This past week I took a trip to Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware, a vast tidal salt marsh that for this summer has provided a home to four wayward roseate spoonbills. Seeing these birds got me wanting to review a spoonbill, but alas, I don’t have one. Instead, I’ll settle on another water bird from the American deep south, the anhinga (Anhinga anhinga).
Brand: Wings of the World
American Bald Eagle (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)
4.3 (12 votes)
Review and images by Takama; edited by bmathison1972
Editor’s Note: In honor of Independence Day, we are transferring over a walk-around of an iconic American animal, the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).
Ok, in the fall and early winter, bald eagles migrate from the south to make there nests in my area of the Mississippi River.
King Vulture (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)
5 (6 votes)
Although they share the vulture moniker the Old World vultures of the Accipitridae family and the New World vultures of the Cathartidae family are not closely related. Their similar appearance and feeding habits are the result of convergent evolution. They are however more closely related than was once assumed. For a time, the New World vultures were thought to be more closely allied to storks than other birds of prey.
Mandarin Duck (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)
5 (4 votes)
Review and images by Takama; additional text by Jetoar and bmathison1972
Mandarin ducks (Aix galericulata) are my favorite ducks. So I am glad Safari Ltd. made one for their Wings of the World collection in 2008.
Mandarin ducks are native to East Asia and Japan, with feral populations established in Great Britain, Germany, and in North Carolina and California in the U.S.
Rainbow Lorikeet (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (5 votes)
Here is a walk-around of the small Safari Ltd Wings of the World 2016 rainbow lorikeet, Trichoglossus moluccanus (Gmelin, 1788); item No. 150229. Total length is approx. 74 mm (if the head and neck would be fully stretched out) so the scale is approx. 1:4. This popular parrot species from eastern Australia has a specialised tongue with elongated papillae (Trichoglossus means “hairy tongue”) which are needed for their mostly liquid or pulpous diet (fruit pulp, nectar, and pollen).
Eurasian Eagle-owl (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)
4.3 (8 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo), or simply eagle owl, is one of the two biggest owl species (the other being Blakiston’s fish owl, B. blakistoni). A female, which like all owls, grows larger than the male, can achieve a wingspan of more than six feet and weigh 4.6 kg(10 lbs), close to the size of a golden eagle.
Green-winged Macaw (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (8 votes)
Reviews and photographs by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Parrots are found across the globe in a wide variety of sizes and vivid colours, but the ones people tend to think of the most are the macaws of South America. Not only are they arguably the most beautiful members of their family, they have also gained a reputation as the faithful talking pets of pirates and sailors and sorcerers in film and literature.
Red-tailed Hawk (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)
4.9 (7 votes)
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Some years ago, back when I was living in a condominium smack dab in the middle of downtown Ottawa, Ontario, I was walking home from the gym when I decided to take a shortcut through a parking garage. Lo and behold, I came across a large red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) in the midst of devouring a common rock pigeon!
Dodo (Wings of the World by by Safari Ltd.)
4 (12 votes)
Review by Brandon. Edited by Plesiosauria.
The demise of the dodo bird is probably the most famous extinction event in recent history. This ancient Columbiform bird was a flightless species endemic to the small island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Africa near Madagascar, and occupied the island since at least the Holocene era.
The demise of the dodo bird is probably the most famous extinction event in recent history. This ancient Columbiform bird was a flightless species endemic to the small island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Africa near Madagascar, and occupied the island since at least the Holocene era.