Additional Information
 Great
Blue Heron
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Ardeidae
Scientific Name: Ardea herodias
The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird with a long
slender neck and stick like legs that are similar to the legs of cranes
and storks. This heron's general color is pale slate-gray, with a
black and white streaked breast. It is chestnut colored at the bend of
the wing, and has a white patch on the crown of the throat. Also both
the legs and feet are black. It has a yellowish, long pointed bill and
some have long crests and plumes on their throats and bodies. The Great
Blue Heron is the largest of the truly American Herons, its overall length
is 50-52 inches with a wing span of 70 inches and a bill length of up
to 6 1/4 inches.
The Great Blue Heron breeding range extends from Nova Scotia
to southeastern British Colombia to Nebraska, South Carolina and Bermuda.
The winter range extends from Oregon and New York south to Florida, Venezuela,
Colombia and Panama. However, their frequent habitat is Northeast America.
This heron is frequently found in marshes, lake margins, rivers and small
streams. These herons are typically solitary birds, with the exception
of the breeding season, when they nest and roost in colonies either in
rushes or in trees. These colonies can include more than 50 nests.
The nest of this heron is constructed of a platform of sticks,
which may be used for many years. The courtship takes place during the
breeding season and is largely by display in a circle. After mating, the
female will lay 3 or 4, pale dull blue eggs that will hatch after an incubation
period of approximately 28 days. The fledglings are helpless at first
and fed by a violent regurgitation of food by the parent.
The food of the adult Great Blue Heron consists of fish,
sometimes up to 1 foot long, water snakes, grasshoppers, crayfish, mice,
frogs, shrews, and other small animals. They may also feed on pocket gophers,
ground squirrels and field mice. All of this food is caught by the lightening
like thrust of the beak.
The flight of the Great Blue Heron is remarkably beautiful,
however, slow and steady. It can rest on deep water and take to flight
from a floating position. In flight, herons stretch their long legs straight
out behind them and curl their heads between their shoulders in an As@
shape.
The Great Blue Heron may also be known locally as a red-shouldered
heron, blue crane, or common blue crane. This bird is protected by law
in many states.
Information adapted from: Palmer, E. Laurence
and H. Seymour Fowler. A Fieldbook of Natural History.@ Second Edition.
New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1995.
 Sandhill
Crane
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Gruiformes
Family: Gruidae
Scientific Name: Grus canadensis
The Sandhill Crane is a large, wading marsh bird of the
northern hemisphere and Africa. They are one of the oldest living species
of bird, dating back 2.5 million years. Their overall length and height
can be up to 4 feet with a bill up to 6 inches long and a wingspread of
7 feet. Their overall appearance is slate gray or light brown throughout
their bodies, with darker wings and light to white throats with a dark
bill. Their most noticeable feature is their head. The crown of the head
and the area in front of the eyes is red and naked (featherless). In contrast,
the young are entirely feathered and more rusty in appearance.
The Sandhill Crane's former breeding range extended
from British Colombia to Southwestern Michigan and South to California,
Illinois, and Ohio. The former migration patterns were from the east to
New England, however, they are now rarely seen east of the Mississippi
and over much of their former range. This crane still breeds from northeastern
California to Wisconsin and Michigan, and winters in California, Texas
and Mexico.
Sandhill Cranes have an elaborate courtship display, with
many of these birds congregating and beginning a united bowing, parading,
and bouncing in which the whole group appears to behave like bouncing
balls. The nest that is built is constructed on the ground and consists
of a mass of vegetation with a hollowing at the top. Although some nesting
occurs in forested areas, most takes place in open savannahs and swamp
openings. Usually two eggs are produced which are an olive buff color
with brown spots. Interestingly, the young fledglings leave the nest soon
after hatching.
Although the Sandhill Crane is primarily a plant eater which
feeds on roots, stems, leaves, fruits and seeds of both wild and cultivated
plants, other foods include frogs, snakes, insects, and similar small
animals.
The Sandhill Crane's flight is steady and heavy, however
deceptive in its speed. Both during rest and in flight, the neck is held
straight out, and not tucked in like herons do. Also the gray legs are
extended in flight.
This bird has been declared endangered throughout its range
under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency.
Information adapted from: Palmer, E. Laurence
and H. Seymour Fowler. A Fieldbook of Natural History.@ Second Edition.
New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1995.
 Scarlet
Tanager
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Thraupidae
Scientific Name: Piranga olivacea
The Scarlet Tanager is a bird about the size of a Robin,
with an overall length of 7 1/2 inches, with a wingspread of 12 inches
and a tail up to 3 1/4 inches long. The female of this species is smaller
than the male, and the male is bright red with black wings and tail during
the breeding season. However, the male loses most of its red color in
autumn. The female of the species is dull green above and yellowish below,
and the fledglings look like the female in color.
The breeding range of the Scarlet Tanager stretches from
southern Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia and south to Arkansas. It is also
found in northern Alabama, northern Georgia, and in the mountains of Virginia
and South Carolina. The winter range of this species extends from Colombia
to Bolivia and Peru, and it migrates through Cuba, Jamaica, and Yucatan,
as well as along the coast of Central America.
This bird is considered a treetop bird because it spends
much of its time in the tops of the trees. The nest is built on a horizontal
limb in high open woods in trees such as oaks or pines. The nest can be
built up to 50 feet above the ground and is composed of a flat platform
of rootlets with interwoven grasses. The female produces between 3 and
5 eggs that are pale, greenish blue with many brown spots. The incubation
of the eggs takes 13 days and is done solely by the female of the species,
who produces only one annual brood. The fledglings will develop their
first breeding plumage within one year.
The food of the Scarlet Tanager consists of insects that
live on various species of oak, including beetles. One of this birds most
recent food items is the harmful gypsy moth and leaf rollers in the eastern
United States. It searches for wood-boring beetles and grasshoppers and
true bugs, and it also feeds on fruits of wild plants such as bayberry,
sumac, elderberry, and blueberry.
This bird is considered useful in every imaginable aspect.
However, due to habitat loss this species is becoming more rare.
Information adapted from: Palmer, E. Laurence
and H. Seymour Fowler. A Fieldbook of Natural History.@ Second Edition.
New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1995.
 Northern
Saw-whet Owl
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Scientific Name: Aegolius acadicus
The Northern Saw-whet Owl is one of the smallest of the
eastern nocturnal birds of prey, with an overall length of 8 1/2 inches,
a wingspread of 21 1/2 inches and a tail length of 3 1/4 inches. Both
the male and the female of this species appear the same, except the female
is possibly somewhat larger than the male. This owl can sometimes be confused
with a screech owl, however it does not have the characteristic ear tufts
and is smaller than a screech owl.
The breeding range of the Northern Saw-whet Owl ranges from
southern Asia to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and south to Central California,
Arizona, and Maryland. Its winter range includes southern California and
Virginia and parts of its breeding range. Because of its nocturnal habits,
this owl is not often seen, even when it is abundant.
The nest of the Northern Saw-whet Owl is generally in wooded
areas, particularly where it is swampy. They nest in a hole in a tree,
such as a deserted Common Flicker hole. The female owl will produce 3
to 7 eggs that are chalky white in appearance. The incubation of the eggs
takes about 27 days and is done solely by the female, who produces only
one annual brood.
The food of this owl consists primarily of rodents such
as mice, frogs, insects and small birds. This owl is obviously useful
as a mouse eradicator, although it is never present in sufficient numbers
to serve a very important role in this capacity. In winter, the numbers
of these owls may appear much larger than normal because of crowding where
food is readily available.
The eyes of owls are directed forward and surrounded by
disks of radiating feathers. Their eyes are especially adapted to seeing
in partial darkness, and most owls sleep during the day. Their soft, fluffy
plumage makes them almost noiseless in flight, making them a very efficient
predator.
Information adapted from: Palmer, E. Laurence
and H. Seymour Fowler. A Fieldbook of Natural History.@ Second Edition.
New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1995.
 Blue
Jay
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Scientific Name: Cyanocitta cristata
The Blue Jay is a conspicuously blue bird with white and
black markings, with a long-tipped tail and a conspicuous head crest.
This bird can reach 12 1/2 inches in length, with a wingspread up to 17
1/2 inches, the tail can reach lengths up to 6 inches and the bill length
is 1 1/4 inches long. The female of the species is slightly smaller than
the male. These are generally noisy birds and have a "sassy"
disposition.
There are three subspecies of Blue Jays which include the
Northern, Florida and Semple's species. The Northern Blue Jay, native
in Michigan, breeds from southern Alberta to Newfoundland, south to Colorado,
central Texas and Virginia. This bird ranges somewhat farther south in
winter but may be resident year round. It is also sometimes found in New
Mexico. The Blue Jay will defend a home territory up to 1/2 mile across.
The Blue Jay nests in dense woods or small groves of trees,
especially in coniferous trees. The nest is built anywhere from 5 to 50
feet above the ground, in the crotch or on a branch of the tree, close
to the trunk. The nest is constructed of sticks with a lining of roots.
The female will produce between 3 and 6 eggs, that appear greenish gray
or olive, with brown blotches. The incubation of the eggs takes 15-17
days and is done by both the male and female. These birds will produce
one to two annual broods.
The food of the Blue Jay includes vegetable matter, hen's
eggs, insects, spiders, snails, fishes, frogs, salamanders, and birds
and their eggs, nuts and acorns. The Blue Jay is a persistent nest robber
and destroys eggs and eats the young of other species.
Information adapted from: Palmer, E. Laurence
and H. Seymour Fowler. A Fieldbook of Natural History.@ Second Edition.
New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1995.
Additional Information
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