#Bird Fact

[thatsbelievable]

[bird-of-the-day]

BOTD: Japanese Robin

^Image credit: Alnus

Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige)

The Japanese Robin is an abundant species of robin in Japan. Its scientific name means "caterpillar eater", referencing its diet of invertebrates, beetles, milled worms, crickets and other small insects, but also fruits. They are considered omnivorous.

[llammalord69]

So in episode 3 of never stop blowing up, Ally's character Russ is able to stop the Russian lady, and we find out I believe that she's a shadow falcon, I could be wrong on that but if she is then, we also find out she has a throat purse we can asume that because they're a bird organization all members of that school have them and bird have it's either there belly or a spot in there throat full of rocks to help digest food so Brennan without even knowing probably that he made yet ANOTHER bird fact reference!!!!!! Thankyou for coming to my Ted talk.

[gaslightgatekeepgaleboss]

Bird fact: I am rapidly approaching your location

[corvidaemnit]

every single day I think about how american black vultures are known for engaging in interspecific allopreening (preening between different species)

and they have a specific relationship with crested caracaras, in which the black vultures assist them by not only preening them after meals but also leading them to food in the first place, while the caracaras assist the black vultures by acting as a warning signal in case of danger

and while this is more typical of black vultures, this is not common at all for any member of the falconidae family— it’s a special bond!

yet another post in favor of vultures everyone , hope you enjoy:) and I implore you to do some more research on these incredible birds !!

EDIT: I meant interspecific allopreening! excuse my typo!

EDIT 2: black vultures do not have a superior sense of smell to caracaras, sorry for the misunderstanding!

[pansy-placebo]

Have any of you ever heard of the hummingbird moths we get in Britain?

So, I thought I saw a hummingbird last year. It was much bigger than a bug could be, I thought, and it hovered around flowers and looked like it had feathers.

I got pretty close but it was never still enough to see clearly. Then, when I told my parents they said "oh! it was probably a moth!" and I was baffled for a long time. Like, how could a moth look like and act so much like a hummingbird?

Until I googled "hummingbirds in the UK" and this fucker comes up:

Everyone, meet the hummingbird hawk-moth; one of the weirdest and coolest cases of convergent evolution on this planet.

This is the kinda thing I'd see in fiction and go "oooh cool, bug hummingbird! Wish we had those on earth!" But we do. We really do have them on earth!! Isn't that nuts?!?!?

[amnhnyc]

Have you ever seen a white Common Raven (Corvus corax)? No, this isn’t a new species… or a ghost. 👻 This Raven’s striking pale plumage is the result of the genetic mutations leucism or albinism. Leucism is a reduction in all types of pigmentation, including melanin. Albinism is the inability to produce or distribute melanin. One hint to tell the difference? Individuals affected by leucism often have blue eyes, while individuals with albinism have pink eyes. White Common Ravens are rare. An estimated 1 in 30,000 individuals is born without this species’ signature black plumage.

Photo: Cos van Wermeskerken, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist

[birbs-facts]

FACT: Avians eating other avians is no more cannibalism then mammals eating other mammals

[randomisedmongoose]

My nayme is bird And wen it's Yule And Swedish snow Lies cold and cruel I look for seeds With many friends But food is scarce Where flock descends

But then we hear Of ancient rite We leave the trees We all take flight If fire not Its end promote? We do the deed. We eat the goat.

[cozylittleartblog]

what if there was a plague doctor that was so so so cute (and was also secretly a bird themself)

[taylorpixiedust]

ok

if people are following me because of that one bird thing, fine.

Fun Fact: Cuckoo Clocks and Cuckold both originate from the same bird, being Cuckoo birds. They lay their eggs in other birds' nests and force the mothers to raise their chick under the threat of violence.

[bird-of-the-day]

BOTD: Crested Auklet

^Image credit: F. Deines

Crested Auklet (Aethia cristatella)

Crested Auklets have a range of remarkable traits used for mating. These include their crests, loud 'trumpet' calls, and a distinct scent like that of citrus fruit. Crested Auklets with larger crests are more likely to obtain mates.

[bigfatbreak]

Birds of a Feather previous / next

[bewareofhumanssociety]

Fun fact because I like shirkes and have no one to talk about them with: (cw: gore just in case)

Shrikes don't always impale their prey. Turns out my butcher birds will kill larger rodents by pinching their spinal cords, paralyzing them but not killing them. Then, the shrikes shake their prey's limp bodies that can gengerate not one g-force, not two, not even five, but six g-forces, ultimately breaking their prey's neck or snapping their vertebrae.

[bethanythebogwitch]

I heard it's Superb Owl Sunday so I have prepared some superb owls for you.

The barn owl is the most widespread species of owl, living on every continent except Antarctica. Their faces are shaped like a disk to help their hearing, giving them some of the best hearing of any owl. They mostly hunt by sound.

Snowy owls are the largest arctic predatory birds, They are born with black feathers and get whiter as they age. Females usually have more dark feathers than males.

Eastern screech owls have a few feather variants that make them look like completely different species.

The southern white-faced owl can increase its metabolic rate during winter to compensate for the cold and lack of food. They lay their eggs in nests built and abandoned by other birds.

The great grey owl is the largest owl by length, but a lot of that is feathers and they're actually very light for their size. Their hearing is good enough to hear rodents burrowing through snow and they can break through hard-packed snow to catch prey.

Blakiston's fish owl is the largest owl by mass and eats mostly fish. Despite the name, they may be more closely related to eagle owls than fish owls.

The elf owl is the smallest owl species, barely larger than a sparrow. They hunt bugs and play dead when caught. They like to live in holes in saguaro cacti.

Burrowing owls live in underground burrows. While they can dig, they mostly take over burrows from other animals. Farmers killing prairie dogs has severely reduced burrowing owl populations. They decorate their burrows with feces to attract bugs to eat.

The barking owl is called that because

Its nice to have a day to appreciate superb owls. Feel free to spread the love by reblogging with some more owl facts.

[imperiousphasmid]

On this episode of Today I Learned~ ✨

House Wren nests are vulnerable to mite infestations. They counter this by going out and finding spider egg sacs to bring back to their nests so that when the baby spiders hatch the birds have their own personal pest control army.