Beaks & Bills - Part 2

As I said in yesterday's post, some bird beaks are shaped to tear, such as this one (below).  This bald eagle was injured and is now a resident at a local zoo.  That is the only reason I was able to get such a clear shot of its beak with my camera.  You can see the sharp, pointed hook on the curved tip of the upper beak - the perfect tool to help birds of prey open their meals.  You also get a sense of how powerful this bird's beak really is when you look at it up close like this.

On the other hand, some birds have long, spear-like beaks, such as this great blue heron (below).  Heron's need such long, sharp bills for their water fishing.  They can actually spear their prey (usually fish) with their powerful, tapered beaks.

Their beak fits their carnivorous dietary requirements and their watery habitats.  That is why a much smaller, cone-shaped bill, such of that of the seed-eating grosbeak, wouldn't work on the heron.  Seeds are not generally what they are after. although they do consume them at times.

North American Zoo Mammals

Niabi Zoo has some wonderful exotic animals, but this post is about some their North American mammals.  They have bobcats, wolves, porcupines, and elk.  The wolves did not come out to play, but I got photos of the others, through their enclosures.

Lynx rufus

Note the tufted ears

A bobcat is smaller than a lynx, but bigger than a domestic cat.  It has tufts of hair on its ears, and a short tail, from whence comes its name.  Direct interactions between bobcats and humans is rare, but they will stalk and attack pets.  I've never seen one in the wild.  Have any of you readers?  If so, tell us the story!

This porcupine is sitting up in a tree, in his enclosure.

Note the toes of the porcupine, on the lower left.

Next up we have the porcupine.  They are smaller than beavers, but may look bigger due to their many quills. Contrary to popular belief, porcupines do not throw their quills.  The quills are barbed however, and predators, or even curious domestic dogs, may end up with a face full of them.  This is very painful, and sometimes leads to infection.  I would love see a porcupine in the wild - from a distance, of course!

An elk, also known as a wapiti, meaning "white rump".

"You wanna piece of me?!!!"

Last of all, we have the elk.  This elk was very interested in me, and came close - as if to check out what I was doing.  In fact, her posture and behavior seemed kind of challenging.  Thank goodness there was a fence between us!  You would never want to approach one so closely in the wild.  They have been known to charge humans and vehicles.

Their historic range included Iowa and Illinois, but now they are mainly found in the west.  They are hunted for food.  The Boone & Crockett record book lists the world's record elk as having an antler spread of 47 4/8 inches.  That is almost four feet across, with the height of the antlers being over 4 1/2 feet long.  Yowza!

Rich Colors

I went to Niabi Zoo recently, with a good friend, and enjoyed seeing all of the animals and birds.  The weather was perfect, and we took lots of photos.  But out of everything we saw that day, I think it was these beautiful flowers that gladdened my heart the most.  I could not get enough of their rich colors!

House Sparrow

This friendly little fellow is a house sparrow, from the species Passer domesticus, denoting a bird of speed "belonging to the house".

House sparrows like to live near human habitations rather than in forests or meadows.  They are not native to the United States and are seen as a pest, but world-wide they have often been used as pets and are a social bird, often roosting and nesting in groups, and in winter, flocking together with other birds.