Tufted Puffins

I want to go to Alaska to see:

1. Tufted Puffins
2. Aurora Borealis

Mainly, for the puffins... definitely in the running for the cutest bird. Here is the pic I took at the Long Beach Aquarium:

State Birds

CALIFORNIA STATE BIRD

(national geographic)

California Quail

Callipepla californica

NEW YORK and MISSOURI STATE BIRD

(Louisville Audubon Society)

Eastern Bluebird
Sialia sialis

HAWAII STATE BIRD

(www.kilaueaadventure.com)

Nene (aka Hawaiian Goose)

Branta sandvicensis

MASSACHUSETTS STATE BIRD

Black-capped Chickadee

Poecile atricapilla

Northern Cardinal

Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis

Range: From southern Canada through the East half of the USA, into the Southwest a bit, eastern Mexico, south to northern Guatemala and Belize
Habitat: woodlands, gardens, shrubland, swamps
Food: seeds, grains, fruit
Migration: None
Sexual Dimorphism: Males brighter red, female is dull red-brown
Reproduction: Sometimes mated male and females sing together before nesting.

Who loves phylogeny? Me!

Super confusing, incomplete and probably wrong

Birds are believed to have evolved from therapod dinosaurs in the Jurassic Period (150 - 200 million years ago) and the first known bird was archaeopteryx (now extinct).

Greater Prairie Chicken

Greater Prairie Chicken
Tympanuchus cupido

Range: North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Minnesota
Habitat: Prairies, tall grass, some times farm land
Food: primarily seeds and fruites, during summer insects and plants
Migration: None
Reproduction: Males display together by inflating air sacs in neck, raising ear feathers, stuttering around and hooting or booming

Yes, there is a Prairie Chicken Capital - it is Rothsay, Minnesota and it contains the worlds largest Prairie Chicken statue
http://www.worldslargestthings.com/minnesota/prairiechicken.htm

Bird Facts

• Longest and fleshiest tongue: Flamingos. Oh yeah.
• (thanks rachel)
  

• Largest Bird: Ostrich (up to 9 ft) (eyes bigger than brain)
  
• Smallest Bird: Bee Hummingbird
  

• Longest Migration: Arctic Tern

• Fastest Swimming Bird: Gentoo Penguin
• Fastest Flying Bird: Peregrine Falcon (124 mph?)
• Fastest Land Bird: Ostrich (up to 45 mph)

• Most Abundant Bird: Red-billed Quelea (Africa)

• Largest Wingspan: Wandering Albatross

• Largest egg: Ostrich
• Smallest egg: Hummingbird

• Emus cant walk backwards

Flightless Birds

1. Emu
2. Ostrich
3. Kiwi
4. Rhea
5. Penguin
6. Cassowary
7. Some Grebes
8. Some Comorants
9. Some ducks and teals
10. Some rails
11. Kakapo Parrot