COYOTES

The coyote (pronounced /kaɪˈoʊtiː, ˈkaɪ.oʊt/[3]) (Canis

latrans), also known as the American jackal or the prairie
wolf,[4] is a species of canid found throughout North and
Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north
through Mexico, the United States and Canada. It occurs as
far north as Alaska and all but the northernmost portions of
Canada.[5] There are currently 19 recognized subspecies,
with 16 in Canada, Mexico and the United States, and 3 in
Central America.[6] Unlike its cousin the Gray Wolf, which is
Eurasian in origin, the coyote evolved in North America
during the Pleistocene epoch 1.810 million years ago[7]
alongside the Dire Wolf.[8] Unlike the wolf, the coyote's
range has expanded in the wake of human civilization, and
coyotes readily reproduce in metropolitan areas.[9] It is
thought by certain experts that the coyote's North
American origin may account for its greater adaptability
than the wolf, due to North America's greater prehistoric
predation pressures.[8] The coyote's closest relative is the
Golden Jackal.

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Prairie dogs

Prairie dogs (Cynomys) are burrowing rodents (not actually

dogs) native to the grasslands of North America. There are
five different species of prairie dogs: black-tailed, white-
tailed, Gunnison, Utah, and Mexican prairie dogs. They are
a type of ground squirrel. On average, these stout-bodied
rodents will grow to be between 30–40 centimetres (12–16
in) long, including the short tail and weigh between 0.5–1.5
kilograms (1–3 lb). They are found in the United States,
Canada, and Mexico. In Mexico, prairie dogs are primarily
found in the northern states which are the southern end of
the great plains: northeastern Sonora, north and
northeastern Chihuahua, northern Coahuila, northern
Nuevo León, and northern Tamaulipas; in the U.S., they
range primarily west of the Mississippi River, though they

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have also been introduced in a few eastern locales. They
will eat all sorts of vegetables and fruits.
Prairie dogs are named for their habitat and warning call,
which sounds similar to a dog's bark. According to the
Online Etymology Dictionary, the name is attested from at
least 1774.[1] The 1804 journals of the Lewis and Clark
Expedition note that in September 1804, they "discovered a
Village of an animal the French Call the Prairie Dog."[2] Its
genus, Cynomys, derives from the Greek for dog mouse.
GEESE

The word goose (plural: geese) is the English name for a

considerable number of birds, belonging to the family
Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which
are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller.
A number of other waterbirds, mostly related to the
shelducks, have "goose" as part of their name.
The word Goose is a direct descendant of Proto-Indo-
European root, *ghans-. In Germanic languages, the root
gave Old English gōs with the plural gēs and gandra
(becoming Modern English goose, geese, and gander,
respectively), New High German Gans, and Old Norse gas.
This term also gave Lithuanian žąsìs, Irish gé (swan, from

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Old Irish géiss), Latin anser, Greek chēn, Albanian gatë
(heron), Sanskrit hamsá, Farsi ghaz (Avestan zāō), Polish
gęś, Russian гус (an interesting case of parallel evolution
with English), and so forth.
EGRETS
An egret is any of several herons, most of which are white
or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes (usually
milky white) during the breeding season. Many egrets are
members of the genera Egretta or Ardea which contain
other species named as herons rather than egrets. The
distinction between a heron and an egret is rather vague,
and depends more on appearance than biology. The word
"egret" comes from the French word "aigrette", referring to
the long filamentous feathers that seem to cascade down
an egret's back during the breeding season.

Egrets at dusk in Kolleru Lake, Andhra Pradesh, India

Several of the egrets have been moved around from one
genus to another in recent years: the Great Egret, for

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example, has been classified as a member of either
Casmerodius, Egretta or Ardea.
In the 19th and early part of the 20th century, some of the
world's egret species were endangered by relentless
hunting, since hat makers in Europe and the United States
demanded massive numbers of egret plumes and breeding
birds were killed in locations all around the world.
Several Egretta species, including the Eastern Reef Egret,
the Reddish Egret and the Western Reef Egret have two
distinct colours, one of which is entirely white. Little Blue
Heron has all-white juvenile plumage.

PELICANS
A pelican is a large water bird with a distinctive pouch
under the beak, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae.
Along with the darters, cormorants, gannets, boobies,
frigatebirds, and tropicbirds, pelicans make up the order
Pelecaniformes. Modern pelicans, of which there are eight
species, are found on all continents except Antarctica. They
occur mostly in warm regions, though breeding ranges
reach 45° south (Australian Pelican, P. conspicillatus) and
60° North (American White Pelicans, P. erythrorhynchos, in
western Canada).[1] Birds of inland and coastal waters,
they are absent from polar regions, the deep ocean,
oceanic islands, and inland South America.

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Pelicans are large birds with large pouched bills. The
smallest is the Brown Pelican (P. occidentalis), small
individuals of which can be as little as 2.75 kg (6 lb), 106
cm (42 in) long and can have a wingspan of as little as 1.83
m (6 ft). The largest is believed to be the Dalmatian Pelican
(P. crispus), at up to 15 kg (33 lb), 183 cm (72 in) long, with
a maximum wingspan of nearly 3.5 m (11.5 ft). The
Australian Pelican has the longest bill of any bird.
SPOON BILLS
Spoonbills are a group of large, long-legged wading birds in
the family Threskiornithidae, which also includes the Ibises.

All have large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading

through shallow water, sweeping the partly-opened bill
from side to side. The moment any small aquatic creature
touches the inside of the bill—an insect, crustacean, or tiny
fish—it is snapped shut. Spoonbills generally prefer fresh
water to salt but are found in both environments. They
need to feed many hours each day.

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Spoonbills are monogamous, but, so far as is known, only
for one season at a time. Most species nest in trees or reed-
beds, often with ibises or herons. The male gathers nesting
material—mostly sticks and reeds, sometimes taken from
an old nest—the female weaves it into a large, shallow bowl
or platform which varies in its shape and structural integrity
according to species.