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.
Classification: Birds
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 (6 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)
4.2 (5 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 (4 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.
Kiwi (Wildlife by CollectA)
5 (3 votes)
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
Today I want to introduce you to the figure of another instantly recognizable bird. But again, despite its worldwide popularity, the choice of figures is comparably few. The more welcomed is CollectA’s 2015 release.
“Kiwi” derives from the native Maori language and – as quite common in bird names – refers to the call of the animal.
Toco Toucan (Wild Life by Schleich)
5 (3 votes)
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
The giant toucan or toco toucan (Ramphastos toco) is one of those unmistakable birds almost anyone recognizes even with no ornithological background at all. There are a number of models to choose from generally, although quite a number are hard to come by and the quality is mixed.
Ducks (Decoy Rubber Duckies by Funrise Express)
4 (2 votes)
With the possible exception of the Teddy bear the classic rubber duck is without question the most popular animal toy in the world. And although the collecting of rubber duckies does not really tie into our own hobby you can bet that they have their own loyal following of collectors. And the selection of different ducks is astounding; they come in every conceivable color, size, and style.
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.
Ducks, pair (Bullyland)
4 (3 votes)
If you were to go past a large body of water, be it a canal, lake, or pond, you would likely see a form of duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus). Common in various forms and breeds across the globe, they are often a food source for meat and eggs, although can also provide a useful solution to chemical free pest control.
Western Capercaillie (Wild Life by Schleich)
5 (3 votes)
I received today’s figure in the mail just last week, even though it came out 20 years ago! I am talking about the western capercaillie, also known as a European grouse, Tetro urogallus, which was released by Schleich in 2000. A common and familiar bird, it is surprising there were so few figures made of it, and they are all, to the best of my knowledge, retired.
Superb Bird-of-paradise (Johan Scherft)
5 (2 votes)
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
The superb bird-of-paradise or greater Lophorina (Lophorina superba) of New Guinea is a somewhat inconspicuous species among the group of Paradisaeidae. Unlike a lot of other species, the males are just black with a bit iridescent blue color on the breast and top of the head, no obvious elongate feathers or other striking coloration.