Birds and Waterfowl Information
Question: Do you know how birds benefit the ecosystem?
Birds help the ecosystem by being pollinators and dispersing seeds to spread plants into new areas. Crows and vultures can even reduce the spread of diseases such rabies and distemper by scavenging carcasses.
Ecosystem - An ecosystem is a system that environments and their organisms form through their interaction. The biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Ecosystems are controlled by external and internal factors.
Pollinator - An insect or other agent that conveys pollen to a plant and so allows fertilization. Bees are effective pollinators of fruit and vegetables. A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower.
Scavenging - to search for and collect unwanted food or objects, or of animals or birds to feed on decaying flesh.
Carcass - the dead body of an animal.
Habitat - the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.
Description of ebird.org - A powerful resource for a wide range of scientific questions. By building tools that engage the global birding community, eBird gathers unprecedented volumes of information on where and when birds occur at high spatial and temporal resolutions.
The Northern cardinal is a fairly large, long-tailed songbird with a short, very thick bill and a prominent crest. Cardinals often sit with a hunched-over posture and with the tail pointed straight down.
The Carolina wren is a small but chunky bird with a round body and a long tail that it often cocks upward. The head is large with very little neck, and the distinctive bill marks it as a wren: long, slender, and downcurved.
Purple martins are very large, broad-chested swallows. They have stout, slightly hooked bills, short, forked tails, and long, tapered wings.
Bald eagles are large, predatory raptors that are recognizable for their brown body and wings, white head and tail, and hooked yellow beak. Their feet, which are also yellow, are equipped with sharp black talons.
Great Egrets are tall, long-legged wading birds with long, S-curved necks and long, dagger-like bills. In flight, the long neck is tucked in and the legs extend far beyond the tip of the short tail.
Question: Do you know how birds benefit the ecosystem?
Birds help the ecosystem by being pollinators and dispersing seeds to spread plants into new areas. Crows and vultures can even reduce the spread of diseases such rabies and distemper by scavenging carcasses.
Ecosystem - An ecosystem is a system that environments and their organisms form through their interaction. The biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Ecosystems are controlled by external and internal factors.
Pollinator - An insect or other agent that conveys pollen to a plant and so allows fertilization. Bees are effective pollinators of fruit and vegetables. A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower.
Scavenging - to search for and collect unwanted food or objects, or of animals or birds to feed on decaying flesh.
Carcass - the dead body of an animal.
Habitat - the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.
Description of ebird.org - A powerful resource for a wide range of scientific questions. By building tools that engage the global birding community, eBird gathers unprecedented volumes of information on where and when birds occur at high spatial and temporal resolutions.
The Northern cardinal is a fairly large, long-tailed songbird with a short, very thick bill and a prominent crest. Cardinals often sit with a hunched-over posture and with the tail pointed straight down.
The Carolina wren is a small but chunky bird with a round body and a long tail that it often cocks upward. The head is large with very little neck, and the distinctive bill marks it as a wren: long, slender, and downcurved.
Purple martins are very large, broad-chested swallows. They have stout, slightly hooked bills, short, forked tails, and long, tapered wings.
Bald eagles are large, predatory raptors that are recognizable for their brown body and wings, white head and tail, and hooked yellow beak. Their feet, which are also yellow, are equipped with sharp black talons.
Great Egrets are tall, long-legged wading birds with long, S-curved necks and long, dagger-like bills. In flight, the long neck is tucked in and the legs extend far beyond the tip of the short tail.
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