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Celebrate Canada's 150th with HWW!
Example Species
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Canada 150
Celebrate Canada's 150th with HWW!
Adam Houben
Canada Lynx
Canada Lynx Canada Lynx (30 seconds) Canada Lynx (youth) Canada Lynx (15 seconds) Boreal Forest (30 seconds) Boreal Forest (60 seconds) Wildlife in Winter (30 seconds) Wildlife in Winter (60 seconds)
The Canada lynx Lynx canadensis is a beautiful wild felid, or cat, of the boreal forest, or northernmost forest in the Northern Hemisphere. The lynx resembles a very large domestic cat. It has a short tail, long legs, large feet, and prominent ear tufts. Its winter coat is light grey and slightly mottled with long guard hairs; the underfur is brownish, and the ear tufts and tip of the tail are black. The summer coat is much shorter than the winter coat and has a definite reddish brown cast.
Its large feet, which are covered during winter by a dense growth of coarse hair, help the lynx to travel over snow. The lynx, like the snowshoe hare, can spread its toes in soft snow, expanding its "snowshoes" still farther.
The lynx has large eyes and ears and depends on its acute sight and hearing when hunting. The lynx’s claws, like those of most other cats, are retractable and used primarily for seizing prey and fighting.
Of the three Canadian members of the cat family (Felidae)—the lynx, the bobcat, and the cougar—the lynx and the bobcat are most alike and are most closely related to each other. They probably both descended from the larger Eurasian lynx. There are small differences in appearance: on average, bobcats are slightly smaller; the bobcat’s feet are not as large as those of the lynx, making the bobcat less able to secure food in deep snow; the lynx’s tail has a solid black tip, whereas that of the bobcat has three or four narrow black bars and a black spot near the tip on its upper surface; and the bobcat’s fur has more pronounced spotting. The cougar is much larger and more powerful than either of them, and can be readily identified by its long tail.
Signs and sounds
The lynx has a variety of vocalizations, like those made by house cats, but louder.
Rolf Gary Phillips
Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Grizzly (15 seconds) Grizzly (Youth) Grizzly (30 seconds) Grizzly Video Boreal Forest (30 seconds) Boreal Forest (60 seconds) Rainforest (30 seconds) Rainforest (60 seconds) Species at Risk in Canada (30 seconds) Species at Risk in Canada (60 seconds)
The grizzly (Ursus arctos) is the second largest North American land carnivore, or meat-eater, and, like the larger polar bear, has a prominent hump over the shoulders formed by the muscles of its massive forelegs.
The Grizzly’s unique features are its somewhat dished face and its extremely long front claws (see sketch). Its colour ranges from nearly white or ivory yellow to black. Some are of uniform colour, but many Grizzlies have light or grizzled fur on the head and shoulders, a dark body, and sometimes darker feet and legs. The body shape and long fur tend to make Grizzlies look heavier than they actually are. Although Grizzly Bears have been known to weigh as much as 500 kg, the average male weighs 250 to 350 kg and the female about half that.
Grizzly Bear and Black Bear Comparison: The bear family includes seven species found in both the western and eastern hemispheres, and in South America. The brown bear Ursus arctos is one of the three species of bear found in North America. The other two are the polar bear Ursus maritimus and the black bear Ursus americanus. The Grizzly has certain unique characteristics, and at first scientists thought that it was a different species from the very similar European brown bear. But, in 1953, they assigned it to the same species as brown bears found in Europe and Asia.
There are two recognized subspecies of the circumpolar brown bear Ursus arctos in North America. The Kodiak bear found on the Kodiak Islands of Alaska (Ursus arctos middendorffi) is one. All the rest, though they may differ in size because of geographic differences in the quantity and quality of food, are Grizzlies.
Signs and sounds
Grizzly Tracks
Merri-Lee Metzger
Centennial of the Migratory Birds Convention
Centennial of the Migratory Birds Convention (30 seconds) Centennial of the Migratory Birds Convention
J.J. Cadiz
Barn Swallow
Barn Swallow (60 seconds) Barn Swallow (30 seconds)
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| Barn Swallow (photo by J.J. Cadiz) |
The Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a medium-sized songbird, about the size of a sparrow. It measures between 15 and 18 centimeters (cm) in length and 29 to 32 cm in wingspan, and weighs between 15 and 20 grams (g). But while it is average-sized, it’s far from average-looking! Its back and tail plumage is a distinctive steely, iridescent blue, with light brown or rust belly and a chestnut-coloured throat and forehead. Their long forked tail and pointed wings also make them easily recognizable. It’s these wings, tail and streamlined bodies that make their fast, acrobatic flight possible. Both sexes may look similar, but females are typically not as brightly coloured and have shorter tails than males. When perched, this swallow looks almost conical because of its flat, short head, very short neck and its long body.
Although the average lifespan of a Barn Swallow is about four years, a North American individual older than eight years and a European individual older than 16 years have been observed.
Sights and sounds:
Like all swallows, the Barn Swallow is diurnal –it is active during the day, from dusk to dawn. It is an agile flyer that creates very acrobatic patterns in flight. It can fly from very close to the ground or water to more than 30 m heights. The species may be the fastest swallow, as it’s been recorded at speeds close to 75 kilometers per hour (km/h). When not in flight, the Barn Swallow can be observed perched on fences, wires, TV antennas or dead branches.
Both male and female Barn Swallows sing both individually and in groups in a wide variety of twitters, warbles, whirrs and chirps. They give a loud call when threatened, to which other swallows will react, leaving their nests to defend the area.
Megan Lorenz
Atlantic Puffin
Atlantic Puffin Atlantic Puffin (15 seconds) Atlantic Puffin (30-seconds) Atlantic Puffin (30-seconds, kids) Ocean Commotion (webisode)
The Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica is one of four species of puffins and is the only one that lives on the North Atlantic Ocean. One of the most popular and well-known seabirds in Canada, its colourful features often appear on calendars and posters. In 1992 it was made the official bird of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Most people know a puffin only when it is "dressed up" for the breeding season and would hardly recognize it in its plainer winter garb.
Fratercula means "little brother" or "friar," perhaps a reference to the puffin’s black and white dress. Puffins belong to the family of birds called the auks, or Alcidae; other members of the family are the Dovekie, murres, guillemots, the Razorbill, auklets, murrelets, and the extinct Great Auk. Auks are diving seabirds of the northern hemisphere and use their wings to propel themselves underwater in pursuit of prey such as small fish.
Upper left: adult Atlantic Puffin in breeding plumage. Upper right: adult Atlantic Puffin in winter plumage. Lower left: juvenile Atlantic Puffin. Lower right: adult Common Murre.
The familiar breeding adult has a striking orange, yellow, and bluish bill and matching bright orange feet. The bill is wide in profile and narrow side-to-side. A puffin’s greyish white face is decorated with fleshy yellow rosettes at the base of the bill and red rings and small bluish plates around the eyes. The upper parts, including the head, back, and wings, are black and contrast dramatically with the brilliant white underparts. The sexes look the same, although males tend to be slightly larger than females.
Thinkstock
Wolverine
Wolverine (60 seconds) Wolverine (30 seconds) Boreal Forest (30 seconds) Boreal Forest (60 seconds) Species at Risk in Canada (30 seconds) Species at Risk in Canada (60 seconds) Tundra (30 seconds) Tundra (60 seconds)
Although the Wolverine Gulo gulo belongs to the weasel family, Mustelidae, it is not as long and lean as typical weasels, but rather short and thick, like a small bear. Its head is broad and round, with small eyes and short rounded ears. Its legs are short and sturdy, with five toes on each foot. Its long, curved claws are semi-retractile, which means they can be partly drawn back in, and they are used for climbing and digging. Its teeth are strong, and its head, neck, and shoulder muscles are well-developed. These adaptations allow the Wolverine to feed on frozen flesh and bone, a survival tactic for the harsh and remote environments in which they reside.
A Wolverine, with the pale markings on its chest
An adult Wolverine is about the size of a medium-sized dog. Adult males weigh about 12 to 18 kg, adult females about 8 to 12 kg. Wolverines that live in the north of their range are usually larger than those living farther south.
The Wolverine has one of the most striking furs among of all fur-bearing animals. Its fur is typically a rich, glossy, dark brown. Two pale stripes originate at the nape of its neck and sweep along each flank to merge at the base of its long, bushy tail. White or orange patches are common on the chest or throat. The Wolverine’s toes, forepaws, or legs may occasionally be marked with white.