Vote for the ultimate Christmas bird!
Bird that remind us of Christmas - the Snowy Owl, the Emperor Penguin, and more!
Christmas is coming!
Just for fun, I thought we could take a look and some of the birds that spark happy thoughts of Christmas and snow and all things festive. Let’s go!
1) The Snowy Owl!
When you see a Snowy Owl, you’ll understand why they are named so!
These snow-white birds are the very picture of a wonderfully cold, yet fuzzy and snuggly winter day.
You can find them in the far north regions around the North Pole - where Santa Claus lives!! In the non-breeding season, this species also can be found in areas of southern Canada and the northern United States, as well as parts of Asia and Europe.
However, they are pretty rare. With an estimated 30,000 snowy owls left in the world, it can be extremely difficult to see the vulnerable species out in the wild. I read stories of birdwatchers who camp at one spot for hours in hopes of spotting these pure white beauties!
Male Snowy Owls are generally whiter than females, and as the males grow older, they get even whiter. On the other hand, the females never become completely white—remaining brownish with darker markings. The female birds are also usually a little larger than the males.
In many species of birds of prey, such as eagles and owls, female birds are bigger than male birds.
One possible reason is that females need to be larger because they must accumulate reserves in order to produce their eggs at all. Plus, since female birds can’t forage for food while incubating eggs and raising the chicks, she needs to be have more food and calories stored in her body in order to better survive this period.
And did you know? Snowy Owls are one of the heaviest owl species in North America - since they need a ton of insulation from the freezing Arctic temperatures, snowy owls have a lot of feathers, which contributes to their weight.
Snowy Owls weigh around 2kg, while the similarly sized Barn Owl only weighs around 600g. What a difference!
2) The Emperor Penguin
The Emperor Penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica!
If you’re a birdwatcher and looking to check the Snowy Owl and the Emperor Penguin off your list, you may be disappointed to learn that these two birds live on complete opposite ends of the earth - the Arctic, and the Antarctic!
Let’s learn about it :D
The word Arctic actually comes from the Greek arktos, which means “bear”. By sheer coincidence, you can only find polar bears in the Arctic, but NOT in the Antarctic!
However, the name for the Arctic doesn't actually come from the iconic polar bear, but from constellations in the northern sky of the Arctic, 'Ursa Minor' (Little Bear) and 'Ursa Major' (Great Bear).
It’s funny that the land named for the bear is the only home of the polar bear!
On the other hand, the name for Antarctica literally means ‘opposite the Bear’. Down south in Antarctica you'll find penguins, seals, whales and all kinds of seabirds - but never polar bears. Even though the north and south polar regions both have lots of snow and ice, polar bears stick to the north.
Back to Emperor Penguins, though.
Even though they are birds, they look almost nothing like some of the most common bird species in the world, like pigeons or song birds.
Penguins have evolved to be better suited for their cold, cold wintery homes! They are short and fat, with thick, streamlined bodies and stiff wings that work as flippers underwater. Such short and stiff wings mean the penguin can’t fly, of course - but they don’t need to, because they fly underwater instead!!
They are amazingly suited to their marine habitat, and they thrive off a seafood diet that consists primarily of fish, crustaceans and cephalopods. While hunting, the species can remain submerged around 20 minutes, diving to a depth of 535 m (1,755 ft)!!!
Amazing!
3) The Christmas bird Pokemon, Delibird!
A portmanteau of the words ‘delivery’ and ‘bird’, Delibirdis known for bundling food up in its tail and for delivering happiness to people worldwide!
Just like many other birds, Delibird is omnivorous.
It’s known for its habit of bundling food up in its tail - it normally gives stored food to its chicks, but has been known to share its food with humans stranded on icy mountains. In fact, the Pokedex entry for Pokemon Ruby states that there once was a famous explorer who managed to reach the peak of Mt. Everest thanks to one of these Pokémon sharing its food.
How wonderful!
Delibird's signature move, Present, allows it to toss the special items in its tail towards the opponent - possibly causing damage to them, or healing them!
In a flock, the Delibird with the largest tail is its leader. Delibird tends to live in mountainous regions, making its nests over sharp cliffs; one notable area of the world is around Mt. Everest.
I’ve actually never caught a Delibird (even though I’ve played pretty much every edition of Pokemon). Have you?
If you want to talk about Christmas birds, or even your Pokemon dream team, leave me a comment! :D
That’s all for today’s article! I hope you enjoyed reading it, and have a wonderful festive season.
Please vote for the ultimate Christmas bird in this poll!
Maybe the stars were named in relation to the polar bears!