This species breeds colonially in marshes, usually nesting in bushes or low trees. Its breeding range extends from the western United States south through Mexico, as well as from southeastern Brazil and southeastern Bolivia south to central Argentina, and along the coast of central Chile. Its winter range extends from southern California and Louisiana south to include the rest of its breeding range.
The white-faced ibis chooses to nest in the parts of a marsh with dense vegetation  such as bulrush, cattails, shrubs and short trees. It will then build a nest from reeds. The white-faced ibis usually lays three or four blue-green eggs at a time.


The white-faced ibis is very similar to the glossy ibis in its non-breeding plumages, but it tends to be slightly smaller and the plumage color is somewhat warmer. Breeding adults have a pink bare face bordered with white feathers (rather than a bluish bare face with no bordering feathers), a grey bill, and brighter colored, redder legs. Adults have red eyes year-round, whereas glossy ibises have dark eyes. Juveniles of the two species are nearly identical.
Measurements:
Length: 18.1-22.1 in (46-56 cm)
Weight: 15.9-18.5 oz (450-525 g)
Wingspan: 35.4-36.6 in (90-93 cm)


This species breeds across the Palearctic realm. It is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa and Asia.


It is a bird of open country such as farmland, marshes, taiga and savannah. They are widespread in lowlands with scattered small woods. It is an elegant bird of prey, appearing sickle-like in flight with its long pointed wings and square tail, often resembling a swift when gliding with folded wings. It is fast and powerful in flight and will take large insects, such as dragonflies, which it transfers from talons to beak and eats while soaring slowly in circles. It also captures small bats and small birds in flight. Its speed and aerobatic skills enable it to take swallows and even swifts on the wing, and barn swallows or house martins have a characteristic "hobby" alarm call. It is known to harass swallows while they are roosting and dispersing from roosts. When not breeding, it is crepuscular, hawking principally in the mornings and evenings. While on migration, they may move in small groups.
Hobbies nest in old nests of crows and other birds. The tree selected is most often one in a hedge or on the extreme edge of a spinney, from where the bird can observe intruders from a considerable distance. It lays 2–4 eggs. Incubation is said to take 28 days and both parents share in this duty, though the female does the greater part.
It is a very bold and courageous bird and was used in falconry, trained to hawk birds like quails, larks, hoopoes, drongos, etc.


Adults are slate-grey above with a dark crown and two short black moustachial stripes. The throat is unstreaked white, thighs and undertail coverts are unstreaked rufous and rest of the underparts are whitish with black streaks. Close views enable the red "trousers" and vent to be seen. Sexes are similar. Juveniles are generally much browner, with scaled upper parts and streaked buffy thighs and undertail coverts.
The hobby has a distinct first-summer plumage.
This falcon is 29–36 cm (11–14 in) in length with a wingspan of 74–84 cm (29–33 in) and a weight of 175–285 g (6.2–10.1 oz).


The native range of the species extends from Southern Thailand, Tenasserim, Peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore to the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java. It may also be native to Borneo, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, and the Philippine islands.
The zebra dove is popular in captivity and many populations have appeared outside its native range due to birds escaping or being deliberately released. It can now be found in central Thailand, Laos, Borneo, Sulawesi, Hawaii (introduced in 1922), Tahiti (1950), New Caledonia, the Seychelles, the Chagos Archipelago (1960), Mauritius (before 1768), Réunion, and Saint Helena.
It inhabits scrub, farmland, and open country in lowland areas and is commonly seen in parks and gardens. Trapping for the cagebird industry has led to them becoming rare in parts of Indonesia but in most parts of its range it is common. Zebra doves are among the most abundant birds in some places such as Hawaii and the Seychelles.


The zebra dove feeds on small grass and weed seeds. They will also eat insects and other small invertebrates. They prefer to forage on bare ground, short grass or on roads, scurrying about with rodent-like movement. Unlike other doves, they forage alone, or in pairs. Their colouration camouflages them wonderfully when on the ground.


In its native range the breeding season is from September to June. The males perform a courtship display where they bow and coo while raising and spreading the tail. Upon selection of a nesting site, the female will place herself there and will make guttural sounds to attract males to help build the nest. The nest is a simple platform of leaves and grass blades. It is built in a bush or tree or sometimes on the ground and sometimes on window ledges. One or two white eggs are laid and are incubated by both parents for 13 to 18 days. The young leave the nest within two weeks and can fly well after three weeks.


The birds are small and slender with a long, narrow tail. The upperparts are brownish-grey with black-and-white barring. The underparts are pinkish with black bars on the sides of the neck, breast and belly. The face is blue-grey with bare blue skin around the eyes. There are white tips to the tail feathers. Juveniles are duller and paler than the adults. They can also have brown feathers. Zebra doves are 20–23 centimetres in length with a wingspan of 24–26 cm.
Their call is a series of soft, staccato cooing notes. In Thailand and Indonesia, the birds are popular as pets because of their calls and cooing competitions are held to find the bird with the best voice. In Indonesia this bird is called perkutut. In the Philippines they are known as batobatong katigbe ("pebbled katigbe") and kurokutok; in Malaysia this bird is called merbuk, onomatopoeic to their calls. They are also known as tukmo in Filipino, a name also given to the spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis) and other wild doves.


Black-tailed prairie dogs are native to grassland habitats in North America. They inhabit shortgrass prairie, mixed-grass prairie, sagebrush steppe, and desert grassland.
Habitat preferences for the black-tailed prairie dog are influenced by vegetative cover type, slope, soil type, and amount of rainfall. Their foraging and burrowing activities influence environmental heterogeneity, hydrology, nutrient cycling, biodiversity, landscape architecture, and plant succession in grassland habitats.


Black-tailed prairie dogs are selective opportunists, preferring certain phenological stages or types of vegetation according to their needs. When forage is stressed by grazing, drought, or herbicides, they change their diets quickly. Grasses are preferred over forbs, and may comprise more than 75% of their diets, especially during summer. Western wheatgrass, buffalo grass, blue grama  and sedges (Carex spp.) are preferred during spring and summer. Scarlet globemallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea)  and Russian thistle (Salsola kali)  are preferred during late summer and fall, but are sought out during every season. During winter, plains prickly pear (Opuntia polyacantha), Russian thistle, and underground roots are preferred. Shrubs such as rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus spp.), winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata), saltbush (Atriplex spp.), and sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) are also commonly eaten. Water, which is generally not available on the short-grass prairie, is obtained from vegetation such as plains prickly pear. Koford  estimated one black-tailed prairie dog eats about 7 lb (3 kg) of herbage per month during summer. Cutworms, grasshoppers, and old or fresh American bison scat are occasionally eaten. For a detailed list of foods eaten by black-tailed prairie dogs by month, and ratings of those foods' forage value to cattle and sheep, see. For a complete list of vegetation preferred by the black-tailed prairie dog, see.


The most common predators of black-tailed prairie dogs are coyotes (Canis latrans), American badgers (Taxidea taxus), bobcats (Lynx rufus), golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), ferruginous hawks (Buteo regalis), red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), and prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis). Although now very rare, black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) were once a major predator of the black-tailed prairie dog.


The black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the United States-Canada border to the United States-Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs, these animals do not truly hibernate. The black-tailed prairie dog can be seen above ground in midwinter. A black-tailed prairie dog town in Texas was reported to cover 25,000 sq mi (64,000 km²) and included 400,000,000 individuals. Prior to habitat destruction, the species may have been the most abundant prairie dog in central North America. It was one of two prairie dogs described by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the journals and diaries of their expedition.


Black-tailed prairie dog gestation is 34 days. Parturition occurs underground. Information about litter size at time of birth is unavailable, but the mean litter size observed above ground ranges from 3.0 to 4.9 young/litter. Only one litter is produced each year.


Burrows created by black-tailed prairie dogs serve as refuges from the external environment and are one of the most important features of their colonies. Burrows are used for breeding, rearing young, and hiding from predators, and are maintained from generation to generation, and serve as stabilizers on the physical and social aspects of the colony. Black-tailed prairie dog nests are located underground in burrows and are composed of fine, dried grass. Nest material is collected throughout the year by both sexes and all age classes. Tunnel depths in central Oklahoma were typically 50–60 in deep. Most colonies contain 20 to 57 burrows/acre.
The three types of burrow entrances are: dome mounds, rimmed crater mounds, and entrances without structures around them. Entrance features may prevent flooding and/or aid in ventilation. Dome mounds consist of loosely packed subterranean soil spread widely around the entrance of the burrow, and tend to be vegetated by prostrate forbs. Rimmed crater mounds are cone-shaped and constructed of humus, litter, uprooted vegetation, and mineral soil. Black-tailed prairie dogs compact the soil of these mounds with their noses, creating poor sites for seedling establishment. Rimmed crater mounds may be used as wallowing sites for American bison. Burrow entrances without structures around them are usually located on slopes more than 10°. The density of burrow openings depends on both substrate and duration of occupation of an area.
Vegetation heights between 3 and 5 in (7–13 cm) and a slope of 2° to 5° are optimal for detecting predators and facilitating communication among black-tailed prairie dogs. Grazing cattle keep vegetation short in the vicinity of colonies, reducing susceptibility to predators and potentially expanding colony size. Black-tailed prairie dogs were rarely seen feeding more than 16 ft (5 m) from colony edges in Wind Cave National Park.


In captivity, black-tailed prairie dog pups open their eyes at 30 days old. Pups are altricial and remain below ground for up to seven weeks to nurse. Maturity is complete at 15 months old. Lifespan of the black-tailed prairie dog in the wild is unknown, but males more than 3 years old experience high mortality. Females may live longer than males. According to Hoogland and others, lifespan is about 5 years for males and 7 years for females.


The great tit (Parus major) is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and east across the Palearctic to the Amur River, south to parts of North Africa where it is generally resident in any sort of woodland; most great tits do not migrate except in extremely harsh winters. Until 2005 this species was lumped with numerous other subspecies. DNA studies have shown these other subspecies to be distinct from the great tit and these have now been separated as two distinct species, the cinereous tit of southern Asia, and the Japanese tit of East Asia. The great tit remains the most widespread species in the genus Parus.
The great tit is a distinctive bird with a black head and neck, prominent white cheeks, olive upperparts and yellow underparts, with some variation amongst the numerous subspecies. It is predominantly insectivorous in the summer, but will consume a wider range of food items in the winter months, including small hibernating bats. Like all tits it is a cavity nester, usually nesting in a hole in a tree. The female lays around 12 eggs and incubates them alone, although both parents raise the chicks. In most years the pair will raise two broods. The nests may be raided by woodpeckers, squirrels and weasels and infested with fleas, and adults may be hunted by sparrowhawks. The great tit has adapted well to human changes in the environment and is a common and familiar bird in urban parks and gardens. The great tit is also an important study species in ornithology.


The great tit has a wide distribution across much of Eurasia. It can be found across all of Europe except for Iceland and northern Scandinavia, including numerous Mediterranean islands. In North Africa it lives in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. It also occurs across the Middle East, and parts of Central Asia from northern Iran and Afghanistan to Mongolia, as well as across northern Asia from the Urals as far east as northern China and the Amur Valley.
The great tit occupies a range of habitats. It is most commonly found in open deciduous woodland, mixed forests, forest edges and gardens. In dense forests, including conifer forests it prefers forest clearings. In northern Siberia it lives in boreal taiga. In North Africa it rather resides in oak forests as well as stands of Atlas cedar and even palm groves. In the east of its range in Siberia, Mongolia and China it favours riverine willow and birch forest. Riverine woodlands of willows, poplars are among the habitats of the Turkestan subspecies, as well as low scrubland, oases; at higher altitudes it occupies habitats ranging from dense deciduous and coniferous forests to open areas with scattered trees.
The great tit is generally not migratory. Pairs will usually remain near or in their territory year round, even in the northern parts of their range. Young birds will disperse from their parents' territory, but usually not far. Populations may become irruptive in poor or harsh winters, meaning that groups of up to a thousand birds may unpredictably move from northern Europe to the Baltic and also to Netherlands, Britain, even as far as the southern Balkans.
The great tit was unsuccessfully introduced into the United States; birds were set free near Cincinnati, Ohio between 1872 and 1874 but failed to become established. Suggestions that they were an excellent control measure for codling moths nearly led to their introduction to some new areas particularly in the United States of America, however this plan was not implemented. A small population is present in the upper Midwest, believed to be the descendants of birds liberated in Chicago in 2002 along with European goldfinches, Eurasian jays, common chaffinches, European greenfinches, saffron finches, blue tits and Eurasian linnets, although sightings of some of these species pre-date the supposed introduction date. Birds were introduced to the Almaty Province in what is now Kazakhstan in 1960–61 and became established, although their present status is unclear.


Great tits are primarily insectivorous in the summer, feeding on insects and spiders which they capture by foliage gleaning. Their larger invertebrate prey include cockroaches, grasshoppers and crickets, lacewings, earwigs, bugs (Hemiptera), ants, flies (Diptera), caddis flies, beetles, scorpion flies, harvestmen, bees and wasps, snails and woodlice. During the breeding season, the tits prefer to feed protein-rich caterpillars to their young. A study published in 2007 found that great tits helped to reduce caterpillar damage in apple orchards by as much as 50%. Nestlings also undergo a period in their early development where they are fed a number of spiders, possibly for nutritional reasons. In autumn and winter, when insect prey becomes scarcer, great tits add berries and seeds to their diet. Seeds and fruit usually come from deciduous trees and shrubs, like for instance the seeds of beech and hazel. Where it is available they will readily take table scraps, peanuts and sunflower seeds from bird tables. In particularly severe winters they may consume 44% of their body weight in sunflower seeds. They often forage on the ground, particularly in years with high beech mast production. Great tits, along with other tits, will join winter mixed-species foraging flocks.
Large food items, such as large seeds or prey, are dealt with by "hold-hammering", where the item is held with one or both feet and then struck with the bill until it is ready to eat. Using this method, a great tit can get into a hazelnut in about twenty minutes. When feeding young, adults will hammer off the heads of large insects to make them easier to consume, and remove the gut from caterpillars so that the tannins in the gut will not retard the chick's growth.
Great tits combine dietary versatility with a considerable amount of intelligence and the ability to solve problems with insight learning, that is to solve a problem through insight rather than trial and error. In England, great tits learned to break the foil caps of milk bottles delivered at the doorstep of homes to obtain the cream at the top. This behaviour, first noted in 1921, spread rapidly in the next two decades. In 2009, great tits were reported killing, and eating the brains of roosting pipistrelle bats. This is the first time a songbird has been recorded preying on bats. The tits only do this during winter when the bats are hibernating and other food is scarce. They have also been recorded using tools, using a conifer needle in the bill to extract larvae from a hole in a tree.


The Eurasian sparrowhawk is a predator of great tits, with the young from second broods being at higher risk partly because of the hawk's greater need for food for its own developing young. The nests of great tits are raided by great spotted woodpeckers, particularly when nesting in certain types of nest boxes. Other nest predators include introduced grey squirrels (in Britain) and least weasels, which are able to take nesting adults as well. A species of biting louse (Mallophaga) described as Rostrinirmus hudeci was isolated and described in 1981 from great tits in central Europe. The hen flea Ceratophyllus gallinae is exceedingly common in the nests of blue and great tits. It was originally a specialist tit flea, but the dry, crowded conditions of chicken runs enabled it to flourish with its new host. This flea is preferentially predated by the clown beetle Gnathoncus punctulatus, The rove beetle Microglotta pulla also feeds on fleas and their larvae. Although these beetles often remain in deserted nests, they can only breed in the elevated temperatures produced by brooding birds, tits being the preferred hosts. Great tits compete with the pied flycatcher for nesting boxes, and can kill prospecting flycatcher males. Incidences of fatal competition are more frequent when nesting times overlap, and climate change has led to greater synchrony of nesting between the two species and flycatcher deaths. Having killed the flycatchers, the great tits may consume their brains.


Great tits are monogamous breeders and establish breeding territories. These territories are established in late January and defence begins in late winter or early spring. Territories are usually reoccupied in successive years, even if one of the pair dies, so long as the brood is raised successfully. Females are likely to disperse to new territories if their nest is predated the previous year. If the pair divorces for some reason then the birds will disperse, with females travelling further than males to establish new territories. Although the great tit is socially monogamous, extra-pair copulations are frequent. One study in Germany found that 40% of nests contained some offspring fathered by parents other than the breeding male and that 8.5% of all chicks were the result of cuckoldry. Adult males tend to have a higher reproductive success compared to sub-adults.
Great tits are seasonal breeders. The exact timing of breeding varies by a number of factors, most importantly location. Most breeding occurs between January and September; in Europe the breeding season usually begins after March. In Israel there are exceptional records of breeding during the months of October to December. The amount of sunlight and daytime temperatures will also affect breeding timing. One study found a strong correlation between the timing of laying and the peak abundance of caterpillar prey, which is in turn correlated to temperature. On an individual level, younger females tend to start laying later than older females.
Great tits are cavity nesters, breeding in a hole that is usually inside a tree, although occasionally in a wall or rock face, and they will readily take to nest boxes. The nest inside the cavity is built by the female, and is made of plant fibres, grasses, moss, hair, wool and feathers. The number in the clutch is often very large, as many as 18, but five to twelve is more common. Clutch size is smaller when birds start laying later, and is also lower when the density of competitors is higher. Second broods tend to have smaller clutches. Insularity also affects clutch size, with great tits on offshore islands laying smaller clutches with larger eggs than mainland birds. The eggs are white with red spots. The female undertakes all incubation duties, and is fed by the male during incubation. The bird is a close sitter, hissing when disturbed. The timing of hatching, which is best synchronised with peak availability of prey, can be manipulated when environmental conditions change after the laying of the first egg by delaying the beginning of incubation, laying more eggs or pausing during incubation. The incubation period is between 12 and 15 days.
The chicks, like those of all tits, hatch unfeathered and blind. Once feathers begin to erupt, the nestlings are unusual for altricial birds in having plumage coloured with carotenoids similar to their parents (in most species it is dun-coloured to avoid predation). The nape is yellow and attracts the attention of the parents by its ultraviolet reflectance. This may be to make them easier to find in low light, or be a signal of fitness to win the parents' attention. This patch turns white after the first moult at age two months, and diminishes in size as the bird grows.
Chicks are fed by both parents, usually receiving 6 to 7 g (0.21–0.25 oz) of food a day. Both parents provision the chicks with food and aid in nest sanitation by removing faecal packets, with no difference in the feeding effort between the sexes. The nestling period is between 16 and 22 days, with chicks being independent of the parents eight days after fledging. Feeding of the fledgeling may continue after independence, lasting up to 25 days in chicks from the first brood, but as long as 50 days in the second brood. Nestlings from second broods have weaker immune systems and body condition than those from first broods, and hence have a lower juvenile survival rate.
Inbreeding depression occurs when the offspring produced as a result of a mating between close relatives show reduced fitness.  The reduced fitness is generally considered to be a consequence of the increased expression of deleterious recessive alleles in these offspring.  In natural populations of P. major, inbreeding is avoided by dispersal of individuals from their birthplace, which reduces the chance of mating with a close relative.


The plush-crested jay (Cyanocorax chrysops) is a jay of the family Corvidae (which includes the crows and their many allies). It is found in central-southern South America: in southwestern Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina, including southern regions of the Amazon Basin river systems bordering the Pantanal.


The range of the plush-crested jay extends from the Southern Region, Brazil with Uruguay and approaches the South Atlantic coast, but avoids the coast, approximating a 400 to 150 km coastal strip; the coastal-inland range extends 3500 km from São Paulo south to Rio Grande do Sul bordering Uruguay. The inland range continues in northwestern Uruguay and extends northwest through northern Argentina, Paraguay–Bolivia, and through the Pantanal at the southern Cerrado; the range extends in two arms, to the northwest to northern Bolivia, and northeastwards to headwaters of the Amazon Basin Tapajós River.
In the Amazon Basin, central Bolivia is the northwest range limit, the headwater tributaries to the north-northeast flowing Madeira River; the next range skips the Guaporé River, (a northwest-flowing tributary to the Madeira), eastwards on the Brazil–Bolivia border, and is next found at the headwaters of the Tapajós River, and joins on the east the extreme headwaters of the Xingu River.
A disjunct range occurs downstream on the Tapajós and east towards the Xingu River, a block 850 by 750 kilometres (530 mi × 470 mi). Two other localized populations occur in the Amazon Basin, one on the Amazon River, the other on the downstream Madeira River.


The brown thrasher (Toxostoma rufum), sometimes erroneously called the brown thrush or fox-coloured thrush, is a bird in the family Mimidae, which also includes the New World catbirds and mockingbirds. The brown thrasher is abundant throughout the eastern and central United States and southern and central Canada, and it is the only thrasher to live primarily east of the Rockies and central Texas. It is the state bird of Georgia.
As a member of the genus Toxostoma, the bird is relatively large-sized among the other thrashers. It has brown upper parts with a white under part with dark streaks. Because of this, it is often confused with the smaller wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), among other species. The brown thrasher is noted for having over 1000 song types, and the largest song repertoire of birds. However, each note is usually repeated in two or three phrases.
The brown thrasher is an omnivore, with its diet ranging from insects to fruits and nuts. The usual nesting areas are shrubs, small trees, or at times on ground level. Brown thrashers are generally inconspicuous but territorial birds, especially when defending their nests, and will attack species as large as humans.


The brown thrasher resides in various habitats. It prefers to live in woodland edges, thickets and dense brush, often searching for food in dry leaves on the ground. It can also inhabit areas that are agricultural and near suburban areas, but is less likely to live near housing than other bird species. The brown thrasher often vies for habitat and potential nesting grounds with other birds, which is usually initiated by the males.
The brown thrasher is a strong, but partial migrant, as the bird is a year-round resident in the southern portion of its range. The breeding range includes the United States and Canada east of the Rocky Mountains, but has been occasionally spotted West of the Rockies. The increase in trees throughout the Great Plains during the past century due to fire suppression and tree planting facilitated a westward range expansion of the brown thrasher as well as range expansions of many other species of birds. Studies indicate that thrashers that reside in the New England region of the United States during the breeding season fly toward the Carolinas and Georgia, birds located in the east of the Mississippi winter from Arkansas to Georgia, and birds located in the Dakotas and the central Canadian provinces head towards eastern Texas and Louisiana. When the species does migrate, it is typically for short distances and during the night. There are also records of the bird wintering in Mexico, as well as a British record of a transatlantic vagrant.


Although this bird is widespread and still common, it has declined in numbers in some areas due to loss of suitable habitat. Despite the decrease, the rate does not warrant a status towards vulnerable. One of the natural nuisances is the parasitic brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), but these incidents are rare. Whenever these situations occur, the brown thrashers usually discard of the cowbirds' eggs. Occasionally, the thrasher has thrown out their own eggs instead of the cowbird eggs due to similar egg size, and at least one recorded event raised a fledgling. Northern cardinals and grey catbirds are also major competitors for thrashers in terms of territorial gain. Because of the apparent lack of opportunistic behavior around species like these, thrashers are prone to be driven out of zones for territory competition. Brown thrashers have tendencies to double-brood or have failures on their first nesting attempts due to predation. Grey catbirds have been seen invading brown thrashers' nests and breaking their eggs. Other than the catbird, snakes, birds of prey, and cats are among the top predators of the thrasher. In Kansas, at least eight species of snake were identified as potentially serious sources of nest failure. Among the identified avian predators of adults are Cooper's hawks (Accipiter cooperii), northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), broad-winged hawks (Buteo platypterus), merlins (Falco columbarius), peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus), eastern screech-owls (Megascops asio), great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) barred owls (Strix varia) and long-eared owls (Asio otus).
The brown thrasher methods of defending itself include using its bill, which can inflict significant damage to species smaller than it, along with wing-flapping and vocal expressions.


Brown thrashers are typically monogamous birds, but mate-switching does occur, at times during the same season. Their breeding season varies by region. In the southeastern United States, the breeding months begin in February and March, while May and June see the commencement of breeding in the northern portion of their breeding range. When males enter the breeding grounds, their territory can range from 2 to 10 acres (0.81 to 4.05 ha). Around this time of the year the males are usually at their most active, singing loudly to attract potential mates, and are found on top of perches. The courting ritual involves the exchanging of probable nesting material. Males will sing gentler as they sight a female, and this enacts the female to grab a twig or leaf and present it to the male, with flapping wings and chirping sounds. The males might also present a gift in response and approach the female. Both sexes will take part in nest building once mates find each other, and will mate after the nest is completed.
The female lays 3 to 5 eggs, that usually appears with a blueish or greenish tint along with reddish-brown spots. There are rare occurrences of no spots on the eggs. The nest is built twiggy, lined with grass, leaves, and other forms of dead vegetation. The nests are typically built in a dense shrub or low in a tree, usually up to 2.1 m (6.9 ft) high, but have built nests as high as 6 m (20 ft). They also on occasion build nests on the ground. Between eleven days to two weeks, the eggs hatch. Both parents incubate and feed the young, with the female doing most of the incubating. Nine to thirteen days after hatching, the nestlings begin to fledge. These birds raise two, sometimes even three, broods in a year. The male sings a series of short repeated melodious phrases from an open perch to declare his territory, and is also very aggressive in defending the nest, known to strike people and animals.


The brown thrasher is bright reddish-brown above with thin, dark streaks on its buffy underparts. It has a whitish-colored chest with distinguished teardrop-shaped markings on its chest. Its long, rufous tail is rounded with paler corners, and eyes are a brilliant yellow. Its bill is brownish, long, and curves downward. Both male and females are similar in appearance. The juvenile appearance of the brown thrasher from the adult is not remarkably different, except for plumage texture, indiscreet upper part markings, and the irises having an olive color.
The brown thrasher is a fairly large passerine, although it is generally moderate in size for a thrasher, being distinctly larger than the sage thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus) but similar or somewhat smaller in size than the more brownish Toxostoma species found further west. Adults measure around 23.5 to 30.5 cm (9.3 to 12.0 in) long with a wingspan of 29 to 33 cm (11 to 13 in), and weigh 61 to 89 g (2.2 to 3.1 oz), with an average of 68 g (2.4 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 9.5 to 11.5 cm (3.7 to 4.5 in), the tail is 10.9 to 14.1 cm (4.3 to 5.6 in), the culmen is 2.2 to 2.9 cm (0.87 to 1.14 in) and the tarsus is 3.2 to 3.6 cm (1.3 to 1.4 in). There are two subspecies: the 'brown thrasher' (T. rufum rufum), which lies in the eastern half of Canada and the United States, and the 'western brown thrasher' (T. rufum longicauda (Baird, 1858)), which resides in the central United States east of the Rocky Mountains and southern central Canada. The western brown thrasher is distinguished by a more cinnamon upper part, whiter wing bars, and darker breast spots than T.rufum rufum.
The lifespan of the brown thrasher depends on a year-to-year basis, as the rate of survival the first year is 35%, 50% in between the second and third year, and 75% between the third and fourth year. Disease and exposure to cold weather are among contributing factors for the limits of the lifespan. However, the longest lived thrasher in the wild is 12 years, and relatively the same for ones in captivity.


The white-nosed coati is distributed from southeastern Arizona and New Mexico through Mexico and Central America; in Colombia, it is limited to the far northwestern region near the border with Panama.
It inhabits wooded areas in tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests and in tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests at elevations from sea level to 3,000 m (9,800 ft).
Coatis from Cozumel Island have been treated as a separate species, the Cozumel Island coati, but the vast majority of recent authorities treat it as a subspecies, N. narica nelsoni, of the white-nosed coati. They are smaller than white-nosed coatis from the adjacent mainland (N. n. yucatanica), but when compared more widely to white-nosed coatis the difference in size is not as clear. The level of other differences also support its status as a subspecies rather than separate species.
White-nosed coatis have also been found in Florida, where they were introduced. It is unknown precisely when introduction occurred; an early specimen in the Florida Museum of Natural History, labeled an "escaped captive", dates to 1928. There are several later documented cases of coatis escaping captivity, and since the 1970s there have been a number of sightings, and several live and dead specimens of various ages have been found. These reports have occurred over a wide area of southern Florida, and there is probable evidence of breeding, indicating that the population is well established.


The white-nosed coati is an omnivore and forages mostly on the ground for small vertebrates, fruits, carrion, insects, snakes, and eggs. It can climb trees easily and uses its tail for balancing.


The dusky woodswallow (Artamus cyanopterus) is a bird species of  forests and woodlands in temperate and subtropical regions, extending into tropical areas around the Atherton Tableland, in eastern and southern Australia.
The global population of the species has as yet not been formally confirmed, but it has been officially rated in the range of 'Least Concern', according to the BirdLife International in 2004. As such, the bird could be described as common in its local habitat.
The name "woodswallow" is a misnomer as they are not closely related to true swallows. Instead, they belong to the family Artamidae, which also includes butcherbirds, currawongs and the Australian magpie.


The diet of the bird can be varied. They eat various forms of foliage and other grassy material that they find on the ground on in trees and shrubs. Dusky woodswallows have been seen eating termites, butterflies and other insects. They also eat nectar from flowers. One notable aspect of their feeding habits is the way they hunt flying insects, which is done by picking them up on their wing. They do, however, also eat their prey from the ground, and they often find inconspicuous places to perch while waiting for prey, such as utility lines and the like. They have also been observed engaging in kleptoparasitism, working as a group to rob a restless flycatcher of its prey.


The birds live primarily in open eucalyptus forests and woodlands. They range mostly from Atherton Tableland, Queensland, down to Tasmania and west to Eyre Peninsula, in South Australia. They roost communally, usually nocturnally. During the breeding season, they nest in large flocks to make sure to keep predators away from young. These flocks can be 20–30 dusky woodswallows in size.
Dusky woodswallows adhere to seasonal migration and movements. The birds are a nomadic species, and tend to move quite spontaneously. However, one certain change of habitat occurs for the south-eastern birds, who migrate northward for Autumn.
Communally roosting birds, the dusky woodswallow has a variety of chattering calls which are used in certain situations. The most distinctive of these calls is perhaps the one which is used when a predator or intruder approaches, which consists of a harsh mobbing call to warn others.


The black-and-white warbler (Mniotilta varia) is a species of New World warbler, and the only member of its genus, Mniotilta.
It breeds in northern and eastern North America and winters in Florida, Central America, and the West Indies down to Peru. This species is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.
Relative to other New World warblers, it is not well studied.


This bird feeds on insects and spiders, and, unlike other warblers, forages like a nuthatch, moving up and down tree trunks and along branches.
The black-and-white warbler feeds in a manner similar to a nuthatch or a creeper. It forages on tree trunks and limbs to feed on insects below the bark's surface.  Its short legs and long hind toe are adaptations to this foraging method. The black-and-white warbler is unique among warblers in its time spent foraging on tree trunks and inner branches. This bird also gleans, like many warblers, for insects. Its diet is composed of insects and other arthropods, including lepidopteran larvae, beetles, ants, and spiders. During migration and breeding, this warbler relies heavily on lepidopteran larvae.
During migration, the black-and-white warbler sometimes joins mixed flocks to feed.


The black-and-white warbler is a migratory species, breeding in North America and wintering in North and South America. It is typically found in deciduous forest in its breeding range, but becomes more of a habitat generalist in the non-breeding season.


It breeds in broadleaved or mixed forest, preferably in wetter areas. Black-and-white warblers nest on the ground, laying 4–5 eggs in a cup nest.
The black-and-white warbler is of the first warblers to arrive to its spring breeding grounds. In the southernmost range of its breeding habitat, it can begin breeding mid-April. Males are territorial and defend their territory, both by singing and chasing competitors away. When a female arrives in a male's territory, he pursues her in an effort to breed. The male may display by flapping his wings.
The nest is cup-shaped, often located on the ground among roots or against a tree, or in crevices on tree stumps. The species prefers to nest in damp areas. The nest is constructed with grassy material, bark, and dry leaves, and lined with softer material such as moss and hair. The female is responsible for most of the nest-building. The female lays 4-5 eggs, which are light brown and speckled with darker brown. The female begins incubating once the last or second-to-last egg is laid. Incubation lasts 10 to 12 days, and is done solely by the female. During incubation, the female is sometimes fed by the male.
Both parents care for the nestlings. The young fledge after 8 to 12 days, and stay around the nest while they improve their flight ability. During this time, the parents remain nearby.
This species generally produces one brood per year.

Black-and-white warbler nests are sometimes parasitized by the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater).


The black-and-white warbler is 11 cm (4.3 in) to 13 cm (5.1 in) in length with a mass of 8 g (0.28 oz) to 15 g (0.53 oz) grams. Wingspan ranges from 7.1-8.7 in (18-22 cm).
True to their name, black-and-white warblers are black and white in colour. Both sexes have black and white crowns with a white eyebrow, black streaking on a white belly, black wings with two white wing bars, a black tail, a black-and-white streaked back, streaky undertail coverts, and grey-black legs and feet. Breeding males have a black-and-white streaked throat and black cheek, while females have a grey cheek and a white-cream coloured throat and sides. First fall males are very similar to adult females in colour and patterning, while first fall females resemble to adult females but with less streaking and a more noticeable buffy wash. Juveniles are heavily spotted, and are similar to first fall individuals otherwise.
This species is 12 cm (5 in) long and weighs 11 g (0.39 oz). The summer male black-and-white warbler is boldly streaked in black and white, and the bird has been described as a flying humbug. Each wing is black with two white wing bars. Female and juvenile plumages are similar, but duller and less streaky than males.
This warbler can be confused with the blackpoll warbler (Setophaga striata). The blackpoll warbler is also black and white in its summer plumage, but has a solid black cap. The black-and-white warbler can also be confused behaviourally with the pine warbler (Setophaga pinus) and yellow-throated warbler (Setophaga dominica).


The great grey owl (Strix nebulosa) (also great gray owl in American English) is a very large owl, documented as the world's largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, and it is the only species in the genus Strix found in both Eastern and Western Hemispheres. In some areas it is also called Phantom of the North, cinereous owl, spectral owl, Lapland owl, spruce owl, bearded owl, and sooty owl.


They breed in North America from as far east as Quebec to the Pacific coast and Alaska, and from Finland and Estonia across northern Asia. They are permanent residents, although northerly populations may move south and southeast when food is scarce. In Europe they are found breeding in Norway and Sweden and more numerously through Finland and Russia. Even though the species occurs in Europe, the first great grey owl recognized by science was found in Canada in the late 18th century.
There are sedentary populations in the Pacific states of California, Oregon, and Washington. The great grey owl in this region is found in disjunct areas of appropriate habitat. In winter these birds do not move far but may go downslope to escape deep snow as they must capture their prey on the ground.
In Oregon, the great grey owl breeding range is scattered from the Siskiyou Mountains in the southwest to the Blue Mountains in the northeast. Two bird festivals each May feature field trips to try to see the species: the Ladd Marsh Festival in La Grande, OR and the Mountain Bird Festival in Ashland, OR.
A 2015 study in California estimated there were fewer than 300 birds in the state at the time. The species is listed as Endangered under the California Endangered Species Act. The California range for the species includes a small extension of the Oregon population, north of Alturas. In addition breeding has been confirmed in the Tahoe National Forest east of Nevada City; in the Sierra Nevada foothills south of I-80 at around 2,000 feet (610 m) elevation; and for the population clustered around Yosemite. In Yosemite is where the first nest south of Canada was found in 1914. A study of the Yosemite owls shows that this population has been genetically isolated from populations in Oregon and farther north for over 25,000 years. Biologists working on that study suggest that the Yosemite population should be considered a separate sub-species (Strix nebulosa yosemitensis). Nearby populations at lower elevations were not tested.
In Washington state, great grey owls are found in the southeast where mountains extend up from Oregon and in the Colville National Forest. Only a handful of great grey owl nests have ever been found in Washington state.
Farther east in the western United States, great grey owls breed in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, as far south as the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.
In northeastern North America, the owls are found year-round in southern Quebec and Ontario, but individuals will sometimes move further south in winter into New York and New England, apparently in pursuit of more abundant prey. Great grey owls are rarely sighted as far south as Pennsylvania and Long Island, New York. In winter 2017, the birds were recorded in northern New York in Robert Moses State Park and central Maine.


These birds wait, listen, and watch for prey, then swoop down; they also may fly low through open areas in search of prey. They frequently hunt from a low listening post which can be a stump, low tree limb, fence post, or road sign. Their large facial disks, also known as "ruffs", focus sound, and the asymmetrical placement of their ears assists them in locating prey, because of the lack of light during the late and early hours in which they hunt. On the nesting grounds, they mainly hunt at night and near dawn and dusk; at other times, they are active mostly during the night.
They have excellent hearing, and may locate (and then capture) prey moving beneath 60 cm (2.0 ft) of snow in a series of tunnels solely with that sense. They then can crash to a snow depth roughly equal to their own body size to grab their prey. Only this species and, more infrequently, other fairly large owls from the genus Strix are known to "snow-plunge" for prey, a habit that is thought to require superb hearing not possessed by all types of owls.
Unlike the more versatile eagle and horned owls, great grey owls rely almost fully upon small rodents. What species they eat depends on which small mammals are most abundant and available. In northern Canada and other parts of Scandinavia, they eat lemmings primarily. In dry parts of California's Sierra Nevada they eat mostly pocket gophers. In some areas voles are the predominant prey. Locally, alternative prey animals (usually comprising less than 20% of prey intake) include hares, moles, shrews, weasels, thrushes, grouse, Canada jays, mountain quail, small hawks and ducks. This species is not known to scavenge or steal from other predators. In mated pairs, the male is the primary hunter who provides food for the entire family while the female guards and broods the eggs, nestlings, and flightless fledglings.


The harvest of timber from the great grey owl's habitat is, perhaps, the greatest threat to this species. Intensified timber management typically reduces live and dead large-diameter trees used for nesting, leaning trees used by juveniles for roosting before they can fly, and dense canopy closures in stands used by juveniles for cover and protection. If perches are not left in clearcuts, great grey owls cannot readily hunt in them. Although human-made structures (made specifically for use by this species) have been utilized by these owls, the species is far more common in areas protected from logging. Livestock grazing in meadows also adversely affects great grey owls, by reducing habitat for preferred prey species.
Other dangers to great grey owls include rodenticides, collisions with vehicles, and the West Nile Virus. The West Nile virus is likely to become more prevalent with climate change. In Ontario and northeastern Oregon there are confirmed great grey owl deaths from the virus. Testing of owls in the Yosemite area since 2005 has found evidence of the virus in that population.
Due to their large size, great grey owls have few natural predators. Great horned owls, various small carnivores, and black bears have been documented preying on young, but such predators rarely threaten adults, and owls have been known to fend off animals as large as black bears when defending their nests. The only known predator of adult great grey owls is the Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo), which occasionally preys on the former in parts of Europe.


In northern areas their breeding habitat is often the dense coniferous forests of the taiga, near open areas, such as meadows or bogs. In Oregon and California this owl has been found nesting in mixed oak woodlands. Once believed to require a cold climate, it is now known that this bird survives in a few areas where summer temperatures exceed 100 °F (38 °C).


Great grey owls do not build nests, so they typically use nests previously used by a large bird, such as a raptor. They will also nest in broken-topped trees and cavities in large trees. In southwestern and northeastern Oregon, the great grey owl has been using man-made platforms for nest sites since the 1980s. The erection of nest platforms for great grey owls was pioneered by Robert Nero in central Canada in the 1970s. Nesting may occur from March to May. Unlike, for example, osprey or white storks, the great grey owl does not predictably re-use nest sites over consecutive years. Four eggs are the usual clutch size. Eggs average 42.7 mm (1.68 in) wide and 53.5 mm (2.11 in) long. The incubation period is about 30 days, ranging from 28 to 36 days. Brooding lasts 2 to 3 weeks, after which the female starts roosting on a tree near nests. The young jump or fall from the nest at 3 to 4 weeks, and start to fly 1 to 2 weeks after this. Immediately after fledging, the white, fuzzy young must use beak and feet to climb back into trees. The female is on guard at this time and may be aggressive toward potential predators. Most offspring remain near their natal sites for many months after fledging. Normally the male hunts for his mate and the young throughout the nesting period. Once the young begin the fly, the female typically withdraws and the male continues to feed the young until they can hunt on their own in the autumn. The young owls go off on their own by winter.
The abundance of food in the area usually affects the number of eggs a female lays, a feature quite common in northern owl species. In years when small mammal populations are very low the great grey owl may not attempt nesting; thus their reproduction is connected to the sometimes extreme fluctuations of small mammal populations. Also, great grey owls may not nest in years of drought. If food is scarce, they may travel a fair distance to find more prey, with considerable movements by large numbers in some years of particularly scarce prey. Though they do not migrate, many are at least somewhat nomadic.
One alert landowner in northeast Oregon, Andy Huber, helped a female great grey owl raise her four nestlings after a great horned owl killed the male. Huber live-trapped small mammals and then released them at the nest site, and the female took these to the nestlings. As the owlets matured and began flying they came for the prey on their own. Huber and the mother owl raised all four owlets successfully.


Adults have a large rounded head with a grey face and yellow eyes with darker circles around them. The underparts are light with dark streaks; the upper parts are grey with pale bars. This owl does not have ear tufts and has the largest facial disc of any raptor. There is a white collar or "bow tie" just below the beak. The long tail tapers to a rounded end.
In terms of length, the great grey owl is believed to exceed the Eurasian eagle-owl and the Blakiston's fish owl as the world's largest owl. The great grey is outweighed by those two species as well as several others, including most of the genus Bubo. Much of its size is deceptive, since this species' fluffy feathers, large head and the longest tail of any extant owl obscure a body lighter than that of most other large owls. The length ranges from 61 to 84 cm (24 to 33 in), averaging 72 cm (28 in) for females and 67 cm (26 in) for males. The wingspan can exceed 152 cm (5 ft 0 in), but averages 142 cm (4 ft 8 in) for females and 140 cm (4 ft 7 in) for males. The adult weight ranges from 580 to 1,900 g (1.28 to 4.19 lb), averaging 1,290 g (2.84 lb) for females and 1,000 g (2.2 lb) for males. The males are usually smaller than females, as with most owl species.
The call of the adult is a series of very deep, rhythmic 'who's, which is usually given in correlation to their territories or in interactions with their offspring. At other times, adults are normally silent. The young may chatter, shriek, or hiss. Tame owls may produce higher-pitched hoots when given food by humans.


Adults have brown upperparts with a light brown belly and flanks and a white throat and breast. The back is black with white stripes. They have a dark cap with a white line over the eyes and a short thin bill.
The male's song is a loud gurgle used to declare ownership of territory; western males have a more varied repertoire.
This little bird is native to Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Their breeding habitat is marshes with tall vegetation such as cattails across North America. In the western United States, some birds are permanent residents. Other birds migrate to marshes and salt marshes in the southern United States and Mexico. their non-breeding range is in the southern United States going into Mexico and their breeding range is in the northeastern United States going into Canada.
Measurements:
Length: 3.9–5.5 in (9.9–14.0 cm)
Weight: 0.3–0.5 oz (8.5–14.2 g)
Wingspan: 5.9 inches (15 cm)


These birds forage actively in vegetation close to the water, occasionally flying up to catch insects in flight. They mainly eat insects, also spiders and snails. In California, 53 Western Marsh Wren stomachs were examined which showed that the birds consume bugs (29%), caterpillars and chrysalids (17%), beetles (16%), ants and wasps (8%), spiders (5%), carabids and coccinellids (2%), with various other flies, grasshoppers, dragonflies and unidentifiable insect remains making up over 11 percent. Ants and wasps were observed to be mostly eaten in the fall.


The nest is an oval structure attached to marsh vegetation, entered from the side. The male builds many unused nests in his territory. A hypothesis of the possible reason to why males build multiple "dummy" nests in their territory is that they are courting areas and that the females construct the "breeding nest" in which she lays her eggs. He may puncture the eggs and fatally peck the nestlings of other birds nesting nearby, including his own species (even his own offspring) and red-winged blackbirds, yellow-headed blackbirds, and least bitterns. The clutch is normally four to six eggs, though the number can range from three to 10. The eggs are usually 0.6-0.7 inches in length and 0.4-0.6 inches in width. Incubation is performed only by females, and only females develop a brood patch. Marsh wren young can get infected by pathogenic larvae. The Blowfly larvae infect the young by subdermal myiasis-induced lesions and subsequent sepsis. The larvae form a wound in the young by rasping and expanding a hole in their skin to create blood flow and feed on the blood of the hosts' body.


The Australasian snapper is found on all coasts of New Zealand, especially in the north.  In Australia, it is found along the south coast, mainly near Kiama, Berry, Gerringong, Gerroa, Huskisson, Vincentia, and Shoalhaven. It is also found on the coast of Tasmania, but in smaller numbers.  The fish spawn in inshore waters and live in rocky areas and reefs of up to 200 m (660 ft) deep. They school, and will migrate between reefs.  Larger fish are known to enter estuaries and harbours, for example Port Phillip Bay has a renowned seasonal snapper run.
Growth rates within the wild stocks vary with some (i.e. the Hauraki Gulf, NZ) growing rapidly and to a smaller maximum length, while stocks in east and west Australia are known to grow more slowly. The species is capable of living about 40 years throughout much of its range in Australia, and the Australian recordholder of 40 years and 10 months was a 93.5 cm (36.8 in) large-nosed male, caught on 1 September 2007 off Bunbury, West Australia, and photographed on the day of capture. Sexual maturity is reached at about 30 cm (12 in) long and a small percentage of the males will turn into females at puberty. Large individuals of both sexes develop a prominent hump on the head. Anglers are advised not to take immature fish, so as not to reduce breeding stock.  The legal size in Australia varies by state, from 35 cm (14 in) and a bag limit of five fish per person in Queensland to 50 cm (20 in) in Western Australia.  During spawning, these fish obtain a metallic green sheen which indicates a high concentration of acid buildup within the scales' infrastructure.  Minimum sizes are supposed to be designed to allow these fish to participate in spawning runs at least once before they become available to the fishery, but given the slow growth rates of this species, a need exists to consider area closures and/or further increase the minimum sizes in each state to reduce the chances of growth overfishing of the various populations of snapper throughout its range.  This may be important with recent developments in technology such as GPS.


The Australasian snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) or silver seabream is a species of porgie found in coastal waters of Australia, Philippines, Indonesia, mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and New Zealand. Its distribution areas in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are disjunct. Although it is almost universally known in Australia and New Zealand as snapper, it does not belong to the snapper family, Lutjanidae. It is highly prized as an edible fish, with a sweet sea taste and a firm texture.
The species name is Chrysophrys auratus, but previously referred to as Pagrus auratus.


The crested serpent eagle (Spilornis cheela) is a medium-sized bird of prey that is found in forested habitats across tropical Asia. Within its widespread range across the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and East Asia, there are considerable variations and some authorities prefer to treat several of its subspecies as completely separate species. In the past, several species including the Philippine serpent eagle (S. holospila), Andaman serpent eagle (S. elgini) and South Nicobar serpent eagle (S. klossi) were treated as subspecies of the Crested serpent eagle. All members within the species complex have a large looking head with long feathers on the back of the head giving them a maned and crested appearance. The face is bare and yellow joining up with the ceres while the powerful feet are unfeathered and heavily scaled. They fly over the forest canopy on broad wings and tail have wide white and black bars. They call often with a loud, piercing and familiar three or two-note call. They often feed on snakes, giving them their name and are placed along with the Circaetus snake-eagles in the subfamily Circaetinae.


The crested serpent eagle is a reptile eater which hunts over forests, often close to wet grassland, for snakes and lizards. It has also been observed to prey on birds, amphibians, mammals and fishes. It is found mainly over areas with thick vegetation both on the low hills and the plains. This species is a resident species, but in some parts of their range they are found only in summer.
The call is a distinctive Kluee-wip-wip with the first note being high and rising. They call a lot in the late mornings from their perches where they spend a lot of time and they rise on thermals in the mornings. In southern Taiwan, males have a larger home range than females. Males on average had a home range of 16.7 km² while females used about 7 km². When alarmed, they erect the crest and the head appears large and framed by the ruff. They will sometimes follow snakes on the ground. They roost in the interiors of trees with dense foliage. A radio-telemetric study of the species in Taiwan found that the birds spend 98% of the day perched and usually finding food in the morning hours. They appear to use a sit and wait foraging strategy.
The breeding season begins in late winter when they start courting and establishing territories. The eggs are laid in early summer. Old nests are often refurbished and reused in India but a study in Penang found them to build fresh nests each year. A study in India found that most nests were built along riverine trees. The nest is a large platform built high on a tree. Both birds in a pair build the nest but the female alone incubates. The male guards when the female forages. In central India, the Terminalia tomentosa is often used while Terminalia bellirica and Dalbergia latifolia was often used in southern India. In Penang, the nest trees were typically large and isolated from other trees with lot of room for the birds to fly in and out. The nests are lined with green leaves collected from nearby and are placed facing down on the nest floor. The usual clutch is one egg but two are sometimes laid and only a single chick is successfully raised in a season. When eggs are lost, a replacement is laid two to seven weeks later. The eggs hatch after about 41 days and the young fledge after about two months. Nests are defended by the parents.
Several species of endoparasitic nematodes have been recovered from the intestines of crested serpent eagles, including Madelinema angelae. Avian pox virus infections which cause warts on the face have been observed in a wild bird living in Taiwan. A number of ectoparasitic bird lice have been described from the species including Kurodaia cheelae. In Penang, it was found that cinereous tits (Parus cinereus ambiguus) tended to nest close to nesting crested serpent eagles, presumably due to safety from predators like crows that may be driven off by the eagles. They have also been found to visit the nests of the eagles to collect fur from the remains of dead mammal prey.


This species of serpent eagle manifests an unusual amount of size variation across its assorted subspecies. Total length of fully-grown crested serpent eagles can vary from 41 to 75 cm (16 to 30 in) and wingspan can vary from 89 to 169 cm (2 ft 11 in to 5 ft 7 in). The largest proportioned race appears to be the nominate, S. c. cheela, with a wing chord of 468 to 510 mm (18.4 to 20.1 in) in males and 482 to 532 mm (19.0 to 20.9 in) in females, tail lengths of 295 to 315 mm (11.6 to 12.4 in) and tarsus length of 100 to 115 mm (3.9 to 4.5 in). In comparison, S. c. minimus, probably the smallest race, has a wing chord of 257 to 291 mm (10.1 to 11.5 in) in males and 288 to 304 mm (11.3 to 12.0 in) in females, tail lengths of around 191 mm (7.5 in) and tarsal length of around 76 mm (3.0 in). Weights are more fitfully reported but are estimated to vary perhaps threefold between assorted races. In very small subspecies such as S. c. asturinus body masses were found to be 420 g (15 oz) in a male and 565 g (19.9 oz) in a female.  In S. c. palawanesis, body mass was reported at 688 g (24.3 oz) in males and 853 g (30.1 oz) in females. Serpent eagles from Borneo, S. c. pallidus, may between 625 and 1,130 g (22.0 and 39.9 oz). Mainland forms are typically larger but a weight of 900 g (32 oz) was cited for the fairly small  mainland race, S. c. burmanicus. In the race S. c. hoya, weights were much higher, averaging 1,207 g (42.6 oz); meanwhile, in the same race, 8 males averaged 1,539 g (54.3 oz) and 6 females averaged 1,824 g (64.3 oz). In some cases, serpent eagles may attain estimated weights of approximately 2,300 g (81 oz).


The marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum) is a species of mole salamander found in the eastern United States.


Marbled salamanders are found in the eastern United States, from southern New England to northern Florida, and west to Illinois and Texas. They have been found as far north as New Hampshire, though only two sightings have been reported there. Their habitats are damp woodlands, forests, and places with soft and wet soil. Seasonally flooded areas are essential for breeding, but the salamanders do not normally enter the water. Like many salamanders, marbled salamanders have poison glands to deter predators.
The marbled salamander is the state salamander of North Carolina.


The marbled salamander is a stocky and boldly banded salamander. The marbled salamander exhibits sexual dimorphism with bands of females tending to be gray, while those of males are more white. Juveniles do not have any bands and have white flecks instead.  Adults can grow to about 11 cm (4 in), small compared to other members of its genus. Like most of the mole salamanders, it is secretive, spending most of its life under logs or in burrows.


Courtship of this species takes place on land. The males will compete by butting heads and blocking another male’s movement with its tail. When courting the female, a male will nudge the vent of a female with its snout, with the intent that the female will respond in kind. This back-and-forth nudging has the appearance of a dance as the two salamanders circle around one another. This display culminates with the male depositing a spermatophore and the female moving to take it into her cloaca. The female will then lay between 50 and 200 eggs, often remaining with them until the nest floods. One fairly unique parental care behavioral characteristic of Marbled Salamanders is that when the mothers do stay with their eggs, they wrap their bodies around the eggs to form a bowl shape. They do this when rain is coming to collect water over the eggs. For this species, water via rainfall or rising pond water levels must make extended contact with the eggs in order for them to begin hatching.
However, it has been observed that females may abandon their eggs before flooding occurs. Female Marbled Salamanders have a very low attachment to their eggs, and they will abandon their nest after a disturbance. They have also been observed to abandon undisturbed nests. When the mother leaves the nest, she leaves the eggs vulnerable to predation by other salamanders, frogs, and beetles.
Reproductive success is highly variable for the Marbled Salamander. Some years many juveniles will survive, while other years the breeding population may experience a catastrophic failure, and very few juveniles will survive. These catastrophic failures occur randomly, but it has been found that they are mainly influenced by the length of the hydroperiod. A short hydroperiod is the main cause of catastrophic failure. Because Marbled Salamanders have relatively long life spans, their chances of extinction due to catastrophic failure are low. If they do not breed successfully one year, they will be alive the next year to try again. However, if there are other complications affecting their survival, the possibility of a catastrophic failure poses a larger threat to the overall population. Surviving on land, outside of the reproduction season, is very important to keep the population stable.
While most Marbled Salamanders return to the pond where they were born to breed, some may travel over 1,000 meters to locate a new pond to breed. This often occurs when their natal pond has a small population that may not have a large selection of mates. This dispersal helps populations of Marbled Salamanders to avoid genetic problems, by introducing new genes into the population. This dispersal also means that it is important to view these populations as a larger metapopulation, rather than focusing simply on a single wetland area.
Larval salamanders have been found to be positively phototactic until fully developing their rear legs, at which point they switch and become negatively phototactic.


When A. opacum is under attack by a predator, they often exhibit tail lashing, head-butting, body coiling, or potentially becoming immobile. These defensive moves are thought to draw attention to the tail, which has granular glands that produce noxious secretions to protect themselves. While some predators have learned to eat the body of Marbled Salamanders and leave the tail, this is still a deterrent for many predators. A problem with the granular glands Marbled Salamanders possess is that secretions are reduced after multiple attacks, making them more vulnerable


The groove-billed ani (Crotophaga sulcirostris) is a tropical bird in the cuckoo family with a long tail and a large, curved beak. It is a resident species throughout most of its range, from southern Texas, central Mexico and The Bahamas, through Central America, to northern Colombia and Venezuela, and coastal Ecuador and Peru. It only retreats from the northern limits of its range in Texas and northern Mexico during winter.


Like other anis, the groove-billed is found in open and partly open country, such as pastures, savanna, and orchards. It feeds largely on a mixed diet of insects, seeds, and fruits.


The groove-billed ani is about 34 cm (13 in) long, and weighs 70–90 g (2.5–3.2 oz). Wingspan ranges from 41-46 cm (16-18 in). It is completely black, with a very long tail almost as long as its body. It has a huge bill with lengthwise grooves running the length of the upper mandible. It is very similar to the smooth-billed ani, some specimens of which have bills as small as the groove-billed and with grooves on the basal half. The two species are best distinguished by voice and range. In flight, the ani alternates between quick, choppy flaps and short glides.


The pygmy cormorant (Microcarbo pygmaeus) is a member of the Phalacrocoracidae (cormorant) family of seabirds. It breeds in south-eastern Europe and south-western Asia. It is partially migratory, with northern populations wintering further south, mostly within its breeding range. It is a rare migrant to western Europe.


The pygmy cormorant is a species with habitats strongly affected by human actions. Threats include the drainage and serious degradation of wetlands and their associated woodland, water pollution, disturbance, and poaching as well as drowning in fishing nets.
Being a great fish consumer and destroyer of fishing nets, it is often persecuted by fishermen. In Romania, pond drainage located on the inferior course of the Danube for agricultural purposes, the accidental death of birds captive in improvised fishing nets, nest destruction by professional fishermen in order to protect fish resources decreased of the number of individuals which put the species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as a vulnerable species. It is also hunted in leisure activities, and in Iran the pygmy cormorant is commercialized for cooking.
This species is distinguished from the great cormorant and the common shag by its much smaller size, lighter build, and long tail.
It feeds mainly on fish, often hunting in groups, and perches in trees between fishing expeditions.
The pygmy cormorant is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.


Pygmy cormorants like pools with plenty of vegetation, lakes and river deltas. They avoid mountainous and cold and dry areas. They love rice fields or other flooded areas where trees and shrubs can be found. During winter they also go to waters with higher salinity, in estuaries or on barrier lakes. These are birds who can live alone or in groups and they have adapted to human presence. They build nests from sticks and reeds in dense vegetation, in trees, shrubs, willows but occasionally in reeds on small floating islets. At the end of May, beginning of June, both parents incubate for 27–30 days, and nestlings become independent after 70 days. The young are fed by their parents with small fish and other aquatic animals. This bird frequently shares the same type of habitat with egrets, herons and spoonbills.


The marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It breeds in Africa south of the Sahara, in both wet and arid habitats, often near human habitation, especially landfill sites. It is sometimes called the "undertaker bird" due to its shape from behind: cloak-like wings and back, skinny white legs, and sometimes a large white mass of "hair".


The marabou stork is a frequent scavenger, and the naked head and long neck are adaptations to this livelihood, as it is with the vultures with which the stork often feeds. In both cases, a feathered head would become rapidly clotted with blood and other substances when the bird's head was inside a large corpse, and the bare head is easier to keep clean.
This large and powerful bird eats mainly carrion, scraps, and faeces but will opportunistically eat almost any animal matter it can swallow. It occasionally eats other birds including Quelea nestlings, pigeons, doves, pelican and cormorant chicks, and even flamingos. During the breeding season, adults scale back on carrion and take mostly small, live prey since nestlings need this kind of food to survive. Common prey at this time may consist of fish, frogs, insects, eggs, small mammals and reptiles such as crocodile hatchlings and eggs, and lizards and snakes. Though known to eat putrid and seemingly inedible foods, these storks may sometimes wash food in water to remove soil.
When feeding on carrion, marabou frequently follow vultures, which are better equipped with hooked bills for tearing through carrion meat and may wait for the vultures to cast aside a piece, steal a piece of meat directly from the vulture or wait until the vultures are done. As with vultures, marabou storks perform an important natural function by cleaning areas via their ingestion of carrion and waste.
Increasingly, marabous have become dependent on human garbage and hundreds of the huge birds can be found around African dumps or waiting for a hand out in urban areas. Marabous eating human garbage have been seen to devour virtually anything that they can swallow, including shoes and pieces of metal. Marabous conditioned to eating from human sources have been known to lash out when refused food.


Fully grown marabou storks have few natural enemies, and have high annual survival rate, though lions have reportedly preyed on some individuals in ambush.
A number of endoparasites have been identified in wild marabous including Cheilospirura, Echinura and Acuaria nematodes, Amoebotaenia sphenoides (Cestoda) and Dicrocoelium hospes (Trematoda).


The marabou stork breeds in colonies, starting during the dry season. The female lays two to three eggs in a small nest made of sticks; eggs hatch after an incubation period of 30 days. Their young reach sexual maturity at 4 years of age. Lifespan is 43 years in captivity and 25 years in wild.


The marabou stork is a massive bird: large specimens are thought to reach a height of 152 centimetres (4.99 feet) and a weight of 9 kg (20 lb). A wingspan of 3.7 m (12 ft) was accepted by Fisher and Peterson, who ranked the species as having the largest wing-spread of any living bird. Even higher measurements of up to 4.06 m (13.3 ft) have been reported, although no measurement over 3.20 m (10.5 ft) has been verified. It is often credited with the largest spread of any landbird, to rival the Andean condor; more typically, however, these storks measure 225–287 cm (7–9 ft) across the wings, which is about a foot less than the average Andean condor wingspan and nearly two feet less than the average of the largest albatrosses and pelicans. Typical weight is 4.5–8 kg (9.9–17.6 lb), unusually as low as 4 kg (8.8 lb), and length (from bill to tail) is 120 to 130 cm (47 to 51 in). Females are smaller than males. Bill length can range from 26.4 to 35 cm (10.4 to 13.8 in). Unlike most storks, the three Leptoptilos species fly with the neck retracted like a heron.
The marabou is unmistakable due to its size, bare head and neck, black back, and white underparts. It has a huge bill, a pink gular sac at its throat (crumenifer(us) means "carrier of a pouch for money"), a neck ruff, and black legs and wings. The sexes are alike, but the young bird is browner and has a smaller bill. Full maturity is not reached for up to four years.


The development of the star-like appendages suggests precursors with proto-appendages on an ancestor's snout, which became elevated over successive generations. Although this theory lacks fossil evidence or supporting comparative data, nearly all extant moles have sheets of the Eimer’s organ making up the epidermis of their snout around the nares. Also, recent studies of Catania and colleagues identified one North American species (Scapanus townsendii) with a set of proto-appendages extending caudally on the snout which exhibit a striking resemblance to the embryonic stages of the star-nosed mole, although Scapanus townsendii has only eight subdivisions on its face, rather than the 22 appendages found on the star-nosed mole. Such change is of common occurrence in evolution and is explained by the advantage of efficiently adding modules to the body plan without need to reinvent the regulatory elements which produce each module. Thus, although the star is unique in its shape and size, it seems feasible that the structure is based on a more ancestral bauplan as it comprises similarities found in a wide range of other moles and also in the molecular structure of other mammals.
The picture which emerges suggests that the star-nosed mole is an extreme in mammalian evolution, having perhaps the most sensitive mechano-sensory system to be found among mammals. There are two evolutionary theories concerning the star-like nose. One proposes the development of the structure of the star as a consequence of the selective pressure of the star-nosed mole's wetland habitat. Wetlands have a dense population of small insects, so exploiting this resource requires a higher resolution sensory surface than that of other moles. Thus, a shift to the wetland environment may have provided a selective advantage for a more elaborate sensory structure. Furthermore, in wild caught moles of many species, the Eimer’s organs show obvious signs of wear and abrasion. It appears that constant and repeated contact with the soil damages the sensory organs, which have a thin keratinized epidermis. Star-nosed moles are the only species which live in the moist, muddy soil of wetlands where the less abrasive environment has allowed the delicate star-shaped structure to evolve.
The second theory, that of prey profitability, explains the foraging speed of the star-nosed mole. Prey profitability (i.e. energy gained divided by prey handling time) is an essential variable for estimating the optimal diet. When handling time approaches zero, profitability increases dramatically. Due to the small invertebrate prey available in the wetlands, the star-nosed mole has developed handling times as short as 120 ms. The dazzling speed with which it forages therefore counterbalances the low nutritional value of each individual piece of food and maximizes the time available for finding more. Further, the proximity of the star-shaped nose to the mouth greatly reduces the handling time required before food can be ingested and is a major factor in how the star-nosed mole can find and eat food so quickly.


The star-nosed mole lives in wet lowland areas and eats small invertebrates such as aquatic insects (such as the larvae of caddisflies, midges, dragonflies, damselflies, crane flies, horseflies, predaceous diving beetles, and stoneflies), terrestrial insects, worms (such as earthworms, leeches, and other annelids), mollusks, and aquatic crustaceans, as well as small amphibians and small fish. Condylura cristata has also been found in dry meadows farther away from water. They have also been found in the Great Smoky Mountains as high as 1,676 meters. However, the star-nose mole does prefer wet, poorly drained areas and marshes. It is a good swimmer and can forage along the bottoms of streams and ponds. Like other moles, this animal digs shallow surface tunnels for foraging; often, these tunnels exit underwater. It is active day and night and remains active in winter when it has been observed tunneling through the snow and swimming in ice-covered streams. C. cristata is particularly adept at thermoregulation, maintaining a high body temperature in a wide range of external conditions relative to other Talpid moles. This explains its ability to thrive in cold aquatic environments.  Little is known about the social behavior of the species, but it is suspected to be colonial.
This mole mates in late winter or early spring, and the female has one litter of typically four or five young in late spring or early summer. However, females are known to have a second litter if their first is unsuccessful. At birth, each offspring is about 5 cm (2 in) long, hairless, and weighs about 1.5 g. Their eyes, ears, and star are all sealed, only opening and becoming useful about 14 days after birth. They become independent after about 30 days and are fully mature after 10 months. Predators include the red-tailed hawk, great horned owl, barn owl, screech owl, foxes, weasels, minks, various skunks and mustelids, and large fish such as the northern pike, as well as domestic cats.


The star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) is a small mole found in moist, low areas in the northern parts of North America. It is the only extant member of the tribe Condylurini, and it has more than 25,000 minute sensory receptors in touch organs, known as Eimer's organs, with which this hamster-sized mole feels its way around. With the help of its Eimer's organs, it may be perfectly poised to detect seismic wave vibrations.
The nose is about 1 cm in diameter with its Eimer's organs distributed on 22 appendages. Eimer's organs were first described in the European mole in 1871 by German zoologist Theodor Eimer. Other mole species also possess Eimer's organs, though they are not as specialized or numerous as in the star-nosed mole. Because the star-nosed mole is functionally blind, the snout was long suspected to be used to detect electrical activity in prey animals, though little, if any, empirical support has been found for this hypothesis. The nasal star and dentition of this species appear to be primarily adapted to exploit extremely small prey. A report in the journal Nature gives this animal the title of fastest-eating mammal, taking as little as 120 milliseconds (average: 227 ms) to identify and consume individual food items. Its brain decides in approximately 8 ms if prey is edible or not. This speed is at the limit of the speed of neurons.
These moles are also able to smell underwater, accomplished by exhaling air bubbles onto objects or scent trails and then inhaling the bubbles to carry scents back through the nose.


The shikra (Accipiter badius) is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found widely distributed in Asia and Africa where it is also called the little banded goshawk. The African forms may represent a separate species but have usually been considered as subspecies of the shikra. The shikra is very similar in appearance to other sparrowhawk species including the Chinese goshawk and Eurasian sparrowhawk. They have a sharp two note call and have the typical flap and glide flight. Their calls are imitated by drongos and the common hawk-cuckoo resembles it in plumage.
The shikra is a small raptor (26–30 cm long) and like most other Accipiter hawks, this species has short rounded wings and a narrow and somewhat long tail. Adults are whitish on the underside with fine rufous bars while the upperparts are grey. The lower belly is less barred and the thighs are whitish. Males have a red iris while the females have a less red (yellowish orange) iris and brownish upperparts apart from heavier barring on the underparts. The females are slightly larger. The mesial stripe on the throat is dark but narrow. In flight the male seen from below shows a light wing lining (underwing coverts) and has blackish wing tips. When seen from above the tail bands are faintly marked on the lateral tail feathers and not as strongly marked as in the Eurasian sparrowhawk. The central tail feathers are unbanded and only have a dark terminal band. Juveniles have dark streaks and spots on the upper breast and the wing is narrowly barred while the tail has dark but narrow bands. A post juvenile transitional plumage is found with very strong barring on the contour feathers of the underside. The call is pee-wee, the first note being higher and the second being longer. In flight the calls are shorter and sharper kik-ki ... kik-ki.  The Chinese sparrowhawk is somewhat similar in appearance but has swollen bright orange ceres and yellow legs with the wing tips entirely black.


The shikra is found in a range of habitats including forests, farmland and urban areas. They are usually seen singly or in pairs. The flight is typical with flaps and glides. During the breeding season pairs will soar on thermals and stoop at each other. Their flight usually draws alarms among smaller birds and squirrels. They feed on rodents (including Meriones hurrianae), squirrels, small birds, small reptiles (mainly lizards but sometimes small snakes) and insects. Small birds usually dive through foliage to avoid a shikra and a Small Blue Kingfisher has been observed diving into water to escape. Babblers have been observed to rally together to drive away a shikra. They will descend to the ground to feast on emerging winged termites, hunt at dusk for small bats (such as Cynopterus sphinx) and in rare instances they may even resort to feed on carrion. In one instance a male was found feeding on a dead chick at the nest. Their calls are mimicked by drongos and this behaviour is thought to aid in stealing food by alarming other birds that the drongos associate with.
The breeding season in India is in summer from March to June. The nest is a platform similar to that of crows lined with grass. Both sexes help build the nest, twigs being carried in their feet. Like crows, they may also make use of metal wires. The usual clutch is 3 to 4 eggs (when eggs are removed they lay replacements and one observer noted that they could lay as many as 7 in a season) which are pale bluish grey stippled on the broad end in black. The incubation period is 18 to 21 days.


The eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna) is a medium-sized blackbird (family: Icteridae), very similar in appearance to sister species western meadowlark. It occurs from eastern North America to northern South America, where it is also most widespread in the east.


Their breeding habitat is grasslands and prairie, also pastures and hay fields. This species is a permanent resident throughout much of its range, though most northern birds migrate southwards in winter.
In 1993 this species was first recorded in El Salvador, and the discovery of a breeding pair in 2004 confirmed that the species is a resident there.
These birds forage on the ground or in low vegetation, sometimes probing with the bill. They mainly eat arthropods, but also seeds and berries. In winter, they often feed in flocks.
Nesting occurs throughout the summer months. The nest is also on the ground, covered with a roof woven from grasses. There may be more than one nesting female in a male's territory.
The numbers of this species increased as forests were cleared in eastern North America. This species is ideally suited to farmland areas, especially where tall grasses are allowed to grow. Their numbers are now shrinking with a decline in suitable habitat. On the other hand, its range is expanding in parts of Central America toward the Pacific (western) side of the continent, in agricultural-type areas.


About three-quarters of the eastern meadowlark's diet is from animal sources like beetles, grasshoppers, and crickets. They also eat grain and seeds.
The eastern meadowlark nests on the ground in depressions 1 to 3 inches deep, such as in the hoofprints of cattle, in pastures, meadows, hay fields, and on the edges of marshes. The nests are made of dried grass and plant stems, and are lined with grass lespedezas, pine needles, or horse hair.


The adult eastern meadowlark measures from 19 to 28 cm (7.5 to 11.0 in) in length and spans 35–40 cm (14–16 in) across the wings. Body mass ranges from 76 to 150 g (2.7 to 5.3 oz). The extended wing bone measures 8.9–12.9 cm (3.5–5.1 in), the tail measures 5.3–8.6 cm (2.1–3.4 in), the culmen measures 2.8–3.7 cm (1.1–1.5 in) and the tarsus measures 3.6–4.7 cm (1.4–1.9 in). Females are smaller in all physical dimensions. Adults have yellow underparts with a black "V" on the breast and white flanks with black streaks. The upperparts are mainly brown with black streaks. They have a long pointed bill; the head is striped with light brown and black.
The song of this bird is of pure, melancholy whistles, and thus simpler than the jumbled and flutey song of the western meadowlark; their ranges overlap across central North America. In the field, the song is often the easiest way to tell the two species apart, though plumage differences do exist, like tail pattern and malar coloration.
The pale Lilian's meadowlark of northern Mexico and the southwestern US is sometimes split off as a separate species.


The buff-necked ibis (Theristicus caudatus), also known as the white-throated ibis, is a fairly large ibis found widely in open habitats of eastern and northern South America. It formerly included the similar black-faced ibis as a subspecies, but that species is almost entirely restricted to colder parts of South America, has a buff (not dark grey) lower chest, and lacks the contrasting large white wing-patches.


Its diet consists mainly of insects, spiders, frogs, reptiles, snails, invertebrates and small mammals found in soft soils. The female usually lays two to four eggs in a platform nest, made from twigs and branches, in a tree.


The bobcat (Lynx rufus), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2002, due to its wide distribution and large population. Although it has been hunted extensively both for sport and fur, populations have proven stable, though declining in some areas.
It has distinctive black bars on its forelegs and a black-tipped, stubby (or "bobbed") tail, from which it derives its name. It reaches a total length (including the tail) of up to 125 cm (50 in). It is an adaptable predator inhabiting wooded areas, semidesert, urban edge, forest edge, and swampland environments. It remains in some of its original range, but populations are vulnerable to extirpation by coyotes and domestic animals. Though the bobcat prefers rabbits and hares, it hunts insects, chickens, geese and other birds, small rodents, and deer. Prey selection depends on location and habitat, season, and abundance. Like most cats, the bobcat is territorial and largely solitary, although with some overlap in home ranges. It uses several methods to mark its territorial boundaries, including claw marks and deposits of urine or feces. The bobcat breeds from winter into spring and has a gestation period of about two months.
Two subspecies are recognised: one east of the Great Plains, and the other west of the Great Plains. It is featured in some stories of the indigenous peoples of North and Central America, and in the folklore of European-descended inhabitants of the Americas.


The bobcat is able to survive for long periods without food, but eats heavily when prey is abundant. During lean periods, it often preys on larger animals, which it can kill and return to feed on later. The bobcat hunts by stalking its prey and then ambushing with a short chase or pounce. Its preference is for mammals weighing about 0.7–6 kg (1+1⁄2–12+1⁄2 lb). Its main prey varies by region: in the eastern United States, it is the eastern cottontail and New England cottontail, and in the north, it is the snowshoe hare. When these prey species exist together, as in New England, they are the primary food sources of the bobcat. In the far south, the rabbits and hares are sometimes replaced by cotton rats as the primary food source. Birds up to the size of an adult trumpeter swan are also taken in ambushes while nesting, along with their fledglings and eggs. The bobcat is an opportunistic predator that, unlike the more specialized Canada lynx, readily varies its prey selection. Diet diversification positively correlates to a decline in numbers of the bobcat's principal prey; the abundance of its main prey species is the main determinant of overall diet.
The bobcat hunts animals of different sizes, and adjusts its hunting techniques accordingly. With small animals, such as rodents (including squirrels, moles, muskrats, mice), birds, fish including small sharks, and insects, it hunts in areas known to be abundant in prey, and will lie, crouch, or stand, and wait for victims to wander close. It then pounces, grabbing its prey with its sharp, retractable claws. For slightly larger animals, such as geese, ducks, rabbits, and hares, it stalks from cover and waits until prey comes within 6 to 11 m (20 to 35 ft) before rushing in to attack. Less commonly, it feeds on larger animals, such as young ungulates, and other carnivores, such as fishers (primarily female), foxes, minks, martens, skunks, raccoons, small dogs, and domesticated cats. Bobcats are also occasional hunters of livestock and poultry. While larger species, such as cattle, and horses, are not known to be attacked, bobcats do present a threat to smaller ruminants, such as pigs, sheep and goats. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, bobcats killed 11,100 sheep in 2004, comprising 4.9% of all sheep predator deaths. However, some amount of bobcat predation may be misidentified, as bobcats have been known to scavenge on the remains of livestock kills by other animals.
It has been known to kill deer or pronghorn, and sometimes to hunt elk in western North America, especially in winter when smaller prey is scarce, or when deer populations become more abundant. One study in the Everglades showed a large majority of kills (33 of 39) were fawns. According to the Yellowstone showed a large number of kills (15 of 20) were includes elk calves, but prey up to eight times the bobcat's weight could be successfully taken. It stalks the deer, often when the deer is lying down, then rushes in and grabs it by the neck before biting the throat, base of the skull, or chest. On the rare occasions a bobcat kills a deer, it eats its fill and then buries the carcass under snow or leaves, often returning to it several times to feed.
The bobcat prey base overlaps with that of other midsized predators of a similar ecological niche. Research in Maine has shown little evidence of competitive relationships between the bobcat and coyote or red fox; separation distances and territory overlap appeared random among simultaneously monitored animals. However, other studies have found bobcat populations may decrease in areas with high coyote populations, with the more social inclination of the canid giving them a possible competitive advantage. With the Canada lynx, however, the interspecific relationship affects distribution patterns; competitive exclusion by the bobcat is likely to have prevented any further southward expansion of the range of its felid relative.


The adult bobcat has relatively few predators. However rarely, it may be killed in interspecific conflict by several larger predators or fall prey to them. Cougars and gray wolves can kill adult bobcats, a behavior repeatedly observed in Yellowstone National Park. Coyotes have killed adult bobcats and kittens. At least one confirmed observation of a bobcat and an American black bear (Ursus americanus) fighting over a carcass is confirmed. Like other Lynx species, bobcats probably avoid encounters with bears, in part because they are likely to lose kills to them or may rarely be attacked by them. Bobcat remains have occasionally been found in the resting sites of male fishers. American alligators (Alligator mississippensis) have been filmed opportunistically preying on adult bobcats in the southeast United States. Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) have been reportedly observed preying on bobcats.
Kittens may be taken by several predators, including great horned owls, eagles, foxes, and bears, and other adult male bobcats. When prey populations are not abundant, fewer kittens are likely to reach adulthood.
Diseases, accidents, hunters, automobiles, and starvation are the other leading causes of death. Juveniles show high mortality shortly after leaving their mothers, while still perfecting their hunting techniques. One study of 15 bobcats showed yearly survival rates for both sexes averaged 0.62, in line with other research suggesting rates of 0.56 to 0.67. Cannibalism has been reported; kittens may be taken when prey levels are low, but this is very rare and does not much influence the population.
The bobcat may have external parasites, mostly ticks and fleas, and often carries the parasites of its prey, especially those of rabbits and squirrels. Internal parasites (endoparasites) are especially common in bobcats. One study found an average infection rate of 52% from Toxoplasma gondii, but with great regional variation. One mite in particular, Lynxacarus morlani, has to date been found only on the bobcat. Parasites' and diseases' role in the mortality of the bobcat is still unclear, but they may account for greater mortality than starvation, accidents, and predation.