We're celebrating cranes on the Birdorable blog this week! Today we'd like to share a bird term that relates to cranes and other birds. Let's learn about what it means to be precocial!
The term precocial comes from the Latin praecocia, which refers to "places where fruits ripen early." A precocial species is one in which the newly hatched or born young are relatively mature. In birds, this means the baby is usually covered in downy feathers and is able to walk and even feed itself within a short time of hatching. This adaptation is found in most ground-nesting birds as a strategy to evade predators when the nest offers little shelter.
Cranes have precocial young, as do many other birds, including ducks and geese, chickens, and rails. Malleefowl chicks can even already fly within a day of hatching. There are some mammals born precocial, like the Hartebeest, whose calves can stand and walk within hours of being born.
On the other end of the development spectrum are altricial babies. In birds, this usually means at the time of hatching the chick is naked (without feathers), has its eyes shut, and is completely helpless and dependent on its parents for care all of its needs.
Two other terms related to precocial and altricial are nidifugous and nidicolous. Nidifugous species leave the nest site shortly after hatching; all nidifugous species are precocial but not all precocial species are nidifugous. Precocial birds that remain in the nest for a period are called nidicolous.
It's Crane Week, so how about a crane edition of our Baby Birdorable series to celebrate?
If you think our Birdorable birds are cute as adults, what about when they are babies? Wattled Cranes are found in Africa, south of the Sahara. They raise their chicks near wetlands or marsh habitat, where they may reuse a goose nest or make their own sloppy grass nest. The average clutch size for Wattled Cranes is 1.6 eggs, the smallest of all the crane species. The incubation period of 33-36 days is the longest of all the cranes. Fledging takes another 100 to 150 days, another crane extreme.
Here are some adorable baby Wattled Crane photos taken at the Jacksonville Zoo by photographer Rob Bixby, shared here via Creative Commons (CC by 2.0). Can you spot the cute little baby wattle visible in some of the photos?
It's Crane Week! You may be wondering where you can find cranes. There are cranes on every continent except for South America and Antarctica. With their elaborate mating dances, haunting calls, impressive size, and epic migrations, cranes are celebrated all around the world. You can join other crane enthusiasts at various crane festivals around the United States and beyond.
The Whooping Crane Festival in Port Aransas, Texas This huge annual festival celebrated its 22nd year in 2018. The fest takes place at the end of February each year and features field trips, speakers, workshops, a trade show, and more.
Crane Festival in Kearney, Nebraska This annual festival takes place in late March. Birding field trips, information sessions, and other activities are offered for participants.
Monte Vista Crane Festival in the San Luis Valley of Colorado This festival takes place in March each year. Visitors enjoy viewing spectacular flocks of cranes, ducks, and geese in a beautiful mountain setting.
Chrissiesmeer Crane Festival in Chrissiesmeer, South Africa This annual festival takes place in July. Visitors can see South Africa's national bird, the Blue Crane, as well as the spectacular Grey Crowned-Crane.
Cranes of the World Festival at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin This family-friendly event will next take place on August 4, 2018.
Yampa Valley Crane Festival in northwest Colorado This festival from the Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition will next take place starting August 30, 2018. The fest features guided bird viewings, live raptor presentations, photography workshops, and much more.
Whooping Crane Festival in Princeton, Wisconsin This annual one-day festival includes activities like a pancake breakfast, vendors, triva, and guided tours.
CraneFest in Bellevue, Michigan This combined crane and art festival will next take place October 13-14, 2018. Each day the festival features artists, food vendors, and conservation-related information and activities. Stay for the spectacular evening fly-in of cranes that takes place in the hours before dusk.
Sandhill Crane Festival in Lodi, California This festival will next take place November 2-4, 2018. The event celebrates the return of the cranes for the winter and features related presentations and workshops for participants.
Black-necked Crane Festival in the Phobjikha Valley of Bhutan This celebration takes place in mid-November, when the cranes return to Bhutan. The fest highlights the importance of preserving and appreciating the endangered crane.
Festival of the Cranes in Bosque del Apache NWR, New Mexico This huge six-day festival takes place in November at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge and offers over a hundred activities like photography sessions, birding trips, and more.
For T-Shirt Tuesday [Crane Edition] we're unveiling several new t-shirt designs inspired by cranes that are honored as avian emblems in several different places around the world. These cute crane t-shirts are available from our Birdorable store on Amazon. Click a design to view the t-shirt on Amazon.
The Black Crowned-Crane is the National Bird of Nigeria. In this t-shirt design our cartoon bird stands proudly before the Nigerian national flag.
The Black-necked Crane is the official state bird of Jammu and Kashmir in India. A stylized image of the crane is featured on the state flag, which is part of our t-shirt design.
The Blue Crane is the National Bird of South Africa. It is featured in a collegiate style on our t-shirt.
The Red-crowned Crane is the unofficial National Bird of China. The bird features prominently in Chinese culture; it is shown along with a map of China in our t-shirt design.
The Grey Crowned-Crane is the National Bird of Uganda. Here, too, the bird is featured stylized on the flag, and on our shirt as well.
These shirts are all available via our Amazon page.
Continue to follow Birdorable here and on Facebook as we celebrate Crane Week!
Almost anywhere you can find cranes living in the wild, you can find cranes in human mythology and popular culture. They are often symbols of happiness, youth, good luck, and/or peace.
In Japan, as in many other parts of Asia, cranes are regarded as symbols of good fortune, peace, and youth. Japanese legend tells that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted one wish.
In heraldry or coats of arms, a crane is often shown holding a rock with its foot. The symbolism comes from a legend attributed to Pliny the Elder. He wrote that a group of cranes under attack put one bird on watch. The bird on guard duty would hold a rock; if the crane accidentally fell asleep, the sound of the falling rock would awaken the bird.
The elaborate mating and pair-bonding dances performed by cranes are noted in several cultures. The Blue Crane is prominent in the culture of the Xhosa of southern Africa. Feathers from the bird are used in ceremonies to decorate distinguished men.
In native Siberian culture, the Siberian Crane is sacred, a symbol associated with the sun and spring time.
In Germany, there is a museum devoted entirely to the natural history of the Common Crane! The Kranich Museum is in a renovated manor house in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. There are displays of various pieces of artwork related to the birds, including video, murals, costumes, and other media.
The Sarus Crane is considered sacred in several Indian cultures. They are known as symbols of marital virtue because they mate for life. When a Sarus Crane dies, its mate was believed to starve to death in sorrow.
Cranes are featured in a few of Aesop's fables. In The Geese and the Cranes, a mixed flock of geese and cranes were feeding in a meadow. A birdcatcher came to ensnare them in his nets. The cranes, being light of wing, fled away at his approach; while the geese, being slower of flight and heavier in their bodies, were captured. The moral of this story is that those who are caught are not always the most guilty. Other fables attributed to Aesop that include cranes are The Wolf and the Crane and The Peacock and the Crane.
Illustration from 1909 of the fable of the geese and cranes from Aesop's Fables.
Join us in the following days as we celebrate all things cranes! It's time for our second ever Crane Week! Our first Crane Week was back in 2015.
We chose today to kick off Crane Week because the birds are honored each year in Sweden on March 25th. The Swedish Trandagen is meant to celebrate the return of migratory cranes to the country following winter. The celebration is observed in certain southern parts of Sweden.
All 15 species of crane are found here at Birdorable. To kick off this celebratory week, on Crane Day, let's take a look back at how we've featured cranes here at Birdorable in the past:
We're celebrating gulls on the blog this week! Today we'd like to share a bird term that relates to some species of gulls. Let's find out about kleptoparasitism!
Kleptoparasitism is just what it sounds like - parasitism by theft (klepto-). It basically refers to one animal stealing food from another. Before we go on, it should be made clear that gulls are not the only species that engage in this behavior. They aren't even the only birds that do so.
Why would one animal steal food from another? In some cases, the thief takes prey items that it would not be able to capture on its own. Sometimes the kleptoparasite steals food opportunistically, or to save the time and effort of obtaining prey. Kleptoparasitism can also refer to the theft of non-food items, like when Chinstrap Penguins steal nest material from other penguins to use in their own nest.
Birds in the seabird family Skua are known for their kleptoparasitic behavior. Some species of skua obtain a significant percentage of their food using this method, stealing prey caught by other seabirds.
Frigatebirds are known for this behavior as well, giving them the appropriate nickname "pirate of the sea".
Gulls can be both perpetrators and victims of kleptoparasitism. Heermann's Gulls and Laughing Gulls are known to steal fish from Brown Pelicans, snatching anything that escapes from the pelican's bill as it surfaces from a hunt. Gulls may chase others of their own species in order to steal freshly caught prey or found food items.
When we had our first Gull Week in 2015, we answered some Frequently Asked Questions About Gulls. Today we're going to answer a few more fun FAQs about the species in this family of seabirds!
What do gulls eat? Are gulls carnivores? What do gulls drink? Gulls tend to be opportunistic omnivores. They'll take every chance to eat almost anything! Gulls feed on fish and other marine animals. They will eat insects, worms, eggs, and small land animals. Gulls may also feed on carrion and garbage, other birds, and plant matter like seeds and fruit. As far as drinking, gulls are able to drink sea water. A special gland helps them excrete the salt before it reaches the kidneys.
What do gulls do in winter? When do gulls migrate? Most gulls migrate between wintering grounds and breeding territory. After mating season is complete, they move to warmer climates. The specific timing of this depends on their breeding calendar. Migration distances range from the Franklin's Gull's yearly trek from Canada to South America, to species that simply disperse to the coast from more inland breeding grounds.
What are baby gulls like? Most baby gulls have downy feathers when they hatch. In most gull species, chicks are precocial (or semi-precocial), meaning that they are relatively mobile and can leave the nesting site within a short time of hatching. Ring-billed Gulls fully leave their nest by 4 days of age. Baby Herring Gulls remain close to their nest site for the first week of life. Young gulls are typically dependent on their parents or other adult gulls for food until they fully fledge.
Where do gulls go at night? Most species of gull are diurnal, meaning they are awake during the day and at rest during the night. Gulls typically like to roost either on the water, or along beaches, dunes, or offshore islands. Sleeping on the water is only preferred when the water is calm. The exception to this is the Swallow-tailed Gull, the world's only nocturnal gull species. Instead of resting at night, they are on the hunt for food.
How can you tell how old a gull is? This is a great part of the challenge of gull identification. There is no simple answer that covers all gull species. Gulls go through different plumages as they reach adulthood and they also go through two yearly molts.
The number of years it takes a gull to reach its full adult plumage ranges from two years for smaller gulls to three or four years for larger birds. Gulls of different ages will have different plumages.
Gulls also go through molts each spring (to "alternate plumage") and fall (to "basic plumage"). During a molt, which may take place over several weeks, the bird may appear to be in between two plumages.
In addition to the changes in a gull's feather appearance, there are changes that may occur to their legs and bills. These may change color as they age or molt!
When you know the specifics of how a species of gull ages and molts, you may be able to tell if a gull is one, two, or three years old, or an adult aged four or older.
Are gulls protected? Sometimes gulls are considered to be nuisance birds. Their level of protection varies from place to place. In the United States, native gulls are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In the United Kingdom, they are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Wildlife Order 1985 (Northern Ireland).
Do gulls sing? In general, gulls are not known for their melodious voices. Their vocalizations are often brash and loud, part of the soundtrack of the beach in many locations. Their vocalizations are typically referred to as calls, with each species utilizing a variety of different calls for communicating things like finding (or begging for) food, warning off intruders, sounding a predator alarm to the colony, and other reasons. Different calls will also be used for pair-bonding and even during copulation. Chicks have different call sounds than adults.
See our previous post for more frequently asked questions about gulls.
Two new birds in the gull family Laridae join Birdorable this week! We've added the Pallas's Gull and the Western Gull to our cute cartoon bird family.
The Pallas's Gull is one of the largest species of gull in the world. It is a so-called "black-headed" gull because it is one of several species of gull that develops a fully black head during breeding season. An alternative name for this bird is the Great Black-headed Gull. They can weigh over four and a half pounds as full adults! Only the Great Black-backed Gull and Glaucous Gull average larger.
This bird is named after the prolific naturalist Peter Simon Pallas, who has several other species named in his honor, including Pallas's Cat, Pallas's Squirrel, and Pallas's Tube-nosed Bat.
The Western Gull is another large species of gull -- they can weigh in at three pounds or more. This is a "white-headed" gull found along the Pacific coast of North America. Western Gulls feed on the ocean, taking prey like squid, fish, and jellyfish on the surface since they are unable to dive. Western Gulls will also feed on carcasses of large marine mammals like sea lions, and opportunistically take food items like snails and starfish in intertidal habitats.
The San Francisco Giants have experienced problems with flocks of Western Gulls visiting their stadium in the late innings of baseball games. They presumably come to feed on refuse left in the stands by fans, but before the game is over flocks visiting the park poop on fans and swarm the playing field. The native birds are protected by federal law, although the Giants could get the gulls to disperse with the help of a falconer.
Larophile is available via our Zazzle shop on many different t-shirt styles and colors for men, women and children. You can see a selection of the apparel and other gift items available with this design at the bottom of this post, or click here to see them all.
