Sorry for the late post today, but Saturday is my day of rest, and I forgot the blogfest rules.I know what you're thinking, right?
"Renee, it's a crow. That's not interesting. Way to procrastinate and then fudge this letter up by showing us a freakin' crow."
First of all, if you think crows are just your average bird, then you clearly haven't read this article about why you should never, ever mess with crows.
Second, this is not just any old crow. It's a Hawaiian Crow. And it has the lamentable status of being one of the few extant species that is entirely extinct in the wild.
The Hawaiian Crow was isolated to two small parts of mainland Hawaii. The crow likely went extinct due to diseases introduced by nonnative species, but no one really knows what caused their population to decline. The two last known crows in the wild disappeared in 2002, and currently fewer than 80 are kept in zoos worldwide. Attempts to reintroduce them to the wild have been slowed because of concerns regarding their predator, a form of hawk.
Photo courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife
Interesting post. You would think being called the Hawaiian Crow that he would be more colorful!
ReplyDeleteHMG
That's just what I was thinking Heather. Doesn't really look any different from the crows I see here.
ReplyDeleteawesome shot.
ReplyDeleteit is always good to learn.
I did not know that. I had to get out my little Hawaii Audubon Society bird book to check it out. 'Alala (Hawaiian Crow).
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!