We are all  getting very excited about the end of quarantine.  August 1st is the official day and then we can take her/him to Natural Encounters.  We also sent in a few feathers this week to a lab that will run a DNA test and give us the answer to our Lord vs Lady question. I will be happy to stop using either/or gender references and we can hardly wait for the results so we can choose a name! Any bets on whether it be Lord or Lady? What name should we choose?

In the mean time, here are some pictures from our play session today.  Raven is very curious about my iPhone.  Both of these shots clearly show the blue/gray color of a juvenile raven’s eyes. They will turn brown as Raven matures this year.

Raven checks out my iPhone.

My pretty gray eyes will be brown when I grow up.

Natural Encounters Keeper Kamryn offering a very vocal Raven a get-to-know-you scratch

Natural Encounters Supervisor, PJ....clearly beguiled!

]]> http://www.houstonzooblogs.org/zoo/2010/07/ravens-beguiling/feed/ 4 http://www.houstonzooblogs.org/zoo/2010/07/ravens-flight/ http://www.houstonzooblogs.org/zoo/2010/07/ravens-flight/#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 11:30:00 +0000 bschaefer http://www.houstonzooblogs.org/zoo/?p=2999 It was a morning very dreary, and I was certainly quite weary as I waited during the pre-dawn hours in the cargo area at IAH  for a plane that was delayed thanks to hurricane Alex.  Perhaps it was fitting that this particular shipment was tempest tossed, but it only added to the usual worry that accompanies an animal transport.  This was a youngster , traveling for the first time.   Our new fledgling raven was arriving on an overnight flight from Alaska.  The new baby was barely four weeks old and we couldn’t wait to meet him, or her…Lord or Lady as Poe’s character mused in his famous poem. Not being a dimorphic species, we’ll have to wait for genetic testing to tell us if our new arrival be Lord or Lady.

The new "baby" raven!

Eventually my fretting over the transport was relieved when the porter brought me a crate addressed to the Houston Zoo.  My first peak inside, however, revealed more than I bargained for!  Our new ” baby” was not what one generally imagines when one thinks of a baby bird.  I felt what Poe’s character surely felt when a raven invited itself  into his chamber.  That being complete astonishment! This baby bird, at four weeks, is about a foot and a half tall and weighs close to a kilo!  It definitely won’t be nestling in the palm of our hand, although it’s not yet coordinated enough for perching on a bust of Pallas.

Aside from being the harbinger of the afterlife in the mind of Poe’s protagonist, Raven’s are famous for their problem solving abilities and sense of play. In fact, I had no sooner got Raven settled in the capable hands of our clinic staff in the quarantine area when the keeper called me wondering what I thought about transferring the raven to a bigger cage.  It had already completely explored the cage we thought would be a good home during quarantine, torn up all the paper and was looking for more to do. Raven will certainly be a fun and challenging new addition to the Natural Encounters area.

Follow our posts as we blog about getting to know our Raven and ravens in general in the coming weeks.

Blue Faced Honeyeater Photo courtesy of: www.plantbiology.siu.edu

Honeyeaters are important pollinators of many Australian flowering plants.  All 170 species of honeyeaters have a unique adaptation:  a long tongue with a brush-like tip that they use to get nectar from flowers.  The tongue can be extended into the nectar about 10 times per second!

Honeyeaters aren’t the only birds that help pollinate.  Honeycreepers, sunbirds, Brush-tongued parrots, and hummingbirds are just a few of the birds all over the world who are pollinators.  There are 2,000 bird species globally that feed on nectar, the insects, and the spiders associated with nectar bearing flowers. 

For more Bee-lieve it or Not facts, come join the Houston Zoo in celebrating National Polinator Week on June 26th and 27th. We will have tables and chats from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. all about our favorite pollinators.  Bee sure to  record your pollinating adventures in a nature blog to share at the Swap Shop!

Bumblebee on Lantana

In the U.S., the economic value of pollination services provided by native insects (mostly bees) is estimated at $3 billion each year.  Bumblebees are highly efficient in pollinating many crops such as tomatoes, peppers, cranberries, and blue berries.  Yumm!  Best of all, most bumblebees won’t bother you unless you bother them.  When gardening at home, please consider using native plants.  Most of all, be kind to pollinators, consider going organic.  Insecticides tend to kill indiscriminately and will eliminate a lot of your pollinators.  The larger the variety of wildlife in your yard or garden (insects, birds, toads, lizards, etc.) the less “pest” insects you will have.  Naturally!   

For more information on creating a native garden, visit: http://www.xerces.org/pollinators-south-central-region/

For more Bee-lieve it or Not facts, come join the Houston Zoo in celebrating National Polinator Week on June 26th and 27th. We will have tables and chats from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. all about our favorite pollinators.  Bee sure to  record your pollinating adventures in a nature blog to share at the Swap Shop!

Photo taken by Beatriz Moisset

Wait!  Don’t squash that bug!

Beetles get a bad wrap due to “messy pollination”.  No one ever taught them not to dedicate where they eat giving them the name “mess and soil pollinators”.  Due to sheer numbers, beetles comprise of the largest set of pollinating animals.  They are responsible for pollinating 88% of the 240,000 flowering plants globally!  So next time you stop to smell a Magnolia, think of your beetle friends!

For more Bee-lieve it or Not facts, come join the Houston Zoo in celebrating National Polinator Week on June 26th and 27th. We will have tables and chats from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. all about our favorite pollinators.  Bee sure to  record your pollinating adventures in a nature blog to share at the Swap Shop!

Photo taken by Jean-Christophe Vié

On the island of Madagascar, black and white ruffed lemurs are the main pollinators of traveler’s trees or traveler’s palm. These trees are typically 40-feet-high. They lemurs use their nimble hands to pull open the tough flower bracts. They stick their long snouts and tongues deep inside a tree’s flower. As a result, they collect pollen on their muzzle and fur, and then transport it to the next flower. The resulting fruits are a major source of food. It appears that no other creature has the strength and nimbleness to pollinate the palm. This gives the black and white ruffed lemur the award of the world’s largest pollinator!

For more information go to: http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/unusual.shtml

For more Bee-lieve it or Not facts, come join the Houston Zoo in celebrating National Polinator Week on June 26th and 27th. We will have tables and chats from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. all about our favorite pollinators.  Bee sure to  record your pollinating adventures in a nature blog to share at the Swap Shop!

Endangered Species Chocolate

What would a life without pollinators look like…Well a world with out chocolate!  That would be a pretty bleak world in my opinion.  Some of my favorite desserts are chocolate.  Others seem to agree because the chocolate industry brings in about $50 billion dollars a year worldwide!

Who do we have to thank for our delicious treats?  Bats and other pollinators!  Monkeys and other small mammals even help with seed dispersal.

Lesser long-nosed bat - Photo taken by Merlin D. Tuttle of Bat Conservation International

Chocolate isn’t the only food we can thank pollinators for.  Bats are the major pollinators  for bananas, dates, coconut, cloves, vanilla, Brazil nuts, avocados, and the agave plant (tequila)!

For more Bee-lieve it or Not facts, come join the Houston Zoo in celebrating National Polinator Week on June 26th and 27th. We will have tables and chats from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. all about our favorite pollinators.  Bee sure to  record your pollinating adventures in a nature blog to share at the Swap Shop!

Male Leafcutter Bee

A fairly common bee in the Houston area is the leafcutter bee.  These bees are smaller than honeybees, grey and black, and a little bit fuzzy.  It’s easy to spot a female because the bright yellow pollen she collects from flowers is carried underneath her abdomen, not on her legs.  Leafcutter bees use leaves from various plants, such as roses, to help seal their nest chambers (this keeps the larvae protected while they grow).  If you notice semicircular patches missing from individual leaves in your garden, you probably have leafcutter bees around – but don’t worry, they don’t take much.  You can even build a bee house to attract these and other kinds of fascinating bees:  http://www.xerces.org/fact-sheets/

For more Bee-lieve it or Not facts, come join us in celebrating National Polinator Week on June 26th and 27th. We will have tables and chats from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. all about our favorite pollinators.  Don’t forget to record your pollinating adventures in a nature blog to share at the Swap Shop!