Toucans, Toucan Pictures, Toucan Facts. The Toco toucan is at home in South America's tropical forests but recognized everywhere.
The toucan's oversized, colorful bill has made it one of the world's most popular birds. The 7.5-inch-long (19-centimeter-long) bill may be seen as a desirable mating trait, but if so, it is one that both male and female toucans possess. In fact, both sexes use their bills to catch tasty morsels and pitch them to one another during a mating ritual fruit toss. As a weapon, the bill is a bit more show than substance. It is a honeycomb of bone that actually contains a lot of air. But the toucan's bill is useful as a feeding tool. Toco toucans live in small flocks of about six birds.
Toucans nest in tree holes. These iconic birds are very popular pets, and many are captured to supply demand for this trade. Bald Eagles, Bald Eagle Pictures, Bald Eagle Facts. The bald eagle, with its snowy-feathered (not bald) head and white tail, is the proud national bird symbol of the United States—yet the bird was nearly wiped out there.
For many decades, bald eagles were hunted for sport and for the "protection" of fishing grounds. Pesticides like DDT also wreaked havoc on eagles and other birds. These chemicals collect in fish, which make up most of the eagle's diet. They weaken the bird's eggshells and severely limited their ability to reproduce. Since DDT use was heavily restricted in 1972, eagle numbers have rebounded significantly and have been aided by reintroduction programs. Though their numbers have grown in much of their range, bald eagles remain most abundant in Alaska and Canada. Bald eagles are believed to mate for life.
Parrots, Parrot Pictures, Parrot Facts. The parrots are a broad order of more than 350 birds.
Macaws, Amazons, lorikeets, lovebirds, cockatoos and many others are all considered parrots. Though there is great diversity among these birds, there are similarities as well. All parrots have curved beaks and all are zygodactyls, meaning they have four toes on each foot, two pointing forward and two projecting backward. Most parrots eat fruit, flowers, buds, nuts, seeds, and some small creatures such as insects.
Parrots are found in warm climates all over most of the world. Many parrots are kept as pets, especially macaws, Amazon parrots, cockatiels, parakeets, and cockatoos. Currently the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) bans the sale of any wild-caught species, yet the parrots' popularity continues to drive illegal trade. Some parrot species are highly endangered. Wolves, Wolf Pictures, Wolf Facts. Wolves are legendary because of their spine-tingling howl, which they use to communicate.
A lone wolf howls to attract the attention of his pack, while communal howls may send territorial messages from one pack to another. Some howls are confrontational. Much like barking domestic dogs, wolves may simply begin howling because a nearby wolf has already begun. Population and Conservation Wolves are the largest members of the dog family. In the lower 48 states, gray wolves were hunted to near extinction, though some populations survived and others have since been reintroduced. Red wolves live in the southeastern United States, where they are endangered. The maned wolf, a distant relative of the more familiar gray and red wolves, lives in South America. Wolf Pack Behavior Wolves live and hunt in packs of around six to ten animals. Wolfpacks are established according to a strict hierarchy, with a dominant male at the top and his mate not far behind.