A bird’s anatomy can be highly variable, from the broadest being body shape, color, bill, wings and feet. Down in more minute features that can often get overlooked. When drawing, we are always told the eye is the most important feature that you want to stand out. But how often do you notice the intricate…
Tag: birds
Hummingbirds of the World
Hummingbirds belong to the family Trochilidae, native to only the Americas. They are the third largest bird family, right after the tyrant flycatchers and tanagers, consisting of 363 species in 112 genera. They occur as far north as Alaska and as far south as Tierra del Fuego, though the highest concentration can be found in…
Bird Adaptations: Woodpecker’s Tail
When you see a woodpecker, they are typically clinging onto the bark of a tree or branches, usually using their tail to prop themselves up. This position would typically put a lot of pressure and wear on their longest tail feathers. Because of this risk of increased damage to these feathers, they have a special…
Bird Anatomy: Gonys
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…
Growing Up Bird: Eggs
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…
A Day Bird Banding
Bird banding can provide valuable data on several fronts. From monitoring populations in an area, studying migration and various other study and research programs. So how does bird banding work? A typical day of bird banding for passerines (songbirds) starts before the sun rises, and in our case, that means 4:45 am. It’s still dark…
Dimorphism: Age
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…
Bird Family: Parulidae
One of the highlights in spring is going birding to see and hear the colorful songbirds that have migrated back from their southern wintering grounds. These little songbirds are as brightly colored and diverse as their musical songs, whistles and trills. This colorful group is the parulidae family, also called the new world warblers or…
Bird Adaptations: Ocelli
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…
Bird Anatomy: Nictitating Membrane
For birds to survive, they need keen eyesight, to find food, to navigate their environment, find a mate and avoiding becoming something else’s meal. So it is critical to protect their eyes, especially when flying through the air and through vegetation where there is an increased risk of something hitting their eyes and causing abrasions….