gelbertojack

Dog Hunsh For Chewing Tree Sticks

Gull Birds Coming Over Fishing Boat

Rhino Mother and Her Child Standing In Secure Farm

Trumpeter Swans Swimming In Bond

Couple Swans Swimming Afternoon Lake

Funny Dog Eating Whip Cream

Kitty Moving Fast In My Room

Adorable Hedgehog Taking A Stroll

Female Bald Eagle Standing Near the Water , Eagles are large, powerfully built birds of prey, with heavy heads and beaks. Even the smallest eagles, such as the booted eagle (Aquila pennata), which is comparable in size to a common buzzard (Buteo buteo) or red-tailed hawk , have relatively longer and more evenly broad wings, and more direct, faster flight – despite the reduced size of aerodynamic feathers. Most eagles are larger than any other raptors apart from some vultures. The smallest species of eagle is the South Nicobar serpent eagle , at 450 g and 40 cm . The largest species are discussed below. Like all birds of prey, eagles have very large, hooked beaks for ripping flesh from their prey, strong, muscular legs, and powerful talons. The beak is typically heavier than that of most other birds of prey. Eagles' eyes are extremely powerful. It is estimated that the martial eagle, whose eye is more than twice as long as a human eye, has a visual acuity 3.0 to 3.6 times that of humans. This acuity enables eagles to spot potential prey from a very long distance. This keen eyesight is primarily attributed to their extremely large pupils which ensure minimal diffraction (scattering) of the incoming light. The female of all known species of eagles is larger than the male. Eagles normally build their nests, called eyries, in tall trees or on high cliffs. Many species lay two eggs, but the older, larger chick frequently kills its younger sibling once it has hatched. The dominant chick tends to be a female, as they are bigger than the male. The parents take no action to stop the killing. Due to the size and power of many eagle species, they are ranked at the top of the food chain as apex predators in the avian world. The type of prey varies by genus. The Haliaeetus and Ichthyophaga eagles prefer to capture fish, though the species in the former often capture various animals, especially other water birds, and are powerful kleptoparasites of other birds. The snake and serpent eagles of the genera Circaetus, Terathopius, and Spilornis predominantly prey on the great diversity of snakes found in the tropics of Africa and Asia. The eagles of the genus Aquila are often the top birds of prey in open habitats, taking almost any medium-sized vertebrate they can catch. Where Aquila eagles are absent, other eagles, such as the buteonine black-chested buzzard-eagle of South America, may assume the position of top raptorial predator in open areas. Many other eagles, including the species-rich genus Spizaetus, live predominantly in woodlands and forest. These eagles often target various arboreal or ground-dwelling mammals and birds, which are often unsuspectingly ambushed in such dense, knotty environments. Hunting techniques differ among the species and genera, with some individual eagles having engaged in quite varied techniques based their environment and prey at any given time. Most eagles grab prey without landing and take flight with it, so the prey can be carried to a perch and torn apart. The bald eagle is noted for having flown with the heaviest load verified to be carried by any flying bird, since one eagle flew with a 6.8 kg mule deer fawn. However, a few eagles may target prey considerably heavier than themselves; such prey is too heavy to fly with, thus it is either eaten at the site of the kill or taken in pieces back to a perch or nest. Golden and crowned eagles have killed ungulates weighing up to 30 kg and a martial eagle even killed a 37 kg ,7–8 times heavier than the preying eagle. Authors on birds David Allen Sibley, Pete Dunne, and Clay Sutton described the behavioral difference between hunting eagles and other birds of prey thus in this case the bald and golden eagles as compared to other North American raptors

Male Orange Weaver Bird Ran From Shooter on Branch , Weaver birds build exquisite and elaborate nest structures that are a rival to any human feat of engineering. Some of these nests are the largest structures to be built by birds. Weaver birds are a group of several families of small passerine birds that are related to the finches. Most weaver birds are yellow, but there are also red, brown or black varieties. They are commonly known for their construction of elaborate nests. Their blunt, conical bills allow them to easily feast on seeds and grain, with some weaver birds, such as the red-billed quelea featured below, proving a massive problem for crop farmers. The Ploceidae weaver finches are the most common, with 64 individual species. Most weaver finches can be found in Sub-Saharan Africa, with five Asian and two Madagascan species. Weaver bird nests are extraordinary structures. Most individual nests are cylindrical in shape, with downward-facing, narrow entrances that are usually situated over or next to water. Ensuring that the entrance faces downwards and is as narrow as possible deters thieves and potential predators. Some nests even have a long tube, extending the entrance further beneath the nest body. Having selected a good location for his nest, the weaver bird starts to loop and weave strands of grass or strips of leaves around the ends of one or two branches in a tree. Having created a looped basis for the nest body, the weaver bird then builds the hollow body before adding the tubular entrance last. The males are the main weavers, leaving the females with the responsibility of selecting their breeding-partner. They do this based on the location, design and relative comfort of the nest which ensures the good genetic quality for the father of her offspring alongside a safe home for her eggs. The sociable weaver of southern Africa builds large, permanent nests for a community of birds, usually found around areas where the stiff, dry grass they use as a building material can be found. Some of these nests are the largest structures built by birds. Usually found spread throughout the branches of certain trees, sociable weavers have also been known to take advantage of telegraph poles and other tall, man-made structures. The nests resemble a a pile of hay in the tree with entrance holes placed underneath in order to deter nest invaders. The nests provide a more consistent environment for sociable weavers who inhabit an area whose climate can see a fluctuation of extremes. Protected from the intense heat of the day and sometimes brisk night-time temperatures, sociable weavers can raise their young and ride out extreme weather in relative comfort, all the time safe in the knowledge that they are surrounded by members of their own species. However, despite this "safety in numbers" it has been found that nest raiding can be quite high with up to 80% of young not making it to adulthood. The red-billed quelea is the world's most abundant wild bird, with some estimates numbering them in the billions. Perhaps even as high as 10 billion! Found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, except the forests and the southern tip, they can congregate in vast swarms that can clear swathes of crops, proving to be a massively destructive pest. Some extreme methods of control include the burning of roosting colonies with napalm.

What an Adorable White Seagulls Flying Over Sea , Seagulls are very clever. They learn, remember and even pass on behaviours, such as stamping their feet in a group to imitate rainfall and trick earthworms to come to the surface. Seagulls’ intelligence is clearly demonstrated by a range of different feeding behaviours, such as dropping hard-shelled molluscs onto rocks so that they break open so they can eat them, and following ploughs in fields where they know upturned grubs and other food sources will be plentiful. Seagulls are attentive and caring parents. The male and female pair for life and they take turns incubating the eggs, and feeding and protecting the chicks. Gulls have a complex and highly developed repertoire for communication which includes a range of vocalisations and body movements. Seagulls can drink both fresh and salt water. Most animals are unable to do this, but seagulls have a special pair of glands right above their eyes which is specifically designed to flush the salt from their systems through openings in the bill. Share There is a great deal of diversity between different gull species, with the smallest being the Little Gull (120 g and 29 cm) and the largest being the Great Black-beaked Gull (1.75 kg and 75 cm). A small claw halfway up their lower leg enables them to sit and roost on high ledges without being blown off. Young gulls form nursery flocks where they will play and learn vital skills for adulthood. Nursery flocks are watched over by a few adult males and these flocks will remain together until the birds are old enough to breed. In Native American symbolism, the seagull represents a carefree attitude, versatility, and freedom. Many seagulls have learned to conserve energy by hovering over bridges in order to absorb raising heat from paved roadways. Seagulls are fondly remembered in Utah for helping Mormon settlers deal with a plague of crickets. The seagull is now the state bird of Utah and a monument in Salt Lake City commemorates the event, known as the ‘Miracle of the Gulls’.

Gannet, any of three oceanic bird species within the family Sulidae (order Pelecaniformes or Suliformes). Closely related to the boobies and variously classified with them in the genus Sula or separated as Morus (or Moris), the gannets are the best known of the Sulidae. They are found in the northern Atlantic, where they are the largest seabirds, and also in temperate waters around Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Adult gannets are mainly white with black-tipped wing feathers. They have a large, yellowish or buff-coloured head marked with black around the eyes. They have a tapered beak and a pointed tail. Gannets dive with half-closed wings into the sea in order to catch fish and squid. They waddle on land but are expert fliers, alternating rapid wing beats with gliding. They spend most of their lives over water. Gannets nest in dense colonies on cliffs, brooding a single bluish, chalky egg for six or seven weeks in a nest of seaweed or mud. The young birds are fed by regurgitation and reach maturity in the third or fourth year. The largest of the three species is the 100-cm (40-inch) northern gannet, Morus bassanus (or Sula bassana), sometimes called solan goose; it breeds on islands in Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and northeastern Europe, wintering to the Gulf of Mexico, Morocco, and the Mediterranean. The two slightly smaller southern species are the Cape gannet (M. capensis), which breeds on islands off South Africa, and the Australian (or Australasian) gannet (M. serrator), which breeds around Tasmania and New Zealand. Though gannets (and the related boobies) are traditionally grouped in the order Pelecaniformes, some taxonomists have suggested that on the basis of genetic data, they should be grouped with cormorants (family Phalacrocoracidae), darters (family Anhingidae), and frigate birds (family Fregatidae) in the order Suliformes. Gannets are colonial breeders on islands and coasts, normally laying one chalky, blue egg. Gannets lack brood patches and they use their webbed feet to warm the eggs.[3] It takes five years for gannets to reach maturity. First-year birds are completely black, and subsequent sub-adult plumages show increasing amounts of white. The most important nesting ground for northern gannets is the United Kingdom with about two thirds of the world's population. These live mainly in Scotland, including the Shetland Isles. The rest of the world's population is divided between Canada, Ireland, Faroe Islands and Iceland, with small numbers in France (they are often seen in the Bay of Biscay), the Channel Islands. Norway and a single colony in Germany on Heligoland. The biggest northern gannet colony is on Scotland's Bass Rock; in 2014, this colony contained some 75,000 pairs. Sulasgeir off the coast of the Isle of Lewis, St. Kilda, Grassholm in Pembrokeshire, Bempton Cliffs in the East Riding of Yorkshire, Sceilig Bheag, Ireland and Bonaventure Island, Quebec are also important northern gannet breeding sites.