Piping Plovers have been on our minds this last week since we’ve been reading about them on some of our favorite blogs recently.

These cute little shorebirds are unfortunately threatened / endangered (depending on the habitat / population) and several breeding areas, including Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras National Seashore, are off-limits to pedestrians to help protect the species.

Recently the Endangered Species Act itself has become threatened by a proposal from the Bush Administration. The proposal would allow federal agencies to decide on the effects their projects might have on species without expert, outside consultation. You can help fight this legislation, which does not require Congressional approval, by sending a message to the Secretary of Interior via the National Wildlife Federation website.

In case you’re visiting Birdorable from Birdchick’s post - here are the thongs.

The Loggerhead Shrike and Northern Shrike can both be found across North America, so how do you tell them apart? Well, there are three important differences between these two species: 1. The Northern Shrike is bigger than the Loggerhead (one to two inches longer); 2. The Loggerhead Shrike has a shorter beak; and 3. The Loggerhead’s black mask extends across its forehead and above the beak, while the Northern Shrike’s mask doesn’t.

Did you know that both the Northern as well as the Loggerhead Shrike impale their prey on thorns to hold them down while it rips them apart with its hooked bill? Pretty gross, eh? It does this with larger prey, such as lizards, mice, shrews and even birds, because it lacks the talons that birds of prey have. So if you see a lizard stuck on a thorn it’s probably the handywork of your friendly neighborhood shrike.

The California Quail is the latest bird to be cutified as a Birdorable. This beautiful bird, the state bird of California, lives on the west coast of North America and can be found from British Columbia southward to Baja California. The forward-drooping plume looks like a single feather, but it is actually made of six feathers. Check out our Birdorable version of this totally cute bird.

But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,
That one word, as if his soul in that one word deplorable.
Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarely more than muttered ‘Other friends, adorable,
have flown before. On the morrow he will leave me.’
Then the bird said, ‘Birdorable’

The Harris Hawk is a bird of prey that lives from the southwestern United States to Chile and central Argentina. Unlike most raptors, who only come together for breeding and migration, Harris Hawks hunt in groups of two to six. This behavior is an adaptation to the desert climate in which they live and it allows them to take down larger prey, such as hares.

Harris Hawks are used a lot in falconry because of their easy going nature. In European towns they are used to scare Pigeons and Starlings. They are also used at airports to scare birds away from runways to reduce the risk of birdstrikes with planes.

This week we’ve added the Emperor Penguin to the site. Did you know that Emperor Penguins are the largest of all penguins and can grow up to 48 inches in height? They are also the deepest divers of any birds, reaching depths of 1,755 feet and holding their breath for up to 18 minutes! They are most famous for the incredible journeys they make each year in order to mate and to feed their offspring. They trek 31 to 75 miles through the harsh Antarctic winter to breeding colonies with thousands of other individuals. You should really see the March of the Penguins (2005), if you haven’t already. It’s an incredible movie.

The Hyacinth Macaw is the largest flying parrot species in the world (the larger Kakapo of New Zealand is flightless) and has one of the strongest beaks relative to its size in the known bird world. Unfortunately, these beautiful South American birds are endangered due to high levels of poaching and smuggling for pet trade. They are further threatened by increased commercial sale of feather art and habitat loss from human development.

The Hyacinth Macaw is the latest bird to be cutified as a Birdorable. To support the great conservation work that Projeto Arara Azul is doing in Brazil, 30% of the retail price of all Birdorable Hyacinth Macaw product sales will be donated to this cause.

Begun in 1990 by the biologist Neiva Guedes, the Hyacinth Macaw Project in Brazil has monitored about 3,000 individuals over an area of 400,000 hectares in the Pentanal region of Mato Grosso do Sul. The project is involved in the research, management and conservation of the species. In carrying these out, biologists, veterinarians, field workers, ranchers and university students share in activities ranging from technical studies on reproduction, behavior, and habitat to environmental education.

Other charities that Birdorable donates to are the Ventana Wildlife Society which is involved in saving the California Condor, the Genesee Valley Audubon Society that operates the Rochester Falconcam starring two Peregrine Falcons Mariah and Kaver and the Save the Albatross campaign of Birdlife International. To find out more about these charities see the new Birdorable Charity Campaigns page.

The Hooded Crow, also known as the Hoodiecrow, Scotch Crow, Danish Crow or Grey Crow, lives across Europe and Asia. They are colored grey with black heads, wings and tails.

This is our totally cute Birdorable version of the Hooded Crow:

The Eurasian Collared Dove originates from temperate parts of Europe through Asia to Japan. The species has expanded across a much larger region in the 20th century and can now be found all over Europe, including the British Isles and Scandinavia. There are also populations across North America from birds introduced in the Bahamas.

Doves have been domesticated for thousands of years. The domestic Ringneck Dove is probably a descendant of the Eurasian or African Collared Dove. A mutation causes some doves to be completely white, and these are often used as release doves for formal occasions, as well as in magic shows.

This is our totally cute Birdorable version of the Eurasian Collared Dove:

Canaries are popular pet birds and come in lots of different colors, although the yellow ones are, of course, the most well-known. The Canary is actually a little finch native to islands of the Atlantic Ocean, where they are also known as Island Canary or Atlantic Canary. Several thousand pairs of these wild birds live on the islands: 30,000 to 60,000 pairs on The Azores, 80,000 to 90,000 pairs on the Canary Islands and 4,000 to 5,000 pairs on Madeira (source: Wikipedia.org).

This is our cute Birdorable Canary, both the wild one (left) and a domesticated yellow Canary (right):

We’ve added three new parrots from South America, namely the Blue-crowned Conure, Nanday Conure and Patagonian Conure. These three new Birdorable birds were requested by several customers.

Conures are either large parakeets or small parrots that live in Central and South America (the extinct Carolina Parakeet was an exception). Conures are often called the clowns of the parrot world due to their constant attention seeking behavior including hanging upside-down and swaying back and forth.

Today we’ve added the one hundredth bird species to Birdorable.com: The California Condor. This is the answer to Spot the Birdorable 9. For all 100 species see Meet the Birds.

The California Condor, a type of vulture, has the largest wingspan of any bird found in North America. The bird today is considered critically endangered. In 1987 the last wild California Condor was captured to become part of one of the most expensive conservation projects ever. At that time there were only 22 individuals! In early 2008 this number had increased to over 300 birds, with over 150 in two wild populations.

Birdorable supports the California Condor
30% of the retail price for all sales of the Save the California Condor and Return of the California Condor designs will be donated to The Ventana Wildlife Society. These include the following Save the California Condor and Return of the California Condor designs:

To see all four designs see the California Condor page. Here’s a photo of a Birdorable Condor perched on a branch overlooking the Grand Canyon:

The Common Kestrel is native to parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. They hunt by hovering 10 to 20 meters over the ground in search of prey. These small birds of prey are often seen hovering by highways, looking for mice, voles and other small rodents.

This is our totally cute version of the Common Kestrel and our 99th Birdorable species:

The Eurasian Nuthatch is the 98th cute bird that we’re adding to Birdorable. You can find all the others on the Meet the Birds page. Just two more and we’ll hit number one hundred, which will be a special bird.

The Eurasian Nuthatch is a cute little Nuthatch that lives throughout Europe and Asia. It is a common backyard bird in some parts of Europe where it feeds on seeds and nuts. It has the ability, like other nuthatches, to climb down trees, unlike species such as woodpeckers which can only go upwards. This is our totally cute Birdorable version of the European Nuthatch:

The Chaffinch is a cute little finch that lives throughout Europe. It is a common backyard bird in western Europe where it feeds on seeds. Chicks are fed insects in the nest. The breeding male is strikingly colored with a slate-blue cap and rusty red breast and face. This is our totally cute Birdorable version of the Chaffinch.

The Blackbird is a thrush that lives in Europe, Asia and North Africa. Males are all black with yellow bills, while females and young are mostly brown. The Blackbird is a very common backyard bird in Europe and has a melodious song.

This is our totally cute Birdorable version of the Blackbird.

The European Goldfinch is a small finch that lives in Europe, western Asia and northern Africa. They are strikingly colored, with red faces, black and white heads, and yellow & black streaking on the wings. It eats small seeds such as thistles and teasels. It also regularly visits bird feeders in winter, like the one shown here below. This is our totally cute version of the European Goldfinch:

The Carolina Wren is the state bird of South Carolina and lives across most of the eastern half of the United States. It is noted for its loud song, popularly rendered as tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle, which is sung by male birds only. The songs actually vary regionally, with birds in northern areas singing slower than those in southern areas. This is our totally cute Birdorable version of the Carolina Wren:

The European Robin is a small perching bird that lives throughout Europe. Related to flycatchers, it is in a different family than the American Robin, a thrush. This is our totally cute version of the European Robin:

This new Birdorable Long-tailed Tit may be one of the cutest Birdorables yet. The Long-tailed Tit is a small perching bird found in Europe and Asia. True to their name, they sport a very long tail that is more than half of the total body length. This is our totally cute Birdorable version of the Long-tailed Tit.