Tag: bird
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Ostrich Cells Used to Make Glowing COVID-19 Detecting Masks
Yasuhiro Tsukamoto and his team of researchers at Kyoto Prefectural University in Japan have developed a mask that helps detect COVID-19 under blacklight using cells from the Ostrich.
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Hairy & Downy Woodpeckers: Spot the Difference
These two little woodpecker species are notorious for their visual similarity, but there are some key differences that can tip you off!
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The Wild Life of the Nicobar Pigeon
Order| Columbiformes While it may come as a shock, the Nicobar Pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica) is indeed a Pigeon. It’s also the closest living relative of the now extinct Dodo bird! These birds are named for an island chain of the coast of India where many of them live, though they can be found all the […]
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Get your head out of the sand! Ostriches are actually pretty amazing.
It’s #ThursdayBirdsday! This week, it’s time to bust some myths, bow down in awe, and learn something new about the big birds that look like emus. (Rhyming was the only reason for that last bit and I don’t regret it.) You’re probably wondering why the ostrich in the main image seems so shocked. Well, then […]
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The American Goldfinch
A few days back while at the park with my son, we were sitting beneath a shady cedar tree watching a family of Canada Geese graze in the grass when, from above, came a familiar summer song— po-ta-to chip, po-ta-to chip.
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Birding by Smartphone
In 1917, the American poet Wallace Stevens published a poem called 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird. In truth, 13 is a major understatement, with just as much variation in “why” as their is in “how”. Whether you’re a life “lister”, a casual admirer, or anywhere in between, at some point each and every one of has had a moment where we saw a bird and thought to ourselves, “what is that?”
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Gulls and the Concrete Sea: Why do Seagulls Love Parking Lots?
Most know them as seagulls, a name which implies a proclivity for life at sea. Yet this familiar moniker is neither accurate (scientifically speaking), nor seems to fall in line with a universal observation—gulls love parking lots, whatever their distance from the salty sea
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Pelicans Are Pretty Fly
How do Pelican beaks work? How much can they fit in their pouch? How do Pelicans hunt? I’ve got the answers to those and more!
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Ask TWL: The Crested Caracara
The Northern Crested Caracara is a medium-sized raptor, smaller than a goose, but bigger than other birds in the Falcon family like the Peregrine Falcon. The envy of the Bald Eagle, the Crested Caracara is, well, crested—which is sort of a way of describing a bird faux-hawk (pun-intended).
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The Yellow-Crowned Night Heron
Chrissy Bowker of Texas asks, “What’s this animal?” COMMON NAME: Yellow-crowned Night Heron SCIENTIFIC NAME: Nyctanassa violacea; ORDER, Pelecaniformes DIET: Mainly crustaceans, insects, and some types of fish. Occasionally, it may feed on small lizards, rodents, or other small birds. SIZE: Average height, 25 inches; Wingspan, 44 inches WEIGHT: Average weight, 1.65 pounds HABITAT: Wetlands, marshes, bayous, shallow lake shores, mangroves, and […]
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The Tree Swallow
Species: Tachycineta bicolor Order: Passeriformes Chrissy Bowker of Texas (who, yes, also happens to be my mother) asks, “What’s this animal?” The bird in the picture above is none other than the Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor. The Tree Swallow is an insectivorous, migratory passerine bird that breeds in […]
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How To: “Life-Size” Eagle Nest Display
Sometimes understanding something is as simple as putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, or in this case, nest. I spent a summer working as a Park Ranger for Gull Lake Recreation Area in Brainerd, Minnesota for the US Army Corps of Engineers. While there, I did weekly interpretive programs as any park ranger does, but […]
