Nature Spotlight: the Red-Tailed Hawk

The red-tailed hawk lives in open areas throughout North America. This illustration shows a red-tailed hawk in flight. The hawk uses its powerful beak to tear open prey, such as rodents. The red-tailed hawk reaches about 2 feet (0.6 meter) in length.

The red-tailed hawk is a large, stocky bird of prey. The red-tailed hawk is one of the most common hawks of North America. It lives throughout the continent and the Caribbean Islands. Red-tailed hawks prefer open spaces with places to perch, but they can adapt to almost any habitat. The red-tailed hawk has a distinctive, piercing call that sounds like “keeeeer.”

Adult red-tailed hawks measure 18 to 26 inches (45 to 66 centimeters) long. The average wingspread of an adult red-tailed hawk is about 50 inches (130 centimeters). Adults may weigh between 1 ½ and 3 pounds (700 and 1,400 grams). Females are larger than males.

Red-tailed hawks vary in coloration. Most adults have a rust-red tail. They usually have brown plumage on the top side of their bodies. The underside of the body is lighter and often mottled with dark colors. The wing undersides are also lighter in color and often have brown, black, or red markings.

Red-tailed hawks are soaring hawks. Such hawks use their excellent eyesight to spot prey from high up in the air. They then swoop down to catch it. Red-tailed hawks feed primarily on small mammals, such as mice and rabbits. They will eat just about anything they can catch or find, however, including other birds, fish, large insects, reptiles, and fresh carrion (dead animals).

Red-tailed hawks mate for life. A female red-tailed hawk lays one to five eggs per clutch. Chicks hatch in 28 to 35 days. The female usually incubates the eggs and stays at the nest with the hatchlings while the male hunts for food. Parents continue to care for their young for as long as 13 weeks after hatching.

Many species of hawk have become threatened with extinction, largely due to the destruction of their natural habitats. However, red-tailed hawks have adapted well to environments changed by human activity. They often patrol for prey in areas cleared by humans, such as farms or roadsides.

Tags: animals, birds of prey, red-tailed hawk

A Whale-sized Hole in the Ocean Ecosystem

Humpback whale mother and calf
Credit: © Shutterstock

A study published in November 2021 reported more accurate measurements of just how much giant whales eat—and just how much they defecate (eliminate solid wastes)—which has surprising effects on the ocean ecosystem and even global climate. The research demonstrates that ocean food webs are more complex and intertwined in surprising ways, more surprising than simple predator-prey relationships.

Baleen whales, including the blue whale, bowhead whale, fin whale, and right whale, are among the largest animals that ever lived. These gigantic beasts feed mainly on millions of tiny shrimp-like krill and other zooplankton that they filter out from huge gulps of seawater. Calculating exactly how much they eat has always been a difficult exercise.

A gray whale filters food from water by squeezing the water out of its mouth through thin plates called baleen.
Credit: © Shutterstock

In the latest study, scientists used Global Positioning System (GPS) tags to follow more than 300 baleen whales as they swam and ate their way through the oceans. This tracking enabled the scientists to record each time a whale lunged to gulp a mouthful of krill. Sonar and drones flown overhead were used to determine the dimensions of the krill swarm swallowed, providing the most accurate measure yet of how much each whale was consuming. The results were surprising. The baleen whales were routinely eating three times or more the amount of food previously estimated. Across all species studied, baleen whales consume an average of 5 to 30 percent of their body weight each day. A single average-weight adult blue whale can consume about 40 million krill a day, equaling about 4 tons (3.6 metric tons). Of course, what goes in must come out. So equally astonishing was the amount of feces (solid bodily waste) that baleen whales produce as measured by the study. A blue whale can excrete more than 50 gallons (190 liters) of waste in one go.

The populations of many kinds of whales collapsed in the 1900’s because of excessive whaling. Whalers killed so many blue, bowhead, humpback, and right whales that these species nearly became extinct. The researchers estimate that before the 1900’s, baleen whales in the Southern Ocean consumed 430 million tons (390 million metric tons) of krill annually. That’s twice as much krill than exists today. With so many krill-eating whales removed from the ecosystem, researchers expected krill populations to increase. But krill populations dropped after most of their predators were killed off—a fact known among ocean scientists as the krill paradox.

How could this have happened? Researchers know when whales feed on krill, a good amount of nutrients are excreted in their feces afterward. In the nutrient-poor Southern and Pacific oceans, this cycling of nutrients is especially important. The nutrients excreted are rapidly taken up by blooming populations of simple one-celled algae in the oceans called phytoplankton. The phytoplankton in turn serve as food for more krill, which are then food for whales. More whales mean more whale poop—fertilizer in the ocean—which means more krill.

When living things grow, they add carbon to their bodies, removing some carbon from the atmosphere. In another unexpected finding, the researchers estimate that restoring baleen whale populations to 1900 levels could foster plankton blooms that would remove 235 million tons (215 million metric tons) of carbon from the atmosphere, helping to combat global warming.

Tags: climate change, food webs, krill, ocean ecosystem, whale

Migrant Crisis in Belarus

Polish guards watch over migrants encamped along the country’s border with Belarus in November 2021.
Credit: Ulf Mauder/dpa/Alamy Live News

An immigration crisis in Europe came to a head last month, with thousands of migrants trapped on the border between Belarus and Poland. By Nov. 9, 2021, Polish authorities had announced the death of at least eight migrants due to cold weather and other harsh conditions. The Polish government accused Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, of creating the crisis and making it worse by shepherding migrants through Belarus to the borders of the European Union (EU).

Lukashenko has been the president of Belarus since 1994. In several Belarusian elections, including one in 2020, Lukashenko suppressed his opposition. Foreign governments and independent observers criticized these elections as undemocratic, and the European Union has imposed sanctions on the country. Lukashenko has threatened to use migrants as a means to force the EU to lift sanctions before. Lukashenko denied worsening the migrant crisis, but his government continually granted visas to travelers booking one-way flights to Minsk, the capital of Belarus.

The migrants traveled through Belarus hoping to make it to wealthier countries in the EU. Many of the migrants are from Afghanistan, Iran, and Syria. Aid groups estimate that there are at least 20,000 migrants in Belarus waiting to go westward. While some of the migrants qualify as refugees, the majority are economic migrants who are moving for a better quality of life. Some have reported that Belarusian officials urged them to cross the border illegally and equipped them with wirecutters to cut through fencing.

On November 12, several airlines limited flights to Belarus to slow the flow of migrants through the country. The Polish government deployed troops to the border, and on November 16, Polish officers fired tear gas and water cannons at the migrants in freezing temperatures. Following pressure from many world leaders, the Belarusian government cleared the migrants from the border. Around 400 migrants flew back to Iraq, and others found shelter in warehouses in Belarus. The restriction of journalists in the area near the border has complicated the situation. The EU has added more sanctions on Belarus and has provided relief for many migrants caught on the border. But, the future of the migrants is still uncertain.

Tags: Belarus, eu, migrant crisis, poland, refugees

Native American Heritage Month: Edmonia Lewis

Edmonia Lewis was the first professional African American and Native American sculptor. She became an internationally acclaimed artist in the 1860′s and 1870′s. Lewis was notable for incorporating themes relating to the Black experience and Native American culture.
Smithsonian Institution

People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants.

Edmonia Lewis was the first professional Black American and Native American sculptor. She became an internationally acclaimed artist in the years after the American Civil War (1861-1865) and Reconstruction (1865-1877). Lewis worked in a Neoclassical style. Neoclassicists often use subjects from ancient history to make observations about contemporary events. She was notable for incorporating themes relating to the Black experience and Native American culture.

Mary Edmonia Lewis was probably born around July 4, 1844, in Greenbush (now Rensselaer), near Albany, New York, to a free Black American father and a mother who was Black American and at least part Chippewa. Mary Edmonia was orphaned when she was a child. She and her older half-brother Samuel were adopted by her mother’s sisters and raised in a nomadic Native American community on the New York-Canadian border. Mary Edmonia was given the Chippewa name Wildfire.

Samuel became a gold miner in California and financed his sister’s early schooling. In 1859, he also helped her to attend Oberlin College in Ohio. While there, she asked to be called Edmonia Lewis. At Oberlin, Lewis boarded at a minister‘s home with white female students. In 1862, she was accused of poisoning two of her housemates. Days later, she was beaten by a white mob. Although the charges against her were dropped for lack of evidence, Lewis was subjected to a highly publicized hearing. She was later accused of stealing art supplies at the college. That case was also dismissed. However, Oberlin would not allow Lewis to finish her final term and graduate.

In 1863, with Samuel’s help, Lewis traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, where she became acquainted with the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. She also met the sculptor Edward A. Brackett, who gave her some lessons in sculpture. Soon, she set up her own small studio. In 1864, Lewis created busts of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, a Civil War hero who had died leading the all-Black 54th Massachusetts Regiment, and the abolitionist John Brown. With the money she earned from sales of the Shaw and Brown busts and some clay and plaster medallions she created, Lewis traveled to London, England; Paris, France; and Florence, Italy; before settling in Rome, Italy, where she continued her work as a sculptor.

One of Lewis’s most acclaimed works is Forever Free (1867). Commemorating the 1865 abolition of slavery in the United States, the sculpture depicts a Black man and woman emerging from the bonds of slavery. Lewis embraced her Native American heritage with works inspired by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and his epic poem The Song of Hiawatha (1855), about the great Native American leader Hiawatha. These included the sculpture Old Arrow Maker (modeled in 1866, carved in 1872) and the busts Hiawatha and Minnehaha (both 1868). Lewis created an acclaimed bust of Longfellow in 1871.

Lewis also carved busts of American presidents, including Ulysses S. Grant and Abraham Lincoln, as well as sculptures of mythic, Biblical, and historical scenes. In 1876, she created a sensation at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with The Death of Cleopatra (1876). Lewis’s 63-inch- (160-centimeter-) tall marble sculpture depicts the Egyptian queen in the throes of death.

Lewis continued to exhibit her work until the 1890′s. Little is known about her later years. Lewis is believed to have died in London on Sept. 17, 1907. A number of her sculptures are now part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, in Washington, D.C.

Tags: afro-indigenous, edmonia lewis, indigenous art, native american heritage month, sculpture

Blue Ribbons and Tail Wags: The National Dog Show

A dog show is a competitive event in which judges evaluate dogs on their physical appearance and condition. In this photograph, a woman parades a doberman pinscher for the judges’ review.
© Shutterstock

The National Dog Show, presented by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia and the American Kennel Club, took place over the weekend at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania, fully returning for the first time since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the show went on without spectators. Instead, cardboard cutouts sat in the audience and the dogs competed without applause.

The National Dog Show has aired on television every Thanksgiving Day after Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade for 20 years. This year the show was open to vaccinated spectators as well as well-behaved dogs. While the judges announced best in breed winners, the “Best in Show” winner will not be announced until the show airs on Thursday, Nov. 25.

The bichon frise is a popular show dog. This photograph shows bichons frises lined up for judging at a dog show.
AP Photo

The American Kennel Club (AKC), the best-known dog registry in the United States, classifies dog breeds into seven major groups for exhibition in dog shows. The seven groups are (1) sporting dogs, (2) hounds, (3) working dogs, (4) terriers, (5) toy dogs, (6) nonsporting dogs, and (7) herding dogs. The AKC also has a miscellaneous category for dogs that are growing in popularity but that have not yet been accepted for registration.

This weekend over 1,500 dogs made their way to the Philadelphia area to compete with their owners, handlers, milk-bones, and hair dryers. There are 209 registered breeds in the show this year competing in the 7 group competitions. Each breed competes to be “Best of Breed.” Those winners participate to be “First in Group” in each of the seven groups. From the seven dogs named “First in Group,” the judges name the overall champion as “Best in Show.”

The American Kennel Club added a new breed to the registry this year. The Biewer terrier, a German toy breed, is making its debut on the show. The breed, pronounced like“beaver,” is a relative of a Yorkshire terrier with white, tan, and brown fur. They are known as friendly and athletic companions.

Last year, Claire the Scottish deerhound, a type of hound, won “Best in Show.” In 2019, a bulldog named Thor won after taking the non-sporting group. A whippet, a hound breed, named Whiskey won in 2018. This year perhaps a Biewer terrier will take home the blue ribbon.

Tags: american kennel club, best in show, biewer terrier, dog show

Native American Heritage Month: Ben Nighthorse Campbell

Ben N. Campbell was a member of the United States Senate from 1993 to 2005. Campbell, a Republican, represented Colorado. Before becoming a senator, Campbell had served in the Colorado House of Representatives and the U.S. House of Representatives.
U.S. Senate

People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants.

Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Northern Cheyenne chief, was a member of the United States Senate from 1993 to 2005. He represented Colorado. When he was elected, Campbell became the first Native American person since the late 1920′s to hold a U.S. Senate seat. Charles Curtis, whose mother was part Native American, served in the Senate from 1907 to 1913 and again from 1915 to 1929. Campbell was elected as a Democrat. In 1995, he switched to the Republican Party.

As a senator, Campbell focused on such issues as water conservation and environmental preservation. He worked to protect Colorado’s water resources.

Campbell was born on April 13, 1933, in Auburn, California. His father was Northern Cheyenne, and his mother was of Portuguese descent. Campbell served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1953. He earned a bachelor’s degree from San José State University in 1957. He also attended Meiji University in Tokyo. Campbell became a judo expert and was a member of the U.S. judo team in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. During the late 1960′s and the 1970′s, he built a successful business as a jewelry designer and jewelry maker and became a resident of Colorado.

Campbell was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1982. He served from 1983 until 1986, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He won reelection to the U.S. House in 1988 and 1990. In 1992, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, and he took office in 1993. He was reelected in 1998.

In 2004, Campbell announced that because of concerns about his health he would not seek reelection that year to the Senate. His final term as senator ended in January 2005.

Tags: Ben Nighthorse Campbell, cheyenne, indigenous people, native american heritage month, u.s. senate

Lorde Bows to the Māori in New EP

Lorde is a New Zealand pop singer and songwriter. She became the first New Zealand solo artist to have a number-one hit in the United States, with the song “Royals” (2012).
© Daniel DeSlover, ZUMA/Alamy Images

In a new EP (extended play) recording, the New Zealand pop singer and songwriter Lorde paid tribute to the Māori, the indigenous (native) people of New Zealand. After her third album, Solar Power, was released on Aug. 20, 2021, Lorde re-recorded five songs from the album in the Māori language, the language of the native Māori people of New Zealand. Lorde is not Māori but acknowledges the influence Māori culture has had on her life. The songs were released on her third EP Te Ao Mārama, which translates to “world of light” in the Māori language, on Sept. 9, 2021. The EP’s name builds off her album Solar Power and a well-known Māori phrase.

Lorde worked with several qualified translators to re-write the songs in Māori. Many of the lines are not translated exactly but use Māori to capture the meaning of the original English lines. The cover features a colorized version of the print  Serene by New Zealand artist Rei Hamon. The album is a celebration of New Zealand.

The Māori are a Polynesian people of New Zealand. They were the first people to live in what is now New Zealand. Māori made a living by fishing, hunting, and farming. By the 1700′s, all of New Zealand was under Māori control. Europeans started arriving in New Zealand in the late 1700′s and eventually took over the land and power. Today, the Māori make up about 15 percent of New Zealand’s population.

Lorde was born Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor on Nov. 7, 1996, in Takapuna, near Auckland. She was signed to a recording contract at age 13 and began writing songs soon after that. At the age of 16, she became the youngest person in more than 25 years to have a number-one hit on the United States  Billboard singles chart “Hot 100.” The song, “Royals” (2012), also made Lorde the first New Zealand solo artist to have a number-one hit in the United States. “Royals” reached number one on the singles charts in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom as well. In 2013, Lorde won a Grammy Award for best pop solo performance for “Royals.” She also shared a Grammy for song of the year with the song’s co-writer, the New Zealand songwriter and musician Joel Little.

Tags: lorde, maori language, new zealand, pop music

Wally Funk Checks Space off her Bucket List

American aviation pioneer Wally Funk
© Blue Origin

After training for 60 years, Wally Funk finally arrived in space this summer. Once a trainee of the First Lady Astronaut Trainees (FLAT’s) program run by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) physician back in 1961, Funk passed all the tests and training before the program ended. Although these women, later known as the Mercury 13, were not permitted to become astronauts, Funk never forgot her dream of going to space. She had a distinguished career as a pilot, logging thousands of miles or kilometers in the air and teaching thousands of other pilots, not staying on the ground for too long.

On July 20, 2021, Funk flew on the New Shepard rocket built by the company Blue Origin, founded by American businessman Jeff Bezos. She rode with Jeff Bezos, Bezos’s brother Mark, and 18-year-old physics student Oliver Daemen. The rocket rose more than 100 miles (61 kilometers) straight into the air to the boundary of space. The booster separated from the capsule and landed using its engines. The capsule floated back down to the ground on parachutes. The whole flight lasted about 10 minutes.

The American businessman Jeff Bezos poses with the other passengers on the first crewed flight into space of Blue Origin’s craft New Shepard: (left to right) Mark Bezos, American executive; Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin; Oliver Daemen, Dutch student; and Wally Funk, American aviation pioneer.
© Blue Origin

At age 82, Funk was at that time the oldest person to travel to space. She surpassed the American astronaut and senator John Glenn, who returned to space in 1998 at the age of 77 aboard the space shuttle. Wally Funk held the record for 85 days. Since then, Candian-born actor William Shatner, 90, traveled to space on Blue Origin’s second suborbital flight on October 13, 2021, claiming the record.

Mary Wallace Funk was born Feb. 1, 1939, in Las Vegas, New Mexico, near Santa Fe. She began her first flying lessons at the age of nine. Funk graduated first in her flying class at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and earned her pilot’s license in 1958. Funk earned her Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education from Oklahoma State University. There, she joined the school aviation team, the Flying Aggies. In 1960, at the age of 21, she was named a flight instructor at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, becoming the first woman flight instructor at a U.S. military base.

After the FLAT’s program ended, Funk continued her career as a pilot and flight instructor. She became the first woman inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1971. In 1974, she became the first woman air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, investigating plane crashes. NASA began accepting women as astronauts in 1978, and Funk applied four times to the agency for astronaut training. She was denied, despite her experience, because she did not have an engineering degree. Undeterred, Funk pursued opportunities for private space travel, purchasing a ticket for a future suborbital flight with space tourism company Virgin Galactic. Earlier this year, Bezos surprised Funk with a seat on Blue Origin’s inaugural crewed flight, fulfilling Funk’s lifelong dream.

Tags: aviation, blue origin, civilian spaceflight, nasa, suborbital flight, wally funk

Native American Heritage Month: Joseph Medicine Crow

Joseph Medicine Crow was the last surviving war chief of the Crow people. He was a tribal historian and anthropologist, teaching the culture and history of the Crow and other Plains peoples. He is pictured here receiving the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.
© EPA/Alamy Images

People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants.

Joseph Medicine Crow was an activist, author, historian, and leader of the Crow people. He served as tribal historian and anthropologist, teaching others the culture and history of the Crow and other Plains peoples. He was the last surviving war chief of the Crow people.

Joseph Medicine Crow (also known as High Bird) was born on Oct. 27, 1913, in southern Montana, near Lodge Grass. He was raised in the tradition of Crow warriors by his grandfather, named Yellowtail. Medicine Crow learned the history of the Crow from various elders. His great-uncle, named White Man Runs Him, had served as a scout for United States Army officer George Armstrong Custer just before the Battle of the Little Bighorn. White Man Runs Him told Medicine Crow about this experience. Medicine Crow later studied at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, graduating in 1938. He earned a master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles in 1939, becoming the first Crow person to receive a graduate degree. Medicine Crow later worked as a teacher at a Native American school in Oregon.

Medicine Crow enlisted in the United States Army in 1943 and fought against Germany during World War II (1939-1945). Among Plains peoples, acts of bravery in battle are often considered more prestigious than killing. Such acts, sometimes called counting coup, can be recorded against any enemy. During his military service, Medicine Crow accomplished the four acts of bravery necessary to achieve the status of war chief. These acts are (1) successfully leading a war party against an enemy; (2) entering an enemy camp and stealing a horse; (3) disarming an enemy in battle; and (4) touching a living enemy. A Crow council of elders named Medicine Crow war chief in 1946 after learning of his exploits against German soldiers.

The council appointed Medicine Crow official tribal historian and anthropologist in 1948. Medicine Crow wrote and lectured widely on the Battle of the Little Bighorn and other topics of Plains history. His books include From the Heart of the Crow Country: The Crow Indians’ Own Stories (2000) and Counting Coup: Becoming a Crow Chief on the Reservation and Beyond (2006). In 2009, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contributions to the preservation of the culture and history of Native Americans. He died on April 3, 2016.

Tags: indigenous people, joseph medicine crow, native american heritage month

Veterans Day: Remembering the Code Talkers

Code talkers were Native Americans who used their languages to help the United States military communicate in secret. This black-and-white photograph shows two Navajo code talkers operating a radio during World War II (1939-1945). The Navajo language was unknown to the Germans and Japanese and proved impossible for them to decipher.
Credit: NARA

On November 11, the anniversary of the end of World War I (1914-1918), the United States observes Veterans Day honoring men and women who have served in the United States armed services. In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 as Armistice Day to remember the tragedies of war and appreciate peace achieved by the armistice (truce). In 1938, Armistice Day was made a federal holiday. Congress renamed the day Veterans Day to honor all United States Veterans in 1954. Around the world, the anniversary of the end of World War I is a day to remember those who have died in war. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand observe Remembrance Day on November 11. The United Kingdom observes Remembrance Day on the Sunday closest to November 11.

November is also Native American Heritage Month, a time to observe the cultures, histories, and traditions of Native Americans. Many Native Americans have served in the United States armed forces, contributing to the United States’ success in World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945). Most notably, Native Americans called the Code Talkers developed and used codes that enabled the United States and its allies to communicate globally without enemy interference.

The Code Talkers were small groups of Native Americans who served in the United States armed forces in World War I and World War II. Code Talkers developed and used codes in Native American languages to send secret messages, helping the United States and its allies win both wars.

The engineer Philip Johnston suggested the United States Marine Corps use Navajo language as a code during World War II. He grew up on a Navajo reservation and knew that the Navajo language is unwritten, difficult to decipher (decode), and unknown to most people who are not Navajo. In 1942, the United States Marine Corps recruited 29 Navajo men to develop the code. The code talkers used familiar wards to represent U.S. military terms. For example, bombs were called eggs in Navajo. They also created a new phonetic alphabet with Navajo words.

Similarly, in World War I, 19 Choctaw men had served in the U.S. Army, sending and receiving messages based on the Choctaw language. During World War II, 17 Comanche men used their language for code in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.

Tags: choctaw, code talkers, comanche, navajo, remembrance day, veterans, veterans day, world war i, world war ii