February 24, 2020

Location: Brevard Zoo, wild

I am a female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,
My chin is white, not red like my chap's.
I like to eat berries, bugs and fruits,
My belly's not yellow, but I like to suck sap

Sources: Guide to North American Birds - Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 23, 2020

Location: Brevard Zoo, captive

I am a Crested Caracara
My feathers are brown and the color of pearls.
While I'm reclining to get some mites off my wings
You can draw me like one of your French girls

Sources: Feather mites may help clean birds' plumage, study shows

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 22, 2020

Location: Brevard Zoo, captive

I am an American Bald Eagle
I wear a while ballet skirt
But if I'm hungry, fish, mammals and birds
Can be in for a world of hurt.

Sources: Cornell Lab All About Birds - American Bald Eagle

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 21, 2020

Location: Brevard Zoo, captive

I am a Chilean Flamingo
I stand on one leg to conserve my body heat
I have comb-like structures that line my jaws
To filter my food when I eat.

Sources: Animal Diversity Web - Phoenicopterus chilensis 

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 20, 2020

Location: Brevard Zoo, captive

I am a Southern Cassowary
I'm known as a rainforest gardener
I spread the seeds of the rainforest trees
And I have dagger-like claws that do not need a sharpener!

Sources: Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science - Southern Cassowary

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 19, 2020

Location: Brevard Zoo, captive

I am a Spotted Whistling Duck
So named for the spots on my sides
I live in the East Indies and New Guinea
And make a whistling sound when I fly.

Sources: Monaco Nature Encyclopedia - Dendrocygna guttata

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 18, 2020

Location: Brevard Zoo, captive

I'm known as a Masked Lapwing
In Australia I'm a common backyard bird
I am mostly white with some black and brown
And yellow face wattles that border on absurd.

Sources: Birds in Backyards - Masked Lapwing

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson