Swamp Men Facts: Gator Beatdown
Photo: Cormorant (View larger version)
- A red-shouldered hawk is a bird of prey that lives in wet woodlands of the eastern United States and parts of California.
- Hunting their prey from a perch, the red-shouldered hawk feeds on snakes, lizards, frogs, and small mammals such as mice.
- Red-shouldered hawks belong to a specific group of hawks called “buteos,” or soaring hawks. Common characteristics of buteos are a chunky appearance, broad wings, and a fan-shaped tail.
- A red-shouldered hawk’s eye color changes as they age. When they are young, they have yellow eyes, which become brown as they reach adulthood.
- Domestic pigs often get much larger than their feral counterparts due to an abundance of food and lack of predation. Some domesticated pigs have weighed more than 1,000 pounds.
- A healthy hive in the summer can average between 40,000 and 80,000 bees!
- The queen bee is incapable of feeding herself or grooming herself. For this, she counts on “royal attendants,” or drone bees that will do this on her behalf.
- Green-backed herons actually use bait to attract fish. They use lures, such as their own feathers, and live bait, such as worms and insects.
- Green-backed herons make their home in marshes, swamps, ponds, or other areas close to aquatic feeding territories.
- The diet of the green-backed heron consists mostly of fish, but it also eats insects, crustaceans, small reptiles and amphibians, and spiders.
