Tag - animal-tracker

 
 

ANIMAL TRACKER

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Dec 24, 2008
Common catfish
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Dec 10, 2008
Japanese crested ibis
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Nov 26, 2008
Pacific reef egret
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Nov 12, 2008
Thread-sail filefish
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Oct 22, 2008
Golden apple snail
Japanese name: Sukumiringogai
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Oct 8, 2008
Falling-letter weevil
Japanese name: Otoshibumi
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Sep 24, 2008
Miyako toad
Japanese name:Miyako hikigaeru
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Sep 10, 2008
Coin turtle
Japanese name: Kusagame
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Aug 27, 2008
Japanese Minnow
Japanese name: Mugitsuku
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Aug 13, 2008
Collared Scops Owl
Japanese name: Ookonohazuku
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jul 9, 2008
Ice goby
Japanese name: Shiro-uo
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 25, 2008
Magpie
Japanese name:Kasasagi
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 11, 2008
Burrowing rat snake
Japanese name: Jimuguri
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 28, 2008
Four-eyed perch
Japanese name: Oyanirami
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 14, 2008
Red-spotted grouper
Japanese name: Kijihata
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Apr 23, 2008
Goose barnacle
Japanese name: Kamenote
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Apr 9, 2008
Pike gudgeon
Japanese name: Kamatsuka
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Mar 26, 2008
Northern lapwing
Japanese name: Tageri
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Mar 12, 2008
Black-faced spoonbill
* Japanese name: Kurotsura-herasagi * Scientific name: Platalea minor * Description: A large, white, striking bird with a black face and bill, and black legs. The bill is the most distinctive feature, being wider at the tip than in the middle, with a flattened end like a paddle or a spoon. The long legs are also flattened, to minimize water resistance when the bird walks through the water. The feet are half-webbed, to allow it to walk over soft mud without sinking. At around age 3 or 4 years, black-faced spoonbills start to sexually mature, and the previously flesh-colored bill becomes black; the iris becomes red and flight feathers that were black as a juvenile become pure white. Some have yellow plumage at the neck. * Where to find them: This bird is restricted to coastal East Asia, but it migrates around the region, and many come to Japan for the winter. Here, they may be seen in estuaries and lakes. They were once common, but numbers plummeted due to their sensitivity both to changes in the environment and to pollution. The Korean War (1950-53) wiped out most nest sites for the birds in South Korea, and this had a knock-on effect on the numbers that came to Japan for the winter. * Food: Spoonbills forage by sweeping their bills from side to side in mud or water. There is no cutting edge on the bill, but it has hundreds of tiny sensory pits that detect movement and prey and is highly adapted for feeding by sense of touch. The preferred food items are small fish, followed by mollusks and marine worms. Low tide is their best time to feed, but human disturbance often prevents this. * Special features: The famous bill can open surprisingly wide. This allows the bird to swallow large prey items, which are stored in a gizzard. Unlike in other birds, where food is ground up with stones, in the spoonbill the muscles of the gizzard pouch are not well-developed and the pouch functions rather as a digestive sack. Once classified as "critically endangered," numbers of black-faced spoonbills recovered in the 1990s and now they are considered merely "endangered" — although they are still one of the rarest birds on the planet. Their mating system seems to be one of monogamy.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Feb 27, 2008
Snow crab
Japanese name: Benizuwaigani

Longform

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