Some of my favorite birds are the spoonbills of the genus Platalea within the Threskiornithidae family. Spoonbills are wading birds found on every continent except Antarctica and characterized by the broad, flatted tip on their bills. Sweeping their bill back and forth underwater, spoonbills use their bill tip to gather up small invertebrates, amphibians, and fishes.
Classification: Pelicans, Herons & Kins
Cormorant (Marine Life by Papo)
4.7 (11 votes)
My recent review of the Safari blue-footed booby motivated me to review another Suliforme bird that I featured in a comparison photo in that review, the 2020 Papo cormorant, which is also my most recent acquisition.
Cormorants, along with shags, make up the Phalacrocoracidae family, made up of about 40 species.
Blue-Footed Booby (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)
4.5 (8 votes)
At the start of the year, I received an email notification from Safari Ltd. that they would be having a 50% off sale on their already discounted, discontinued figures. Not only were some of these figures now up to 75% off but this was also my last chance to get them, I didn’t squander it.
Shoebill (Doki Doki Doubutu by Phat!)
5 (4 votes)
Here’s a walk-around of the majestic Doki Doki Doubutu “1/12 scale” model Shoebill or Whale-headed Stork, Balaeniceps rex Gould, 1850. The figure is retired and seems to be the rarest of the Doki Doki releases. Height excluding base is 123 mm, so the scale would be between approx. 1:10 and 1:11.The wild population of this species is in decline due to hunting and habitat loss and IUCN lists it as “Vulnerable”.
Pelican (Bullyland Birds by Bullyland)
3.5 (4 votes)
When it comes to catching fish, birds have found many techniques. You having diving kingfishers, spearing herons and skimmers galore. But the birds with the most straight forward approach are the pelicans. With an inflatable gullet, they scoop their prey in, water and all. This has made them quite successful, being found across the globe.
American White Pelican (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)
4.2 (5 votes)
The American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) is one of the largest birds in North America. Measuring 4-6’ (1.2-1.8 meters) in length, only the trumpeter swan matches it in length. With a wingspan of 8-10’ (2.4- 3 meters), only the California condor has a wider spread. Such a wingspan is required because the white pelican is also a heavy bird, weighing 11-20 lbs.
Anhinga (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)
5 (4 votes)
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).
Grey Heron (Wild Animals by Papo)
4.8 (4 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.
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.
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.
Shoebill (Wildlife by CollectA)
4.2 (5 votes)
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
After the cassowary, I again want to introduce you to another bird figure, representing a most impressive animal, but nevertheless being mostly ignored by major toy brands. Toy Animal Wiki lists six different figures, five of them are made by Japanese brands and are probably produced from some brittle plastic and not designed to withstand a time as a toy.
Great Lakes TOOB (Safari Ltd.)
5 (5 votes)
Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. Those are the names of the Great Lakes of North America that boarder the central/east United States and Canada. In total area they represent the largest freshwater lakes on Earth, holding roughly 20% of the world’s surface freshwater and 9/10ths of the water supply for the United States.