot cover them. Both sexes incubate by day, but only the female incubates at night. An incubating bird sits trance-like, facing the tunnel; it invariably casts a pellet, breaking it up with the bill. The eggs hatch in 19–20 days, and the altricial young are in the nest for a further 24–25 days, often more. Once large enough, young birds will come to the burrow entrance to be fed. Two broods, sometimes three, may be reared in a season.


This species has the typical short-tailed, dumpy-bodied, large-headed, and long-billed kingfisher shape. The adult male of the western European subspecies, A. a. ispida has green-blue upperparts with pale azure-blue back and rump, a rufous patch by the bill base, and a rufous ear-patch. It has a green-blue neck stripe, white neck blaze and throat, rufous underparts, and a black bill with some red at the base. The legs and feet are bright red. It is about 16 centimetres (6+1⁄2 in) long with a wingspan of 25 cm (10 in), and weighs 34–46 grams (1+3⁄16–1+5⁄8 oz). The female is identical in appearance to the male except that her lower mandible is orange-red with a black tip. The juvenile is similar to the adult, but with duller and greener upperparts and paler underparts. Its bill is black, and the legs are also initially black. Feathers are moulted gradually between July and November with the main flight feathers taking 90–100 days to moult and regrow. Some that moult late may suspend their moult during cold winter weather.
The flight of the kingfisher is fast, direct and usually low over water. The short, rounded wings whirr rapidly, and a bird flying away shows an electric-blue "flash" down its back.
In North Africa, Europe and Asia north of the Himalayas, this is the only small blue kingfisher. In south and southeast Asia, it can be confused with six other small blue-and-rufous kingfishers, but the rufous ear patches distinguish it from all but juvenile blue-eared kingfishers; details of the head pattern may be necessary to differentiate the two species where both occur.
The common kingfisher has no song. The flight call is a short, sharp whistle chee repeated two or three times. Anxious birds emit a harsh, shrit-it-it and nestlings call for food with a churring noise.


The Virginia rail lives in freshwater and brackish marshes, sometimes salt marshes in winter. Northern populations migrate to the southern United States and Central America. On the Pacific coast, some are permanent residents. Its breeding habitat is marshes from Nova Scotia to Southern British Columbia, California and North Carolina, and in Central America. It often coexists with Soras.


The Virginia rail probes with its bill in mud or shallow water, also picking up food by sight. It mainly eat insects and other aquatic invertebrates, like beetles, flies, dragonflies, crayfish, snails and earthworms. It can also eat aquatic animals like frogs, fish and some small snakes, as well as seeds. Animal preys constitute the biggest part of this bird's diet, but vegetation contributes to its diet in the fall and winter.


Courtship starts around May. The male will raise his wings and run back and forth next to the female. Both sexes bow, and the male feeds the female. Before copulation, the male approaches the female while grunting. Virginia rails are monogamous. Both parents build the nest and care for the young, whereas only the male defend the territory. The nest is built as the first egg is laid and consists of a basket of woven vegetation. The nest is made using plants like cattails, reeds and grasses. They also build dummy nests around the marsh. They nest near the base of emergent vegetation in areas with vegetation creating a canopy above the nest.
This birds lays a clutch of 4 to 13 white or buff eggs with sparse gray or brown spotting. The eggs generally measure 32 by 24 millimetres (1.26 by 0.94 in). They are incubated by both parents for a period of 20 to 22 days, in which the parents continue to add nesting material to conceal the nest. When the eggs hatch, the parents feed the young for two to three weeks, when the chicks become independent. The young can fly in less than a month. The pair bond between the parents breaks after the young become independent.


Adults are mainly brown, darker on the back and crown, with orange-brown legs. To walk through dense vegetation, they have evolved a laterally compressed body and strong forehead feathers adapted to withstand wear from pushing through vegetation. Virginia rails have the highest ratio of leg-muscle to flight-muscle of all birds (25% - 15% of body weight respectively). They have long toes used to walk on floating vegetation. Their tail is short and they have a long slim reddish bill. Their cheeks are grey, with a light stripe over the eye and a whitish throat. Chicks are black. Juveniles are blackish brown on upperparts with rufous on the edge of feathers and brownish bill and legs. Their underparts are dark brown to black, while the face is grayish brown. Both sexes are very similar, with females being slightly smaller. Adults measure 20–27 cm, with a wingspan of 32–38 cm, and usually weigh 65-95 g.


The common house martin (Delichon urbicum), sometimes called the northern house martin or, particularly in Europe, just house martin, is a migratory passerine bird of the swallow family which breeds in Europe, north Africa and across the Palearctic; and winters in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical Asia. It feeds on insects which are caught in flight, and it migrates to climates where flying insects are plentiful. It has a blue head and upperparts, white rump and pure white underparts, and is found in both open country and near human habitation. It is similar in appearance to the two other martin species of the genus Delichon, which are both endemic to eastern and southern Asia. It has two accepted subspecies.
Both the scientific and colloquial name of the bird are related to its use of human-made structures. It builds a closed cup nest from mud pellets under eaves or similar locations on buildings usually in colonies.
It is hunted by the Eurasian hobby (Falco subbuteo), and like other birds is affected by internal parasites and external fleas and mites, although its large range and population mean that it is not threatened globally.


The common house martin breeds across temperate Eurosiberia east to central Mongolia and the Yenisei River, and in Morocco, Tunisia and northern Algeria, and migrates on a broad front to winter in sub-Saharan Africa.
The preferred habitat of the common house martin is open country with low vegetation, such as pasture, meadows and farmland, and preferably near water, although it is also found in mountains up to at least 2,200 m (7,200 ft) elevation. It is much more urban than the barn swallow, and will nest even in city centres if the air is clean enough. It is more likely to be found near trees than other Eurasian swallows, since they provide insect food and also roosting sites. This species does not normally use the reed-bed roosts favoured by migrating barn swallows.
It uses similar open habitats on the wintering grounds, but the common house martin is less conspicuous than wintering barn swallows, tending to fly higher and be more nomadic. In the tropical parts of its wintering range, like East Africa, it appears to be mainly found in the higher areas.
The common house martin is a migrant which moves on a broad front (i.e., European birds are not funnelled through the short sea crossings used by large soaring birds, but cross the Mediterranean and Sahara). While migrating they feed in the air on insects, and they usually travel in daylight. Migration brings its own hazards; in 1974, several hundred thousand birds of this species were found dead or dying in the Swiss Alps and surrounding areas, caught by heavy snowfall and low temperatures. Adult survival on autumn migration depends mainly on temperature, with precipitation another major factor, but for juveniles low temperatures during the breeding season are more critical. It is anticipated that since extreme weather is predicted to become more frequent with climate change, future survival rates will depend more on adverse weather conditions than at present.
The common house martin returns to the breeding grounds a few days after the first barn swallows; and like that species, particularly when the weather is poor, it seldom goes straight to the nesting sites, but hunts for food over large fresh water bodies. There are records of migrant house martins staying to breed in Namibia and South Africa instead of returning north. As would be expected for a long-distance migrant, it has occurred as a vagrant eastwards to Alaska and west to Newfoundland, Bermuda and the Azores.


The common house martin was originally a cliff and cave nester, and some cliff-nesting colonies still exist, with the nests built below an overhanging rock. It now largely uses human structures such as bridges and houses. Unlike the barn swallow, it uses the outside of inhabited buildings, rather than the inside of barns or stables. The nests are built at the junction of a vertical surface and an overhang, such as on house eaves, so that they may be strengthened by attachment to both planes.
Breeding birds return to Europe between April and May, and nest building starts between late March in North Africa and mid-June in Lapland. The nest is a neat closed convex cup fixed below a suitable ledge, with a narrow opening at the top. It is constructed by both sexes with mud pellets collected in their beaks, and lined with grasses, hair or other soft materials. The mud, added in successive layers, is collected from ponds, streams or puddles. House sparrows frequently attempt to take over the nest during construction, with the house martins rebuilding elsewhere if they are successful. The entrance at the top of the cup is so small once it is complete that sparrows cannot take over the nest.
The common house martin tends to breed colonially, and nests may be built in contact with each other. A colony size of less than 10 nests is typical, but there are records of colonies with thousands of nests. Four or five white eggs are usually laid, which average 1.9 cm × 1.33 cm (3⁄4 in × 17⁄32 in) in size, and weigh 1.7 g (1⁄16 oz). The female does most of the incubation, which normally lasts 14–16 days. The newly hatched chicks are altricial, and after a further 22–32 days, depending on weather, the chicks leave the nest. The fledged young stay with, and are fed by, the parents for about a week after leaving the nest. Occasionally, first-year birds from the first brood will assist in feeding the second brood.
There are normally two broods each year, the nest being reused for the second brood, and repaired and used again in subsequent years. Hatching success is 90%, and fledging survival 60–80%. Third broods are not uncommon, though late nestlings are often left to starve. The average annual mortality for adults nesting in the Western Palaearctic is 40–60%, with most deaths outside the breeding season. A study of British breeders gave an average adult survival rate of just under 40%, but ranging from 25% to 70%. Rainfall in the African wintering grounds is a major factor in adult survival, although wet weather in the breeding areas has very little effect. Although individuals aged 10 and 14 years have been recorded, most survive less than five years. For weeks after leaving the nest the young congregate in ever-increasing flocks which, as the season advances, may be seen gathering in trees or on housetops, or on the wires with swallows. By the end of October, most martins have left their breeding areas in western and central Europe, though late birds in November and December are not uncommon, and further south migration finishes later anyway.
Once established, pairs remain together to breed for life; however, extra-pair copulations are common, making this species genetically polygamous, despite being socially monogamous. A Scottish study showed that 15% of nestlings were not related to their putative fathers, and 32% of broods contained at least one extra-pair chick. Extra-pair males, usually from nests where laying had already taken place, were often seen to enter other nests. The paired male initially ensured that his female spent little time alone at the nest, and accompanied her on flights, but the mate-guarding slackened after egg laying began, so the youngest nestling was the most likely to have a different father.
The common house martin has been regularly recorded as hybridising with the barn swallow, this being one of the most common passerine interspecific crosses. The frequency of this hybrid has led to suggestions that Delichon is not sufficiently separated genetically from Hirundo to be considered a separate genus.


The adult common house martin is 13 cm (5 in) long, with a wingspan of 26–29 cm (10–11+1⁄2 in) and a weight averaging 18.3 g (21⁄32 oz). It is steel-blue above with a white rump, and white underparts, including the underwings; even its short legs have white downy feathering. It has brown eyes and a small black bill, and its toes and exposed parts of the legs are pink. The sexes are similar, but the juvenile bird is sooty black, and some of its wing coverts and quills have white tips and edgings. D. u. lagopodum differs from the nominate race in that its white rump extends much further onto the tail, and the fork of its tail is intermediate in depth between that of D. u. urbicum and that of the Asian house martin.
The white rump and underparts of the common house martin, very noticeable in flight, prevent confusion with other widespread Palaeoarctic swallows such as the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), sand martin (Riparia riparia) or red-rumped swallow (Cecropis daurica). In Africa, confusion with grey-rumped swallow (Pseudhirundo griseopyga) is possible, but that species has a grey rump, off-white underparts and long, deeply forked tail. The common house martin flies with a wing beat averaging 5.3 beats per second, which is faster than the wing beat of 4.4 beats per second for the barn swallow, but the flight speed of 11 m/s (36 ft/s) is typical for hirundines.
The common house martin is a noisy species, especially at its breeding colonies. The male's song, given throughout the year, is a soft twitter of melodious chirps. The contact call, also given on the wintering grounds, is a hard chirrrp, and the alarm is a shrill tseep.


The red-footed booby (Sula sula) is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. Adults always have red feet, but the colour of the plumage varies. They are powerful and agile fliers, but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings. They are found widely in the tropics, and breed colonially in coastal regions, especially islands. The species faces few natural or man-made threats, although its population is declining; it is considered to be a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).


Red-footed boobies dive into the ocean at high speeds to catch prey. They mainly eat small fish or squid which gather in groups near the surface.


This species breeds on islands in most tropical oceans. When not breeding it spends most of the time at sea, and is therefore rarely seen away from breeding colonies. It nests in large colonies, laying one chalky blue egg in a stick nest, which is incubated by both adults for 44–46 days. The nest is usually placed in a tree or bush, but rarely it may nest on the ground. It may be three months before the young first fly, and five months before they make extensive flights.
Red-footed booby pairs may remain together over several seasons. They perform elaborate greeting rituals, including harsh squawks and the male's display of his blue throat, also including short dances.


The red-footed booby is the smallest member of the booby and gannet family at about 70 cm (28 in) in length and with a wingspan of up to 152 cm (60 in). The average weight of 490 adults from Christmas Island was 837 g (1.845 lb). It has red legs, and its bill and throat pouch are coloured pink and blue. This species has several morphs. In the white morph the plumage is mostly white (the head often tinged yellowish) and the flight feathers are black. The black-tailed white morph is similar, but with a black tail, and can easily be confused with the Nazca and masked boobies. The brown morph is overall brown. The white-tailed brown morph is similar, but has a white belly, rump, and tail. The white-headed and white-tailed brown morph has a mostly white body, tail and head, and brown wings and back. The morphs commonly breed together, but in most regions one or two morphs predominates; for example, at the Galápagos Islands, most belong to the brown morph, though the white morph also occurs.
The sexes are similar, and juveniles are brownish with darker wings, and pale pinkish legs, while chicks are covered in dense white down.
The species has been recorded three times from Sri Lanka.
In March 2016, footage of a red-footed booby being caught and killed by a coconut crab was recorded on the Chagos Archipelago. After the coconut crab killed the bird, five others were observed being drawn to the site, where they competed over the meat.
In September 2016, a male red-footed booby was found washed up on a beach in East Sussex, UK, 5,000 miles from its nearest usual habitat. It was the first of its species ever recorded in the UK. The bird, later named Norman, was said by some to be exhausted and malnourished, though it flew onto the beach freely and was of normal weight when checked. He was brought back to health before being transported by plane to an environmental center in the Cayman Islands in December 2016, where he subsequently died before ever being released into the wild. As a result of Norman's appearance, the red-footed booby was formally added to the British List by the British Ornithologists' Union on 16 August 2017.
In January 2017, a red-footed booby was sighted on the New Zealand mainland for the first time.


The varied thrush breeds in western North America from Alaska to northern California. It is migratory, with northern breeders moving south within or somewhat beyond the breeding range. Other populations may only move altitudinally. This species is an improbable transatlantic vagrant, but there are now two accepted western European records, both in Great Britain, in 1982 and on Papa Westray in the Orkney Islands in October 2021.
Nests in Alaska, Yukon Territory, and mountains in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. Prefers moist conifer forest. Most common in dense, older conifer forests in high elevations. Moves to lower elevations during the winter where it is often seen in towns and orchards and thickets, or migrates to California. Seen in flocks during winter of up to 20 birds. It is well known for individual birds to fly eastward in winter, showing up in just about any state, then returning to the west coast for breeding.


The varied thrush is predominantly insectivorous, though its diet varies throughout the course of the year. During the summer, ground-dwelling arthropods make up the bulk of its diet. During migration and winter, however, the focus of the thrush's diet shifts to fruits, seeds, and acorns, though arthropods are still taken in some quantity. Varied thrushes consume a wide variety of berries throughout the year, including snowberry, red huckleberry, California honeysuckle, madrone, salmonberry, and thimbleberry.
Varied thrushes forage primarily on the ground, except when foraging for fruits and berries.


The varied thrush is a fairly large thrush species. It can range from 20 to 26 cm (7.9 to 10.2 in) in length and can span 34 to 42 cm (13 to 17 in) across the wings. Body mass can vary from 65 to 100 g (2.3 to 3.5 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 11.8 to 13.6 cm (4.6 to 5.4 in), the bill is 1.8 to 2.3 cm (0.71 to 0.91 in) and the tarsus is 2.9 to 3.3 cm (1.1 to 1.3 in). It is similar in size to the widespread American robin, though the varied is on average shorter with a heavier, more robust build. In general, varied thrushes feature intense orange and black feathers. Adult males exhibit medium orange with a curved gray pattern at the breasts and throats, with grayish-blue tail ends, scruffs, and crowns. They also possess a tufted supraloral stripe and streaks of dark colors on its flight feathers. Its bill is also achromatic, but tan near the bottom of the lower jaw. Its legs are often tawny or dark brown. Females' markings are not as well-defined, with olive-browns and grays, brown hind feathers, and indiscernible gray-brown plumage near the breasts. Young varied thrushes are generally brown, though their stomach feathers are white, and initially harbor two orange stripes at the covert feathers.
Eggs are generally 3-4 per nest, but sometimes 2–5. Pale blue, lightly dotted with brown. Incubation is by female, probably about 2 weeks. Young: Both parents feed nestlings. Development of young and age at which they leave the nest are not well known. Probably 2 broods per year.
There is an extremely rare variant of this species in which all the orange in the plumage is replaced by white. A very rare British vagrant in 1982 was of this type, leading to speculation that whatever mutation causes the colour variation also affects the navigational abilities of this thrush. There have been only five recorded sightings since 1921.


The prothonotary warbler breeds in hardwood swamps in extreme southeastern Ontario and eastern United States. It winters in the West Indies, Central America and northern South America.
It is a rare vagrant to western states, most notably California.


The prothonotary warbler is the only eastern warbler that nests in natural or artificial cavities, sometimes using old downy woodpecker holes. The male often builds several incomplete, unused nests in his territory; the female builds the real nest. It lays 3–7 eggs.
The preferred foraging habitat is dense, woody streams, where the prothonotary warbler forages actively in low foliage, mainly for insects and snails.
The song of this bird is a simple, loud, ringing sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet. The call is a loud, dry chip, like that of a hooded warbler. Its flight call is a loud seeep.


The prothonotary warbler is 13 cm (5.1 in) long, weighs 12.5 g (0.44 oz), and has a wingspan of 22 cm (8.75 in). It has an olive-coloured back with blue-grey wings and tail, yellow underparts, a relatively long pointed bill, and black legs. The adult male has a bright orange-yellow head. Females and immature birds are duller and have a yellow head. In flight from below, the short, wide tail has a distinctive two-toned pattern, white at the base and dark at the tip.


Hericium erinaceus (also called lion's mane mushroom, mountain-priest mushroom or bearded tooth fungus) is an edible mushroom belonging to the tooth fungus group. Native to North America, Europe and Asia, it can be identified by its long spines (greater than 1 cm length), occurrence on hardwoods, and tendency to grow a single clump of dangling spines. The fruit bodies can be harvested for culinary use.
Hericium erinaceus can be mistaken for other species of Hericium, which grow across the same range. In the wild, these mushrooms are common during late summer and fall on hardwoods, particularly American beech and maple. Usually H. erinaceus is considered saprophytic, as it mostly feeds on dead trees. However, it can also be found on living trees, so may be a tree parasite. This could indicate an endophytic habitat.


Hericium erinaceus is common in gourmet cooking. Young specimens are considered the best. Alongside shiitake (Lentinus edodes) and oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) mushrooms, H. erinaceus is used as a specialty mushroom. Its flavor may be compared to that of lobster. The production of specialty mushrooms in the USA increased by about 23% between 2010 and 2018 from 16 to 20 million lbs (7–9 million kg).
Hericium erinaceus fruiting bodies contain 57% carbohydrates (8% as dietary fiber), 4% fat, and 22% protein.


Hericium erinaceus produces edible fruiting bodies that have uses as food and in traditional medicine. Some guides consider it inedible.


The fruitbodies of H. erinaceus are mainly produced annually from August to November in Europe. It was observed that H. erinaceus could fruit intermittently for 20 years on the same dead tree. It is hypothesized that H. erinaceus can survive for 40 years. The mating system of H. erinaceus species found in the USA was shown to be bifactorially heterothallic.
The monokaryotic mycelium growth of H.erinaceus is slower than dikaryotic growth and only about a low percentage of monokaryotic cultures yield fruitbodies. Monokaryotic fruitbodies are also smaller than dikaryotic fruitbodies. The monokaryotic mycelium was found to produce fusoid to subglobose chlamydospores of 6–8 x 8–10 um size. These spores can stay viable for more than seven years and be stored under anaerobic conditions. Chlamydospore germination requires 30 to 52 hours, with a germination success rate of 32 to 54%.
Spore production is highest at midday, relative to temperature increase and relative humidity decrease. Daily trends towards lower relative humidity can favor sporulation, however levels of relative humidity that are too low do not favor high total spore production.


Hericium species are good competitors against other wood colonisers. They show the ability to maintain their place on dead wood, also when confronted with secondary colonizers like Trametes versicolor and Stereum hirsutum. Hericium erinaceus has shown to be slightly more competitive than other fungi tooth species including Creolophus cirrhatus and Hericium coralloides.


The western gull (Larus occidentalis) is a large white-headed gull that lives on the west coast of North America. It was previously considered conspecific with the yellow-footed gull (Larus livens) of the Gulf of California. The western gull ranges from British Columbia, Canada to Baja California, Mexico.


Western gulls feed in pelagic environments and in intertidal environments. At sea, they take fish and invertebrates like krill, squid and jellyfish. They are unable to dive and feed exclusively on the surface of the water. On land they feed on seal and  sea lion carcasses and roadkill, as well as cockles, starfish, limpets and snails in the intertidal zone. They also feed on human food refuse, in human-altered habitats including landfills, and take food given to them, or stolen from people at marinas, beaches and parks. Western gulls are known to be predatory, killing and eating the young of other birds, especially ducklings, and even the adults of some smaller bird species. Western gulls, including one who lived at Oakland's Lake Merritt are known for killing and eating pigeons (rock doves).  They will also snatch  fish from a cormorant's or pelican's mouth before it is swallowed.  The bird has also been observed directly pilfering milk from the elephant seal's teat.


A nest of vegetation is constructed inside the parent's territory and 3 eggs are laid. These eggs are incubated for a month. The chicks, once hatched, remain inside the territory until they have fledged. Chicks straying into the territory of another gull are liable to be killed by that territory's pair. Chick mortality is high, with on average one chick surviving to fledging. On occasion, abandoned chicks will be adopted by other gulls.


The western gull is a large gull that can measure 55 to 68 cm (22 to 27 in) in total length, spans 130 to 144 cm (51 to 57 in) across the wings, and weighs 800 to 1,400 g (1.8 to 3.1 lb). The average mass among a survey of 48 gulls of the species was 1,011 g (2.229 lb). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 38 to 44.8 cm (15.0 to 17.6 in), the bill is 4.7 to 6.2 cm (1.9 to 2.4 in) and the tarsus is 5.8 to 7.5 cm (2.3 to 3.0 in). The western gull has a white head and body, and upperparts or mantle is dark grey. The head generally remains white year-round, developing little to no streaking in northern populations. It has a large and bulbous-tipped yellow bill with a red subterminal spot (this is the small spot near the end of the bill that chicks peck in order to stimulate feeding). The eye colour varies, averaging pale yellow in southern populations and darker in northern populations. It closely resembles the slaty-backed gull (Larus schistisagus) of Asia, but the latter species has paler eyes and deeper pink legs and eye orbitals. In the north of its range it forms a hybrid zone with its close relative the glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens). Western gulls take approximately four years to reach their full plumage, their layer of feathers and the patterns and colors on the feathers. In adult plumage, The largest western gull colony is on the Farallon Islands, located about 26 mi (40 km) west of San Francisco, California; an estimated 30,000 gulls live in the San Francisco Bay area. Western gulls also live in the Oregon Coast.
Two subspecies are recognized, differentiated by the mantle and eye colouration. The northern subspecies L. o. occidentalis is found between Central Washington and Central California, has dark grey upperparts. The southern subspecies L. o. wymani is found between central and southern California has a darker mantle (approaching that of the Great black-backed gull)  and has paler eyes on average. wymani has more advanced plumage development than occidentalis, and generally attains adult plumage by the third year.


The African stonechat or common stonechat (Saxicola torquatus) is a species of the Old World flycatcher family (Muscicapidae), inhabiting sub-Saharan Africa and adjacent regions. Like the other chats, it was long assigned to the thrush family (Turdidae), to which the chats are convergent. Its scientific name refer to its appearance and habitat and means "collared rock-dweller": Saxicola from Latin saxum ("rock") + incola ("one who dwells in a place"), torquatus, Latin for "collared".
In the past S. torquatus usually referred to the entire "common stonechat" superspecies and some sources still keep it that way, but all available evidence strongly supports full species status for the European (S. rubicola) and the Siberian stonechat (S. maurus) of temperate Eurasia, in addition to the island-endemics Fuerteventura chat (S. dacotiae) and Réunion stonechat (S. tectes) which were never unequivocally accepted into S. torquatus. The Madagascar stonechat is also considered distinct.  In addition, the well-marked populations of the Horn of Africa uplands may well qualify for an additional species.


It has a scattered distribution across much of sub-Saharan Africa, occurring locally as far north as Senegal and Ethiopia. Outlying populations are found the mountains of southwest Arabia and on Madagascar and Grande Comore. It is non-migratory, moving only locally if at all. As a result, it has developed much regional variation, being divided into about 15 subspecies.


Sistrurus miliarius, commonly called the pygmy rattlesnake, is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Crotalinae (pit vipers) of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to the Southeastern United States. Three subspecies are currently recognized.


The diet of S. miliarius includes small mammals and birds, lizards, insects, and frogs, as well as other snakes. Pygmy rattlesnakes also include giant desert centipedes in their diet, which they hunt by active pursuit, grabbing and flipping the centipedes around while simultaneously injecting venom to prevent injury by the victim. They also ambush lizards such as skinks by using their tails as lures, as is common in many other species of vipers. Caudal luring becomes less effective for adults, as the prey size and type changes. Their feeding strategy becomes sit-and-wait, with individuals remaining in a coiled position for days at a time.


S. miliarius is a small species, with adults usually growing to 40–60 cm (16–24 in) in total length (including tail). The maximum reported total length is 78.8 cm (31.0 in) (Klauber, 1972). Snellings and Collins (1997) reported a specimen of S. m. barbouri measuring 80.3 cm (31.6 in), but it had been in captivity for over 12 years. The largest S. m. barbouri reported by Gloyd (1940) was a specimen measuring 63.8 cm (25.1 in) from St. Petersburg, Florida. Shine (1978) suggested that in some populations, males may be larger than females, but a later study by Bishop et al. (1996) did not find sexual dimorphism of any kind in a population in Volusia County, Florida.
At midbody, the rows of dorsal scales usually number 23. The dorsal pattern consists of a series of oval or subcircular spots with somewhat regular edges. The spots on the flanks are mostly round and not much higher than they are wide. Belly pigmentation towards the rear is more limited to indistinct blotches found on pairs of adjacent scales. Juveniles' color patterns are similar to the adults, although they may be paler or more vividly marked, and the tips of their tails are yellow.


Sistrurus miliarius reportedly inhabits flatwoods, sandhills, mixed forests, and floodplains, and is also found near lakes and marshes.


The indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea) is a small seed-eating bird in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae. It is migratory, ranging from southern Canada to northern Florida during the breeding season, and from southern Florida to northern South America during the winter. It often migrates by night, using the stars to navigate. Its habitat is farmland, brush areas, and open woodland. The indigo bunting is closely related to the lazuli bunting and interbreeds with the species where their ranges overlap.
The indigo bunting is a small bird, with a length of 11.5–13 cm (4.5–5.1 in). It displays sexual dimorphism in its coloration; the male is vibrant blue in the summer, with brightly colored  plumage during the breeding season to attract a mate. It is brown during the winter months, while the female is brown year-round. Nest-building and incubation are done solely by the female. The diet of the indigo bunting consists primarily of insects during the summer months and seeds during the winter months.


The indigo bunting forages for food on the ground or in trees or shrubs. In winter, it often feeds in flocks with other indigo buntings, but is a solitary feeder during the breeding season. During the breeding season, the species eats insects, seeds and berries, including caterpillars, grasshoppers, spiders, beetles, and grass seeds. The seeds of grasses are the mainstay of its diet during the winter, although buds, and insects are eaten when available. The young are fed mainly insects at first, to provide them with protein. The indigo bunting does not drink frequently, generally obtaining sufficient water from its diet.


The habitat of the indigo bunting is brushy forest edges, open deciduous woods, second growth woodland, and farmland. Increases in population size have been seen in the event of forest clearings and development of land into farms. The breeding range stretches from southern Canada to Maine, south to northern Florida and eastern Texas, and westward to southern Nevada. The winter range begins in southern Florida and central Mexico and stretches south through the West Indies and Central America to northern South America. It has occurred as a vagrant in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Denmark, Ecuador, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Serbia and the United Kingdom.


The indigo bunting is a smallish songbird, around the size of a small sparrow. It measures 11.5–15 cm (4.5–5.9 in) long, with a wingspan of 18–23 cm (7.1–9.1 in). Body mass averages 14.5 g (0.51 oz), with a reported range of 11.2–21.4 g (0.40–0.75 oz). During the breeding season, the adult male appears mostly a vibrant cerulean blue. Only the head is indigo. The wings and tail are black with cerulean blue edges. In fall and winter plumage, the male has brown edges to the blue body and head feathers, which overlap to make the bird appear mostly brown. The adult female is brown on the upperparts and lighter brown on the underparts. It has indistinct wing bars and is faintly streaked with darker markings underneath. The immature bird resembles the female in coloring, although a male may have hints of blue on the tail and shoulders and have darker streaks on the underside. The beak is short and conical. In the adult female, the beak is light brown tinged with blue, and in the adult male the upper half is brownish-black while the lower is light blue. The feet and legs are black or gray.
First years and adult males are distinguishable through close observations of the skull and its degree of ossification. Juvenile skulls have a slightly pinkish color that gives under pressure due to its singular layer. Adults instead have a double layer skull, which gives more resistance when applying pressure. First year birds also tend to have a fleshy, yellow gape in the corner of the mouth, apparent in all months except October and November. When comparing males to females that both have brown molt, increased wing length and weight typically indicate a bunting is a male.
As indicated by data collected from Charles H. Blake from his banding experiments in Hillsborough, NC, the Indigo Bunting has a weighted annual survival rate of 0.585. Using his own methods (Blake 1967, p. 5) and a pool of 25 indigo buntings captured and observed, it was determined that approximately two out of twenty-five indigo buntings should live up to six years. Using the calculated annual rate of six-year-old birds obtained (2/25 = 0.08), an annual rate of 0.656 was calculated, 12% higher than the annual rate of 0.585, leading to the 1 out of 25 statistic. The oldest recorded bunting was at least 13 years and 3 months old. However, not much emphasis should be placed on these values since the pool of individuals is small, where any individual can affect the weighted average.


The southern double-collared sunbird or lesser double-collared sunbird (Cinnyris chalybeus) is a small passerine bird which breeds in southern Africa. It is mainly resident, but partially migratory in the north-east of its range.


The southern double-collared sunbird is usually seen singly or in small groups. Its flight is fast and direct on short wings. It lives mainly on nectar from flowers, but takes some fruit, and, especially when feeding young, insects and spiders. It can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perches to feed most of the time.
The call is a hard chee-chee, and the song is high pitched jumble of tinkling notes, rising and falling in pitch and tempo for 3–5 seconds or more.


This sunbird is common in gardens, fynbos, forests and coastal scrub. The southern double-collared sunbird breeds from April to December, depending on region. The closed oval nest is constructed from  grass, lichen and other plant material, bound together with spider webs. It has a side entrance which sometimes has a porch, and is lined with wool, plant down and feathers.


It inhabits woodland, savannas, scrubland, farmland, parks and gardens. It occurs from sea-level up to 5000 m. In eastern South America, it is found from central Argentina north to central Brazil. In the Andean region, it occurs from northwestern Argentina and northern Chile north to central Colombia. There is an isolated population in southeastern Venezuela, Guyana and the Brazilian state of Roraima.
It is commonly found in flocks, feeding in trees or bushes or on the ground. The diet consists mainly of seeds together with buds, leaves and some insects. Geophagy has been observed in this species.


The African green pigeon (Treron calvus) is a species of bird in the family Columbidae, and one of 5 green pigeon species in the Afrotropics. The species has a wide range in Sub-Saharan Africa with around 17 accepted races.


As with others in their genus, they frequent tree canopies where their parrot-like climbing ability enable them to reach fruit, but rarely also forage on the ground. Their call is a series of flowing whistles, rendered as  ‘thweeeloo, thweeeoo’. They inhabit riparian forest, woodland and savanna, where they associate with fruiting trees, especially wild fig (Ficus) species, including Ficus sycomorus and Ficus sur, and in cities the ornamental Chinese banyan. They also take fruit of Saffrons (Cassine spp.), Jacket plum (Pappea capensis), Buffalo thorn (Ziziphus mucronata), Water berry (Syzygium cordatum) and Jackalberry (Diospyros mespiliformis). They may also feed on exotic Loquats and Mulberries, or on carrion by occasion.


They nest in a tree fork that offers an adequate vantage point of their surrounds. The nest is a weak platform of sticks, collected by the male and arranged by the female. Nesting may take place in any month of the year, though mostly in summer. 1–2 eggs are laid that hatch in 13–14 days. Chicks leave the nest at about 12 days.


The little cormorant is found across India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and lowland Nepal. It is also found in parts of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia. It is not found in the Himalayas, but vagrants have been seen in Ladakh. It inhabits wetlands, ranging from small village ponds to large lakes, and sometimes tidal estuaries.


Little cormorants tend to forage mainly in small loose groups and are often seen foraging alone. They swim underwater to capture their prey, mainly fish. A study in northern India found that the little cormorant fished in water which was less than a metre deep and captured fishes of about 2–8 centimetres (0.79–3.15 in) length. They propel themselves underwater using their webbed feet. Captured fishes are often brought up to the surface to swallow them and during this time other birds including other little cormorants, painted storks, gulls and egrets may attempt to steal them. Indian cormorants tend to fish communally in larger groups. Like all other cormorants, they will emerge from water and will hold out their wings and stay immobile for a while. The behaviour has been suggested to be for wing-drying, but this interpretation is debated. A study in Sri Lanka found that the time spent with spread wings was always after they had spent some time underwater, and that the duration was related to time spent underwater and inversely related to the temperature and dryness of air. These observations support the theory that the studied behaviour aids drying of the wings.
The breeding season of the little cormorant is between July to September in Pakistan and northern India and November to February in southern India. In Sri Lanka it is December to May. A study in Bangladesh found them to breed from May to October. Males display at the nest site by fluttering their wings while holding their head back and bill raised. They then lower the bill, and after pairing the male also provides food to the female in courtship feeding. Both parents take part in building the nest, which is a platform of sticks placed on trees and sometimes even on coconut palms. They may nest beside Indian pond herons and little egrets in colonies. The nest is built in about two weeks. The whitish eggs turn muddy with age and incubation begins when the first egg is laid. This leads to asynchronous hatching and the chicks in a nest can vary considerably in age. The clutch size can vary from two to six eggs laid at intervals of about two days. The eggs hatch after 15 to 21 days. The downy chicks have a bare red head. The young birds are able to leave the nest after about a month.
Little cormorants are vocal near their nest and roosts where they produce low roaring sounds. They also produce grunts and groans, a low pitched ah-ah-ah and kok-kok-kok calls. They roost communally often in the company of other waterbirds.
Parasitic bird lice, Pectinopygus makundi, have been described from little cormorant hosts. Endoparasitic helminths, Hymenolepis childi and Dilepis lepidocolpos have been described from Sri Lankan birds while others like Neocotylotretus udaipurensis and Syncuaria buckleyi have been described from Indian birds.


The Australasian pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae) is a fairly small passerine bird of open country in Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea. It belongs to the pipit genus Anthus in the family Motacillidae.
It was formerly lumped together with the Richard's, African, Mountain and Paddyfield pipits in a single species: Richard's pipit, Anthus novaeseelandiae. Some authors split the Australasian pipit further into two species: Australian pipit (Anthus australis) in Australia and New Guinea and New Zealand pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae), also called pihoihoi, in New Zealand.


It is a bird of open habitats such as grassland, farmland, roadsides, dry river beds, sand dunes and open woodland. It forages on the ground for small invertebrates such as beetles, spiders and insect larvae. It will also eat seeds such as those of grasses.
The breeding season begins in August. The cup-shaped nest is placed at the base of vegetation or in the shelter of a stone. It is made of grass and built by the female. Two to five eggs are laid, three or four being most common. They are buff-white with brown blotching and are incubated for 14 to 15 days. The young birds are fed by both parents and are able to fly after 14 to 16 days.
The birds' numbers have declined in parts of New Zealand due to the improvement of pastures, use of pesticides and predation by introduced species.


It is a slender bird, 16 to 19 cm long, and weighs about 40 grams. The plumage is pale brown above with dark streaks. The underparts are pale with streaks on the breast. There is a pale stripe over the eye and dark malar and moustachial stripes. The long tail has white outer-feathers and is often wagged up and down. The legs are long and pinkish-brown while the bill is slender and brownish.
It has a sparrow-like chirruping call and a drawn-out tswee call.


The northern parula (Setophaga americana) is a small New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida.


The northern parula inhabits various habitats depending on season and location. This is primarily a forest-dwelling species, but the northern and southern breeding populations select different habitats. In general, abundance of this species has been found to be positively correlated with increased tree species diversity, canopy height, and percent canopy cover. Northern populations breed in mature, moist coniferous forests. This species constructs its pendulum nests in hanging vegetation and so it is often attracted to suspended clumps of moss or coniferous twigs that are more abundant in moist spruce bogs or hemlock swamps. Southern populations breed in mature, moist, bottomland forest where Spanish moss is prevalent. Outside of the breeding season, the northern parula becomes more of a habitat generalist and may be found in a wide variety of habitats during migration and winter. These habitats may include: pastures; moist, dry or wet forests; and agricultural fields or plantations.


This is a monogamous species, however, a few cases of polygamy have been reported. Southern populations can start breeding as soon as March but to the north of the range, the species does not nest until May. The breeding habitat is humid woodland with growths of Old Man's Beard lichen or Spanish moss. Northern parulas nest in trees in clumps of these fungi (Old Man's Beard; Usnea) or plants (Spanish moss; Tillandsia usneoides), laying 3–7 eggs in a scantily lined cup nest. Sites located near water sources are preferred and many nests are found at the end of branches suspended over water. Due to their longer breeding season, southern parulas frequently raise two broods, as opposed to northern ones who raise only one. The female hollows out a clump of vegetation in the moss and proceeds to fill the cavity with vegetation fibers, animal hair, grass, or pine needles. These nests average 7 cm (2.8 in) in outside diameter. The incubation period typically lasts 12 to 14 days and the young fledge at 10 to 11 days. Breeding maturity is attained the following year.
The northern parula forages mostly or entirely on terrestrial invertebrates. Prey items include spiders, damselflies, locusts, bugs, grasshoppers, aphids, beetles, caterpillars, flies, wasps, bees, and ants. Regardless of season, caterpillars and spiders are consumed most often. During the winter, the northern parula consumes more beetles and occasionally forages on berries, seeds, and nectar. This species primarily captures prey from vegetation by a hover-glean method, however this species is versatile in using a variety of foraging methods. It may make short flights from a perch to snatch prey in mid-flight or even hang upside-down to forage. It is most often seen foraging in the mid- to upper canopy levels of vegetation. Though most foraging activity occurs in arboreal vegetation, this species occasionally forages on or around the ground as well.
A northern parula from Augusta, Georgia was found to be a host of an intestinal acanthocephalan worm, Apororhynchus amphistomi.
Nothern parulas will occasionally hybridize with yellow-throated warblers, resulting in a hybrid species known as Sutton's warblers.


The northern parula is one of the smaller North American migratory warblers, often being one of the smallest birds in a mixed feeding flock besides kinglets or gnatcatchers. Length is 10.8 to 12.4 cm (4.3 to 4.9 in), wingspan is 16 to 18 cm (6.3 to 7.1 in) and body mass is 5 to 11 g (0.18 to 0.39 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 5.1 to 6.5 cm (2.0 to 2.6 in), the tail is 3.7 to 4.5 cm (1.5 to 1.8 in), the bill is 0.8 to 1.1 cm (0.31 to 0.43 in) and the tarsus is 1.5 to 1.8 cm (0.59 to 0.71 in). This species has mainly blue-gray upper parts, with a greenish back patch and two white wing bars. The breast is yellowish shading into the white belly. The summer male has bluish and rufous breast bands and prominent white eye crescents. At the end of the breeding season, individuals molt into a duller version of the breeding plumage. Females are similar-looking but tend to be duller and lack the breast bands. The unique breastband fades in males and may disappear altogether in females.
Its song is a click-like trill or buzz, zeeeeee-yip and the call is a soft chip.


The  Blackburnian warbler (Setophaga fusca) is a small New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America, from southern Canada, westwards to the southern Canadian Prairies, the Great Lakes region and New England, to North Carolina.
Blackburnian warblers are migratory, wintering in southern Central America and in South America, and are very rare vagrants to western Europe.


Blackburnian warblers are solitary during winter and highly territorial on their breeding grounds and do not mix with other passerine species outside of the migratory period. However, during migration, they often join local mixed foraging flocks of species such as chickadees, kinglets and nuthatches. Similarly, in the tropics they were found to be fairly social while engaging in migration but solitary from other passerines while wintering. These birds are basically insectivorous, but will include berries in their diets in wintertime. They usually forage by searching for insects or spiders in treetops. Their breeding season diet is dominated by the larvae of Lepidoptera, i.e. moths and butterflies. They may help control the spruce budworm (often considered a harmful pest) when breakouts occur, at the local if not at epidemic level. In one study from Ontario, 98% of the diet was made of insects, the remaining 2% being spiders. Among the migratory Setophaga warblers, it is considered one of the specialist at foraging in the micro-habitat of the tree's top canopy.
The breeding habitats of these birds are mature coniferous woodlands, the central part of their breeding range being in the southeastern portion of Canada's boreal forest. However, their distribution as a breeding species continues broadly down much of New England and the Appalachian Mountains, from New York to northernmost Georgia, in elevated mixed woodlands, especially ones containing spruce and hemlocks. Hemlocks in particular are most likely to host Blackburnian warblers in mixed forests. It typically winters in tropical montane forests, from roughly 600 to 2,500 m (2,000 to 8,200 ft), mainly from Colombia to Peru, more sporadically in Panama and the Amazon region.
Blackburnian warblers begin their first clutches in mid-May to early June in the contiguous United States and about 1 to 2 weeks later in Quebec. This species build a nest consisting of an open cup of twigs, bark, plant fibers, and rootlets held to branch with spider web and lined with lichens, moss, hair, and dead pine needles that's placed near the end of a branch. Although typically only laying one brood per year, if a nest is destroyed they are capable of producing a second or even third brood. Three to five whitish eggs are laid in its nest which is usually placed 2–38 m (6.6–124.7 ft) above the ground, on a horizontal branch. Nests usually constructed outwardly with twigs, bark, plant fibers, and rootlets; lined with lichens, mosses, fine grasses, hair, dead pine needles, and even occasionally such exotic substances as string, willow cotton, horsehair, and cattail down. Only the female broods and spends about 80% day actively brooding, with the male usually helping bring food to the nest. Among warblers, they are relatively rarely parasitized at the nest by brown-headed cowbirds, most likely due to the cowbirds lack of success in dense pine-dominated forests. Blue jays and American red squirrels have been verified to prey on nestlings and new fledglings, while a merlin was recorded killing a brooding adult female. Sharp-shinned hawks and Cooper's hawks are likely, but not confirmed, predators of adult Blackburnian warblers. By far the greatest threat faced by this species is destruction of forest habitat, which some predict could cause the Blackburnian warbler to lose up more than 30% of its wintering or breeding habitat. However, currently this species continues to occur over a large range and can appear in stable numbers where habitat is appropriate.


Blackburnian warblers are small passerines and average-sized wood-warblers. They measure around 11 to 13 cm (4.3 to 5.1 in) long, with a 20 to 22 cm (7.9 to 8.7 in) wingspan, and weigh 8 to 13 g (0.28 to 0.46 oz). The average mass of an adult bird is 9.7 g (0.34 oz), although is slightly higher in fall due to fat reserves, averaging 10.2–10.4 g (0.36–0.37 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 6.3 to 7.3 cm (2.5 to 2.9 in), the tail is 4.2 to 5 cm (1.7 to 2.0 in), the bill is 0.9 to 1 cm (0.35 to 0.39 in) and the tarsus is 1.6 to 1.8 cm (0.63 to 0.71 in). In summer, male Blackburnian warblers display dark gray backs and double white wing bars, with yellowish rumps and dark brown crowns. The underparts of these birds are white, and are tinged with yellow and streaked black. The head is strongly patterned in yellow and black, with a flaming-orange throat. It is the only North American warbler with this striking plumage. Other plumages, including the fall male and adult female, are washed-out versions of the summer male, and in particular lack the bright colors and strong head pattern. The Blackburnian warbler is practically unmistakable if seen well, even the female due her dull-yellow supercilium, contrasting with greyish cheeks and yellow throat contrasting with the dark streaky sides and back. The only other wood-warbler with an orange throat is the flame-throated warbler of Central America and is very distinctive, lacking the contrasting blackish streaking about the head and whitish underside of a male Blackburnian. Basic plumages show weaker yellows and gray in place of black in the breeding male. Blackburnian warblers' songs are a simple series of high swi notes, which often ascend in pitch. Transliterations have included zip zip zip zip zip zip zip zip, titititi tseeeeee or teetsa teetsa teetsa teetsa. Their call is a high sip. Genetic research has shown that their closed living relative is the bay-breasted warbler, the latter species perhaps specialized to forage in the same coniferous trees at lower levels. Hybridization in the wild has been recorded once each with a bay-breasted warbler (in West Virginia), with a black-and-white warbler (in Pennsylvania) and possibly a wintering hybrid with a Kirtland's warbler (in Hispaniola).


The  roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America.


This species feeds in shallow fresh or coastal waters by swinging its bill from side to side as it steadily walks through the water, often in groups. The spoon-shaped bill allows it to sift easily through mud. It feeds on crustaceans, aquatic insects, frogs, newts and very small fish ignored by larger waders. In the United States, a popular place to observe roseate spoonbills is "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Roseate spoonbills must compete for food with snowy egrets, great egrets, tricolored herons and American white pelicans.


Information about predation on adults is lacking. Nestlings are sometimes killed by turkey vultures, bald eagles, raccoons and fire ants. In 2022, an 18-year-old banded bird was discovered, making it the oldest known wild individual.


The roseate spoonbill nests in shrubs or trees, often mangroves, laying two to five eggs, which are whitish with brown markings. Immature birds have white, feathered heads, and the pink of the plumage is paler. The bill is yellowish or pinkish.


The roseate spoonbill is 71–86 cm (28–34 in) long, with a 120–133 cm (47–52 in) wingspan and a body mass of 1.2–1.8 kg (2.6–4.0 lb). The tarsus measures 9.7–12.4 cm (3.8–4.9 in), the culmen measures 14.5–18 cm (5.7–7.1 in) and the wing measures 32.3–37.5 cm (12.7–14.8 in) and thus the legs, bill, neck and spatulate bill all appear elongated. Adults have a bare greenish head ("golden buff" when breeding) and a white neck, back and breast (with a tuft of pink feathers in the center when breeding), and are otherwise a deep pink. The bill is grey. There is no significant sexual dimorphism.
Like the American flamingo, their pink color is diet-derived, consisting of the carotenoid pigment canthaxanthin. Another carotenoid, astaxanthin, can also be found deposited in flight and body feathers. The colors can range from pale pink to bright magenta, depending on age, whether breeding or not, and location.  Unlike herons, spoonbills fly with their necks outstretched. They alternate groups of stiff, shallow wingbeats with glides.


It has two subspecies, the white-winged crossbill (Loxia leucoptera leucoptera) in North America, and the two-barred crossbill (Loxia leucoptera bifasciata) in northeastern Europe and the Palearctic.


Measurements:
Length: 17 cm
Weight: 30-40 g
Wingspan: 26–29 cm
The crossbills are characterized by the mandibles crossing at their tips, which gives the group its English name. They are specialist feeders on conifer cones, and the unusual bill shape is an adaptation to assist the extraction of the seeds from the cone. The two-barred crossbill has a strong preference for larch (Larix), in Eurosiberia using Siberian larch (Larix sibirica) and Dahurian larch (L. gmelinii), and in North America Tamarack larch (L. laricina). It will also take rowan (Sorbus) berries, and in North America, also eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) and white spruce (Picea glauca) cones.
Adult males tend to be red or pinkish in colour, and females green or yellow, but there is much variation. The two-barred is easier to identify than other crossbills, especially in North America, where only the red crossbill and this species occur, but some care is still needed.
Within its Palearctic range, this species is smaller-headed and smaller-billed than the parrot crossbill and Scottish crossbill, so the main confusion between species both there and in North America is with the red or common crossbill.
The main plumage distinction from the red crossbill is the white wingbars which give this species its English and scientific names. There are also white tips to the tertials. The adult male is also a somewhat brighter (pinker) red than other male crossbills. Some red crossbills occasionally show weak white wingbars, so care is needed with the correct identification of this species. The chip call is weaker and higher than that of the red crossbill.
Another crossbill species on Hispaniola in the Caribbean was previously treated as a subspecies (Loxia leucoptera megaplaga), but is now treated as a distinct species: the Hispaniolan crossbill (Loxia megaplaga). It is associated with the Hispaniolan pine tree (Pinus occidentalis), and differs from the two-barred crossbill in darker plumage, a stouter bill, and its geographic isolation compared to other crossbill species.


This bird breeds in the coniferous forests of Alaska, Canada, the northernmost United States and across the Palearctic extending into northeast Europe. It nests in conifers, laying 3–5 eggs.
This crossbill is mainly resident, but will irregularly irrupt south if its food source fails. The American race seems to wander more frequently than the Eurosiberian subspecies. This species will form flocks outside the breeding season, often mixed with other crossbills. It is a rare visitor to western Europe, usually arriving with an irruption of red crossbills.


Timon lepidus feeds mainly on large insects, especially beetles, and snails, and also robs birds’ nests and occasionally takes reptiles, frogs, and small mammals. It also eats fruit and other plant matter, especially in dry areas.


The ocellated lizard or jewelled lizard (Timon lepidus) is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae (wall lizards). The species is endemic to southwestern Europe.


Timon lepidus is one of the largest members of its family. The adult is 30 to 60 cm (0.98 to 1.97 ft) in total length (including tail) and may reach up to 90 cm (3.0 ft), weighing more than 0.5 kg (1.1 lb).  About two-thirds of its length is tail. Newly hatched young are 4 to 5 cm (1.5 to 2 in) long, excluding tail.
This is a robust lizard with a serrated collar. The male has a characteristic broad head. It has thick, strong legs, with long, curved claws. The dorsal background colour is usually green, but sometimes grey or brownish, especially on the head and tail. This is overlaid with black stippling that may form a bold pattern of interconnected rosettes. The underside is yellowish or greenish with both the male and female sporting bright blue spots along the flanks, though the male is typically brighter in colour than the female. Young are green, grey, or brown, with yellowish or white, often black-edged, spots all over.


Timon lepidus is found in various wild and cultivated habitats from sea level up to 2,100 m (6,900 ft) in southern Spain. It is rare at higher altitudes. It prefers dry, bushy areas, such as open woodland and scrub, old olive groves and vineyards, and is sometimes found on more open, rocky or sandy areas. It can occasionally be seen basking on roadsides. The lizard usually stays on the ground, but climbs well on rocks and in trees. It can dig holes and sometimes uses abandoned rabbit burrows.


Breeding in T. lepidus occurs in late spring or early summer. Males are territorial in spring and fight in the breeding season. The female lays up to 22 eggs in June and July about three months after mating, hiding them under stones and logs or in leaf litter or in loose damp soil. It tends to lay fewer, larger eggs in dry areas. The eggs hatch in eight to 14 weeks. The lizard is sexually mature at two years of age.


This species is slightly longer than the olive-sided flycatcher. The adult greater pewee is the largest breeding Contopus flycatcher to breed in the U.S. It is a dull gray-brown bird all over with some birds that have a buff wash on the breast. They have indistinct wingbars and a very distinct crest. The lower mandible is bright orange and that is an easy way to distinguish them from olive-sided flycatchers in eastern Arizona and west central New Mexico. They are 8 inches (20 cm) long, have a 13 inches (33 cm) wingspan and weigh 1 oz (28 g).


These birds love to stay high in trees scanning for insects. They sally and hawk insects from their high perches. The greater pewee defends its nesting grounds aggressively. They will attack hawks, jays and squirrels. Their diet consists of insects and maybe berries in cooler months. Their song is a whistled five syllables: deelip deeree! ah or famously known as jose maria. The opening deelip is repeated several times before the rest of the song. It also gives pip calls like the olive-sided flycatcher.


The greater pewee prefers montane pine forests with an oak understory. Also found in montane deciduous especially Arizona sycamore forests and mixed montane oak-pine forest. They are found more easily in elevations over 6,500 feet in Arizona and New Mexico. They are rare in western Texas.


The eastern towhee occurs throughout the eastern United States and southeast Canada. Occurrences from southern Saskatchewan, southwest Ontario and Quebec south to Florida, and west to eastern Texas are noted in a literature review. Populations north of southern New England through northern Indiana and Illinois to southern Iowa primarily are summer residents.
Pipilo e. erythrophthalmus occurs in the most northerly part of the eastern towhee's distribution in the summer, and in winter migrates to the southern and eastern portion of the range of the species. The other subspecies are largely residents. Pipilo e. canaster occurs from south-central Louisiana, north to northeastern Louisiana east through Mississippi, extreme southwestern Tennessee, northern Alabama and Georgia, central South Carolina to western North Carolina, and south to northwestern Florida and east along the Gulf Coast. The range of P. e. rileyi extends from northern Florida through southern Georgia and coastal South Carolina to east-central North Carolina. Pipilo e. alleni occurs in peninsular Florida.
The eastern towhee occurs in vegetation of disturbed areas, such as old-field successional vegetation and shrubby areas of power line right-of-ways. In northwestern Arkansas, eastern towhees occurred in old-field vegetation where dwarf sumac (Rhus copallina) occurred at a frequency of 28.6%, winged elm (Ulmus alata) at a frequency of 21%, and black cherry (Prunus serotina) at a frequency of 19.2%. Shrubby vegetation along power lines is commonly used by eastern towhees. For example, in Maryland, eastern towhee territories along a power line right-of-way corresponded with shrubby areas containing species such as Allegheny blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis) and blueberry (Vaccinium spp.). Other species included hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), red maple (Acer rubrum), black cherry, and black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia).
From 1966-2015 the eastern towhee experienced a greater than 1.5% annual population decrease throughout the Atlantic seaboard and the northern part of its breeding range.


Eastern towhees primarily eat on the ground, although they also glean from vegetation. In a southeastern Massachusetts pitch pine barren, 73.5% of male and 80.4% of female foraging observations were on the ground. When foraging on the ground eastern towhees use a scratching technique where both feet kick back simultaneously. In a laboratory study 4 eastern towhees used this method to successfully obtain seed buried almost 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep. When foraging above ground the majority of time is spent gleaning foliage. In Massachusetts, 22.5% of male and 16.3% of female foraging observations were of food being gleaned from foliage. Eastern towhees were also observed gleaning from twigs, branches, and trunks. When gleaning, eastern towhees occurred significantly (p<0.01) more often on the distal half of tree branches compared to using distal and proximal portions equally. In 0.5% of male and 0.3% of female foraging observations, eastern towhees hovered. Eastern towhees were never observed catching food out of the air.
Eastern towhees eat a variety of plant and animal matter. In literature reviews, eastern towhees are reported to eat seeds and fruits, several invertebrates, and occasionally small amphibians, snakes, and lizards. Reviews report eastern towhees foraging at feeders. Reviews show that animal matter makes up a larger proportion of the diet in the breeding season. In fall and winter, plants make up 79% and 85% of the diet, respectively. This drops to 53% in spring and 43% in summer. Insects such as beetles (Coleoptera), grasshoppers and crickets (Orthoptera), ants, wasps, and bees (Hymenoptera), and moths and caterpillars (Lepidoptera) are common prey items. Eastern towhees eat other invertebrates such as spiders (Araneae), millipedes (Diplopoda), centipedes (Chilopoda), and snails (Gastropoda) to a lesser extent. Plants that comprise at least 5% of the eastern towhee diet include ragweed (Ambrosia spp.), oak, smartweed (Polygonum spp.), and corn (Zea mays) in the Northeast and blackberry, oak, panicgrass (Panicum spp.), ragweed, and wax-myrtle (Morella cerifera) in the Southeast.


Eastern towhees range from near sea level to as high as 6,500 ft (2,000 m) along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina during the summer. A literature review reports eastern towhees up to 3,000 ft (910 m) in New Hampshire.
Eastern towhees spend the majority of their time near the ground. For instance, in Pennsylvania in spring, observations of eastern towhees below 3 ft (0.91 m) from the ground occurred significantly (p<0.05) more than expected based on random spatial distribution, and observations above 3 ft (0.91 m) occurred significantly (p<0.05) less than would be expected. In a Louisiana bottomland forest 62% of eastern towhee observations were within 2 ft (0.61 m) of the ground, and only 4% were observed above 25 ft (7.6 m). In the spring this changed, with detections of eastern towhees below 25 ft (7.6 m) declining from 70% to 65% and detections in the canopy (>25 ft (7.6 m)) increasing from 4% to 7%.
Eastern towhees occur in many habitats, from tallgrass prairies and marshes to mature forests. However, eastern towhees are most common in early successional stands, habitat edges, and areas with similar vegetation structure throughout eastern forests.
In most communities eastern towhees are more abundant in young successional stands. Several studies found increased eastern towhee abundance on early successional sites compared to later-successional sites. Mean number of breeding eastern towhees (0.70 bird/50-m radius) and nest success rate (58%) were higher in a 15-year-old clearcut in West Virginia, than in other treatments, including a stand of yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), black cherry, red maple, sugar maple (Acer saccharum), and white ash (Fraxinus americana) that was not harvested. In a southern Missouri oak-hickory forest, eastern towhees were not present before clearcutting or in the nearby uncut forest after cutting, but occurred at a mean density of 9.3 birds/10 ha in a 3-year-old clearcut. A study of stands of varying ages in central New York found that eastern towhee density peaked in early successional stands.
Although eastern towhees generally prefer young successional sites, variation between habitat types and years has been observed. Krementz and Powell  found higher relative abundance of eastern towhee in young (2–6 years old) stands of loblolly and longleaf pine than mature (32–98 years old) stands when investigated in 1995. However, in stands compared in 1996, the 95% confidence intervals of eastern towhee relative abundance on the 2 sites had a substantial degree of overlap. The degree to which eastern towhee responds to succession is influenced by habitat. For example, in Pennsylvania there was a significant (p<0.05) difference between eastern towhee densities (number/10 ha) between mature mixed-oak forest and stands that had been clearcut about 5 years previously. However, eastern towhee densities did not differ significantly between a 1-year old mixed aspen (Populus tremuloides, P. grandidentata) clearcut, a 5-year old aspen clearcut, and a mature aspen stand. Eastern towhee abundance has been shown to peak at different times in different habitats. For instance, although in central hardwood forests eastern towhees were most abundant in regenerating stands, in loblolly and shortleaf pine forest they were most common in pole timber and mature stands. In addition, Bell and Whitmore concluded that early successional is likely too broad of a term for describing optimal towhee habitat, since high density of small trees was negatively associated with eastern towhee density in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia.
Eastern towhees seem to prefer sites with characteristics generally associated with early successional vegetation, such as low canopy cover and dense understory. Negative correlations between eastern towhee abundance and various measurements of overstory density have been found in several studies. Average density of eastern towhees across 6 habitat types in Pennsylvania was significantly (p<0.05) negatively correlated with density of overstory trees and basal area of overstory trees. Number of eastern towhees in a western Virginia hardwood forest was also significantly (p<0.05) inversely correlated with total percent canopy cover. In a loblolly pine forest in South Carolina, the average number of eastern towhee breeding territories per experimental unit was significantly (p≤0.008) negatively correlated with mid-story (10–46 ft (3.0–14.0 m)) pine (Pinus spp.) and deciduous volume.
Many studies have demonstrated a positive correlation between eastern towhee abundance and understory density. In a loblolly pine forest in South Carolina, understory (0–10 ft; 0.0–3.0 m) pine volume was significantly (p<0.001) positively correlated with the average number of eastern towhee territories per experimental unit. Yahner  found the average density of eastern towhees over 6 habitat types was significantly (p<0.05) positively correlated with density of short (2–5-foot (0.5–1.5 m)) shrubs. In east-central Florida slash pine (P. elliottii) flatwoods with understories dominated by myrtle oak (Q. myrtifolia) and sand live oak (Q. geminata) and in scrub sites with scattered slash pine and cabbage palmetto (Sabal palmetto), eastern towhee densities were significantly (p=0.01) negatively correlated with mean shrub height.
Eastern towhees may associate with and avoid certain plants. In Nevada, Towhees seem to prefer a habitat in which they are camouflaged such as flowering quince which matches their rufous coloration. In riparian vegetation in Iowa, eastern towhee density was significantly (p≤0.01) positively associated with total plant and vine species richness and negatively correlated with forb and deciduous tree species richness. In West Virginia, eastern towhees were associated with plant species that occurred on drier ridgetops, such as blackberry (p<0.02), black cherry (p<0.002), and black locust (p<0.04). These sites tended to have open canopies and low tree density. Eastern towhee density was negatively associated with plants of the moister parts of this study area, such as black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica, p<0.006), red maple (p<0.001), and witch hazel (p<0.03). In central New Jersey eastern towhees were significantly (p=0.03) more abundant in gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa) shrubland than either eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) or multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) shrublands.
Nesting habitat: Eastern towhees typically nest on or near the ground. Several literature reviews note the predominance of eastern towhee nests below 5 feet (1.5 m). In a study of cowbird parasitism on Sanibel Island, all 5 eastern towhee nests located were within 6 feet (1.8 m) of the ground. Nests as high as 18 feet (5.5 m) have been reported in literature reviews. Nests higher off the ground in mixed aspen stands of varying ages in Pennsylvania had significantly (p<0.001) lower nest success. Of 13 unsuccessful eastern towhee nests, 11 were greater than 1-foot (0.30 m) above the ground.
In West Virginia, there were no significant (p>0.05) differences in habitat surrounding successful and unsuccessful nests. Large snags (≥9 inches diameter at breast height (≥22.9 cm)) did not have an effect on nesting success. Nesting success was not significantly (p>0.05) affected by stand age or distance to edge in even-aged mixed-aspen stands in Pennsylvania.
Eastern towhees nest in a variety of species including grape and blueberry (Vaccinium spp.). The majority of nests observed in South Carolina loblolly and longleaf pine forests and clearcuts were located in grape, tree sparkleberry (V. arboreum), and oak (Quercus spp.). On an oak-hickory site in West Virginia, 27% of 41 eastern towhee nests were found in grape, 17% in blackberry (Rubus spp.), 12% in greenbrier (Smilax spp.), and 12% in mountain-laurel (Kalmia latifolia). Nests also occurred in Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), spice bush (Lindera benzoin), and azalea (Rhododendron spp.). In a power line right-of-way in Pennsylvania, the 6 eastern towhee nests observed occurred in Allegheny blackberry, witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), blueberry (Vaccinium spp.), white oak (Q. alba), eastern hayscented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula) and sweetfern (Comptonia peregrina) combined, and on ground level. According to literature reviews, eastern towhee nests located on the ground are embedded in litter in dry areas and typically occur at the base of grasses, forbs, low shrubs, or small trees.
Foraging habitat: Selection of foraging habitat by eastern towhees has been investigated in Massachusetts and New Jersey. When gleaning in a southeastern Massachusetts pitch pine barren, eastern towhees preferred species such as pitch pine, bear oak (Q. ilicifolia), and other deciduous trees, mainly oaks. Ericaceous species were avoided. Use differed significantly (p<0.001) from availability. On 2 New Jersey sites, eastern towhee foraging preference switched over the course of the breeding season. On a site dominated by oaks, primarily black oak (Q. velutina), eastern towhees used oaks in May, as would be expected due to their density. However, in June and July, as relative arthropod biomass declined in oaks, use of oaks was less than would be expected. On a pitch pine-dominated site, use of oaks (primarily bear oak and blackjack oak (Q. marilandica)) was greater than would be expected in May, but was proportionate to availability in June and July. These negative correlations between date and oak use were significant (p<0.025) for both sites. Use of the oak-dominated site also decreased significantly (p<0.05) through the summer.
Effects of spatial area: Eastern towhees appear to prefer edge habitats in many areas. For instance, the mean abundance of eastern towhees in a baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) in northern Florida was 18, while eastern towhees did not occur in either the baldcypress forest or the clearcut. At the interface of the baldcypress stand and a 13-year-old planted slash pine stand, mean abundance of eastern towhees was 22 breeding birds, while in the planted slash pine stand the average abundance was 15 breeding birds. Density of eastern towhees was found to decline with distance from the edge of a power line right-of-way and an oak-hickory forest in eastern Tennessee. At the edge, eastern towhees occurred at a density of just over 10 pairs/40 ha, while 197 feet (60 m) from the edge eastern towhee density had dropped to 1 pair/40 ha. In addition, in experimentally clearcut Pennsylvanian forests composed of white oak, northern red oak (Q. rubra), chestnut oak (Q. prinus), scarlet oak (Q. coccinea), red maple, quaking aspen, bigtooth aspen, and pitch pine, male towhees were detected significantly (p<0.05) more often than expected in the areas where the spatial arrangement of clearcuts was most patchy.
Several studies have addressed the effect of the size of habitat patches on eastern towhees. In mixed-oak forest in New Jersey, eastern towhee frequency generally increased with patch size, although eastern towhees were detected in all plot sizes (0.5–59 acres (0.20–23.88 ha)) except 0.02–acre (0.01 ha) plots. On a site in South Carolina, eastern towhee frequency of occurrence increased as clearcut size increased from <2.5 acres (1.0 hectare) to clearcut sizes from 21 to about 32 acres (8.5–12.8 ha). On another site eastern towhee frequency declined as clearcut size increased from 19 to 48 to 62 acres (7.7 to 19.4 to 25.1 ha). Eastern towhees only bred in riparian vegetation patches in Iowa that were at least 650 feet (200 m) wide. In southern and eastern Pennsylvania eastern towhee nest success was not significantly (p≥0.10) different on sites with gradual edges and those with more distinct edges between "wildlife habitat openings" and oak-hickory forest.