The Amazing Fauna Of Mexico Part 10

There are few hobbies that you can effortlessly
take with you no matter where you are.
Bird-watching is one of them; all you need is a
pair of binoculars. And lucky for you, Mexico is
full of amazing bird species! Keep an eye out for
these avians.

Red Warbler

This is one of the prettiest of the several
hundred bird species in Mexico! It's endemic to
the highlands of the country, north of the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec. There are three distinct
populations: one in southern Jalisco to Oaxaca,
one from southwestern Chihuahua to northern
Nayarit, and one stretching from Guerrero into
southern Oaxaca. The Warbler is
characteristically bright red with dark wings
bars and gray-white ear swatches. They search
for bugs and flies within the cracks of pine
bark and are insectivores. Red Warblers build
domed nests out of tightly woven plant material,
and hide them underneath ground vegetation to
disguise them from potential predators.

Ocellated Turkey

The Ocellated Turkey is a resident of the
Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, and is found almost
nowhere else in the world. In fact, its range is
only 50,000 square miles, covering parts of the
Campeche, Yucatan, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, and
Chiapas states. This large bird weighs nearly
eleven pounds (for males) and can be four feet
long from beak to tail. The Ocellated Turkey's
feathers are a mix of iridescent green and
bronze, and their secondary wing feathers are
white around the edges. The head is bright blue,
with orange or red nodules and a red ring of skin
around each eye. Rather than fly, the turkeys
stay on the ground most of the time, preferring
to run from predators rather than take to the
sky; contrary to popular myth, these turkeys can
certainly take wing, and can fly quite quickly
for short periods of time. Despite their
preference to walk, Ocellated Turkeys will roost
high up in trees, away from Jaguars and other
predators. As juveniles, young turkeys can
follow their mother from the nest only one day
after hatching. These turkeys do not 'gobble',
per se, but do produce a very distinct
bongo-like tone and will sing about 20 minutes
before sunrise.

Muscovy Duck

This feral duck is native to Mexico and Central
America; despite its tropical origins, it is a
hardy bird that has adapted very well to other
climates, and is sometimes found as far north as
Canada. Muscovy Ducks are large; females weigh
approximately 7 pounds, while the males can
weigh up to 15 pounds. Their breasts,
undersides, and tails are shiny black, and the
head and neck is white or yellow. Wings are dark
iridescent green or black, with white bars or
patches that are very noticeable during flight.
This is a generalization, as there are many
different subspecies and populations all over
Central America, and color variations can range
from chocolate-brown to lavender or bronze.
There are some feral populations, but the
Muscovy has been successfully domesticated as a
food source; before Christopher Columbus arrived
on the continent, the Native Americans were well
aware of the different properties and
characteristics of the birds. They are also one
of the few species to be scientifically
described by Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern
taxonomy.


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