Bird of the Week!

Well, better late than never I always say! This week's bird of the week is a personal favorite of mine, the Puffin! The name Puffin refers to three different species, all within the genus Fratercula. All are seabirds, which breed in huge colonies along the coastlines.

The three species are the Tufted Puffin, the Horned Puffin, and the Atlantic Puffin. Tufted Puffins and Horned Puffins more or less share the same territory, from the western Canadian coast up along Alaska and across to Kamchatka in Russia. The Atlantic Puffin, predictably, lives in the Indian Ocean. Ha just kidding, get fooled, they live across the northern Atlantic. Some scientists also include a fourth bird, the Rhinoceros Auklet, as a Puffin, due to its anatomic similarity. However, it has a very different outward appearance, and is classified in the genus Cerorhinca.

Below you can see a live stream of some puffins, showing that they are pretty damn cute when they sleep. Oh shit he just woke up as I typed this, go back to sleep little buddy I need the readers to see you.

Puffins eat many small fish, and despite being only 10 inches tall and 500 grams on average, will catch up to 10 fish at a time! look at this hungry little fella.

Lastly, puffins are extremely social, so they will often flock toward where they see other puffins. Scientists have used this fact to plant dummy puffins and draw large nesting groups to safe places, away from human interference. However, this sometimes backfire a little when the live puffins try to make friends or even mate with the dummies, then get sad when their new pal ignores them.

MarbleLympics Update

Hey hey party people. Sorry for the lack of a bird of the week thus far, but be on the lookout for something soon. But more importantly, I have news for anyone that hasn't been keeping up on the MarbleLympics. Firstly, why would you not be keeping up? What are you even doing with your life? This is pretty much the best thing to happen on any given year and you're missing out. Secondly, the Green Ducks are having an absolutely historic rookie appearance and we need to support them. That is all for today, thank you for your time. Go Green Ducks #QuackAttack

Bird of the Week!

Today we're going to dial back from the behemoth birds of the past few weeks, and downsize to a much more commonplace, but nonetheless awesome bird. Today, we are talking about crows. According to PBS, there are about 40 species of crow. These species vary greatly in size, averaging anywhere from 12 to 57 ounces. There are species of crow native to just about every climate and region around the world, from Hawaii to Canada to South Africa to East Asia.

Crows are famous for being among the most intelligent of animals. Research suggests that they remember individual faces, and almost never forget a face. A group of crows, called a murder, will mourn the death of one of its members. Even more impressive, a murder will actually investigate these deaths to find the cause of death. If a predator is found guilty, the entire murder will mob together to chase them away.

clarification on the chicken salad recipe

i just have recieved some emails recently inquiring about the origins of my chicken salad recipe so allow me to explain:

it is the only thing that got me through 2015

thanks for inquiring knowledge

enjoy your tuesday

Bird of the Week!

This week, we smoothly transition back into the land of living species with a bird that, like last week's Haast's Eagle, is just ridiculously huge. The Great Albatross is a genus made up of either six or seven species, depending on whom you ask.

Albatrosses are unique for a couple of reasons. Most famously, they have the longest wingspan of any living birds, averaging over 3 meters long. On a closely related note, they are also among the most staminal birds, able to fly incredibly long distances in a single flight. They are literally capable of flying around the planet without needing to land. They can do this thanks to their long wings, which allow them to glide very far without expending energy by flapping their wings. In fact, no definite maximum distance has been travelled for an Albatross. Some even theorize that there is no maximum distance, as their incredible gliding ability allows them to get 80-90% of the necessary energy from wind currents, and they have been observed sleeping while in flight. 

Another incredible trait of albatrosses is that they mate for life. I don't want to claim to know everything that happens in the mind of an Albatross, but they definitely fall totally in love. I mean, look at this and tell me that's not true love.

They will wait for their mate to return to them, and when they are finally reunited, each couple has a special dance that they have come up with, which they perform together. Also, when one mate passes away, their spouse will grieve for at least a year or two before beginning to court a new mate.

chicken salad recipe

is a chicken a bird?

follow the steps below for a chicken salad recipe that you can bring to your next neighborhood bbq!

ingredients:
10 boneless chicken breasts
1 5 oz bag of lettuce
3 baby carrots
2-3 bottles of ranch dressing (for taste)
37 cherry tomatoes

directions:
preheat your oven to 250
throw all ingredients in a bowl mix and serve
enjoy!

Bird of the Week!

Today, we wrap up our series of extinct birds of the week with our final installment, none other than the Haast Eagle. This behemoth of a bird, like last week's Moa, was native to New Zealand before going extinct around the year 1400. There are many theories regarding how they went extinct. It was likely a combination of factors, including the immediate preceding extinction of the Moa, which were the Haast Eagles' primary prey. Yes, the 12 foot 500 pound Moa were prey to this enormous eagle.

So just how big were these raptors? Like the Moa, females were generally larger, weighing in at 10-15 kg, while the smaller males were 9-12 kg. Their wingspan was between 2.6 and 3 meters, or nearly 8.5 to 10 feet. 

When hunting, the Haast's Eagle would attack a Moa by swooping down at speeds of roughly 80 mph, giving it a striking force equivalent to a cinder block dropped from an eight story building.