- •Introduction
- •Verreaux’s sifaka
- •Identification: Males reach 8–10 feet in length and have a massive neck, shoulders, and mane; females are smaller.
- •Identification: a large deer (standing 4-5 feet at the shoulder) with brownish red fur and a pale rump patch; males generally have enormous antlers and a long mane.
- •Identification: a 3-4-foot-tall deer with a brownish coat and large antlers (3 feet long) in males.
- •Identification: a medium-sized deer typically with a grayish brown coat and white underparts, and antlers in both sexes. Moose
- •Identification : The largest species of deer (weighing up to 1,300 pounds); has slender legs, a pendulous nose, and (in males) prominent palmate antlers and a dewlap or “bell” beneath the throat.
- •Identification: The tallest mammal (up to 19 feet), with a sloping back, enormously long neck, bony, knobbed “horns” in both sexes, and the familiar reddish brown spotted patterning.
- •Identification: a deer-sized mammal with distinctive, sharply forked horns in males and reddish brown fur with white patches.
- •Identification: a medium-sized gazelle; males have distinctive spiral horns and a black-and-white coat; females and juvenile males are tan colored.
- •Identification: a large wild sheep (weighing up to 300 pounds) with massive spiral horns in males; coat is brown with a white muzzle, underparts, and rump patch.
- •Identification: Similar to Bighorn, except smaller and with thinner horns; coat is all white or brownish black to gray,
- •Identification: a large (6—8—foot—long) mammal with long, shaggy fur, humped shoulders, and massive, down-sweeping horns.
- •Identification: a stocky, 3-foot-tall, goatlike mammal with shaggy white fur and sharp horns in both sexes.
- •Identification: An enormous buffalo (up to 61/2 feet high) with massive forequarters, humped shoulders, and (in males) a beard.
- •Identification: Similar to American Bison but more slender, less hunched, and with longer legs.
- •Identification: a huge (II-foot-long), usually black buffalo with massive, upward-curving horns in both sexes.
- •Identification: The familiar wild horse with a black-and-white-striped pattern; Mountain Zebras usually have a distinctive dewlap.
- •Identification: a 3—5-foot-long wild pig with a large head, prominent tusks, and distinctive warts in front of the eyes and on the jaw..
- •Identification: a piglike mammal with grayish, speckled, or salt-and-pepper fur and a light-colored collar.
- •Identification: The familiar large (up to 71/2 tons), trunked mammal with enormous ears and tusks in both sexes.
- •Identification: a large wild cat (up to 550 pounds) with a prominent mane in males.
- •Identification: a small canid (body length up to 3 feet) with a bushy tail and a reddish brown coat (although some variants are silvery or black).
- •Identification: The largest wild canid (reaching up to 7 feet in length) with a gray, brown, black, or white coat.
- •Identification: a small (3 foot long), reddish brown, bearlike canid with short legs and tail. Social Organization
- •Identification: a huge bear (7–10 feet tall) with dark brown, golden, cream, or black fur..
- •Identification: a smaller bear (4–6 feet) with coat color ranging from black to gray, brown, and even white. Park, Saskatchewan, Canada; subspecies u.A. Altifrontalis.
- •Identification: a yellowish brown hyena with spotted flanks and back, a strongly sloping body profile, and rounded ears; females typically heavier than males.
- •Identification: a large (over 3 foot tall) kangaroo with a gray coat and a hair-covered muzzle.
- •Identification: a smaller kangaroo (21/2 feet tall) with a reddish brown wash on its neck.
- •Identification: a light gray kangaroo standing up to 3 feet tall, with a white facial stripe and a long, slender tail.
- •Identification: a small (6–7 pound), rodentlike kangaroo with reddish brown fur.
- •Identification: Stocky, tree-dwelling kangaroos; chestnut or chocolate brown fur with lighter patches.
- •Identification: a small, mouselike marsupial with a thick, conical, fat-storing tail.
- •Identification: a catlike marsupial, up to 2 feet long, with grayish brown fur and white splotches.
- •Identification: a medium-sized (10—15 inch), primarily tree-dwelling squirrel with a reddish brown or tawny coat and white underparts, often with a dark stripe on the side.
- •Identification: a large (20 inch), tree-dwelling squirrel with a long, bushy tail and gray, grizzled, or buff fur.
- •Identification: Small, guinea-pig-like rodents with coarse fur; Dwarf Cavies have a distinctive white eye-ring, Cuis have yellow-colored incisors.
- •Identification: a small (less than I foot long) insectivore with sandy-colored spines, white underparts, and prominent ears.
- •Identification: a dark gray goose with fine silvery-white feather patterning; the wild ancestor of domestic geese.
- •Identification: a brown-plumaged goose with a distinctive black neck and white cheek patch; varies widely in size, from 2–24 pounds.
- •Identification: a pinkish-red-billed goose with two major color phases: all-white and “blue” (grayish plumage with a white head and neck).
- •Identification: The only swan with fully black plumage; wing feathers are white, bill is bright red, and the neck is especially long.
- •Identification: a large swan (up to 33 pounds) with a black knob at the base of its reddish orange bill (less prominent in females).
- •Identification: a familiar duck with a blue wing patch, an iridescent green head and white collar in males, and brown, mottled plumage in females.
- •Identification: a grayish brown duck with a light blue upper-wing patch, tawny spotted underparts, and white, crescent-shaped facial stripes in males.
- •Identification: a broad-billed duck with a purplish black head and breast and white underparts in males, and a dark head and brownish plumage in females.
- •Identification: Cinnamon breast, dark green head and back, and white collar; adult females have white eye and bill rings.
- •Identification: a large, grayish duck with a prominent lobe hanging from the lower bill, and a spike-fan tail..
- •Identification: a gull-sized, web-footed bird with contrasting black upperparts and white underparts; some individuals have a white eye ring.
- •Identification: a large, white-plumaged, gull-like bird with an enorous wingspan (over 61/2 feet), a dark back, and a grayish black wash on the face.
- •Identification: a large (3 foot), black, web-footed bird with a white throat and white filamentary plumes on the nape.
- •Identification: Similar to Great Cormorant, but smaller and uniformly black, with a prominent forehead crest.
- •Identification: a ducklike bird with grayish white plumage, bright red eyes, and yellow facial tufts.
- •Identification: Similar to Silvery Grebe, but with a buff or chestnut wash on the breast, white streaks on the head, and black-and-white eyes.
- •Identification: a stocky, medium-sized (2 foot long) heron with a black crown and back, white underparts, gray wings, and white ribbon plumes at the nape of the neck.
- •Identification: Long-legged, typically white herons with ornamental, filamentous plumes on the back, breast, and nape; these are golden-buff-colored in the Cattle Egret.
- •Identification: Similar to Little Egret but with slaty-gray plumage and a reddish brown head and neck.
- •Identification: a large (3 foot long) heron with a gray back, white head and neck, and black “eyebrow” stripe and nape plumes.
- •Identification: a large (nearly 20 inch) wading bird with bluish purple plumage, a red shield on its forehead, and red feet with long toes.
- •Identification: Similar to Pukeko, but flightless, and with grayish brown plumage, no red frontal shield, and shorter legs.
- •Identification: Similar to Pukeko, but with black plumage and shorter legs.
- •Identification: The largest flamingo species (4—5 feet tall) with plumage ranging from pale whitish pink to bright orange-pink.
- •Identification: a large (12 inch) sandpiper with gray or brownish plumage and, in some males, spectacular ruffs and feather tufts on the head that vary widely in color and pattern (see below).
- •Identification: a medium-sized (7—8 inch) wading bird with a small head and short beak, buff-colored face and underparts, and regular dark brown patterning on the back and crown.
- •Identification: a large (13—14 inch) sandpiper with streaked and spotted, dark brownish gray plumage; long and slightly upturned bill; greenish yellow legs.
- •Identification: Slightly smaller than the Greenshank; plumage grayish brown, with black and dark brown streaks and spots; orange-red legs.
- •Identification: a fairly large (12—15 inch) sandpiper-like bird with long pink legs, white plumage with black wings and back, and a slender black bill.
- •Identification: Similar to Black-winged Stilt but with entirely black plumage.
- •Identification: a medium-sized (10 inch) sandpiper-like bird with mottled buff and black plumage; adult males have a black face and underparts bordered with white.
- •Identification: a large gull (up to 27 inches) with a dark gray back and wings; spotted black-and-white wing tips; pink legs; and a yellow bill with a red spot.
- •Identification: a smaller gull (to 17 inches) with a blue-gray mantle; more pointed black wing tips; relatively short black legs and dark eyes; and a yellowish green bill.
- •Identification: a medium-sized (16 inch) gull with gray back and wings; spotted black-and-white wing tips; bright red bill and legs; white iris.
- •Identification: Similar to Silver Gull except larger (2 feet long), legs pinkish, bill yellow with a red spot, and iris yellow.
- •Identification: a medium-sized gull (to 17 inches) with a distinctive black or chocolate brown “hood,” red legs, and a gray back and wings.
- •Identification: a medium-sized (to 18 inches) black-headed gull with white eye-crescents, a dark gray back, and red legs and bill..
- •Ivory gull
- •Identification: An all-white gull with black legs and a blue-gray bill.
- •Identification: a large (to 22 inches) gull-like bird with a black cap and crest, light gray back and wings, forked tail, and long red bill with a black tip.
- •Identification: Similar to Caspian Tern but smaller (to 17 inches) and with a more deeply forked tail and slighter bill.
- •IdentifIfAtion: a crow-sized bird with cinnamon-brown plumage and a bare, blue-gray face..
- •Identification: Adult males are black with a red crown and a light blue patch on the back; yearling males and females are all green, while younger adult males are green with a reddish crown..
- •Identification: Small (5–7 inch) birds with brown and rufous plumage and a bluish gray patch around the eyes; Ocellateds have a distinctive scalloped pattern on the back feathers.
- •Identification: a small (5 inch), plain olive-green bird with a long tail and an ocher- or tawny-colored lower breast.
- •Identification: a small to medium-sized swallow with iridescent blue-green upperparts, white underparts, and a tail that is only slightly forked.
- •Identification: a bluish brown swallow with pale underparts, buff forehead, and a chestnut throat; tail is not forked..
- •Identification: a small, sparrow-sized swallow with a slightly forked tail, brown plumage, white underparts, and a brown breast band.
- •Identification: a small songbird with bright yellow underparts, olive green upperparts, and a black crown (“hood”) and throat in adult males and some females (see below).
- •Identification: a sparrow-sized bird with olive-brown plumage, distinctive white shoulder bars, and (in males) blue-gray crown.
- •Identification: a sparrow-sized bird with olive to orange-red plumage and a distinctive crossed bill..
- •Identification: a small (61/2 inch) bird with a thick, hooked bill, grayish brown plumage, and a darker facial mask (black in males)..
- •Identification: a tiny (41/2 inch) chickadee-like bird with a bright blue crown, black-and-white face, bluish green plumage, and yellow underparts.
- •Identification: a sparrow-sized bird with bright blue plumage, white underparts, and a chestnut throat and breast.
- •Identification: a grayish buff, sparrow-sized bird with a pale gray-white crown..
- •Identification: a drab, sparrowlike bird with brownish gray plumage and a black throat patch..
- •Identification: The familiar black-bibbed sparrow; Cowbird is iridescent black with a dark brown head..
- •Identification: Light gray plumage, black wings and tail, and (in some birds) bare yellow head and fleshy black wattles.
- •Identification: a small crow with black plumage and gray on the back of the head.
- •Identification: a large (2 foot), all-black bird similar to a crow but much bulkier..
- •Victoria’s riflebird
- •Identification: Adult males are black with an iridescent sheen and metallic crown, throat, and central tail feathers; females and younger males are drabber, with brown, buff, and off-white plumage.
- •Identification: a thrush-sized bird (12 inches) with velvety black plumage and brilliant golden yellow crown, nape, upper back, and wing feathers.
- •Identification: a pheasant-sized bird with brownish gray plumage, powerful legs and claws, and long, ornate tail feathers.
- •Identification: The largest living bird (over 6 feet tall), with striking black-and-white plumage in the male and powerful legs and claws.
- •Identification: The second-largest living bird (5—6 feet tall), with shaggy, brown plumage and bare patches of blue skin on the face and neck.
- •Identification: Similar to Ostrich but smaller (up to 41/2 feet tall) and with overall grayish brown plumage in both sexes.
- •Identification: a small penguin (approximately 2 feet tall) with a black band on its chest and patches of red skin at the base of its bill..
- •Identification: a large (3 foot tall) penguin with orange ear patches and a yellow-orange wash on the breast.
- •Identification: a medium-sized penguin (up to 21/2 feet) with a white patch above the eye.
- •Identification: a large vulture (wingspan up to 9 feet) with a white head and neck and brown plumage.
- •Insects
- •Introduction
Identification: a large (to 22 inches) gull-like bird with a black cap and crest, light gray back and wings, forked tail, and long red bill with a black tip.
ROSEATE TERN
Identification: Similar to Caspian Tern but smaller (to 17 inches) and with a more deeply forked tail and slighter bill.
Social Organization
During the mating season, Caspian and Roseate Terns usually congregate in large colonies which may contain up to 500 pairs in Caspians and several thousand in Roseates. The typical social unit is the monogamous mated pair. Outside of the mating season, Terns are less gregarious and are usually found alone or in small groups.
Description
Behavioral Expression: In both Caspian and Roseate Terns, two females may pair with each other, associating together the way a male-female pair does. Usually such homosexual pairs also build nests and lay eggs. Since both females typically lay, the result is a SUPERNORMAL CLUTCH containing up to twice the number of eggs found in nests of heterosexual pairs—4—6 eggs for Caspian homosexual pairs, and 3—5 eggs for Roseates. Both females take turns incubating the eggs (as do mates in heterosexual pairs). Sometimes the eggs are infertile, but in many cases they do hatch. There are several possible sources for fertile eggs in same-sex pairs: for example, one or both females may copulate with a male while still remaining bonded to her female mate. In addition, it appears that females in some populations occasionally “steal” eggs from others’ nests, sometimes transferring eggs from as many as three other nests into their own. Approximately 13 percent of supernormal clutches in some locations have at least one “stolen” egg in them, so it is likely that at least some females in homosexual pairs utilize this strategy. Once the eggs hatch, both females share parenting duties (as do partners in heterosexual pairs), which include feeding the young, protecting the chicks from predators, sheltering them against the sun, and defending the nesting territory.
Frequency: In Caspian Terns, 3–6 percent of pairs are homosexual; in Roseates, about 5 percent of chicks are tended by female pairs in some populations.
Orientation: Females in homosexual pairs that copulate with males in order to fertilize their eggs are functionally bisexual, although they retain their primary bond with the other female. Other female pairs may be exclusively homosexual for the duration of their pair-bond, since they do not lay fertile eggs. Some females are also sequentially bisexual, alternating between male and female partners in different breeding seasons.
Nonreproductive and Alternative Heterosexualities
Terns occasionally “steal” eggs from other clutches, as described above for homosexual pairs; birds in heterosexual pairs probably do so, since some nests with transferred eggs do not have supernormal clutches. In addition, female Roseate Terns sometimes lay eggs in nests other than their own, resulting in “super-supernormal clutches.” In one colony, for example, about 1 percent of the nests had 7 eggs—more than twice the number found even in supernormal clutches. Most such nests appear to belong to heterosexual pairs. Caspian Terns also have a high divorce rate: more than half of all male-female pairs do not last more than one season. Female Roseate Terns sometimes successfully raise chicks as a single parent when their male partner dies. As in many Gulls, infanticide and aggression toward chicks also occur in some Tern species. Caspian Terns, for example, often violently attack—and may even kill—chicks that wander onto their territories and may break eggs during their squabbles as well. Caspian Terns also commonly form CRÈCHES, dense herds of chicks attended by a few adults who watch over them while their parents are away foraging.
Perching Birds and Songbirds COTINGAS, MANAKINS, AND OTHERS
IDENTIFICATION: A small (10 inch) perching bird; adult males are brilliant orange with elaborate fringed wing plumes and an imposing helmetlike feather crest; adolescent males have mottled brown and orange plumage, while females are uniformly dark.
Social Organization
The spectacularly plumed Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock has what is known as a LEK social and mating system: males inhabit individual territories, usually clustered in the same area, which are used for display and courtship. Each display “court” consists of a cleared area on the forest floor and surrounding perches. Territories are maintained year-round, but courtship and mating occur only from late December through April. Females (and in this species, young males) visit these territories to choose which males they want to mate with. Other than this, males and females lead virtually separate lives: males do not participate in any aspect of nesting or parental care and rarely encounter females outside of the breeding season.
Description
Behavioral Expression: Homosexual activity between adult and adolescent males, as well as among adolescent males, is a routine occurrence in Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock. Males court and display to each other, as well as engage in homosexual mounting. A typical homosexual encounter begins when the adult males are perched beside their display courts, each glowing like an orange beacon in the jungle gloom. Both females and adolescent (yearling) males are attracted to the lek, which is carefully situated in the forest to take advantage of the ambient light characteristics of the environment (thereby showing off its owner to his best advantage). The courtship sequence commences with a GREETING DISPLAY: the males begin calling raucously, then each drops to the ground with a thump and begins beating his wings violently, flashing patches of black and white. This often produces a whistling sound as air rushes through the specially modified wing feathers.
This attention-grabbing sequence is followed by the GROUND DISPLAY: each adult male crouches down, fanning out the delicate filaments of his wing coverts, puffing out his chest and rump feathers and erecting his crest, resulting in a spectacular visual effect. By this time an adolescent male who is attracted by the display has landed beside the adult and is hopping about the display court, often crouching in a version of the courtship posture himself. The adult keeps his back toward the younger male at all times but is otherwise motionless, showing off his plumage to its best and inviting the adolescent to mount him. During homosexual copulation, the younger male climbs onto the adult’s back and perches firmly, moving his tail sideways to try to make genital contact. Often the younger male mounts the older male several times in succession, and courtship and display often alternate with mountings. Sometimes males also mount each other in the trees surrounding a display court. Homosexual interactions differ from heterosexual ones in that both participants perform some version of the ground display; also, unlike females, neither male pecks at or touches the other’s rump prior to mounting.
Adolescent males usually visit the display courts of several adult males, although some adults are clearly more “popular” than others because they receive more attention from the younger males. Typically, a yearling has homosexual interactions with anywhere from one to seven different adult males during the mating season. Nor does homosexual activity always involve an adult territory owner and a yearling male: adolescents often mount nonbreeding males who do not have their own display territories and sometimes also mount other adolescent males. Homosexual activity is not separate from heterosexual courtship and copulation, but takes place in the same locations and often while male-female interactions are happening in the vicinity. However, homosexual courtship and mounting often take priority over heterosexual interactions. If an adolescent male approaches an adult who is courting a female, the female usually leaves (or is chased away), and the two males turn their attentions to each other. Moreover, if a female encounters a male who is courting or involved sexually with another male, she usually waits until the adolescent male leaves before approaching the adult.
A younger (adolescent) male Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock mounting a bright orange adult male in the forests of Suriname
Frequency: Homosexual activity is very common among Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock: in fact, mountings between males are as frequent as male-female mountings, accounting for nearly half of all copulations. About 10 percent of heterosexual courtships are interrupted by adolescent males visiting the courting male; roughly one out of five of these “interruptions” involves courtship or sexual behavior between males. During the breeding season, homosexual activity may occur daily, and an adolescent male will usually have 6–7 homosexual encounters over the season (although some males engage in homosexual mounting more frequently, 15 or more times over a season).
Orientation: Close to 40 percent of the male population participates in some form of homosexual activity. Depending on his age, a bird that has same-sex interactions may or may not also engage in heterosexual activity. Among adult males (three years or older), nearly a quarter (23 percent) are mounted by other males, and 6 percent of these do not mate or court females at all. In fact, those adults who do not mate heterosexually are often the ones most frequently mounted by younger males. Among yearling males (virtually none of whom mount females), almost two-thirds (64 percent) engage in homosexual activity. Two-year-old males, on the other hand, very rarely engage in homosexual activity. Thus, when birds of all ages are taken into account, nearly 20 percent of the male population at any given time is involved exclusively in homosexuality.
Nonreproductive and Alternative Heterosexualities
As described above, male and female Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock have essentially no contact with each other outside of the mating season. Even during the breeding season, their interactions are often unfriendly or overtly aggressive. Males frequently harass females by chasing them around the display court and in some cases attempt to forcibly copulate with them. Females struggle violently during these rape attempts and are usually able to get away, but are visibly stressed following such interactions. In fact, only 20 percent of all lek visits by females result in copulation. There is also a significant proportion of nonbreeding individuals in the population: an average of 20 percent of adult males do not have display territories (and thus rarely, if ever, court or mate with females), while nearly two-thirds of territorial males fail to mate each year. Moreover, males are rarely able to acquire their own territories (and therefore court females) before they are three to four years old. In addition, many females who visit the courtship grounds never actually mate with males during the entire breeding season.