Coming Soon
Woodpeckers have several different adaptations to deal with the unique hazards caused by their habits of chiseling and excavating wood, to either create a nest cavity or searching for insects. One hazard they face is that when chipping away wood and bark are the stray splinters flying through the air, especially so close to their…
Even within the same family, related species can have a vastly different appearance. One of the parts of a bird that can vary is their beaks, since the shape has evolved around their primary food source. One group that this can be seen in are finches. Pine siskins, a small boreal finch, have thin beaks,…
Birds get their colors from various pigments and feather structures. One of those three pigments seen in birds is melanin. Melanin occurs both in a bird’s feathers, but also their skin. Depending on the concentration of this pigment, different colors can be produced. From being more sparse, which can include colors such as reddish browns…
Not all bird feet are alike, even toe shape and placement can vary. One example of different toe alignment seen in birds is being zygodactyl, where two toes face forward and the other two face backwards. This can be seen in species such as woodpeckers, parrots and owls. This arrangement of toes is perfect for…
A bird’s beak can have different components to it depending on the species or bird family. On gull species, where the two lateral plates of the lower mandible connect towards the tip of the beak form a ridge or bulge called the gonydeal expansion. This bulge also causes a bump out on the lower mandible…
In a previous blog post I went over some of the many different shapes a bird’s beak may have and how they are adapted to their diet, but I never went over what parts of a bird’s beak actually are. They are an important part of the topography of a bird and to truly appreciate…
Bird eggs are a very unique period in a bird’s life. They, like birds, come in a wide variety of colors and shapes. They have their own unique adaptations to give them the best chance of making it to hatching. The egg shell’s purpose is to be strong enough to protect the baby birds growing…
When you think of a species, most often a single visage of a species comes to mind. I say bald eagle for example, and the image of a large bird with a dark brown body, white head and tail, orange beak and piercing yellow eyes. But birds don’t generally look exactly the same as they…
One of the more common large birds you may see overhead throughout North America is the turkey vulture, especially in the spring as they migrate in large numbers northward. One of their features to help identify them when they are in flight, even if they are at a great distance away, is their flight style….
While out hiking in a field, you spot a little american kestrel in a telephone wire. Its back is to you and you notice an interesting pattern on the back of its head, which appears to resemble eyes. These feather patterns aren’t eyes though, they are called ocelli, or false eye spots. This adaptation can…