BirdCapeMay.org

Q: What is the NJ state bird?

A: The American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis).

Q: What do Brown Pelicans eat?

A: Also known as the "Diving Pelican", their diet consists almost entirely of fish. Unlike the White Pelican that does not dive, the Brown Pelican forages by diving from as high as 60 feet in the air, plunging head first into the water to catch fish.

Q: Do you have a question about birds or birding?

A: If so, send us an email and we will post your question and an answer right here!

Q: What does supercilium mean?

A: Supercilium is a field mark term used in identifying birds. A line running from the base of the bill up and over the eye is known as the eyebrow, or supercilium.

For example, the Carolina Wren has a white throat and a prominent white supercilium. Check it out for yourself: see Kaufmans Field Guide to Birds of North America, page 289.

Q: Where do Atlantic Puffins lay their eggs?

A: Atlantic Puffins are colonial nesters that nest in burrows and among rocks on islands in coastal and offshore waters.

Puffins dig burrows using their bills and feet; the bill is used to cut into the soil and then they use their feet to shovel away loose material. Most burrows are 2 to 3 feet long. Parents build a soft nest of feathers and grass in the back of the burrow where they incubate the egg.

Puffins lay 1 egg per year and they usually keep the same mate every season and use the same burrow as in previous years. Both the male and female share the duties of incubating the egg and rearing the chick.

To learn more about puffins visit the Project Puffin website: http://www.projectpuffin.org/

Q: Do Great Horned Owls attack porcupines?

A: Yes, but such attacks can often be fatal for Great Horned Owls.

A porcupine has quills on all parts of its body, except for its stomach, that it uses for defense. The porcupine is not an aggressive animal and will only attack if it is threatened. When a predator (like a Great Horned Owl) approaches, the porcupine will turn its back, raise the quills and lash out at the predator with its tail. If the porcupine hits the predator with its quills, the quills become embedded in the animal. Body heat makes the barbs expand and they become even more deeply embedded in the animal's skin. If the predator is hit in a vital place, it may be fatal.

Q: What do woodpeckers eat?

A: Woodpeckers typically eat insects on the trunks and limbs of trees. Their foraging methods include visual searching, probing in crevices, scaling off bark, or excavating into dead wood.

Some species may also feed on the ground or catch insects in flight. Some woodpeckers eat nuts, fruits and seeds; tree sap is a main dietary staple for the four species of sapsuckers. Some woodpeckers also eat a fair share of ants which can be a major part of the seasonal diet for flickers, Pileated Woodpeckers, and sapsuckers.

Q: Can an owl turn it's head all the way around?

A: It is false that owls can turn their heads 360 degrees however, some owls can rotate their heads 280 degrees which is still more than any other bird!

Q: What bird flies the fastest and how fast does it go?

A: The Peregrine Falcon was recorded at a speed of 117 mph (188 km/hr) in a steep dive or stoop.

Q: Does the Cape May Warbler breed in Cape May?

A: No. The Cape May Warbler breeds across the boreal forest of Canada and the northern United States; where it's breeding population is tied to the availability of it's favored food, spruce budworms.
The common name of the species (latin name: Dendroica tigrina) comes from Cape May, NJ. Alexander Wilson first described it after collecting a specimen north of Cape May County in Great Egg Harbor. According to David Sibley in The Birds of Cape May, the second specimen known to science was collected at Cape May in May 1809, hence the name.

Q: What bird builds the smallest nest?

A: The Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) is the smallest hummingbird in the world, the male is smaller than the female and weighs less than a penny. Found in woodland, shrubbery, and gardens in Cuba and the Isle of Pines; the nest of the Bee Hummingbird is about the size of a thimble, measuring only 3cm across.