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.
Classification: Birds
Grey Heron (Wild Animals by Papo)
4.7 (3 votes)
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
If you ever have the chance and time to observe a heron on the hunt, take a moment (or half an hour) to watch this so common and at once so awesome creature. While some groups of animals have incorporated the combination of freezing, glacial movement, and sudden strikes into their hunting techniques, herons have somewhat perfected this strategy.
Ostrich, 2004 (Wild Life Africa by Schleich)
2 (2 votes)
Even when surrounded by amazing large cats and herbivores that can weigh several tons, the common ostrich (Struthio camelus), does not fail to impress. Ostriches are the largest of the extant land birds alongside other birds of the infraclass, ratites, like emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) and cassowaries (Casuarius spp.
Black-Browed Albatross (Marine Life by Papo)
4.6 (5 votes)
Albatrosses, members of the family Diomedeidae, are some of the most spectacular seabirds, perfectly adapted to a life of sea and air. Albatrosses are some of the largest flying animals alive today, with the wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) having a wingspan of up to 12.2’ (3.7 meters) and weighing in excess of 20 lbs (9 kg).
Japanese Animals (Colorata)
4 (4 votes)
Well, here we are. I’ve reached a big milestone, my 50th review! I want to thank everyone who read, rated and commented on my reviews to this point. I also want to thank bmathison1972 for editing my work. For this milestone, I wanted to cover something well made and on the more expensive side, so I chose the Japanese Animals set by Colorata.
Cinereous Vulture (Bullyland)
4.5 (4 votes)
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
The cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) is one of the largest raptorial birds of Europe, with wingspans reaching close to 3 metres. It is also known as the black vulture (despite not being black at all, but at least considerably darker than other vultures) and in my home country Germany it is usually called monk vulture, for its head appears like it wears a tonsure.
Peacock (Wild Animals by Papo)
4.5 (6 votes)
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
It is said Charles Darwin wrote in letters to his few friends, that he gets sick thinking about the flamboyant and useless plumage of the Indian peacock, it just would not fit into his view on the evolutionary process. Today, 160 years after the publication of The Origin of Species, we know that the ‘fittest’ may not necessarily need to be the biggest, strongest or fastest, sometimes you just need to be good with the chicks; sorry, but I guess you can see it’s just the point in this case.
New Zealand Giant Eagle (Yowies Lost Kingdoms Series A by Cadbury)
2.5 (2 votes)
When a species goes extinct, you take out one piece of the food web, affecting everything above and below it. When the Moa went extinct, so too did it’s main predator, the largest eagle to ever have existed, Haast’s eagle, Hieraaetus. Once it flew through the forests of New Zealand, preying on the Moa, grabbing their pelvis and slashing their neck with their sharp talons, which gave them their initial (and cooler sounding) scientific name of Harpagornis.
ANIA Blind Box Series 3 (Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.)
4.7 (3 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
ANIA is a line of animal figures released under Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. catered towards educating children about wildlife. These figures are highly detailed, inexpensive, and often accurate to the animals they are made to portray. The line has gained popularity in Japan, with them branching out to releasing bath bombs with little animals, gashapons, and blind boxes.
Common Pheasant (Wild Animals by Papo)
4.8 (4 votes)
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
The bird life of Middle Europe generally does not flaunt too much color, although if one looks closely there are a few corlorful species, as the gold finch or the green woodpecker. A fairly common species in middle European fields and meadows nowadays is the common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus).
Backyard Birds TOOB (Safari Ltd.)
4.6 (5 votes)
Birds are without question the most prevalent tetrapod vertebrates in today’s world and for many people, especially in urban settings, birds are the most intimate link to the natural world available. Step outside, no matter where you are, you’re likely to see or hear a bird. Even as a write, I can see about a dozen birds at my bird feeder.
Emperor Penguin, adult and chick (AAA)
4 (4 votes)
Welcome, once again, to my “Winter Wonderland” series! We started in the great white north, now we shall go to the frozen south of the world: Antarctica, responsible for such icy greats as the Ice Age. It is also an area where terrestrial mammals aren’t present, thus the major terrestrial animals are penguins, having adapted to the cold climate over millions of years.
Eastern Bluebird (Wild Republic Audubon Birds by K&M International)
4.3 (3 votes)
It was August 16th, 2004, a dry hot and sunny day. I was working as a farmhand in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. On that particular day I was driving a tractor down an old dusty dirt lane running between two pastures used for grazing beef cattle. The tractor was an Allis Chalmers WD model produced some time in the 1940-50’s.
Turkey (Wild Republic Audubon Birds by K&M International)
4.7 (3 votes)
It’s that time of year again, when the United States celebrates Thanksgiving and everything relating to the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) and its domesticated counterparts. Last year I missed the opportunity to review a specimen of this highly symbolic bird but I’ve come prepared this year. This turkey is part of the Wild Republic Audubon Birds line of plush birds that emit authentic vocalizations provided by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Wildlife by CollectA)
5 (3 votes)
Review and images by suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) was one of the largest woodpeckers in the world and certainly the largest to inhabit North America. Tragically, after relentless decades of hunting, pollution, and deforestation, this magnificent bird is largely believed to have gone the way of the thylacine and the quagga.