Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands.
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The Osprey (Pandion Haliaetus), sometimes known as the Sea Hawk, Fish Eagle or Fish Hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large Raptor, reaching more than 24 inches (60 cm) in length and a 71 inches (180 cm) wingspan. It is brown on the upper parts and predominantly greyish on the head and under parts, with a black eye patch and wings. In 1994, the osprey was declared the provincial bird of Nova Scotia, Canada.
The Osprey tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It is found on all continents except Antarctica although in South America it occurs only as a non-breeding migrant.
As its other common name suggests, the Osprey's diet consists almost exclusively of fish. It possesses specialized physical characteristics and exhibits unique behavior to assist in hunting and catching prey. As a result of these unique characteristics, it has been given its own taxonomic genus, Pandion and family, Pandionidae. Four subspecies are usually recognized, one of which has recently been given full species status (see below). Despite its propensity to nest near water, the Osprey is not classed as a Sea-Eagle.
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Turkey Vulture
The Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), also known in some North American regions as the Turkey Buzzard (or just Buzzard), and in some areas of the Caribbean as the John Crow or Carrion Crow, is a Vulture that is the most widespread of the New World Vultures. One of three species in the genus Cathartes of the family Cathartidae, the Turkey Vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. It inhabits a variety of open and semi-open areas, including subtropical forests, scrublands, pastures, and deserts.
The turkey vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion. It finds its food using its keen eyes and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gases produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals. In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings infrequently. It roosts in large community groups. Lacking a syrinxâthe vocal organ of birdsâits only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses. It nests in caves, hollow trees, or thickets. Each year it generally raises two chicks, which it feeds by regurgitation. It has very few natural predators. In the United States, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
Unlike all other raptors, vultures are not birds of prey. They feed solely on carrion, preferring animals that have been dead for two to four days. This certainly explains why they, unlike all other raptors, lack strong, grasping feet and talons. Feeding on carrion has led to a number of other vulture adaptations.
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Turkey Vulture
The Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), also known in some North American regions as the Turkey Buzzard (or just Buzzard), and in some areas of the Caribbean as the John Crow or Carrion Crow, is a Vulture that is the most widespread of the New World Vultures. One of three species in the genus Cathartes of the family Cathartidae, the Turkey Vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. It inhabits a variety of open and semi-open areas, including subtropical forests, scrublands, pastures, and deserts.
The turkey vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion. It finds its food using its keen eyes and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gases produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals. In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings infrequently. It roosts in large community groups. Lacking a syrinx—the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses. It nests in caves, hollow trees, or thickets. Each year it generally raises two chicks, which it feeds by regurgitation. It has very few natural predators. In the United States, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
Unlike all other raptors, vultures are not birds of prey. They feed solely on carrion, preferring animals that have been dead for two to four days. This certainly explains why they, unlike all other raptors, lack strong, grasping feet and talons. Feeding on carrion has led to a number of other vulture adaptations.
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Brant Goose
The Brant or Brent Goose (Branta Bernicla) is a species of goose of the genus Branta. The black brant is an American subspecies. The specific descriptor bernicla is from the same source as "barnacle" in barnacle goose, which is similar in appearance. The Brent Crude, a major trading classification of sweet light crude oil that serves as a major benchmark price for purchases of oil, was named after the species.
The brant goose is a small goose with a short, stubby bill. It measures 55â66 cm (22â26 in) long, 106â121 cm (42â48 in) across the wings and weighs 0.88â2.2 kg (1.9â4.9 lb). The under-tail is pure white, and the tail black and very short (the shortest of any goose).
The species is divided three subspecies:
Dark-bellied Brant Goose B. b. bernicla (Linnaeus, 1758)
Pale-bellied Brant Goose B. b. hrota (Müller, 1776) (sometimes also known as light-bellied brant goose in Europe, and Atlantic brant in North America)
Black Brant B. b. nigricans (Lawrence, 1846) (sometimes also known as the Pacific brant in North America)
It used to be a strictly coastal bird in winter, seldom leaving tidal estuaries, where it feeds on eel-grass (Zostera marina) and the seaweed, sea lettuce (Ulva). In recent decades, it has started using agricultural land a short distance inland, feeding extensively on grass and winter-sown cereals. This may be behaviour learnt by following other species of geese. Food resource pressure may also be important in forcing this change, as the world population has risen over tenfold to 400,000-500,000 by the mid-1980s, possibly reaching the carrying capacity of the estuaries. In the breeding season, it uses low-lying wet coastal tundra for both breeding and feeding. The nest is bowl-shaped, lined with grass and down, in an elevated location, often in a small pond.
The Brant Goose is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
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