BirdCapeMay.org

Q: What is a Wild Turkey's beard made out of - is it feathers?

A: A Wild Turkey's breast "beard" consists of modified, hair-like feathers that are made up of horny filaments.

Q: Where do nuthatches build their nests because I saw one go in to a hole like a woodpecker?

A: Nuthatches mostly nest in cavities in trees, although some species will nest in birdhouses. Some species of nuthatch use old woodpecker holes or a naturally formed cavity. Others will actually excavate their own nest cavity. Females do most of the nest building and add soft grasses, fibers, feathers, moss, hair—just about anything soft to provide some padding inside the cavity.

Perhaps you saw a nuthatch that has a nest in that cavity. Keep a close eye on the nest for activity as both parents will tend to their young!

Q: What is the largest bird in the world?

A: The largest and tallest bird alive today is the Ostrich. They can grow to over 8 feet tall and weigh over 345 pounds. Ostriches also lay the largest egg (6 inches long!) of any birds species.

Note: The tallest bird ever to live was the Moa (over 12 feet tall) and the heaviest bird ever to live was the Elephant Bird (weighed half a ton)—both are now extinct.

Q: When someone says "grasshopper hawk" are they talking about American Kestrel?

A: Yes, American Kestrel has a few slang names including "grasshopper hawk" because their diet of insects includes the favored grasshoppers. Some also say that their high-pitched buzzing song resembles the stridulation (the noise grasshoppers and crickets make when they rub their legs together) of grasshoppers.

The American Kestrel may also be referred to as a"sparrow hawk" because, in the past, it was thought that kestrels primarily preyed upon sparrows before research indicated otherwise.

Some little known Horseshoe Crab Egg Facts courtesy of Dave Ward (past CMBO Associate Naturalist): there are 2,798 eggs in a level Tablespoon, 3,227 eggs in a cubic inch, and about 53,000 eggs in a heaping handful.