U.S.A. - Wyoming - State Bird

WYOMING STATE BIRD
A rural fence post makes an excellent perch to survey the grassy fields that are home to the Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta).

Sent by Camellia from Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA.

Wyoming designated the western meadowlark as offiicial state bird in 1927. The western meadowlark is a familiar songbird of open country across the western two-thirds of the continent.

In the same family as blackbirds and orioles, adults are 8-11 inches long and have a black and white striped head; a long, pointed bill; yellow cheeks; bright yellow throat; and a distinctive black "V" on breast. The western meadowlark is often seen perched on fence-posts in grasslands and agricultural areas singing its distinct 7-10 note melody (their flute-like song usually ends with 3 descending notes). (read further)

New Zealand - Kakapo

Sirocco is a rare kakapo parrot. His cheeky antics have made him world famous, but he channels his celebrity for good - as ambassador for his species and New Zealand's Spokebird for Conservation.

Sent by Aunty Seahorse from Paraparaumu, New Zealand.

The Kakapo (Māori: kākāpō, night parrot), Strigops habroptilus (Gray, 1845), also called owl parrot, is a species of large, flightless, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot of the super-family Strigopoidea endemic to New Zealand.  It has finely blotched yellow-green plumage, a distinct facial disc of sensory, vibrissa-like feathers, a large grey beak, short legs, large feet, and wings and a tail of relatively short length. A certain combination of traits makes it unique among its kind; it is the world's only flightless parrot, the heaviest parrot, nocturnal, herbivorous, visibly sexually dimorphic in body size, has a low basal metabolic rate, no male parental care, and is the only parrot to have a polygynous lek breeding system. It is also possibly one of the world's longest-living birds.  Its anatomy typifies the tendency of bird evolution on oceanic islands, with few predators and abundant food: a generally robust physique, with accretion of thermodynamic efficiency at the expense of flight abilities, reduced wing muscles, and a diminished keel on the sternum.  Like many other New Zealand bird species, the Kakapo was historically important to the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, appearing in many of their traditional legends and folklore. It was hunted and used as a resource by Māori, both for its meat as a food source and for its feathers, which were used to make highly valued pieces of clothing. It was also sometimes kept as a pet. (read further)

Uganda - Eagle

Eagle.

Sent by Jacob from Kisubi, Uganda.

Taiwan - National Bird

The Formosan blue magpie is Taiwan endemic subspecies.

Sent by Wen Chi, a postcrosser from Taiwan.

The Taiwan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea), also called the Taiwan Magpie or Formosan Blue Magpie (Chinese: 臺灣藍鵲;pinyin: Táiwān lán què) or the "long-tailed mountain lady" (Chinese: 長尾山娘; pinyin: Chángwěi shānniáng; Taiwanese: Tn̂g-boé soaⁿ-niû), is a member of the Crow family. It is an endemic species living in the mountains of Taiwan at elevations of 300 to 1200m.

In the 2007 National Bird Voting Campaign held by the Taiwan International Birding Association, there were over 1 million votes cast from 53 countries. The Taiwan Blue Magpie defeated the Mikado Pheasant and was chosen as Taiwan's national bird, though it has yet to be formally accepted.

The Taiwan Blue Magpie is about the size of European Magpie, but with a longer tail. It is 64-65 centimeters in length. Wing measures 18-21 centimeters and tail measures 40 centimeters in length.

The plumage of male and female look alike. Its head, neck and breast are black; eyes are yellow; bill and legs are red; the rest of the plumage on the bird is a rich dark blue to purple in color. It also has white markings on the wings and the tail. (read further)

Little Bittern (Lxobrychus minutus)

Little Bittern (Lxobrychus minutus)

Sent by Anna, a postcrosser from Minsk, Belarus.

The Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) is a wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, native to the Old World, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, western and southern Asia, and Madagascar. Birds from temperate regions in Europe and western Asia are migratory, wintering in Africa and further south in Asia, while those nesting in the tropics are sedentary. It is rare north of its breeding range.

It is a very small bittern; measuring 25–36 cm (9.8–14 in) in length, 40–58 cm (16–23 in) across the wings and weighing 59–150 g (2.1–5.3 oz). It is among the smallest herons on earth. It has a short neck, longish bill and buff underparts. The male's back and crown are black, and the wings are black with a large white patch on each wing. The female has a browner back and a buff-brown wing patch.(Source)

Guyana - Ramphastos Toco

Ramphastos Toco
A resident of Guyana's rainforest canopy.

Sent by Postcard Locker.

The Toco Toucan (Ramphastos toco), also known as the Toucan or Common Toucan, is the largest and probably the best knownspecies in the toucan family. It is found in semi-open habitats throughout a large part of central and eastern South America. It is a common attraction in zoos.
The Toco Toucan has a striking plumage with a mainly black body, a white throat, chest and uppertail-coverts, and red undertail-coverts. What appears to be a blue iris is actually thin blue skin around the eye. This blue skin is surrounded by another ring of bare, orange skin. The most noticeable feature, however, is its huge bill, which measures from 15.8 to 23 cm (6.2 to 9.1 in) in length, which is yellow-orange, tending to deeper reddish-orange on its lower sections and culmen, and with a black base and large spot on the tip. It looks heavy, but as in other toucans it is relatively light because the inside largely is hollow. The tongue is nearly as long as the bill and very flat. This species is the largest toucan and the largest representative of the order Piciformes. The total length of the species is 55–65 cm (22–26 in). Body weight in these birds can vary from 500 to 876 g (1.1 to 1.93 lb), with males averaging 723 g (1.59 lb) against the smaller female, which averages 576 g (1.27 lb). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 22 to 26 cm (8.7 to 10 in), the tail is 14.1 to 17.9 cm (5.6 to 7.0 in) and the tarsus is 4.8 to 6.5 cm (1.9 to 2.6 in). Other than the size difference, there is no external differences between the sexes. Juveniles are duller and shorter-billed than adults. Its voice consists of a deep, coarse croaking, often repeated every few seconds. It also has a rattling call and will bill-clack. (Source)

Lithuania - National Bird - White Stork

White Stork.

Sent by Raimnoda, a postcrosser from Lithuania.

"The White Stork (gandras) was declared the national bird of Lithuania in 1973. Lithuanians believe that storks bring harmony to the families on whose property they nest; they have also kept up the tradition of telling their children that storks bring babies. Stork Day is celebrated on March 25 with various archaic rituals: gifts for children, attributed to the storks, such as fruits, chocolates, pencils, and dyed eggs, are hung on tree branches and fences; snakes are caught, killed and buried under the doorstep; straw fires are lit. Notably, Lithuania is a beneficial and important habitat for these birds: it has the highest known nesting density in the world."(Source)

Canada - Loon/Plongeon

Loon, the national bird of Canada.

Sent by Erika, a postcrosser from Toronto, Canada.

Red Kite (Milvus Milvus)

 

Red kite (Milvus milvus)

Sent by Ann, a postcrosser from Wales, United Kingdom.

This is from Wikipedia : The Red Kite (Milvus milvus) is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just outside in northern Iran. It is a rare species which is resident in the milder parts of its range in western Europe and northwest Africa, but birds from northeastern and central Europe winter further south and west, reaching south to Turkey. Vagrants have reached north to Finland and south to Israel and Libya.


The Red Kite is 60–66 cm (24–26 in) long with a 175–179 cm (69–70 in) wingspan; males have a weight of 800–1,200 g (28–42 oz), and females 1,000–1,300 g (35–46 oz). It is an elegant bird, soaring with long wings held at a dihedral, and long forked tail twisting as it changes direction. The body, upper tail and wing coverts are rufous. The white primary flight feathers contrast with the black wing tips and dark secondaries. Apart from the weight difference, the sexes are similar, but juveniles have a buff breast and belly. The call is a thin piping, similar to but less mewling than the Common Buzzard. There is also a rare white leucistic form which accounts for approximately 1% of hatchlings in the Welsh population but is at a disadvantage in the survival stakes.

 

New Zealand - Animal and Bird Life

 

New Zealand's Animal and Bird Life
New Zealand has many interesting and rare natural and introduced inhabitants, including the Tuatara, with links to the era of dinosaurs, the Kea, the world's only alpine parrot, the Kiwi, a rare and flightless bird and one of our national icons, the Possum, a marsupial introduced from Australia and now proliferating in its new home, and the sub-Antartic fur seal and yellow eyed penguin.

Sent by Glynnis, a postcrosser from New Zealand.

Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)

Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata) .

Sent by Jaana, a postcrosser from Finland.

This is from Wikipedia : The Red-throated Loon or Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata) is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. It breeds primarily in Arctic regions, and winters in northern coastal waters. It is the most widely distributed member of the loon or diver family. Ranging from 55–67 centimetres (22–26 in) in length, the Red-throated Loon is the smallest and lightest of the world's loons. In winter, it is a nondescript bird, greyish above fading to white below. During the breeding season, it acquires the distinctive reddish throat patch which is the basis for its common name. Fish form the bulk of its diet, though amphibians, invertebrates and plant material are sometimes eaten as well. A monogamous species, the Red-throated Loon forms long-term pair bonds. Both members of the pair help to build the nest, incubate the eggs (generally two per clutch) and feed the hatched young.

The Red-throated Loon has a large global population and a significant global range, though some populations are declining. Oil spills, habitat degradation, pollution and fishing nets are among the major threats this species faces. Natural predators—including various gull species, and both Red and Arctic Foxes, will take eggs and young. The species is protected by a number of international treaties.

Australia - Plumed Whistling-Duck

Plumed Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna eytoni).

Sent by Vikki, a postcrosser from Sydney, Australia.

This is from Wikipedia : The Plumed Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna eytoni), also called the Grass Whistle Duck , is a whistling duck which breeds in New Guinea and Australia. It is a predominantly brown-coloured duck with a long neck and characteristic plumes arising from its flanks. The sexes are similar in appearance.

Described by English naturalist Thomas Campbell Eyton in 1838, its specific epithet honours its namer. Its generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek terms dendron "tree", and kuknos (via Latin cygnus) "swan". Alternate common names include; Eyton's Plumed, Red-legged or Whistling Tree-duck, and Grey or Red-legged Whistler
Measuring 42–60 cm (16.5–24 in) and weighing around a kilogram, it is a long-necked duck with brown upperparts, paler underparts and a white rump. The chest is chestnut with thin black bars, while long black-margined plumes arise from its flanks. Its bill and legs are pink, and its iris is yellow. The male and female are similar in appearance. The species has a characteristic lowered neck and short, dark, rounded wings while flying.


The call is a characteristic whistle which gives the bird its common name.

Belarus - Belovezhskaya Pushcha / Białowieża Forest (4)

Buzzard (Buteo buteo) in Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

Sent by Veronika, a postcrosser from Belarus.

Australia - Pale-headed Rosella (Platycercus adscitus)

Pale-headed Rosella (Platycercus adscitus).

Sent by Gayle, a postcrosser from Brisbane, Australia.

This is from Wikipedia : The Pale-headed Rosella (Platycercus adscitus), is a broad-tailed parrot of the genus Platycercus native to northeastern Australia. It is a moderate-size parrot with a pale yellow head, predominantly white cheeks, scalloped black and gold back and pale blue underparts. Two subspecies are recognised, although some authorities consider it to be conspecific with the Eastern Rosella of southeastern Australia.

Found in open woodland, it feeds on seeds and fruit. As with other rosellas, the Pale-headed Rosella nests in hollows of large trees. It readily adapts to aviculture and is sold as a cagebird.

The Pale-headed Rosella was first described by English ornithologist John Latham in 1790. There are two subspecies, the better known palliceps (eastern Queensland), known as the Blue-cheeked Rosella, and adscitus (Cape York Peninsula). Its closest relative is the Eastern Rosella, which replaces it in southeastern Australia. Hybrids of the two taxa have been recorded where their ranges meet in northeastern New South Wales and southeastern Queensland. Some consider the two conspecific; this would add another three subspecies.

Other common names occasionally seen include Mealy Rosella, Moreton Bay Rosella, Blue Rosella, and Blue-cheeked Rosella for the northern subspecies. The term White-cheeked Rosella has been used for a species or superspecies combining the Pale-headed and Eastern forms.

Black Woodpecker (Drycopus martius)

Black Woodpecker (Drycopus martius).

Sent by Anna, a postcrosser from Ukraine.

This is from Wikipedia : The Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius) is a large woodpecker, 45–50 cm (18–20 in) long with a 64–84 cm (25–33 in) wingspan. Body weight is approximately 300-400 grams (10.6-14.2 oz) on average. It is easily the largest woodpecker in its range. This species is closely related to and fills the same ecological niche in Europe as the Pileated Woodpecker of North America.

It lives in mature forest across the northern palearctic. It is the sole representative of its genus in that region. Its range is expanding in Eurasia. It does not migrate.

The plumage of this crow-sized woodpecker is entirely black apart from a red crown. In males, the entire crown is red, but in females only the top hindcrown is red with the rest of the body all black. It has a very long beak of 2.5 inches (6.3 cm).

The sexes differ even as nestlings.

The woodpecker feeds by using its bill to hammer on dead trees to dig out carpenter ants and wood-boring grubs.

Their voice is remarkable in that it has two different calls. One is a short single high-pitched note done only twice in a row. The other is a screech-like shrill while in flight.

Unlike other woodpecker species, the Black Woodpecker does not have a dipping, bounding flight.

The woodpecker digs a nest hole, usually in a live poplar or pine tree where it lays four or more eggs.

Canada - Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus)

Snowy Owl, the official bird of Quebec.

Sent by Danièle, a postcrosser from Montreal, Canada.

This is from Wikipedia : The Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) is a large owl of the typical owl family Strigidae. The Snowy Owl was first classified in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish naturalist who developed binomial nomenclature to classify and organize plants and animals. The bird is also known in North America as the Arctic Owl, Great White Owl or Harfang. Until recently, it was regarded as the sole member of a distinct genus, as Nyctea scandiaca, but mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data (Olsen et al. 2002) shows that it is very closely related to the horned owls in the genus Bubo. The Snowy Owl is the official bird of Quebec.

This yellow-eyed, black beaked white bird is easily recognizable. It is 52–71 centimetres (20–28 in) long with a 125–150 centimetres (49–59 in) wingspan. Also, these birds can weigh anywhere from 1.6 to 3 kilograms (3.5 to 6.6 lb). It is one of the largest species of owl and in North America is on average the heaviest owl species. The adult male is virtually pure white, but females and young birds have some dark scalloping; the young are heavily barred, and dark spotting may even predominate. Its thick plumage, heavily feathered taloned feet, and coloration render the Snowy Owl well-adapted for life north of the Arctic Circle.

Snowy Owl calls are varied, but the alarm call is a barking, almost quacking krek-krek; the female also has a softer mewling pyee-pyee or prek-prek. The song is a deep repeated gawh. They may also clap their beak in response to threats or annoyances. While called clapping, it is believed this sound may actually be a clicking of the tongue, not the beak.

USA - Connecticut - State Bird

American Robin, state bird of Connecticut.

Sent by Emma, a postcrosser from Connecticut, USA.

"Connecticut designated the American Robin (Turdus migratorius) as state bird in 1943. The Robin is also the official state bird of Michigan and Wisconsin. Robins are a true thrush and one of America's favorite songbirds. Migratory robins are watched for each year as the heralder of spring, but many spend the entire winter in New England swamps, roosting in evergreens and feeding on winter berries.

Robins were named by early settlers after the familiar robin red- breast of Europe (a bird with similar markings that is not closely related to the American Robin). The most widespread thrush in North America (because of its adaptation to human- modified habitats), robins are a familiar backyard bird often observed pulling up earthworms on suburban lawns.

The American robin has many vocalizations - rich songs composed of long phrases and "whinny" and "tut" calls. The female is muted in color compared to the male."(Source)

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)

The Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius).

Sent by Jaana, a postcrosser from Finland.

This is from Wikipedia : The Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) is a species of bird occurring over a vast region from Western Europe and north-west Africa to the Indian Subcontinent and further to the eastern seaboard of Asia and down into south-east Asia. Across its vast range, several very distinct racial forms have evolved to look very different from each other, especially when forms at the extremes of its range are compared.

The bird is called jay, without any epithets, by English speakers in Britain and Ireland.

The Eurasian Jay was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th century work Systema Naturae. He recognised its affinity with other corvids, naming it Corvus glandarius.

Eight racial groups (33 subspecies in total) are recognised by Madge & Burn (1994):

* the nominate group (nine European races), with a streaked crown.
* the cervicalis group (three races in North Africa), with a rufous nape, grey mantle, very pale head sides, and a streaked or black crown.
* the atricapillus group (four races in Middle East, Crimea & Turkey), with a uniform mantle & nape, black crown and very pale face.
* the race hyrcanus (Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests of Iran), small with black forecrown and broadly-streaked hindcrown.
* the brandtii group (four races in Siberia and northern Japan), with a streaked crown, reddish head, dark iris and grey mantle.
* the leucotis group (two races in south-east Asia), with no white in the wing, a white forecrown, black hindcrown and much white on the sides of the head.
* the bispecularis group (six races in the Himalayan region), with an unstreaked rufous crown, and no white wing-patch.
* the japonicus group (four races in the southern Japanese islands), with a large white wing-patch, blackish face and scaled crown.

A member of the widespread jay group, and about the size of the Jackdaw, it inhabits mixed woodland, particularly with oaks, and is an habitual acorn hoarder. In recent years, the bird has begun to migrate into urban areas, possibly as a result of continued erosion of its woodland habitat.

Western Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus)

Western Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus).

Sent by Vadim, a postcrosser from Minsk, Belarus.

This is from Wikipedia : The Western Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), also known as the Wood Grouse, Heather Cock or Capercaillie /ˌkæpərˈkeɪli/, is the largest member of the grouse family, reaching over 100 cm in length and 6.7 kg in weight. The largest one ever recorded in captivity had a weight of 7.2 kg. (15.9 lbs). Found across Europe and Asia, it is renowned for its mating display.

Also spelt Capercailzie (the "z" letter representing a yogh), this species' name is derived from the Gaelic capull coille, meaning "horse of the woods".

It was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 under its current binomial name.

Its closest relative is the Black-billed Capercaillie, Tetrao parvirostris, which breeds in the larch taiga forests of eastern Russia and parts of northern Mongolia and China.

Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo)

Eagle Owl or Eusrasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo).

Sent by Lyuda, a postcrosser from Minsk, Belarus.

This is from Wikipedia : The Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo) is a species of eagle owl resident in much of Eurasia. It is also one of the largest types of owls.

The Eagle Owl is a very large and powerful bird, smaller than the Golden Eagle but larger than the Snowy Owl. It is sometimes referred to as the world's largest owl, although Blakiston's Fish Owl is slightly heavier on average and the Great Grey Owl is slightly longer on average. The Eagle Owl has a wingspan of 138–200 cm (55–79 in) and measures 58–75 cm (23–30 in) long. Females weigh 1.75-4.5 kg (3.9-10 lbs) and males weigh 1.5-3.2 kg (3.3-7 lbs). In comparison, the Barn Owl weighs about 500 grams (1.1 lbs) and the Great Horned Owl, roughly the Eagle Owl's ecological equivalent in North America, weighs around 1.4 kg (3.1 lbs).

The great size, ear tufts and orange eyes make this a distinctive species. The ear tufts of males are more upright than those of females. The upperparts are brown-black and tawny-buff, showing as dense freckling on the forehead and crown, stripes on the nape, sides and back of the neck, and dark splotches on the pale ground colour of the back, mantle and scapulars. A narrow buff band, freckled with brown buff, runs up from the base of the bill, above the inner part of the eye and along the inner edge of the black-brown ear tufts. The rump and upper tail-coverts are delicately patterned with dark vermiculations and fine wavy barring. The facial disc is tawny-buff, speckled with black-brown, so densely on the outer edge of the disc as to form a "frame" around the face. The chin and throat are white continuing down the center of the upper breast. The whole of the underparts except for chin, throat and centre of upper breast is covered with fine dark wavy barring, on a tawny-buff ground colour. Legs and feet are likewise marked on a buff ground colour but more faintly. The tail is tawny-buff, mottled dark grey-brown with about six black-brown bars. This plumage may vary slightly in different subspecies but is consistently distinctive. Bill and claws are black, the iris is orange (yellow in some subspecies).