Tag: bird
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150/150: Home is where the heart is for the Barred Owl
Animalia: Chordata: Aves: Strigiformes: Strigidae: Strix: Strix varia Barton, 1799 The Barred Owl is a member of the family Strigidae, the true owls, which it shares with almost all other extant owl species. It is also called the Hoot Owl due to its characteristic mating call. Like most owls, Barred Owls are silent when hunting…
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134/150: A soaring hawk of the prairies
Animalia: Chordata: Aves: Accipitriformes: Accipitridae: Buteo: Buteo regalis (Gray, 1844) The Ferruginous Hawk is the largest hawk native to North America and is a specialist predator, feeding on specific rodent species. It is classified as Threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) due to the loss and fragmentation of…
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107/150: Loggerhead Shrike – The “Butcher Bird”
Animalia: Chordata: Aves: Passeriformes: Laniidae: Lanius: Lanius ludovicianus Linnaeus, 1766 The loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) is classed as Endangered, with only 31 breeding pairs reported in Ontario in 2009, leading to many captive breeding programs. Although classed as a passerine bird (often known as perching, or song birds), shrikes hunt in an almost hawk-like way,…
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103/150: National Hummingbird Day – The Calliope Hummingbird
Animalia: Chordata: Aves: Apodiformes: Trochilidae: Selasphorus: Selasphorus calliope (Gould, 1847) The first Saturday in September is being celebrated as National Hummingbird Day. Read on to learn more about the Calliope hummingbird. These birds are spunky, territorial, and have the nerve to chase away hawks while resembling the size of a ping pong ball!
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76/150: Find out why the Grey Jay is Canada’s new National Bird!
Animalia: Chordata: Aves: Passeriformes: Corvidae: Perisoreus: Perisoreus canadensis (Linnaeus, 1766) The Grey Jay (P. canadensis) is a songbird from the Family Corvidae, also sometimes called the Canada Jay or Whiskey Jack, derived from the Indigenous name Wisakedjak. The Grey Jay is considered one of the smartest birds in the world along with other Corvids who…
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63/150: The Ultimate Diving Champion
animalia: Chordata: Aves: Anseriformes: Anatidae: Clangula: Clangula hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) Now this species is set for the Olympics! The Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) – formerly known as Oldsquaw – sets the record for one of the deepest diving ducks (over 60 metres)! Whereas Olympic athletes perform impressive feats like these for medals, the Long-tailed Duck…
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49/150: BEHOLD! The longest migration of any bird, The Arctic Tern
Animalia: Chordata: Aves: Charadriformes: Laridae: Sterna: Sterna paradisaea (Pontoppidan, 1763) The Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) is a winter, sea-faring bird with the longest yearly migration of any known species. They will travel a total of 70,900 km in one year from their breeding site in Northern Canada and Europe to their winter home near Antarctica.
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17/150: Whooping cranes – till death do them part!
Animalia: Chordata: Aves: Gruiformes: Gruidae: Grus: Grus americana (Linnaeus, 1758) Whooping cranes (Grus americana) come by their name honestly; they were given the moniker thanks to their loud trumpet-like calls which can be heard from several kilometers away! They use these calls for a variety of reasons and one of the most important is to…
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Natural Wonders of the Ausable-Bayfield Watershed, with a Little Bit of Outreach
Welcome to another rendition of my blog where you will hear incredible stories about our adventures in the Canadian wilderness. On June 29, a few of us from BIO teamed up with Pinery Provincial Park and the surrounding Ausable-Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) to collect, sort and maintain samples of aquatic and soil invertebrates to help…
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A Mitey Start
Hello everyone, my name is Nathaniel Jones. This is my first blog of the summer. I am currently getting started on my new position here at BIO. I was fortunate enough to land the summer Undergraduate Research Assistantship position to sample the soil for arthropod diversity. So far this week I have just been getting…