Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron

By Ethan Brady

The Great Blue Heron 

Its scientific name is called Ardea Herodias. They both mean heron but in two different languages. Ardea is the Latin name for Heron and Herodias is the Greek work for Heron. To know the difference between a male and a female great blue heron you have to look at the size because they are not sexually dimorphic, which means that they both look the same. The male weighs around 6 to 8 ibs and the female weighs 4 1/2 to 6 lbs. Their necks are really long and they kind of look similar to a crane and a swan. When flying they curl their necks to an 's' shape. They also have a shaggy chest, head, and wing plumes. About its shaggy chest, they have specialized feathers on their chest that grow continuously. That's why its chest is so shaggy. These birds create mating colonies in may and June. During breeding season in every colony they form breeding groups that will stay together. The males put on a show for the females to fall in love with them. Thy either fly in a 360 degree angle, call loudly, and fight with other males to get a girl. When it feels the need to scratch its head it stands on one foot to scratch it and by lifting one leg over a closed wing, erecting its crest feathers, and lowering and twisting its head into a position it can be reached. Whenever it preens it does it by using its bill on the feathers. They sunbathe by opening its wings to get the inside part to radiate body heat on sunny days and absorb solar radiation on cool days. At night they sleep in trees with dense foliage, which is the leaves of a plant and tree. In winter time most of them move to somewhere that has nice weather, such as Florida, the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the Northwest. They are around areas that have fresh and saltwater, grasslands, and agricultural fields. They live in these areas for easy access for food. Their favorite food is frogs, which is why most of them live in fresh and saltwater areas mainly. They eat a whole lot of things like fish, insects, mammals, amphibians, crustaceans, and other birds as well. They only eat the small types of birds. Frogs are their favorite amphibians to eat. Its population in North America is very stable. Due to its wide distribution, varied diet, and flexibility in nesting near both fresh and saltwater environments. In New Jersey, it is classified as a species of special concern, which means it is not yet endangered or threatened. Their wingspan is 6 ft which explains why they look so big. They hunt in shallow water and eats whatever it can catch. Some people refer to them as cranes but they are wrong. It may look like one because of its size and long neck but cranes have shorter beaks and hold their necks straight. Finally, they are the biggest herons in North America.

The Canada Goose

 The Canada Goose is a very territorial bird. It stands at 75 - 110 cm in length ( 30 - 43 in.). The wingspan is around 127 - 185 cm ( 50 - 73 in.). The bird weighs around on average 26.4 pounds.The majority of its body is brown with its neck being black and the majority of its face is black as well accompanied with some white. It usually finds its mate threw the females preference of the male and how he behaves. If she believes he can protect the two may enter courtship and proceed with their bonding. Mutually they dip their necks in the water repeatedly until they mate which is also usually in the water. The two will enter a monogamous relationship shortly after.

    Being migratory birds, the rely on their formation which is a "V" in the sky. This is done to reduce wind reduction and to keep everyone in formation. At a leisurely rate the birds include rest stops along their route and keep together the whole time.

    As previously stated these birds are very protective, so they come equipped with some defense. They will honk if they feel they are being attacked so they can call reinforcements. But these oversized birds don't only have defense. They hiss offensively, primarily towards other organisms if they feel threatened and expand their wings and sometimes nick the predator and/or hit him.

    The bird's diet consists grass, beans, corn, and domesticated seeds. While they are mostly herbivore, they do eat insects such as grasshoppers. And in greater news their extinction status is least concerning. They mainly reside in places that have bodies of water like lakes and rivers.

    Being these birds are territorial they will form gangs to steal nest sites and/or other goslings. Just a warning though do not get close to their feces, it is extremely toxic.

    

 The American Robin

By: Tinashe Maphosa

The American Robin 

The Latin or scientific name is “Turdus migratorius”.They were named after the European Robins because of their reddish orange breast.The American Robins are migratory songbirds and They also belong to the Turdidae family. This family is comprised of Robins,Thrushes,Bluebirds, and over 100 different species. American Robins are 23 to 28 cm which is 9.1  to 11.0 inches and have a wingspan of 12 to 16 inches and weigh 77 grams. American Robins are Omnivores, meaning that they eat both plants and animals. They serve as predators to insects and worms but, They also eat small snakes and small reptiles and amphibians but they prefer eat fruits and berries and when they don't find anymore fruits and berries sometimes they will leave and find a new area.There are about about 320 million american Robins all over the world, And make their nest on the ground, in gutters, on outdoor lights,  in a group of bushes or trees, On top of buildings,and on cliffs so just about anywhere.During the breeding season, The male robins grow black feathers on the back of their heads to attract females and aftering mating the female robin will stay in the nest until after the eggs have hatched. Once they have hatched  the newborn robins  will join the roosts and that is also when the female will leave and join the roosts.Are they aggressive?, They can be aggressive but it's unlikely that they will attack you doing research i saw that they are at ease around humans. They are very territorial and will protect their nest.The predators of the American robin are snakes, cats, and hawks. And when it comes to owning an American robin, you can't own an American Robin and it is illegal in most places to have or kill an american robin.