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Most recently published stories in Petlife.

Collecting Feathers - the Legal Way
Collecting feathers is, for many, a fun pastime we’ve held onto since childhood. A bright bluejay feather or elegant woodpecker primary makes an interesting ornament that catches the eye. But unfortunately, what many aren’t aware of is that it isn’t that simple. Simply taking home a pretty feather can be highly illegal - but not in all cases. So what feathers can you keep, and which are best to leave be?
By Patrick Kuklinski6 years ago in Petlife
Raising Your Own Mealworm Colony
Mealworms are well known in the reptile-keeping world for being a convenient feeder insect to offer pet lizards, and though it’s very convenient to purchase mealworms at local pet stores or order them online, some reptile keepers, especially breeders who maintain many animals, like to try raising their own. This article will outline the basics of raising mealworms yourself, including how to load them with nutritional value, keep their environment clean, and breed your mealworms fast enough to keep up with the demand of your herps.
By Patrick Kuklinski6 years ago in Petlife
I Throw Rocks at Bambi
My corner of the world is paradise. My cabin sits in a clearing among huge ponderosa pines and Douglas fir trees. A creek babbles along through a small gully and the birds sing as they build their nests. Squirrels chatter as they scramble from tree top to tree top and bears stop to sniff the air. The sweet scent of wood smoke drifts lazily along the breeze and hawks call from the sky as they circle the clearing on outstretched wings. Visitors to my little cabin in the Southern Colorado Rocky Mountains “OOOHHH and AHHH” as a herd of mule deer daintily tip toe across the yard. “Beautiful!” they exclaim. “You are so lucky.”
By Morgan Alber6 years ago in Petlife
Why Pigeons, Not Parrots, Are The Ideal Avian Companions
As a society, we don’t appreciate pigeons much. They’re known for being dirty, annoying, and covering everything from sidewalks to national monuments with their feces. Pigeons haven’t had a great public image — to most, they are dumb and disease ridden birds. But in reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth. References to domestic pigeons are found both in Egyptian hieroglyphs and Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets. Pigeons have been bred for thousands of years to work at our sides — many giving their lives to aid us as messengers of war. And yet, they are far from most people’s preferred avian pet — a parrot of various species, despite how little captivity suits them.
By Patrick Kuklinski6 years ago in Petlife
44 Fun Dog Facts That May Just Surprise You
Who's your best friend? Your dog, of course. We love our dogs; they are part of our family. You may be the only human on the planet that knows intimate things about your dog. But here are a few fun dog facts you may not know about your dog and her canine friends.
By Stacy Crutchfield6 years ago in Petlife
Just for Fins
Sharks have gained a rather bad reputation over the years, perhaps it’s because of the way they are portrayed in movies like Jaws or maybe because their multiple rows of teeth may not make them look like the cuddliest of creatures. In as early as the year 1758, they were labelled as “man-eaters” and since then have been deceived by the media as malicious predators when in reality, they are a very curious and intelligent species that aren’t worth all the worry you have before you dip your toes into the ocean. Demonizing sharks with human motives is what is driving them closer to extinction. The attacks they’ve made on humans is nothing compared to the damage we have caused to their population. We are a far greater threat to them.
By Sam Villemaire6 years ago in Petlife
Elegant Crested Tinamou
Elegant Crested-Tinamou is a beautiful western Argentinian terrestrial bird and windswept Patagonia. It can be found in flocks of 5-10 birds that scurry through low steppe vegetation, and its downslurred, whistled calls are often heard. The genus, in Argentina known as the martineta, consists of a variety of subspecies which are weakly distinguished. Elegant Crested-Tinamou, though very common in areas of southern Argentina, is only poorly known from Chile. Tinamous are stocky, woodland birds with quite short tails and rounded wings. The two species of crested-tinamous are large tinamous on the rear crown with a long thin crest, and just three toes. Elegant Crested-Tinamou is usually olive grey although it has black and white vermiculations in the plumage. There is also a broad whitish band that begins above the eye and runs down the neck line. With its body shape and short straight crest, the graceful Crested-Tinamou differs from about all tinamous. The only comparable species is the closely related Crested-Tinamou Quebracho, which has more deeply mottled upper parts; longer, more well-defined white stripes on the sides of the head and neck, with the longest such stripe reaching the base of the neck; unbarred inner webs to the primaries; and the appearance of horizontal vermiculations along the breast streaks. Among those two species there is little to no geographical overlap. Adults typically have light greyish brown to blackish upper parts, densely dotted with tiny white or buff spots, larger spots on the wing coverings. Pale brown crown, lightly streaked with black. On the rear crown is a long (up to 75 mm long), narrow crest, the crest feathers black and bent at the tips forward. Auriculars black, with a broad white line bordering above and below. Blackish primaries, barred with white on both websites, small and evenly spaced markings on the outer pages. Secondaries dusky brown, barred or white with a light buff. White Face. Neck sides, foreneck, and whitish breast sides, more or less strongly vermiculated or barred with black and marked with black shaft stripes. White to light ochraceous buff centre of underparts, more or less extensively barred with black on breast, flanks, and undertail coverts, but the belly is generally unmarked. Elegant Crested-Tinamou is omnivorous, but it mostly feeds on nuts, fruits, and leaves for most of the year. A large range of plant species are eaten; the most common are Bromus and Hordeum ears and seeds, as well as Erodium cicutarium, Lycium chilense and Condalia microhylla fruits. Invertebrates are eaten during the year, though most commonly in the summer; insects taken include the grasshoppers Trimeratropis pallidipennis, Dichroplus pratensis, Dichroplus elongatus, Scyllina variablis and Scyllina signatipennis. Crops of these tinamous often often include small stones and sand, but ' only a limited quantity of grit occurs in their crops. ' The song of Elegant Crested-Tinamou is described as ' a low mournful whistle given gradually, wheet wheee wheee, ' and as ' three melancholy whistles, each slightly lower in pitch than the previous one and slightly lower in length, phweeee phuuuu wuuu. ' They also jump up to take the leaves, flowers, and fruit, in addition to gleaning food from the ground. These tinamous do not scrape the ground in search of food. This tinamous forage most often takes place early in the morning and again late in the afternoon, while foraging takes up a greater part of the day in the winter. Elegant Crested-Tinamous also prefers shade and rest or dust bathe at midday while not foraging. Elegant Crested-Tinamous may travel long distances in search of food, but when food is abundant can remain in a small area day by day. These birds tend to walk, as is typical of tinamous, and typically only take flight when startled at close range. Elegant Crested-Tinamous fly quickly, within 3-6 m of the ground, and in a straight line. Glides are interspersed with bursts of quick wingbeats. The distance to flight is about 30- m.
By MB6 years ago in Petlife
Great Tinamou
The great tinamou (Tinamus major) is a genus of woodland birds found in Central and South America. Many subspecies occur, sometimes differentiated by their colouration. Big tinamou is about 44 cm long, 1.1 kg in weight and height of a small turkey, and in shape. It varies from light to dark olive-green in colour with white throat and chest, barred black flanks, and undertail with cinnamon. Rufous crown and neck with occipital crest, and supercilium blackish. Its legs are blue- in colour. All these features allow great tinamou to be easily camouflaged in the rainforest understory. Both tinamous are of the tribe of Tinamidae, which are the closest living relatives of the ratites. Tinamous can float like ratites but in general they aren't fast fliers. The ratites adapted as prehistoric flying birds. The great tinamou is a polygynandrous species, and one with unique juvenile parental care. A male pair and lay an total of four eggs that he incubates before hatching. He cares for 3 weeks for the chicks before moving on to find another girl. In the meantime the female has abandoned egg clutches to other males. She will begin nests with five or six males during each breeding season, leaving all parental care to the males. The breeding season is long and lasts from mid-winter to late summer. The eggs are colourfully large, shiny, and bright blue or violet, and typically the nests are rough scrapings in the roots of the buttress trees. Except for sex, when a couple stays together until the eggs are laid, big tinamous gets bored and wanders the dark understory alone, catching berries, fruit and small animals including bugs, spiders, frogs and small lizards in the bush litter. They're especially fond of Lauraceae, Annonaceae, Myrtaceae and Sapotaceae. Great tinamou lives in subtropical and tropical forests at altitudes between 300 and 1,500 metres above sea level, such as rainforest, lowland evergreen woodland, river-edge woodland, swamp forest and cloud forest. The big tinamou, unlike some other tinamous, is not as much influenced by trees fragmentation. The nest could lie at a tree's base. The species is widespread across its large range, 6,600,000 km2 and was previously listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as the Least Concern. They are hunted without any significant effect on their people. The species was reclassified as Near Endangered in 2012, because its natural habitat is undistubated timber, due to the anticipated consequences of continuing deforestation. Great Tinamou is a large lowland tinamou forest across the Amazon Basin, from southern Mexico. As with other tinamous species, this species is usually recognised by voice. Its quavering and mournful, yet strong, song is often performed at dawn and dusk, and can carry a distance through trees. Birds forage the ground, flying in silence. They fly into the air and smash into the forest, like "cannon balls with heads and wings." Individuals roost at night over a branch or vineyard above ground, resting their weight on top of tarsi pads. The large-scale and strong, quavering song of The Great Tinamou separates it from the more sympatric tinamous lowland. It emits a loud, recognisable sound, with several pairs of trills and whistles, typically 1 to 4 notes: whi hoooor-oooo hooor-ooooo or whoo hooo. Slender cap, twisted slightly. Sooty-black Chestnut, or Crown. Rather slim nose, with little eyes. Upper sections are dark olive lined, and black-flecked. Black Head. Pale underparts, barred with black, and buffy on thighs and flanks. The eyes are deep brown. Males and females differ in size. Females bear more weight than males. Juveniles are more shadowy yet adult-like.
By MB6 years ago in Petlife
Grey Tinamou
The black tinamou (Tinamus tao) is a type of ground pigeon native to South America. There are four recognised subspecies. Both tinamou are of the family Tinamidae and also ratites are included in the broader scheme. Both ratites probably evolved from ancient flying birds, and tinamous are the nearest surviving relatives of these birds. The Black Tinamou is a woodland plant in northern South America with dense tropical and subtropical rainforest. The quiet bird's heard more frequently than there. It usually attempts to avoid detection by going quietly ahead, but if it's surprised, a loud roar of wings will flush it. During the breeding season the sex role is reversed, and the male performs the nesting duties while the female mates again with other males. In certain parts of the region, the Grey Tinamou is vulnerable to habitat destruction due to deforestation, degradation, and invasion and poaching occurs. The species is rare, and decreases in population. With a total length of 46 cm it is among the largest tinamous. This is mostly grey as the name indicates. The back and the head are painted blackish, and cinnamon is their fan. The white branding spreads across the back and down the neck. The black tinamou is found in western and northern Brazil, east Ecuador, east Peru, Colombia east of the Andes, northern Venezuela, northern Bolivia and Guyana. This is mainly limited in much of its range to tropical lowland forests, but occurs also in montane forests in the northern and far-western parts of its distribution. This tinamou has shown the ability for mining deforested forests. Unlike any other tinamous, his music is commonly heard but it's silent and barely seen. As other tinamous, the male incubates the nest eggs which are concealed in a dense forest on the ground. The male will also collect them for a short period of time after incubation, until they are ready. We feed on the fruits and nuts from the forest, and low to the bushes in the field. This species was previously classified by the IUCN with a Least Concern status, and has an occurrence area of 3,600,000 km2. In 2012, it was uplisted to delicate. Widespread to 1900 m, mainly in lowlands, from northern Venezuela and northern Colombia, south to the Amazonian Brazil and Bolivia, this large tinamou is one of the best-recognized members of the Tinamus group. Gray Tinamou is usually very common, even in areas at serious risk of poaching, and inhabits extensive tropical and subtropical forests, as well as more locally occurring in savanna gallery forests. In comparison to a tinamous one, Gray Tinamou is heard much more frequently than seen. Both sexes sing, giving a short one-noted hooting sound that is repeated many times, sometimes for up to a few minutes at a time. Its dietary preferences are not well known, but all seeds, fruits, insects, and snails have been reported in the stomach contents. Nests are generally located inside the buttress roots of large trees, and clutch size is normally three eggs, but nests with up to nine eggs were recorded. Upon leaving the nest, both sexes incubate, and the male Gray Tinamou cover the eggs with leaves. One of the largest Tinamidae is the Black Tinamou. The nominated adult race has white to bluish-gray tops and upper-wing covers which are narrowly vermiculated and dark white bars. The pattern is less common on flight-feathers and ears, and somewhat browner-gray. Malar area on the underparts, chin, throat and upper neck are extensively mottled and striped grey and brown, with central white collar. The lower neck and most subparts, especially on the sides of the breast, are much more plain grey with darker dark vermiculations. The lower breast and belly show pale bluish to a lavender tinge. Thighs and rear belly are more ochraceous with dark markings, while undertail coverings are brilliant with white marks.
By MB6 years ago in Petlife
Hooded Tinamou
The hooded tinamou (Nothocercus nigrocapillus) is a type of ground-bird found in the forests of Bolivia and Peru. The Tinamous form an order, the Tinamiformes, consisting of a single family, with two distinct subfamilies, with 47 species of birds found in Mexico, Central America and South America. One of the oldest extant bird groups, they appear first on the fossil record of the Miocene Epoch. Tinamous has historically been considered the sister group of flightless ratites, but recent work puts them well within the range of the ratios, indicating that basal ratites may float. They are usually sedentary, ground-dwelling birds that avoid flight, if possible, in lieu of fleeing or running away from danger, though not flightless. They exist in a variety of habitats, from semi-arid alpine grasslands to tropical rainforests. Tinamou belong to the family Tinamidae and even ratites are found in the broader scheme. Unlike other ratites, tinamous can float but in general they are not good fliers. Ratites evolved from ancient flying birds and tinamous are the closest surviving descendants of such birds. The hooded tinamou is found in thick montane forest up to 1,550 to 3,000 m above sea level. The plant is the native to the Andes of Bolivia and Peru. Hooded tinamou on top is light brown and heavily freckled with black paint. It is light down with dusky thighs, red-spotted belly, and averages 33 cm in weight. The hooded tinamou consumes fruit from the grass, or low-lying trees, compared to other tinamous. We do consume small amounts of invertebrates, blossoms, tender herbs, seeds, and roots. The male incubates the eggs that may come from as many as four separate females, and then holds them up until they are able to be alone, normally 2–3 weeks. The nest is on the ground in dense scrub, between raised root buttresses. The fungus has an estimated range of 35,000 km2 for global occurrence. It's not well known among Hooded Tinamou but it seems to be quite common. Hooded Tinamou is found from northern Peru to central Bolivia along the eastern slope of the Andes, where it inhabits moist forests at altitudes of around 1300-3200 m in subtropical to temperate regions. It clearly favours weathered environments with very little undergrowth, and potentially bamboo fields, but the ecology of Hooded Tinamou is not very well known. Likewise, breeding biology of this species is entirely uncertain but its nesting can be associated with bamboo seeding events. Our only nutritional information is that they saw the animal eating bamboo seeds. Overall, Hooded Tinamou is paler than Highland Tinamou and the head is mainly plumb grey rather than black, whereas the rare Tinamou Tawny-breasted is larger with a reddish head, typically found at higher elevations. Two subspecies of Hooded Tinamou are recognised, with the northern subspecies being redder over the body and overall head, but the ongoing lack of reference data makes it difficult to decide with certainty the comparatively minor differences found between them. The Hooded Tinamou has an upper band and a dusky, white-necked head. The rest of the body is brown, with whitish specks on the wings and tail. The largest and most famous is the Hooded Tinamou of the great Andean Tinamous. In certain areas it is estimated to range from 1300 to 2500 m even higher. This is situated only on the east and south side of the Marañon Valley. Tinamous are landly, pudgy birds with very short tails and long legs. The three species of Nothocercus are small sized tinamous in moist montane forests. Hooded Tinamou is mainly brown, and the upper parts are finely vermiculated with black. The neck and head are dark brown, while white is the back. The genders are similar.
By MB6 years ago in Petlife
Lesser Tinamou
The lesser nothura (Nothura minor) is a type of tinamou found in lowland dry grassland ecosystems in subtropical and tropical regions of south-east South America. That is a monotypical genus. All tinamou are of the family of Tinamidae, and are thus ratites in the broader scheme. Tinamous, like other ratites, can float but in general they are not fast fliers. Both ratites evolved from primaeval flying birds, and tinamous are the oldest surviving relatives of these birds. Tinamous are mountain birds with small and robust wings, and rudimentary tail. Tinamous are shy and withdrawn trees, desert, and grassland residents. Their flute-like melodic whistles are heard more often than the birds. The smaller nothura inhabits subtropical or tropical dry grassland habitats at an altitude range of between 200 and 1,000 m. The tinamou is also to be found in dry shrubland and savanna. Lately it doesn't seem like past grasslands were burned. The smaller nothura is found only recently in southeastern Brazil, and only recently in one region in east-central Paraguay. It was situated in Brasilia National Park, IBGE Roncador Ecological Reserve, and Taguatinga in the Federal District, Emas National Park and Luziânia in Goiás and Serra do Canastra National Park and Serra do Cipó National Park in Minas Gerais, Itapetininga Experimental Station and Itirapina Experimental Station in São Paulo, and in Laguna Blanca, San Pedro Department. The nothura lighter is about 18-20 cm long. The smaller nothura is rufescent, with chestnut crown and black mottling. The skin is buff, yellow highlights on its throat and dark brown streaks forming into lines on its breast. She has brown spots on her flanks and her underpieces are rufous-barring chestnut, her wings are rufous with dusky barring. Her legs are yellow and her bill is red, and she has gold irises. Wide and high-pitched whistles shape his voice. It can breed from October through February. The IUCN has classified this species as endangered because of the loss of its population and the degradation of its primary habitat. It has an occurrence area of 3,000 square kilometres and it has been placed by an estimated 2,000 adult birds at around 9,000 which may be a little high. Increasingly, mechanised farming, intensive cattle ranching, afforestation, native grasses, heavy pesticide use and annual burning are destroying ecosystems inhabited by lesser nohura. By 1993, two-thirds of the Cerrado region had changed dramatically or marginally, with most of the damage since 1950. The practises that affect this area most are farming, ranching, explosions, and pesticides. The lesser nothura is protected by Brazilian law and is preserved in the Brasília National Park, Emas National Park and Serra da Canastra National Park, IBGE Roncador Ecological Reserve, Itapetininga Experimental Station and Itirapina Experimental Station. In Serra do Cipó National Park and Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, it was recommended to discover ideal flora using video replay. It has also proposed other poor areas of ideal habitat in northeastern Paraguay, north and west of Minas Gerais, and Goiás. The Lesser Nothura is one of a increasing number of grassland specialists whose range and habitat has declined catastrophically in recent decades as a result of continued transition to agriculture in the Cerrado region in central South America. The species is nearly endemic in Brazil, where it is still present, quite spottily, from the southern surroundings of Brasília to Minas Gerais and São Paulo, but has also been present very recently in northeastern Paraguay. It depends on ' campo limpo ' grassland, where it typically prefers scrubbier areas than the congeneric Spotted Nothura, particularly those places with a continuous cover of tall grasses and sedges. Breeding is thought to occur between October and February but very nothing is known about this aspect of genus biology.
By MB6 years ago in Petlife
Thicket Tinamou
Thicket Tinamou, the northernmost example of a large terrestrial bird population, occurs from northern Mexico to the south of southern Costa Rica. This ecosystem has two different population groups. A subspecies in the Pacific Lowlands of Mexico from Sinaloa to Guerrero, the Thicket Tinamou is black underneath and whose male has an unbarred back. From Tamaulipas and the Yucatan Peninsula to the dry forests of northwest Costa Rica below are cinnamon species, whose males are barred above. Both races, above, bar females. Each Tinamous Thicket has red legs too. Thicket Tinamou originates from arid forests close to sea level to about 1800 m where thick oak forests are populated. Thicket Tinamou is usually concealed amid dense shrubs, tangles of vineyards, and impenetrable thickets of terrestrial bromeliads, while small at the length of about 29 cm, and is traditionally spotted by its large, mellow, quavering whistle. Tinamous are ground birds and they have very short tails and quite the long wings. Thicket Tinamou is a medium-sized tinamou, with a white throat and red torso. Most of this species ' colonies have very rich cinnamon and brown colors on the neck and breast areas, with dark brown and whitish buff on the upper parts strongly barred. The subspecies of Western Mexico are mostly grayer. In all populations on the upper parts of the female the barring is more extensive than the male, but in male occidentalis the barring of the upper parts is particularly small. The diet of Thicket Tinamou is far from understood in depth. It normally feeds on dropping apples, berries, and seeds on the ground like maize and insects. Forested by Thicket Tinamou. They don't grind the ground in search of food yet philtre the leaf litter bill. This tinamou is enigmatic and seldom seen, as is typical of most forest dwelling tinamous species. This bird hesitates to move, and generally retreats by walking or running off. Thicket Tinamou reacts to imitations of the tune, which may be a defensive response. There are no data recorded regarding territorial control or home range scale for Thicket Tinamou. In northeast Mexico, Leopold reported an average density of 7 pairs/100 ha based on the number of birds heard singing. Thicket Tinamou's breeding season in Mexico ranges from late March to early April to late July or August; laying women from El Salvador are recorded from early April to early August; and similar breeding in Costa Rica is from March to August. The nest on the ground is a hollow or pit, usually covered with fallen trees or other coverings. The clutch ranges from three to seven eggs, which averages about five. The shells are either purplish red or pale white, smooth and unmarked. Stock egg proportions are approx. 45 By 35 millimetres. The guy is breastfeeding. Incubation time is sixteen days. The juveniles became independent at around 20 days. Both tinamou are of the family of Tinamidae, and are thus ratites in the broader scheme. Tinamous, like other ratites, can float but in general they are not strong fliers. Both ratites evolved from ancient flying birds, and tinamous are the closest surviving descendants of such birds. The animal has a monotonous voice of whoo-oo, looking like a steam engine. The tinamou thicket can be seen in pairs, groups or as a lone bird and it prefers walking rather than flight, like most tinamous ones. Thicket Tinamou has an vast geographical area, and the population is believed to be stable. Least consideration is the conservation status of the species on the IUCN Red List. Nonetheless Thicket Tinamou is listed under special protection under Mexican law.
By MB6 years ago in Petlife