title: "Banff National Park" content: located at the junction of the Trans-Canada Highway and the Icefields Parkway, which extends north to the Jasper townsite. Banff, established in 1885, is the main commercial centre in Banff National Park, as well as a centre for cultural activities. Banff is home to several cultural institutions, including the Banff Centre, the Whyte Museum, the Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum, Cave and Basin National Historic Site, and several art galleries. Throughout its history, Banff has hosted many annual events, including Banff Indian Days which began in 1889, and the Banff Winter Carnival. Since 1976, The Banff Centre has organized the Banff


title: "Banff National Park" content: Mountain Film Festival. In 1990, Banff incorporated as a town of Alberta, though still subject to the "National Parks Act" and federal authority in regards to planning and development. In its 2014 census, the town of Banff had a permanent population of 8,421 as well as 965 non-permanent residents for a total population of 9,386. The Bow River flows through the town of Banff, with the Bow Falls located on the outskirts of town. Lake Louise, a hamlet located northwest of the town of Banff, is home to the landmark Chateau Lake Louise at the edge of Lake Louise. Located


title: "Banff National Park" content: from Lake Louise, Moraine Lake provides a scenic vista of the Valley of the Ten Peaks. This scene was pictured on the back of the $20 Canadian banknote, in the 1969–1979 ("Scenes of Canada") series. The Lake Louise Mountain Resort is also located near the village. Lake Louise is one of the most visited lakes in the world and is framed to the south-west by the Mount Victoria Glacier. The Icefields Parkway is a road connecting Lake Louise to Jasper, Alberta. The Parkway originates at Lake Louise, and extends north up the Bow Valley, past Hector Lake, which is the


title: "Banff National Park" content: largest natural lake in the park. Other scenic lakes near the parkway include Bow Lake, and Peyto Lakes, both north of Hector Lake. The Parkway then crosses Bow Summit (), and follows the Mistaya River to Saskatchewan Crossing, where it converges with the Howse and North Saskatchewan River. Bow Summit is the highest elevation crossed by a public road in Canada. The North Saskatchewan River flows east from Saskatchewan Crossing, out of Banff, into what is known as David Thompson Country, and onto Edmonton. The David Thompson Highway follows the North Saskatchewan River, past the man-made Abraham Lake, and through


title: "Banff National Park" content: David Thompson Country. North of Saskatchewan Crossing, the Icefields Parkway follows the North Saskatchewan River up to the Columbia Icefield. The Parkway crosses into Jasper National Park at Sunwapta Pass at in elevation, and continues on from there to the Jasper townsite. The Canadian Rockies consist of several northwest-southeast trending ranges. Two main mountain ranges are within the park, each consisting of numerous subranges. The western border of the park follows the crest of the Main Ranges (also known as the "Park Ranges"), which is also the continental divide. The Main Ranges in Banff National Park include from north to


title: "Banff National Park" content: south, the Waputik, Bow and Blue Ranges. The high peaks west of Lake Louise are part of the Bow Range. The eastern border of the park includes all of the Front Ranges consisting of from north to south, the Palliser, Sawback and Sundance Ranges. The Banff townsite is located in the Front Ranges. Just outside of the park to the east lie the foothills that extend from Canmore at the eastern entrance of the park eastward into the Great Plains. Well west of the park, the Western Ranges of the Rockies pass through Yoho and Kootenay National Parks. Though the


title: "Banff National Park" content: tallest peak entirely within the park is Mount Forbes at , Mount Assiniboine on the Banff-Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park border is slightly higher at . The Canadian Rockies are composed of sedimentary rock, including shale, sandstone, dolomite and limestone. The vast majority of geologic formations in Banff range in age from Precambrian to the Jurassic periods (600–145 m.y.a.). However, rocks as young as the lower Cretaceous (145–66 m.y.a.) can be found near the east entrance and on Cascade Mountain above the Banff townsite. These sedimentary rocks were laid down in shallow seas between 600 and 175 m.y.a. and were pushed


title: "Banff National Park" content: east and over top younger rocks during the Laramide orogeny. Mountain building in Banff National Park ended approximately 55 m.y.a. The Canadian Rockies may have towered up to approximately 70 m.y.a. Once mountain formation ceased, erosion from water and greatly augmented later from glacier ice beginning with the Quaternary glaciation 2.5 m.y.a. carved the mountains into their present shapes. Glacial landforms dominate Banff's geomorphology, with examples of all classic glacial forms, including cirques, arêtes, hanging valleys, moraines, and U-shaped valleys. The pre-existing structure left over from mountain-building strongly guided glacial erosion: mountains in Banff include complex, irregular, anticlinal, synclinal, castellate,


title: "Banff National Park" content: dogtooth, and sawback mountains. Many of the mountain ranges trend northwest to southeast, with sedimentary layering dipping down to the west at 40–60 degrees. This leads to dip slope landforms, with generally steeper east and north faces, and trellis drainage, where rivers and old glacial valleys followed the weaker layers in the rocks as they were relatively easily weathered and eroded. Classic examples are found at the Banff townsite proper: Mount Rundle is a classic dip slope mountain. Just to the north of the Banff townsite, Castle Mountain is composed of numerous Cambrian age rock formations. The uppermost section of


title: "Banff National Park" content: the peak consists of relatively harder dolomite from the Eldon Formation. Below that lies the less dense shales of the Stephen Formation and the lowest exposed cliffs are limestones of the Cathedral Formation. Dogtooth mountains, such as Mount Louis, exhibit sharp, jagged slopes. The Sawback Range, which consists of nearly vertical dipping sedimentary layers, has been eroded by cross gullies. The erosion of these almost vertical layers of rock strata in the Sawback Range has resulted in formations that appear like the teeth on a saw blade. Erosion and deposition of higher elevation rock layers has resulted in scree deposits


title: "Banff National Park" content: at the lowest elevations of many of the mountains. Banff National Park has numerous large glaciers and icefields, 100 of which can be observed from the Icefields Parkway. Small cirque glaciers are fairly common in the Main Ranges, situated in depressions on the side of many mountains. As with the majority of mountain glaciers around the world, the glaciers in Banff are retreating. While Peyto Glacier is one of the longest continuously studied glaciers in the world, with research extending back to the 1970s, most of the glaciers of the Canadian Rockies have only been scientifically evaluated since the late


title: "Banff National Park" content: 1990s. Glaciologists are now researching the glaciers in the park more thoroughly, and have been analyzing the impact that reduced glacier ice may have on water supplies to streams and rivers. Estimates are that 150 glaciers disappeared in the Canadian Rockies (areas both inside and outside Banff National Park) between the years 1920 and 1985. Another 150 glaciers disappeared between 1985 and 2005, indicating that the retreat and disappearance of glaciers is accelerating. In Banff National Park alone, in 1985 there were 365 glaciers but by 2005, 29 glaciers had disappeared. The total glaciated area dropped from in that time


title: "Banff National Park" content: period. The largest glaciated areas include the Waputik and Wapta Icefields, which both lie on the Banff-Yoho National Park border. Wapta Icefield covers approximately in area. Outlets of Wapta Icefield on the Banff side of the continental divide include Peyto, Bow, and Vulture Glaciers. Bow Glacier retreated an estimated between the years 1850 and 1953, and since that period, there has been further retreat which has left a newly formed lake at the terminal moraine. Peyto Glacier has lost 70 percent of its volume since record keeping began and has retreated approximately since 1880; the glacier is at risk of


title: "Banff National Park" content: disappearing entirely within the next 30 to 40 years. The Columbia Icefield, at the northern end of Banff, straddles the Banff and Jasper National Park border and extends into British Columbia. Snow Dome, in the Columbia Icefield is a hydrological apex of North America, with water flowing via outlet glaciers to the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Saskatchewan Glacier, which is approximately in length and in area, is the major outlet of the Columbia Icefield that flows into Banff National Park. Between the years 1893 and 1953, Saskatchewan Glacier had retreated a distance of , with the rate of retreat


title: "Banff National Park" content: between the years 1948 and 1953 averaging per year. Overall, the glaciers of the Canadian Rockies lost 25 percent of their mass during the 20th century. Under the Köppen climate classification, the park has a subarctic climate ("Dfc") with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. The climate is influenced by altitude with lower temperatures generally found at higher elevations. Located on the eastern side of the Continental Divide, Banff National Park receives of precipitation annually. This is considerably less than in Yoho National Park on the western side of the divide in British Columbia, where is received at Wapta Lake


title: "Banff National Park" content: and at Boulder Creek annually. Being influenced by altitude, snowfall is also greater at higher elevations. As such, of snow falls on average each year in the Banff townsite, while falls in Lake Louise, which is located at a higher altitude. During winter months, temperatures in Banff are moderated, compared to other areas of central and northern Alberta, due to Chinook winds and other influences from British Columbia. The mean low temperature during January is , and the mean high temperature is for the town of Banff. However, temperatures can drop below with wind chill values dropping below . Weather


title: "Banff National Park" content: conditions during summer months are warm, with high temperatures during July averaging , and daily low temperatures averaging , leading to a large diurnal range owing to the relative dryness of the air. Banff National Park spans three ecoregions, including montane, subalpine, and alpine. The subalpine ecoregion, which consists mainly of dense forest, comprises 53 percent of Banff's area. 27 percent of the park is located above the tree line, in the alpine ecoregion. The tree line in Banff lies approximately at , with open meadows at alpine regions and some areas covered by glaciers. A small portion (3 percent)


title: "Banff National Park" content: of the park, located at lower elevations, is in the montane ecoregion. Lodgepole pine forests dominate the montane region of Banff, with Engelmann spruce, willow, aspen, occasional Douglas-fir and a few Douglas maple interspersed. Engelmann spruce are more common in the subalpine regions of Banff, with some areas of lodgepole pine, and subalpine fir. The montane areas in the Bow Valley, which tend to be the preferred habitat for wildlife, have been subjected to significant human development over the years. The park has 56 recorded mammal species. Grizzly and black bear inhabit the forested regions. Cougar, lynx, wolverine, red fox,


title: "Banff National Park" content: weasel, river otter, coyote, and timber wolf are the primary predatory mammals. Elk, mule deer, and white-tailed deer are common in the valleys of the park, including around (and sometimes in) the Banff townsite, while moose tend to be more elusive, sticking primarily to wetland areas and near streams. In the alpine regions, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, marmot and pika are widespread. Other mammals such as beaver, porcupine, squirrel, chipmunk, snowshoe hare, and Columbian ground squirrel are the more commonly observed smaller mammals. Caribou were the rarest large mammals in the park, but an avalanche in 2009 may have killed


title: "Banff National Park" content: the last five remaining within park boundaries. Due to the harsh winters, the park has few reptile and amphibian species with only one species of toad, three species of frog, one salamander species and two species of snakes that have been identified. At least 280 species of birds can be found in Banff including bald and golden eagles, red-tailed hawk, osprey, and merlin, all of which are predatory species. Additionally, commonly seen species such as the gray jay, American three-toed woodpecker, mountain bluebird, Clark's nutcracker, mountain chickadee and pipit are frequently found in the lower elevations. The white-tailed ptarmigan is


title: "Banff National Park" content: a ground bird that is often seen in the alpine zones. Rivers and lakes are frequented by over a hundred different species including loon, heron and mallard which spend their summers in the park. Endangered species in Banff include the Banff Springs snail ("Physella johnsoni") that is found in the hot springs of Banff, and the Woodland caribou. Mountain pine beetles have caused a number of large-scale infestations in Banff National Park, feeding on the phloem of mature lodgepole pines. Alberta's first known outbreak occurred in 1940, infecting of forest in Banff. A second major outbreak occurred in the late


title: "Banff National Park" content: 1970s and early 1980s in Banff and the surrounding Rocky Mountains region. Banff National Park is the most visited Alberta tourist destination and one of the most visited national parks in North America, with more than three million tourists annually. Tourism in Banff contributes an estimated C$6 billion annually to the economy. A park pass is required for stopping in the park and permit checks are common during the summer months, especially at Lake Louise and the start of the Icefields Parkway. A permit is not required if travelling straight through the park without stopping. Approximately 5 million people pass


title: "Banff National Park" content: through Banff annually on the Trans-Canada Highway without stopping. In 2009, Banff Lake Louise Tourism hoped the appearance of the "Crasher Squirrel" internet meme would stimulate interest in the park. The meme is based on a photograph of a Minnesotan couple visiting the park on the shore of Lake Minnewanka that was "crashed" by a Columbian ground squirrel; the photograph was published in major news sources around the world and the image of the squirrel was digitally manipulated into humorous photos. Banff National Park is managed by Parks Canada, under the "National Parks Act" which was passed in 1930. Over


title: "Banff National Park" content: time, park management policies have increasingly emphasized environmental protection over development. In 1964, a policy statement was issued that reiterated ideals of conservation laid out in the 1930 act. With the controversial bid for the 1972 Winter Olympics, environmental groups became more influential, leading Parks Canada to withdraw its support for the bid. The 1979 Beaver Book was a major new policy, which emphasized conservation. In 1988, the "National Parks Act" was amended, making the maintenance of ecological integrity the top priority. The amendment also paved the way for non-governmental organizations to challenge Parks Canada in court, for breaches in


title: "Banff National Park" content: adhering to the "Act". In 1994, Parks Canada established revised "Guiding Principles and Operating Policies", which included a mandate for the Banff-Bow Valley Study to draft management recommendations. As with other national parks, Banff is required to have a Park Management Plan. On a provincial level, the park area and the included communities (other than the town of Banff which is an incorporated municipality) are administered by Alberta Municipal Affairs as "Improvement District No. 9 (Banff)". The park was originally considered as a recreational area for visitors offering multiple leisure activities – the original wildlife policy viewed wildlife in Banff


title: "Banff National Park" content: only as game or pests up until the 1960s and 1970s. As ecological awareness increased, management procedures expanded with the inclusion of public participation in many management decisions. Simultaneously, the increase in human construction (such as new highways) on the natural landscape increased the frequency of human–animal conflicts. In 1988 wildlife began to be considered an integral part of the ecosystem. The park now has a number of wildlife management strategies that aim to conserve certain species. Parks Canada uses an ecosystem based management approach that aims to preserve the ecology of the park while still providing for visitors. Management


title: "Banff National Park" content: decisions are based on modern scientific ecological information as well as traditional knowledge. Elk are a very important species in Banff National Park, partly because they represent a source of food for declining wolves. However they also have harsh impacts on the environment. Large elk populations cause vegetation degradation, human–animal conflicts and destabilization of biological interactions. In 1999, the implementation of the Banff National Park Elk Management Strategy by Parks Canada and the Elk Advisory Committee aimed to monitor and control the population to decrease conflicts and aid ecological process recovery. Elk handling facilities are areas of pens with loading


title: "Banff National Park" content: and unloading ramps where water and food are provided to the elk. They were created to help reduce herd numbers by increasing wariness and encouraging migratory behaviour, deterring the elk from the town of Banff. These measures allowed more predator–prey interactions thanks to the creation of corridors. They also increased elk migration, restored the willow and aspen communities and highlighted the primary role of wolves in elk population management. The state of grizzly bear populations in Banff is seen as a proxy for ecological integrity. To keep bears away from humans, an electric fence was put up around the summer


title: "Banff National Park" content: gondola and parking lot at Lake Louise in 2001. Bear-proof garbage cans, which do not allow bears to access their contents, help to deter them from human sites. The fruit of Buffaloberry bushes is eaten by bears, so the bushes have been removed in some areas where the risk of a bear–human encounter is high. Aversive conditioning deters bears by modifying their behaviour. Deterrents such as noise makers and rubber bullets are used each time the bear performs an undesirable action. Advice is also given to people to avoid an eventual habituation of bears to human presence. If this conditioning


title: "Banff National Park" content: is continual the bear will be less likely to continue the undesirable behaviour (crossing into campsites and roads etc.). Southern mountain caribou management previously aimed to identify what was threatening caribou populations and find solutions to mitigate the threats, but the last caribou in the park was found dead in an avalanche in 2009. There was concern over why more had not been done to save the caribou population. The primary reason for their decline is thought to have been habitat loss and altered predator–prey dynamics. Park management began monitoring the last five caribou in the park in 2002 and


title: "Banff National Park" content: taking actions such as reducing impacts of humans, conducting studies of the population, and investigating the possibility of translocating caribou to increase the Banff population. In the mid-1980s gray wolves recolonized the Bow Valley in Banff National Park. They had been absent for 30 years due to systematic predator control hunting which began in 1850. Wolves filtered back to Banff and recolonized one zone of the Bow Valley in 1985 and another in 1991. A high level of human use surrounding a third zone at Banff townsite has deterred the wolves from that area. The wolves are important in controlling


title: "Banff National Park" content: elk populations and improve the balance of the ecosystem. A routine park study to monitor the wolves in Banff has now grown into the Southern Rockies Canine Project – the largest wolf research project in North America. The estimated wolf population in Banff National Park and the surrounding areas is now 60–70 animals. Bison were successfully reintroduced to Banff in 2017. These bison are to be kept under observation in an enclosed pasture of this park until the summer of 2018, according to Parks Canada. Wildlife crossings have been successful in Banff National Park at reducing the number of animals


title: "Banff National Park" content: killed on the roads. There is also 82 km of fencing at the edge of the highway in the park to prevent animals from getting onto the roads. Since it was put up, this has reduced collisions between wildlife and vehicles by over 80 per cent. Train tracks still pose challenges to conservationists. Many bears have been killed by trains, often because they are attracted to grain spills along the tracks. Transportation corridors provide openings for plants which are also utilised by bears. A partnership between Parks Canada and Canadian Pacific Railway allowed the creation of the first Railway-Bear Conflict


title: "Banff National Park" content: Mitigation Symposium in 2010. Initiatives included building wooden pegboards to fence off the sides of tracks and chemically treating grains to deter the bears. After a complete review of the research projects, the development of some of them has been authorized, including grain alteration and the use of cameras to study the behavioural response of bears to trains. In 2011, Parks Canada began to study the effectiveness of electro-mats, large mats that give a small electric shock to animals that step on them, as a potential deterrent around train tracks. A trial installment of the mats was placed in Banff


title: "Banff National Park" content: to test their effectiveness in deterring animals like bears from gaining access to the fenced train tracks inside the park. General prohibitions implemented to ensure wildlife respect include the prohibition of feeding, touching, or holding animals in captivity, and the disturbance or destruction of bird nests. Since the 19th century, humans have impacted Banff's environment through introduction of non-native species, controls on other species, and development in the Bow Valley, among other human activities. Bison once lived in the valleys of Banff, but were hunted by indigenous people and the last bison were killed off in 1850s. In 2017 a


title: "Banff National Park" content: small herd of sixteen plains Bison were reintroduced into an eastern section of the park. Elk are not indigenous to Banff, and were introduced in 1917 with 57 elk brought in from Yellowstone National Park. The introduction of elk to Banff, combined with controls on coyote and wolves by Parks Canada beginning in the 1930s, has caused imbalance of the ecosystem. Other species that have been displaced from the Bow Valley include grizzly bears, cougars, lynx, wolverine, otter, and moose. Beginning in 1985, gray wolves were recolonizing areas in the Bow Valley. However, the wolf population has struggled, with 32


title: "Banff National Park" content: wolf deaths along the Trans-Canada Highway between 1987 and 2000, leaving only 31 wolves in the area. The population of bull trout and other native species of fish in Banff's lakes has also dwindled, with the introduction of non-native species including brook trout, and rainbow trout. Lake trout, westslope cutthroat trout, and Chiselmouth are rare native species, while chinook salmon, White sturgeon, Pacific lamprey, and Banff longnose dace are likely extirpated locally. The Banff longnose dace, once only found in Banff, is now an extinct species. The Trans-Canada Highway, passing through Banff, has been problematic, posing hazards for wildlife due


title: "Banff National Park" content: to vehicle traffic and as an impediment to wildlife migration. Grizzly bears are among the species impacted by the highway, which together with other developments in Banff, has caused fragmentation of the landscape. Grizzly bears prefer the montane habitat, which has been most impacted by development. Wildlife crossings, including a series of underpasses, and six wildlife overpasses, have been constructed at a number of points along the Trans-Canada Highway to help alleviate this problem. Parks Canada management practices, notably fire suppression, since Banff National Park was established have impacted the park's ecosystem. Since 1983, Parks Canada has adopted a strategy


title: "Banff National Park" content: that employed prescribed burns, which helps to mimic effects of natural fires. Banff National Park is bisected by two highways that cross the Alberta/British Columbia border while another provides a third access within Alberta. The Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) bisects the park in an east-west direction, connecting it to Vancouver to the west and Calgary to the east. Highway 93 bisects the park in a north-south direction, connecting it to Cranbrook to the south and Jasper to the north. The portion of Highway 93 north of Lake Louise is known as the Icefields Parkway whereas the portion southwest of Castle


title: "Banff National Park" content: Junction is known as the Banff-Windermere Parkway. Highway 11 (the David Thompson Highway) connects the Icefields Parkway at Saskatchewan River Crossing to Rocky Mountain House to the northeast. Within the park, Highway 1A, also known as the Bow Valley Parkway, loosely parallels Highway 1 between Banff and Lake Louise. Other transportation facilities within Banff National Park include a Canadian Pacific rail line that generally parallels Highway 1 and an airport known as the Banff Park Compound Heliport. In 1978, expansion of Sunshine Village ski resort was approved, with added parking, hotel expansion, and development of Goat's Eye Mountain. Implementation of


title: "Banff National Park" content: this development proposal was delayed through the 1980s, while environmental assessments were conducted. In 1989, Sunshine Village withdrew its development proposal, in light of government reservations, and submitted a revised proposal in 1992. This plan was approved by the government, pending environmental review. Subsequently, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) filed a court injunction, which halted the development. CPAWS also put pressure on UNESCO to revoke Banff's World Heritage Site status, over concerns that developments were harming the park's ecological health. While the "National Parks Act" and the 1988 amendment emphasize ecological integrity, in practice Banff has suffered from


title: "Banff National Park" content: inconsistent application of the policies. In 1994, the Banff-Bow Valley Study was mandated by Sheila Copps, the minister responsible for Parks Canada, to provide recommendations on how to better manage human use and development, and maintain ecological integrity. While the two-year Banff-Bow Valley Study was underway, development projects were halted, including the expansion of Sunshine Village, and the twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway between Castle Junction and Sunshine. The panel issued over 500 recommendations, including limiting the growth of the Banff townsite, capping the town's population at 10,000, placing quotas for popular hiking trails, and curtailing development in the park.


title: "Banff National Park" content: Another recommendation was to fence off the townsite to reduce confrontations between people and elk. The proposed fencing was also intended to reduce access to this refuge for elk from predators, such as wolves that tended to avoid the townsite. Upon release of the report, Copps immediately moved to accept the proposal to cap the town population. She also ordered a small airstrip to be removed, along with a buffalo paddock, and cadet camp, that inhibited wildlife movement. In response to concerns and recommendations raised by the Banff-Bow Valley Study, a number of development plans were curtailed in the 1990s.


title: "Banff National Park" content: Plans to add nine holes at the Banff Springs Golf Resort were withdrawn in 1996. With the cap on growth in the town of Banff, Canmore, located just outside the Banff boundary, has been growing rapidly to serve increasing demands of tourists. Major development proposals for Canmore have included the Three Sisters Golf Resorts, proposed in 1992, which has been the subject of contentious debate, with environmental groups arguing that the development would fragment important wildlife corridors in the Bow Valley. Banff National Park Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park and was established in 1885. Located in the


title: Eurythmics content: many tracks in the studio and playing live using various line-up permutations. However, the three new singles they released that year ("This Is the House", "The Walk" and "Love Is a Stranger") all performed badly on initial release in the UK. Although their mode of operation had given them the creative freedom they desired, commercial success was still eluding them and the responsibility of running so many of their affairs personally (down to transporting their own stage equipment) took its toll on both of them. Lennox apparently suffered at least one nervous breakdown during this period, while Stewart was hospitalised


title: "Cedar waxwing" content: Cedar waxwing The cedar waxwing ("Bombycilla cedrorum") is a member of the family Bombycillidae or waxwing family of passerine birds. It is a medium-sized, mostly brown, gray, and yellow bird named for its wax-like wing tips. It is a native of North and Central America, breeding in open wooded areas in southern Canada and wintering in the southern half of the United States, Central America, and the far northwest of South America. Its diet includes cedar cones, fruit, and insects. The cedar waxwing is not endangered. The genus name "Bombycilla" comes from the Ancient Greek "bombux", "silk" and the Modern


title: "Cedar waxwing" content: Latin "cilla", "tail"; this is a direct translation of the German "Seidenschwanz", "silk-tail", and refers to the silky-soft plumage of these birds. The specific "cedrorum" is Latin for "of the cedars". Cedar waxwings are medium-sized birds approximately long and weighing roughly . They are smaller and browner than their close relative, the Bohemian waxwing (which breeds farther to the north and west). Their markings are a "silky, shiny collection of brown, gray, and lemon-yellow, accented with a subdued crest, rakish black mask, and brilliant-red wax droplets on the wing feathers." These droplets may be the same color as the madrone


title: "Cedar waxwing" content: berries they are known to eat. These birds' most prominent feature is this small cluster of red wax-like droplets on tips of secondary flight feathers on the wings, a feature they share with the Bohemian waxwing (but not the Japanese waxwing). The wings are "broad and pointed, like a starling's." The tail is typically yellow or orange depending on diet. Birds that have fed on berries of introduced Eurasian honeysuckles while growing tail feathers will have darker orange-tipped tail-feathers. The tail is somewhat short, and square-tipped. Adults have a pale yellow belly. The waxwing's crest often "lies flat and droops


title: "Cedar waxwing" content: over the back of the head." It has a short and wide bill. The waxwing's black mask has a thin white border. Immature birds are streaked on the throat and flanks, and often do not have the black mask of the adults. Males and females look alike. The flight of waxwings is strong and direct, and the movement of the flock in flight resembles that of a flock of small pale European starlings. Cedar waxwings fly at and fly at an altitude of . Cedar waxwings are also known as the southern waxwing, Canada robin, cedar bird, cherry bird, or


title: "Cedar waxwing" content: recellet. The oldest observed cedar waxwing was eight years and two months old. The two common calls of these birds include very high-pitched whistles and buzzy trills about a half second long often represented as "see" or "sree". Its call can also be described as "high, thin, whistles." They call often, especially in flight. Preferred habitat consists of trees at the edge of wooded areas, or "open" forests, especially those that provide access to berry sources as well as water. They are frequently seen in fruiting trees. Waxwings are attracted to the sound of running water, and love to bathe


title: "Cedar waxwing" content: in and drink from shallow creeks. In urban or suburban environments, waxwings often favor parkland with well-spaced trees; golf courses, cemeteries, or other landscaping with well-spaced trees; bushes that provide berries; and a nearby water source such as a fountain or birdbath. Also look for them near farms, orchards, and gardens, particularly ones with fruiting trees or shrubs. Outside the breeding season, cedar waxwings often feed in large flocks numbering hundreds of birds. This species is nomadic and irruptive, with erratic winter movements, though most of the population migrates farther south into the United States and beyond, sometimes reaching as


title: "Cedar waxwing" content: far as northern South America. They will move in huge numbers if berry supplies are low. Rare vagrants have reached western Europe, and there are two recorded occurrences of cedar waxwing sightings in Great Britain. Individual Bohemian waxwings will occasionally join large winter flocks of cedar waxwings. Cedar waxwings are sociable, seen in flocks year round. They are non-territorial birds and "will often groom each other." They move from place to place depending on where they can find good sources of berries. Mating season for this bird begins around the end of spring and runs through late summer. The male


title: "Cedar waxwing" content: will do a "hopping dance" for the female. If she is interested, she'll hop back. During courtship the male and female will sit together and pass small objects back and forth, such as flower petals or an insect. Mating pairs will sometimes rub their beaks together affectionately. The nest is a loose open cup built with grass and twigs, lined with softer materials and supported by a tree branch averaging above ground but, at times, considerably higher. It takes around five or six days for the female waxwing to build the nest and can take up to 2,500 trips back


title: "Cedar waxwing" content: and forth. Sometimes the female will steal nest material from other species' nests to save time. The outer diameter of the nest is approximately . Usually 5 or 6 eggs are laid and the female incubates them for 11 to 13 days. The eggs are oval shaped with a smooth surface and very little, if any, gloss. The egg shells are of various shades of light or bluish grey with irregular, dark brown spots or greyish-brown splotches. Both parents build the nest and feed the young. Typically, there are one or two broods during the mating season. Young leave the


title: "Cedar waxwing" content: nest about 14 to 18 days after hatching. The cedar waxwing eats berries and sugary fruit year-round, including "dogwood, serviceberry, cedar, juniper, hawthorn, and winterberry", with insects becoming an important part of the diet in the breeding season. Its fondness for the small cones of the eastern redcedar (a kind of juniper) gave this bird its common name. They eat berries whole. They sometimes fly over water to catch insects. When the end of a twig holds a supply of berries that only one bird at a time can reach, members of a flock may line up along the twig


title: "Cedar waxwing" content: and pass berries beak to beak down the line so that each bird gets a chance to eat. Sometimes, cedar waxwings will eat fruit that is overripe and has begun to ferment, intoxicating the bird. Waxwings are evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. Populations are increasing in their range partly because fields are being allowed to grow into forests and shrublands, and fruiting trees like mountain ash are being planted as landscaping. On the other hand, cedar waxwings do sometimes crash into windows, and get hit by cars while foraging along roadsides. Cedar waxwing


title: "Porridge (TV series)" content: prison. The show was later revived in 2017 under the same name, after a one-off special, aired on 28 August 2016 as part of the BBC's "Landmark Sitcom Season" and focusing on the life of Fletcher's grandson, Nigel Fletcher (played by Kevin Bishop), as he begins a prison sentence. The main storylines of the sitcom focuses on its central character, Norman Stanley Fletcher, a man from Muswell Hill, London. Fletcher, described as a "habitual criminal" by the judge (voiced by Barker himself) who sentences him (and whose words are repeated in the show's opening titles), is sent to HMP Slade,


title: "Harland and Wolff" content: technologies, particularly in renewable energy development, such as offshore wind turbine and tidal power construction, which may provide an opportunity to further improve the company's fortunes in the long term. For example, the United Kingdom planned to build 7,500 new offshore wind turbines between 2008 and 2020, creating great demand for heavy assembly work. Unlike land-based wind turbines, where assembly occurs on site, offshore wind turbines have part of their assembly done in a shipyard, and then construction barges transport the tower sections, rotors, and nacelles to the site for final erection and assembly. As a result of this, in


title: Hunter-gatherer content: societies increased, they expanded into lands traditionally used by hunter-gatherers. This process of agriculture-driven expansion led to the development of the first forms of government in agricultural centers, such as the Fertile Crescent, Ancient India, Ancient China, Olmec, Sub-Saharan Africa and Norte Chico. As a result of the now near-universal human reliance upon agriculture, the few contemporary hunter-gatherer cultures usually live in areas unsuitable for agricultural use. Archaeologists can use evidence such as stone tool use to track hunter-gatherer activities, including mobility. Most hunter-gatherers are nomadic or semi-nomadic and live in temporary settlements. Mobile communities typically construct shelters using impermanent


title: "Leo Strauss" content: is the name given "to denote the research methods, common concepts, theoretical presuppositions, central questions, and pedagogic style characteristic of the large number of conservatives who have been influenced by the thought and teaching of Leo Strauss." While it "is particularly influential among university professors of historical political theory ... it also sometimes serves as a common intellectual framework more generally among conservative activists, think tank professionals, and public intellectuals." Within the discipline of political theory the method calls for its practitioners to use "a 'close reading' of the 'Great Books' of political thought; they strive to understand a thinker


title: "Gerry (2002 film)" content: but this proved colder than was anticipated and instead Van Sant turned his eye to Wadi Rum in Jordan. However, a travel advisory was in effect due to potential terrorist activities and no shooting occurred there. The team finally settled on Death Valley California. Although the film had a script, it was mutable, and the team regularly disregarded it at points. They were unsure of how the film would end if the film was shot in-sequence. The film is dedicated to the memory of Ken Kesey. The film received generally positive critical reviews. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes,


title: "Bette Midler" content: Mae West in an HBO movie biopic, written by Harvey Fierstein and directed by William Friedkin. In March 2014, she performed at the 86th Academy Awards telecast at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, singing "Wind Beneath My Wings" during the in memoriam section. In November 2014, Midler released her 25th overall album, "It's the Girls!", through Warner Bros. Records. The album spans seven decades of famous girl groups, from 1930s trios The Boswell Sisters and The Andrews Sisters to 1990s R&B legends such as TLC and their single "Waterfalls". In March 2017, she began playing the role of Dolly


title: "Waste management" content: landfill-bound materials, which provides a financial incentive to separate recyclables and compostables from other discards. The City's Department of the Environment's Zero Waste Program has led the City to achieve 80% diversion, the highest diversion rate in North America. Other businesses such as Waste Industries use a variety of colors to distinguish between trash and recycling cans. In most developed countries, domestic waste disposal is funded from a national or local tax which may be related to income, or property values. Commercial and industrial waste disposal is typically charged for as a commercial service, often as an integrated charge which


title: "Irritable bowel syndrome" content: are believed to be affected by IBS. It is more common in South America and less common in Southeast Asia. It is twice as common in women as men and typically occurs before age 45. The condition appears to become less common with age. IBS does not affect life expectancy or lead to other serious diseases. The first description of the condition was in 1820 while the current term "irritable bowel syndrome" came into use in 1944. IBS can be classified as either diarrhea-predominant (IBS-D), constipation-predominant (IBS-C), or with alternating stool pattern (IBS-A) or pain-predominant. In some individuals, IBS may


title: "Robert H. Goddard" content: the clear air. On Sundays the family attended the Episcopal church, and Robert sang in the choir. With the electrification of American cities in the 1880s, the young Goddard became interested in science—specifically, engineering and technology. When his father showed him how to generate static electricity on the family's carpet, the five-year-old's imagination was sparked. Robert experimented, believing he could jump higher if the zinc from a battery could be charged by scuffing his feet on the gravel walk. But, holding the zinc, he could jump no higher than usual. Goddard halted the experiments after a warning from his mother


title: "Nelson's Column" content: Nelson's Column Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London built to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The monument was constructed between 1840 and 1843 to a design by William Railton at a cost of . It is a column of the Corinthian order built from Dartmoor granite. The Craigleith sandstone statue of Nelson is by E.H. Baily, and the four bronze lions on the base, added in 1867, were designed by Sir Edwin Landseer. The pedestal is decorated with four bronze relief panels, each


title: "Nelson's Column" content: square, cast from captured French guns. They depict the Battle of Cape St Vincent, the Battle of the Nile, the Battle of Copenhagen and the death of Nelson at Trafalgar. The sculptors were Musgrave Watson, William F. Woodington, John Ternouth and John Edward Carew, respectively. It was refurbished in 2006 at a cost of , at which time it was surveyed and found to be shorter than previously supposed. The whole monument is tall from the bottom of the pedestal to the top of Nelson's hat. In February 1838 a group of 121 peers, MPs and other gentry formed a


title: "Nelson's Column" content: committee to raise a monument to Lord Nelson, funded by public subscription, and the Government agreed to provide a site in Trafalgar Square, in front of the newly completed National Gallery. A competition was held for designs with an estimated budget of between £20,000 and £30,000. The deadline for submissions was 31 January 1839. The winning entry, chosen by the sub-committee headed by the Duke of Wellington was a design by William Railton for a Corinthian column, surmounted by a statue of Nelson, and flanked by four sculpted lions. Flights of steps would lead up between the lions to the


title: "Nelson's Column" content: pedestal of the column. Several other entrants also submitted schemes for columns. The second prize was won by Edward Hodges Baily who suggested an obelisk surrounded by sculptures. Criticism of the organisation of the competition caused it to be re-run. Railton submitted a slightly revised design, and was once again declared the winner, with the stipulation that the statue of Nelson should be made by EH Baily. The original plan was for a column high, including the base and statue, but this was reduced to with a shaft of due to concerns over stability. The base was to have been


title: "Nelson's Column" content: of granite and the shaft of Craigleith sandstone, but before construction began it was decided that the shaft should also be of granite. Excavations for the brick foundations had begun by July 1840. On 30 September 1840, the first stone of the column was laid by Charles Davison Scott, honorary secretary of the committee (and son of Nelson's secretary, John Scott), at a ceremony conducted, according to the "Nautical Magazine", "in a private manner, owing to the noblemen and gentlemen comprising the committee being absent from town". Construction of the monument, by the contractors Grissell and Peto, progressed slowly, and


title: "Nelson's Column" content: the stonework, ready for the installation of the statue, was not completed until November 1843. In 1844 the Nelson Memorial Committee ran out of money, having only raised £20,485 in public subscriptions, and the Government, in the form of the Office of Woods and Forests took over the project. Installation of the bronze reliefs on the pedestal did not begin until late 1849, when John Edward Carew's depiction of the death of Nelson was put in place on the side facing Whitehall. This was followed early the next year by William F. Woodington's relief of the Battle of the Nile


title: "Nelson's Column" content: on the opposite side. Carew's relief was cast by Adams, Christie and Co. of Rotherhithe. The other three were cast by Moore, Fressange and Moore. The last to be made, "The Battle of Cape St Vincent" became the subject of legal action, when it was discovered that the bronze had been adulterated with iron. The partners in the company were jailed for fraud and the relief was completed by Robinson and Cottam. It was finally put in place in May 1854. The statue at the top was sculpted by Edward Hodges Baily R.A. from three pieces of Craigleith sandstone donated


title: "Nelson's Column" content: by the Duke of Buccleuch, former chairman of the Nelson Memorial Committee, from his own quarries. The statue stands on a fluted column built from solid blocks of granite from the Foggintor quarries on Dartmoor. The Corinthian capital is made of bronze elements, cast from cannon salvaged from the wreck of HMS "Royal George" at the Woolwich Arsenal foundry. It is based on the Temple of Mars Ultor in Rome, and was modelled by C.H. Smith.. The bronze pieces, some weighing as much as are fixed to the column by the means of three large belts of metal lying in


title: "Nelson's Column" content: grooves in the stone. The four identical bronze Barbary lions at the column's base were not added until 1867. At one stage, they were intended to be of granite, and the sculptor John Graham Lough was chosen to carve them. However, in 1846, after consultations with Railton, he turned down the commission, unwilling to work under the restrictions imposed by the architect. The sculptures eventually installed, commissioned in 1858, were designed by Sir Edwin Landseer in collaboration with Baron Marochetti. Their design may have been influenced by Marschalko János's lions at each abutment to the Széchenyi Lánchíd (Chain Bridge) in


title: "Nelson's Column" content: Budapest, installed 6 years before the Trafalgar Square lions were commissioned. Landseer was paid £6,000 for his services, and Marochetti £11,000. In 2011, consultants for the Greater London Authority reported that tourists climbing onto the backs of the lions have caused considerable damage and recommended banning tourists from climbing them. The column also had a symbolic importance to Adolf Hitler. If Hitler's plan to invade Britain, Operation Sea Lion, had been successful, he planned to move it to Berlin. The column was refurbished in 2006, during which time it was scaffolded from top to bottom for access. Steam cleaning was


title: "Nelson's Column" content: used together with gentle abrasives to minimise any harmful impact on the bronze and stonework. The £420,000 cost was covered by Zurich Financial Services, which advertised on the scaffolding for the duration of the work. Before restoration began, laser surveys were taken during which it was found that the column was significantly shorter than the usually quoted . In fact, it measures from the bottom of the first step to the tip of the admiral's hat. John Noakes of the BBC TV children's programme "Blue Peter" climbed the column in 1977. Television presenter and entertainer Gary Wilmot climbed the column


title: "Nelson's Column" content: in 1989 for LWT's "Six O' Clock Show" to recreate the 'topping out' ceremony of 1843. Dressed in Victorian attire and sporting a boater hat, Wilmott enjoyed tea and sandwiches at the top of the column before climbing down. The column has also been climbed on several occasions as a publicity stunt to draw attention to social or political causes. Ed Drummond made the first such climb in 1979 for the Anti-Apartheid Movement, making use of the lightning conductor "en route". On 30 March 1988, Joe Simpson and John Stevenson climbed the column as part of a Greenpeace Campaign against


title: "Nelson's Column" content: Acid Rain. On 14 June 1992, it was climbed by Martin Cotterrel, Joe Simpson and John Stevenson on behalf of Greenpeace to protest against the first Earth Summit meeting in Brazil. On 13 April 1995, Simon Nadin free-climbed Nelson's Column with Noel Craine, Jerry Moffat and Johnny Dawes following on top rope, and graded the climb as "E6 6b/5a". This protest time was on behalf of Survival International to publicize the plight of Canada's Inuit people. On 13 May 1998, the Column was climbed by Al Baker, Peter Morris and John Cunningham on behalf of Greenpeace to protest against Old


title: "Nelson's Column" content: growth logging activity in British Columbia. In May 2003, BASE jumper and stuntman Gary Connery parachuted from the top of the column, in a stunt designed to draw attention to the Chinese policies in Tibet. In December 2015, Disney paid £24,000 to cover it in lights to make it resemble a giant lightsaber, to promote "". On 18 April 2016, in the early hours of the morning, Greenpeace activists climbed up the column and placed a breathing mask on Admiral Lord Nelson in protest of dangerous air pollution levels. The first civic monument to be erected in Nelson's honour was


title: "Nelson's Column" content: a 44-metre high obelisk on Glasgow Green in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1806. Also in Scotland, the Nelson Monument stands on top of Calton Hill, Edinburgh, and there is also a Nelson's Tower in Forres, Moray which opened in 1812. In Dublin, Ireland, Nelson's Pillar was erected in 1808 but was destroyed by republicans in 1966, and in the Bull Ring, Birmingham, England, there is a Grade II* listed bronze statue of Nelson by Richard Westmacott, dating from 1809. Sir Richard Westmacott also designed the elaborate monument to Nelson in Liverpool. In Portsmouth, Nelson's Needle, on top of Portsdown Hill, was


title: "Nelson's Column" content: paid for by the company of after arriving back in Portsmouth. There is a column topped with a decorative urn in the Castle Green, Hereford – a statue was planned in place of the urn, but insufficient money was raised. The Britannia Monument, Great Yarmouth, England (1819) is a 144 feet high doric column design. Elsewhere in the world, Nelson's Column in Montreal was erected by both British and Canadian citizens in 1809, and there is also a Mount Nelson, near Invermere, British Columbia. As at London, the column in Montreal has the admiral standing with his back to the


title: "Nelson's Column" content: waves. A much shorter statue of Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square, Bridgetown, Barbados is older than its counterpart in London. Nelson's Column Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London built to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The monument was constructed between 1840 and 1843 to a design by William Railton at a cost of . It is a column of the Corinthian order built from Dartmoor granite. The Craigleith sandstone statue of Nelson is by E.H. Baily, and the four bronze lions on the


title: "Monitor (warship)" content: the Republic of Vietnam. A stronger naval force was needed, one that was heavily armored, and heavily gunned. The U.S. Navy's MRF initially consisted of "River Assault Flotilla One", under Program 4 in 1967, and consisted of four "River Assault Divisions": RAD-91 which contained 3 monitors; RAD-92 contained 2 monitors; RAD-111 had 3 monitors; and RAD-112 operated 2 monitors. These "river battleships", as they were known by the men, operated in conjunction with the CCB (Command Control Boat—also a monitor), ATCs (Armored Transport Carriers), and the ASPBs (Assault Support Patrol Boats) which were also assigned to each RAD. Vietnam monitors


title: Tern content: Tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consist of eleven genera. They are slender, lightly built birds with long, forked tails, narrow wings, long bills, and relatively short legs. Most species are pale grey above and white below, with a contrasting black cap to the head, but the marsh terns, the Inca tern, and some noddies have dark plumage for at least part of the year. The sexes


title: Tern content: are identical in appearance, but young birds are readily distinguishable from adults. Terns have a non-breeding plumage, which usually involves a white forehead and much-reduced black cap. The terns are birds of open habitats that typically breed in noisy colonies and lay their eggs on bare ground with little or no nest material. Marsh terns construct floating nests from the vegetation in their wetland habitats, and a few species build simple nests in trees, on cliffs or in crevices. The white tern, uniquely, lays its single egg on a bare tree branch. Depending on the species, one to three eggs


title: Tern content: make up the clutch. Most species feed on fish caught by diving from flight, but the marsh terns are insect-eaters, and some large terns will supplement their diet with small land vertebrates. Many terns are long-distance migrants, and the Arctic tern may see more daylight in a year than any other animal. Terns are long-lived birds and are relatively free from natural predators and parasites; most species are declining in numbers due directly or indirectly to human activities, including habitat loss, pollution, disturbance, and predation by introduced mammals. The Chinese crested tern is in a critical situation and three other


title: Tern content: species are classed as endangered. International agreements provide a measure of protection, but adults and eggs of some species are still used for food in the tropics. The eggs of two species are eaten in the West Indies because they are believed to have aphrodisiac properties. The Charadriiformes order of birds contains 18 coastal seabird and wader families. Within the order, the terns form a lineage with the gulls, and, less closely, with the skimmers, skuas, and auks. Early authors such as Conrad Gessner, Francis Willughby, and William Turner did not clearly separate terns from gulls, but Linnaeus recognised the


title: Tern content: distinction in his 1758 "Systema Naturae", placing the gulls in the genus " Larus" and the terns in "Sterna". He gave "Sterna" the description "rostrum subulatum", "awl-shaped bill", referring to the long, pointed bills typical of this group of birds, a feature that distinguishes them from the thicker-billed gulls. Behaviour and morphology suggest that the terns are more closely related to the gulls than to the skimmers or skuas, and although Charles Lucien Bonaparte created the family Sternidae for the terns in 1838, for many years they were considered to be a subfamily, Sterninae, of the gull family, Laridae. Relationships


title: Tern content: between various tern species, and between the terns and the other Charadriiformes, were formerly difficult to resolve because of a poor fossil record and the misidentification of some finds. Following genetic research in the early twenty-first century, the terns were historically treated as a separate family: Sternidae. Most terns were formerly treated as belonging to one large genus, "Sterna", with just a few dark species placed in other genera; in 1959, only the noddies and the Inca tern were excluded from "Sterna". A recent analysis of DNA sequences supported the splitting of "Sterna" into several smaller genera. One study of


title: Tern content: part of the cytochrome b gene sequence found a close relationship between terns and a group of waders in the suborder Thinocori. These results are in disagreement with other molecular and morphological studies, and have been interpreted as showing either a large degree of molecular convergent evolution between the terns and these waders, or the retention of an ancient genotype. The word "stearn" was used for these birds in Old English as early as the eighth century, and appears in the poem "The Seafarer", written in the ninth century or earlier. Variants such as "tearn" occurred by the eleventh century,


title: Tern content: although the older form lingered on in Norfolk dialect for several centuries. As now, the term was used for the inland black tern as well as the marine species. Some authorities consider "tearn" and similar forms to be variants of "stearn", while others derive the English words from Scandinavian equivalents such as Danish and Norwegian "terne" or Swedish "tärna", and ultimately from Old Norse "þerna". Linnaeus adopted "stearn" or "sterna" (which the naturalist William Turner had used in 1544 as a Latinisation of an English word, presumably "stern", for the black tern) or a North Germanic equivalent for his genus


title: Tern content: name "Sterna". The cladogram shows the relationships between the tern genera, and the currently recognised species, based on mitochondrial DNA studies, are listed below: In addition to extant species, the fossil record includes a Miocene palaeospecies, "Sterna milne-edwardsii". The genera "Anous", "Procelsterna" and "Gygis" are collectively known as noddies, the "Chlidonias" species are the marsh terns, and all other species comprise the sea terns. Terns range in size from the least tern, at in length and weighing , to the Caspian tern at , . They are longer-billed, lighter-bodied, and more streamlined than gulls, and their long tails and long


title: Tern content: narrow wings give them an elegance in flight. Male and female plumages are identical, although the male can be 2–5% larger than the female and often has a relatively larger bill. Sea terns have deeply forked tails, and at least a shallow "V" is shown by all other species. The noddies (genera "Anous", "Procelsterna" and "Gygis") have unusual notched-wedge shaped tails, the longest tail feathers being the middle-outer, rather than the central or outermost. Although their legs are short, terns can run well. They rarely swim, despite having webbed feet, usually landing on water only to bathe. The majority of


title: Tern content: sea terns have light grey or white body plumage as adults, with a black cap to the head. The legs and bill are various combinations of red, orange, yellow, or black depending on species. The pale plumage is conspicuous from a distance at sea, and may attract other birds to a good feeding area for these fish-eating species. When seen against the sky, the white underparts also help to hide the hunting bird from its intended prey. The Inca tern has mainly dark plumage, and three species that mainly eat insects, the black tern, white-winged tern, and black-bellied tern, have


title: Tern content: black underparts in the breeding season. The "Anous" noddies have dark plumage with a pale head cap. The reason for their dark plumage is unknown, but it has been suggested that in tropical areas, where food resources are scarce, the less conspicuous colouration makes it harder for other noddies to detect a feeding bird. Plumage type, especially the head pattern, is linked to the phylogeny of the terns, and the pale-capped, dark-bodied noddies are believed to have diverged earlier than the other genera from an ancestral white-headed gull, followed by the partially black-headed "Onychoprion" and "Sternula" groupings. Juvenile terns typically


title: Tern content: have brown- or yellow-tinged upperparts, and the feathers have dark edges that give the plumage a scaly appearance. They have dark bands on the wings and short tails. In most species, the subsequent moult does not start until after migration, the plumage then becoming more like the adult, but with some retained juvenile feathers and a white forehead with only a partial dark cap. By the second summer, the appearance is very like the adult, and full mature plumage is usually attained by the third year. After breeding, terns moult into a winter plumage, typically showing a white forehead. Heavily


title: Tern content: worn or aberrant plumages such as melanism and albinism are much rarer in terns than in gulls. Terns have a wide repertoire of vocalisations. For example, the common tern has a distinctive alarm, "kee-yah", also used as a warning to intruders, and a shorter "kyar", given as an individual takes flight in response to a more serious threat; this quietens the usually noisy colony while its residents assess the danger. Other calls include a down-slurred "keeur" given when an adult is approaching the nest with a fish, and a "kip" uttered during social contact. Parents and chicks can locate one


title: Tern content: another by call, and siblings also recognise each other's vocalisations from about the twelfth day after hatching, which helps to keep the brood together. Vocal differences reinforce species separation between closely related birds such as the least and little terns, and can help humans distinguish similar species, such as common and Arctic terns, since flight calls are unique to each species. Terns have a worldwide distribution, breeding on all continents including Antarctica. The northernmost and southernmost breeders are the Arctic tern and Antarctic tern respectively. Many terns breeding in temperate zones are long-distance migrants, and the Arctic tern probably sees


title: Tern content: more annual daylight than any other animal as it migrates from its northern breeding grounds to Antarctic waters, a return journey of more than . A common tern that hatched in Sweden and was found dead five months later on Stewart Island, New Zealand, must have flown at least . Actual flight distances are, of course, much greater than the shortest possible route. Arctic terns from Greenland were shown by radio geolocation to average on their annual migrations. Most terns breed on open sandy or rocky areas on coasts and islands. The yellow-billed, large-billed, and black-fronted terns breed only on


title: Tern content: rivers, and common, least and little terns also sometimes use inland locations. The marsh terns, Trudeau's tern and some Forster's terns nest in inland marshes. The black noddy and the white tern nest above ground level on cliffs or in trees. Migratory terns move to the coast after breeding, and most species winter near land, although some marine species, like the Aleutian tern, may wander far from land. The sooty tern is entirely oceanic when not breeding, and healthy young birds are not seen on land for up to five years after fledging until they return to breed. They lack


title: Tern content: waterproof plumage, so they cannot rest on the sea. Where they spend the years prior to breeding is unknown. Terns are normally monogamous, although trios or female-female pairings have been observed in at least three species. Most terns breed annually and at the same time of year, but some tropical species may nest at intervals shorter than 12 months or asynchronously. Most terns become sexually mature when aged three, although some small species may breed in their second year. Some large sea terns, including the sooty and bridled terns, are four or older when they first breed. Terns normally breed


title: Tern content: in colonies, and are site-faithful if their habitat is sufficiently stable. A few species nest in small or dispersed groups, but most breed in colonies of up to a few hundred pairs, often alongside other seabirds such as gulls or skimmers. Large tern species tend to form larger colonies, which in the case of the sooty tern can contain up to two million pairs. Large species nest very close together and sit tightly, making it difficult for aerial predators to land among them. Smaller species are less closely packed and mob intruders. Peruvian and Damara terns have small dispersed colonies


title: Tern content: and rely on the cryptic plumage of the eggs and young for protection. The male selects a territory, which he defends against conspecifics, and re-establishes a pair bond with his mate or attracts a new female if necessary. Courtship involves ritualised flight and ground displays, and the male often presents a fish to his partner. Most species have little or no nest, laying the eggs onto bare ground, but Trudeau's tern, Forster's tern and the marsh terns construct floating nests from the vegetation in their wetland habitats. Black and lesser noddies build nests of twigs, feathers and excreta on tree


title: Tern content: branches, and brown, blue, and grey noddies make rough platforms of grass and seaweed on cliff ledges, in cavities or on other rocky surfaces. The Inca tern nests in crevices, caves and disused burrows, such as that of a Humboldt penguin. The white tern is unique in that it lays its single egg on a bare tree branch. Tropical species usually lay just one egg, but two or three is typical in cooler regions if there is an adequate food supply. The time taken to complete the clutch varies, but for temperate species incubation takes 21–28 days. The eggs of


title: Tern content: most gulls and terns are brown with dark splotches, so they are difficult for predators to spot on the beach. The precocial chicks fledge in about four weeks after hatching. Tropical species take longer because of the poorer food supply. Both parents incubate the eggs and feed the chicks, although the female does more incubating and less fishing than her partner. Young birds migrate with the adults. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with individuals typically returning for 7–10 breeding seasons. Maximum known ages include 34 for an Arctic tern and 32 for a sooty. Although several other species are known


title: Tern content: to live in captivity for up to 20 years, their greatest recorded ages are underestimates because the birds can outlive their rings. Interbreeding between tern species is rare, and involves closely related species when it occurs. Hybrids recorded include common tern with roseate, Sandwich with lesser-crested, and black with white-winged. Most terns hunt fish by diving, often hovering first, and the particular approach technique used can help to distinguish similar species at a distance. Sea terns often hunt in association with porpoises or predatory fish, such as bluefish, tuna or bonitos, since these large marine animals drive the prey to


title: Tern content: the surface. Sooty terns feed at night as the fish rise to the surface, and are believed to sleep on the wing since they become waterlogged easily. Terns of several species will feed on invertebrates, following the plough or hunting on foot on mudflats. The marsh terns normally catch insects in the air or pick them off the surface of fresh water. Other species will sometimes use these techniques if the opportunity arises. An individual tern's foraging efficiency increases with its age. The gull-billed tern is an opportunist predator, taking a wide variety of prey from marine, freshwater and terrestrial


title: Tern content: habitats. Depending on what is available it will eat small crabs, fish, crayfish, grasshoppers and other large insects, lizards and amphibians. Warm-blooded prey includes mice and the eggs and chicks of other beach-breeding birds; least terns, little terns and members of its own species may be victims. The greater crested tern will also occasionally catch unusual vertebrate species such as agamid lizards and green sea turtle hatchlings, and follows trawlers for discards. The eyes of terns cannot accommodate under water, so they rely on accurate sighting from the air before they plunge-dive. Like other seabirds that feed at the surface


title: Tern content: or dive for food, terns have red oil droplets in the cones of their retinas; birds that have to look through an air/water interface have more deeply coloured carotenoid pigments in the oil drops than other species. The pigment also improves visual contrast and sharpens distance vision, especially in hazy conditions, and helps terns to locate shoals of fish, although it is uncertain whether they are sighting the phytoplankton on which the fish feed, or other feeding birds. The red colouring reduces ultraviolet sensitivity, which in any case is an adaptation more suited to terrestrial feeders like the gulls, and


title: Tern content: this protects the eye from UV damage. The inaccessibility of many tern colonies gave them a measure of protection from mammalian predators, especially on islands, but introduced species brought by humans can seriously affect breeding birds. These can be predators such as foxes, raccoons, cats and rats, or animals that destroy the habitat, including rabbits, goats and pigs. Problems arise not only on formerly mammal-free islands, as in New Zealand, but also where an alien carnivore, such as the American mink in Scotland, presents an unfamiliar threat. Adult terns may be hunted by owls and raptors, and their chicks and


title: Tern content: eggs may be taken by herons, crows or gulls. Less obvious nest predators include ruddy turnstones in the Arctic, and gull-billed terns in little tern colonies. Adults may be robbed of their catch by avian kleptoparasites such as frigatebirds, skuas, other terns or large gulls. External parasites include chewing lice of the genus "Saemundssonia", feather lice and fleas such as "Ceratophyllus borealis". Lice are often host specific, and the closely related common and Arctic terns carry quite different species. Internal parasites include the crustacean "Reighardia sternae", and tapeworms such as "Ligula intestinalis" and members of the genera "Diphyllobothrium" and "Schistocephalus".


title: Tern content: Terns are normally free of blood parasites, unlike gulls that often carry "Haemoproteus" species. An exception is the brown noddy, which sometimes harbours protozoa of that genus. In 1961 the common tern was the first wild bird species identified as being infected with avian influenza, the H5N3 variant being found in an outbreak involving South African birds. Several species of terns have been implicated as carriers of West Nile virus. Terns and their eggs have long been eaten by humans and island colonies were raided by sailors on long voyages since the eggs or large chicks were an easily obtained


title: Tern content: source of protein. Eggs are still illegally harvested in southern Europe, and adults of wintering birds are taken as food in West Africa and South America. The roseate tern is significantly affected by this hunting, with adult survival 10% lower than would otherwise be expected. In the West Indies, the eggs of roseate and sooty terns are believed to be aphrodisiacs, and are disproportionately targeted by egg collectors. Tern skins and feathers have long been used for making items of clothing such as capes and hats, and this became a large-scale activity in the second half of the nineteenth century


title: Tern content: when it became fashionable to use feathers in hatmaking. This trend started in Europe but soon spread to the Americas and Australia. White was the preferred colour, and sometimes wings or entire birds were used. Terns have sometimes benefited from human activities, following the plough or fishing boats for easy food supplies, although some birds get trapped in nets or swallow plastic. Fishermen looked for feeding tern flocks, since the birds could lead them to fish shoals. Overfishing of small fish such as sand eels can lead to steep declines in the colonies relying on these prey items. More generally,


title: Tern content: the loss or disruption to tern colonies caused by human activities has caused declines in many species. Pollution has been a problem in some areas, and in the 1960s and 1970s DDT caused egg loss through thinning of the shells. In the 1980s, organochlorides caused severe declines in the Great Lakes area of the US. Because of their sensitivity to pollutants, terns are sometimes used as indicators of contamination levels. Habitat enhancements used to increase the breeding success of terns include floating nest platforms for black, common and Caspian terns, and artificial islands created for a number of different species.


title: Tern content: More specialised interventions include providing nest boxes for roseate terns, which normally nest in the shelter of tallish vegetation, and using artificial eelgrass mats to encourage common terns to nest in areas not vulnerable to flooding. A number of terns face serious threats, and the Chinese crested tern is classed as "critically endangered" by BirdLife International. It has a population of fewer than 50 birds and a breeding range of just 9 km (3.5 mi). It is declining due to egg collection, human disturbance and the loss of coastal wetlands in China. Three other species are categorised as "endangered", with


title: Tern content: declining populations of less than 10,000 birds. The South Asian black-bellied tern is threatened by habitat loss, egg collecting for food, pollution and predation. In New Zealand, the black-fronted tern is facing a rapid fall in numbers due to predation by introduced mammals and Australian magpies. Disturbance by cattle and sheep and by human activities is also a factor. The Peruvian tern was initially damaged by the collapse of anchoveta stocks in 1972, but breeding colonies have subsequently been lost due to building, disturbance and pollution in their coastal wetlands. The Australasian fairy tern is described as "vulnerable". Disturbance by


title: Tern content: humans, dogs and vehicles, predation by introduced species and inappropriate water level management in South Australia are the main reasons for its decline. Five species are "near threatened", indicating less severe concerns or only potential vulnerability. The elegant tern is so categorised because 95% of the population breeds on one island, Isla Rasa in the Gulf of California, and the Kerguelen tern has a population of less than 5,000 adults breeding on small and often stormy Pacific islands. Three species, the Inca, Damara, and river terns, are expected to decline in the future due to habitat loss and disturbance. Some


title: Tern content: tern subspecies are endangered, including the California least tern and the Easter Island race of the grey noddy. Most tern species are declining in numbers due to the loss or disturbance of breeding habitat, pollution and increased predation. Gull populations have increased over the last century because of reduced persecution and the availability of food from human activities, and terns have been forced out of many traditional nesting areas by the larger birds. A few species are defying the trend and showing local increases, including the Arctic tern in Scandinavia, Forster's tern around the Great Lakes, the Sandwich tern in


title: Tern content: eastern North America and its yellow-billed subspecies, the Cayenne tern, in the Caribbean. Terns are protected by international legislation such as the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) and the US-Canada Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Parties to the AWEA agreement are required to engage in a wide range of conservation strategies described in a detailed action plan. The plan is intended to address key issues such as species and habitat conservation, management of human activities, research, education, and implementation. The North American legislation is similar, although there is a greater emphasis on protection. Tern Terns


title: Woodpecker content: Woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the family Picidae, a group of near-passerine birds that also consist of piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known that live in treeless areas, such as rocky hillsides and deserts, and the Gila woodpecker specialises in exploiting cacti. Members of this family are chiefly known for their characteristic behaviour. They mostly forage for insect prey on the trunks and branches of trees, and often


title: Woodpecker content: communicate by drumming with their beak, producing a reverberatory sound that can be heard at some distance. Some species vary their diet with fruits, birds' eggs, small animals, and tree sap. They mostly nest and roost in holes that they excavate in tree trunks, and their abandoned holes are of importance to other cavity-nesting birds. They sometimes come into conflict with humans when they make holes in buildings or feed on fruit crops, but perform a useful service by their removal of insect pests on trees. The Picidae are one of nine living families in the order Piciformes, the others


title: Woodpecker content: being barbets (comprising three families), toucans, toucan-barbets, and honeyguides in the clade Pici, and the jacamars and puffbirds in the clade Galbuli. DNA sequencing has confirmed the sister relationships of these two groups. The family Picidae includes about 240 species arranged in 35 genera. Almost 20 species are threatened with extinction due to loss of habitat or habitat fragmentation, with one, the Bermuda flicker, being extinct and a further two probably being so. Woodpeckers range from tiny piculets measuring no more than in length and weighing to large woodpeckers which can be more than in length. The largest surviving species


title: Woodpecker content: is the great slaty woodpecker, which weighs , but probably the extinct imperial woodpecker and ivory-billed woodpecker were both larger. The plumage of woodpeckers varies from drab to conspicuous. The colours of many species are based on olive and brown and some are pied, suggesting a need for camouflage; others are boldly patterned in black, white and red, and many have a crest or tufted feathers on the crown. Woodpeckers tend to be sexually dimorphic, but differences between the sexes are generally small; exceptions to this are Williamson's sapsucker and the orange-backed woodpecker, which differ markedly. The plumage is moulted


title: Woodpecker content: fully once a year apart from the wrynecks, which have an additional partial moult before breeding. Woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks all possess characteristic zygodactyl feet, consisting of four toes, the first (hallux) and the fourth facing backward and the second and third facing forward. This foot arrangement is good for grasping the limbs and trunks of trees. Members of this family can walk vertically up tree trunks, which is beneficial for activities such as foraging for food or nest excavation. In addition to their strong claws and feet, woodpeckers have short, strong legs. This is typical of birds that regularly


title: Woodpecker content: forage on trunks. Exceptions are the black-backed woodpecker and the American and Eurasian three-toed woodpeckers, which have only three toes on each foot. The tails of all woodpeckers, except the piculets and wrynecks, are stiffened, and when the bird perches on a vertical surface, the tail and feet work together to support it. Woodpeckers have strong bills for drilling and drumming on trees, and long sticky tongues for extracting food (insects and larvae). Woodpecker bills are typically longer, sharper and stronger than the bills of piculets and wrynecks; however, their morphology is very similar. The bill's chisel-like tip is kept


title: Woodpecker content: sharp by the pecking action in birds that regularly use it on wood. The beak consists of three layers; an outer sheath called rhamphotheca, made of scales formed from keratin proteins, an inner layer of bone which has a large cavity and mineralised collagen fibers, and a middle layer made of porous bone which connects the two other layers. Furthermore, woodpeckers' tongues are very long, and wind around the skull through a special cavity, thereby cushioning the brain. Combined, this anatomy helps the beak absorb mechanical stress. Species of woodpecker and flicker that use their bills in soil or for


title: Woodpecker content: probing as opposed to regular hammering tend to have longer and more decurved bills. Due to their smaller bill size, many piculets and wrynecks will forage in decaying wood more often than woodpeckers. Their long sticky tongues, which possess bristles, aid these birds in grabbing and extracting insects from deep within a hole in a tree. It has been reported that the tongue was used to spear grubs, but more detailed studies published in 2004 have shown that the tongue instead wraps around the prey before being pulled out. Many of the foraging, breeding and signaling behaviors of woodpeckers involve


title: Woodpecker content: drumming and hammering using the bill. To prevent brain damage from the rapid and repeated powerful impacts, woodpeckers have a number of physical features which protect the brain. These include a relatively small and smooth brain, narrow subdural space, little cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) surrounding it to prevent it from moving back and forth inside the skull during pecking, the orientation of the brain within the skull (which maximises the contact area between the brain and the skull) and the short duration of contact. The skull consists of strong but compressible sponge-like bone which is most concentrated in the forehead and


title: Woodpecker content: the back of the skull. Computer simulations have shown that 99.7 percent of the energy generated in pecking is stored in the form of strain energy, which is distributed throughout the bird's body, with only a small remaining fraction of the energy going into the brain. The pecking also causes the woodpecker's skull to heat up, which is part of the reason why they often peck in short bursts with brief breaks in between, giving the head some time to cool. During the millisecond before contact with wood, a thickened nictitating membrane closes, protecting the eye from flying debris. These


title: Woodpecker content: membranes also prevent the retina from tearing. The nostrils are also protected; they are often slit-like and have special feathers to cover them. Woodpeckers are capable of repeated pecking on a tree at high decelerations in the order of (1000 g). Some large woodpeckers such as "Dryocopus" have a fast, direct form of flight, but the majority of species have a typical undulating flight pattern consisting of a series of rapid flaps followed by a swooping glide. Many birds in the genus "Melanerpes" have distinctive, rowing wing-strokes while the piculets engage in short bursts of rapid direct flight. Woodpeckers have


title: Woodpecker content: a mostly cosmopolitan distribution, although they are absent from Australasia, Madagascar, and Antarctica. They are also absent from some of the world's oceanic islands, although many insular species are found on continental islands. The true woodpeckers, subfamily Picinae, are distributed across the entire range of the family. The Picumninae piculets have a pantropical distribution, with species in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Neotropics, with the greatest diversity being in South America. The second piculet subfamily, Nesoctitinae, has a single member, the Antillean piculet, which is restricted to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. The wrynecks (Jynginae) are found exclusively in the


title: Woodpecker content: Old World, with the two species occurring in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The majority of woodpeckers are sedentary but there are a few examples of migratory species such as the rufous-bellied woodpecker and yellow-bellied sapsucker, and the Eurasian wryneck breeds in Europe and west Asia and migrates to the Sahel in Africa in the winter. More northerly populations of Lewis's woodpecker, northern flicker, Williamson's sapsucker, red-breasted sapsucker and red-naped sapsucker all move southwards in the fall in North America. Most woodpecker movements can be described as dispersive, such as when young birds seek territories after fledging, or eruptive, to escape


title: Woodpecker content: harsh weather conditions. Several species are altitudinal migrants, for example the grey-capped woodpecker, which moves to lowlands from hills during the winter months. The woodpeckers that do migrate do so during the day. Overall, woodpeckers are arboreal birds of wooded habitats. They reach their greatest diversity in tropical rainforests, but occur in almost all suitable habitats including woodlands, savannahs, scrublands, and bamboo forests. Even grasslands and deserts have been colonised by various species. These habitats are more easily occupied where a small number of trees exist, or, in the case of desert species like the Gila woodpecker, tall cacti are


title: Woodpecker content: available for nesting. Some are specialists and are associated with coniferous or deciduous woodland or even, like the acorn woodpecker, with individual tree genera (oaks in this case). Other species are generalists and are able to adapt to forest clearance by exploiting secondary growth, plantations, orchards and parks. In general, forest-dwelling species need rotting or dead wood on which to forage. A number of species are adapted to spending a portion of their time feeding on the ground, and a very small minority have abandoned trees entirely and nest in holes in the ground. The ground woodpecker is one such


title: Woodpecker content: species, inhabiting the rocky and grassy hills of South Africa, and the Andean flicker is another. The Swiss Ornithological Institute has set up a monitoring program to record breeding populations of woodland birds. This has shown that deadwood is an important habitat requirement for the black woodpecker, great spotted woodpecker, middle spotted woodpecker, lesser spotted woodpecker, European green woodpecker and Eurasian three-toed woodpecker. Populations of all these species increased by varying amounts in the period 1990 to 2008. During this period, the amount of deadwood in the forest increased and the range of the white-backed woodpecker enlarged as it extended


title: Woodpecker content: eastwards. With the exception of the green and middle spotted woodpeckers, the increase in the amount of deadwood is likely to be the major factor explaining the population increase of these species. The majority of woodpeckers live solitary lives, but the spectrum of behaviour ranges from highly antisocial species that are aggressive towards their own kind, to species that live in groups. Solitary species will defend such feeding resources as a termite colony or fruit laden tree, driving away other conspecifics and returning frequently until the resource is exhausted. Aggressive behaviours include bill-pointing and jabbing, head shaking, wing flicking, chasing,


title: Woodpecker content: drumming and vocalisations. Ritual actions do not usually result in contact and birds may "freeze" for a while before they resume their dispute. The coloured patches may be flouted, and in some instances, these antagonistic behaviours resemble courtship rituals. Group-living species tend to be communal group breeders. In addition to these species, a number of species may join mixed-species foraging flocks with other insectivorous birds, although they tend to stay at the edges of these groups. Joining these flocks allows woodpeckers to decrease their anti-predator vigilance and increase their feeding rate. Woodpeckers are diurnal, roosting at night inside holes and


title: Woodpecker content: crevices. In many species the roost will become the nest-site during the breeding season, but in some species they have separate functions; the grey-and-buff woodpecker makes several shallow holes for roosting which are quite distinct from its nesting site. Most birds roost alone and will oust intruders from their chosen site, but the Magellanic woodpecker and acorn woodpecker are cooperative roosters. Drumming is a form of non-vocal communication used by most species of woodpecker and involves the bill being repeatedly struck on a hard surface with great rapidity. After a pause, the drum roll is repeated, each species having a


title: Woodpecker content: pattern which is unique in the number of beats in the roll, the length of the roll, the length of the gap between rolls and the cadence. The drumming is mainly a territorial call, equivalent to the song of a passerine, with male birds drumming more frequently than females. Woodpeckers choose a surface that resonates, such as a hollow tree, and may use man-made structures such as gutters and downpipes. Drumming serves for the mutual recognition of conspecifics and plays a part in courtship rituals. Individual birds are thought to be able to distinguish the drumming of their mates and


title: Woodpecker content: that of their neighbours. Woodpeckers do not have such a wide range of songs and calls as do passerine birds, and the sounds they make tend to be simpler in structure. Calls produced include brief high-pitched notes, trills, rattles, twittering, whistling, chattering, nasal churrs, screams and wails. These calls are used by both sexes in communication and are related to the circumstances of the occasion; these include courtship, territorial disputes and alarm calls. Each species has its own range of calls, which tend to be in the 1 to 2.5 kHz range for efficient transmission through forested environments. Mated couples


title: Woodpecker content: may exchange muted, low-pitched calls, and nestlings often issue noisy begging-calls from inside their nest cavity. The wrynecks have a more musical song and in some areas, the song of the newly arrived Eurasian wryneck is considered to be the harbinger of spring. The piculets either have a song consisting of a long descending trill, or a descending series of two to six (sometimes more) individual notes, and this song alerts ornithologists to the presence of the birds, as they are easily overlooked. The majority of woodpecker species live up to their name and feed on insects and other invertebrates


title: Woodpecker content: living under bark and in wood, but overall the family is characterized by its dietary flexibility, with many species being both highly omnivorous and opportunistic. The diet includes ants, termites, beetles and their larvae, caterpillars, spiders, other arthropods, bird eggs, nestlings, small rodents, lizards, fruit, nuts and sap. Many insects and their grubs are taken from living and dead trees by excavation. The bird may hear sounds from inside the timber indicating where it will be productive to create a hole. Other means are also used to garner prey. Some species such as the red-naped sapsucker sally into the air


title: Woodpecker content: to catch flying insects, and many species probe into crevices and under bark, or glean prey from leaves and twigs. The rufous woodpecker specialises in attacking the nests of arboreal ants and the buff-spotted woodpecker feeds on and nests in termite mounds. Other species such as the wrynecks and the Andean flicker feed wholly or partly on the ground. Ecologically, woodpeckers help to keep trees healthy by keeping them from suffering mass infestations. The family is noted for its ability to acquire wood-boring grubs from the trunks and branches, whether the timber is alive or dead. Having hammered a hole


title: Woodpecker content: into the wood, the prey is extracted by use of a long, barbed tongue. Woodpeckers consume beetles that burrow into trees, removing as many as 85 percent of emerald ash borer larvae from individual ash trees. The ability to excavate allows woodpeckers to obtain tree sap, an important source of food for some species. Most famously, the sapsuckers (genus "Sphyrapicus") feed in this fashion, but the technique is not restricted to these, and others such as the acorn woodpecker and white-headed woodpecker also feed on sap. It was once thought that the technique was restricted to the New World, but


title: Woodpecker content: Old World species, such as the Arabian woodpecker and great spotted woodpecker, also feed in this way. All members of the family Picidae nest in cavities, nearly always in the trunks and branches of trees, well away from the foliage. Where possible, an area of rotten wood surrounded by sound timber is used. Where trees are in short supply, the gilded flicker and ladder-backed woodpecker excavate holes in cactus and the Andean flicker and ground woodpecker dig holes in earth banks. The campo flicker sometimes chooses termite mounds, the rufous woodpecker prefers to use ants nests in trees and the


title: Woodpecker content: bamboo woodpecker specialises in bamboos. Woodpeckers also excavate nest holes in residential and commercial structures as well as wooden utility poles. Woodpeckers and piculets will excavate their own nests, but wrynecks will not, and need to find pre-existing cavities. A typical nest has a round entrance hole that just fits the bird, leading to an enlarged vertical chamber below. No nesting material is used, apart from some wood chips produced during the excavation; other wood chips are liberally scattered on the ground providing visual evidence of the site of the nest. Many species of woodpeckers excavate one hole per breeding


title: Woodpecker content: season, sometimes after multiple attempts. It takes around a month to finish the job and abandoned holes are used by other birds and mammals that are cavity nesters unable to excavate their own holes. Cavities are in great demand for nesting by other cavity nesters, so woodpeckers face competition for the nesting sites they excavate from the moment the hole becomes usable. This may come from other species of woodpecker, or other cavity nesting birds like swallows and starlings. Woodpeckers may aggressively harass potential competitors, and also use other strategies to reduce the chance of being usurped from their nesting


title: Woodpecker content: site; for example the red-crowned woodpecker digs its nest in the underside of a small branch, which reduces the chance that a larger species will take it over and expand it. Members of Picidae are typically monogamous, with a few species breeding cooperatively and some polygamy reported in a few species. Polyandry, where a female raises two broods with two separate males, has also been reported in the West Indian woodpecker. Another unusual social system is that of the acorn woodpecker, which is a polygynandrous cooperative breeder where groups of up to 12 individuals breed and help to raise the


title: Woodpecker content: young. Young birds from previous years may stay behind to help raise the group's young, and studies have found reproductive success for the group goes up with group size, but individual success goes down. Birds may be forced to remain in groups due to a lack of habitat to disperse to. A pair will work together to help build the nest, incubate the eggs and raise their altricial young. However, in most species the male does most of the nest excavation and takes the night shift while incubating the eggs. A clutch will usually consist of two to five round


title: Woodpecker content: white eggs. Since these birds are cavity nesters, their eggs do not need to be camouflaged and the white color helps the parents to see them in dim light. The eggs are incubated for about 11–14 days before they hatch. It then takes about 18–30 days before the chicks are fully fledged and ready to leave the nest. In most species, soon after this the young are left to fend for themselves, exceptions being the various social species, and the Hispaniolan woodpecker, where adults continue to feed their young for several months. In general, cavity nesting is a successful strategy


title: Woodpecker content: and a higher proportion of young are reared than is the case with birds that nest in the open. In Africa, several species of honeyguide are brood parasites of woodpeckers. The Picidae are just one of eight living families in the order Piciformes. Other members of this group, such as the jacamars, puffbirds, barbets, toucans, and honeyguides, have traditionally been thought to be closely related to the woodpecker family (true woodpeckers, piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers). The clade Pici (woodpeckers, barbets, toucans, and honeyguides) is well supported and shares a zygodactyl foot with the Galbuli (puffbirds and jacamars). More recently, several