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Birds > hapsara  > Nature > Animals > The Birds
Captures of various birds
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hapsara > Sunbathing pelican.

Pelicans are large birds with enormous, pouched bills and long wings. The smallest of the pelican is the Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), small individuals of which can be as little as 2.75 kg (6 lbs), 106 cm (42 in) and have a wingspan of 1.83 m (6 ft). The largest pelican species is believed to be the Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus), at up to 15 kg (33 lbs), 183 cm (72 in) and a maximum wingspan of nearly 3.5 m (11.5 ft).

Pelicans have two primary ways of feeding:
@Group fishing: used by white pelicans all over the world. They will form a line to chase schools of small fish into shallow water, and then simply scoop them up. Large fish are caught with the bill-tip, then tossed up in the air to be caught and slid into the gullet head first. 
@Plunge-diving: used almost exclusively by the American Brown Pelican, and rarely by white pelicans like the Peruvian Pelican or the Australian Pelican. 

Occasionally, pelicans will consume animals other than fish. In one documented case, a pelican swallowed a live pigeon. In fact, Pelicans are fairly opportunistic predators, and while fish forms the bulk of their diet due to being the most common food source where Pelicans nest, they will quite readily eat any other food that is available to them.

Pelicans are gregarious and nest colonially, the male bringing the material, the female heaping it up to form a simple structure. Pairs are monogamous for a single season but the pair bond extends only to the nesting area; mates are independent away from the nest.

(taken from Wikipedia)
hapsara > Nesting
hapsara > Cockatoo
hapsara > Pink flamingo (Lesser Flamingos)
hapsara > Orange flamingo: elegant.

Caribbean Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber) can be found in Caribbean and Galapagos islands. They are most eye-catching with their bright orange-y feather and slightly pink-ish around their wings. Their oddly-shaped beaks are used to separate their foods, brine shrimps, from the mud and silt.

(quoted from Wikipedia)
hapsara > Orange flamingo: what a pose.

Flamingos frequently stand on one leg. The reason for this behavior is not fully known. One common theory is that tucking one leg beneath the body may conserve body heat, but this has not been proven. It is often suggested that this is done in part to keep the legs from getting wet, and in addition to conserving energy. In addition to standing in the water, flamingos may stamp their webbed feet in the mud to stir up food from the bottom.

(taken from Wikipedia)
hapsara > King pinguin: float
hapsara > King pinguin: get in the line please...you there, pay attention.

The King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) is the second largest species of penguin at about 90 cm (3 ft) tall and weighing 11 to 16 kg (24 to 35 lb), second only to the Emperor Penguin.

(taken from Wikipedia)
hapsara > King pinguin: chat.

King penguins eat small fish, mainly lanternfish, and squid and rely less on krill and other crustaceans. On foraging trips they repeatedly dive to over 100 metres (350 feet), often over 200 metres (700 feet). This is far deeper than other penguins, other than their closest relative, the larger Emperor penguin.

King Penguins breed on the subantarctic islands at the northern reaches of Antarctica, as well as Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, and other temperate islands of the region. The total population is estimated to be 2.23 million pairs and is increasing.

(taken from Wikipedia)
King pinguin: get in the line please...you there, pay attention.

The King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) is the second largest species of penguin at about 90 cm (3 ft) tall and weighing 11 to 16 kg (24 to 35 lb), second only to the Emperor Penguin.

(taken from Wikipedia)
 > King pinguin: get in the line please...you there, pay attention.

The King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) is the second largest species of penguin at about 90 cm (3 ft) tall and weighing 11 to 16 kg (24 to 35 lb), second only to the Emperor Penguin.

(taken from Wikipedia)
King pinguin: get in the line please...you there, pay attention.

The King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) is the second largest species of penguin at about 90 cm (3 ft) tall and weighing 11 to 16 kg (24 to 35 lb), second only to the Emperor Penguin.

(taken from Wikipedia)
Camera: Canon (Canon Eos 20d) |
More details: exif |
Original size: 2336px x 3392px |
Current: 207px x 300px |
Other sizes: Small • M • L |
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Keywords: bird king cotswold pinguin birdland aptenodytespatagonicus
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