• Welcome to the Community Forums at HiveWire 3D! Please note that the user name you choose for our forum will be displayed to the public. Our store was closed as January 4, 2021. You can find HiveWire 3D and Lisa's Botanicals products, as well as many of our Contributing Artists, at Renderosity. This thread lists where many are now selling their products. Renderosity is generously putting products which were purchased at HiveWire 3D and are now sold at their store into customer accounts by gifting them. This is not an overnight process so please be patient, if you have already emailed them about this. If you have NOT emailed them, please see the 2nd post in this thread for instructions on what you need to do

Ken Gilliland

Extraordinary
HW3D Exclusive Artist
Yes.. I remember seeing that original clip... wasn't sure if the clip posted was additional stuff. I certainly think that with the realism a Lyrebird can imitate a chainsaw, it probably could do almost sound.

Bird Quote of the Day:

"Why do birds matter? It’s a funny question. Imagine asking a cardinal, “Why do humans matter?” He would sing if he could, from the top of a telephone pole, “They don’t! Not at all! Look at me!” Every species basically thinks we’re the real one, and all others are food or set decoration. If you could step back and register all our noise at once, you might get a glimpse of the real deal: life on earth."
—Barbara Kingsolver, Author of " Flight Behavior"
Bird Fact of the Day:

The Golden-crowned Sparrow arrives earlier and stays longer on its California wintering grounds than almost any other bird species. When day length increases in the spring, the Golden-crowned Sparrow detects the change through photoreceptors (light-sensitive cells). Its body responds by putting on fat and getting an urge to migrate.

Cool Bird of the Day:

I put this video earlier in my "Show Me the Honey" thread but it's well worth showing again. Here's the dance of the male woodcock...


No, I don't have the woodcock in Songbird ReMix format yet... but I'll have to put him on my "To Do" list

 
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Miss B

Drawing Life 1 Pixel at a Time
CV-BEE
Cool Bird of the Day:

I put this video earlier in my "Show Me the Honey" thread but it's well worth showing again. Here's the dance of the male woodcock...
He must think he's Michael Jackson. ;) It amazes me when I see an animal, other than a human, mimicking actions we, as humans, take for granted.
 

Ken Gilliland

Extraordinary
HW3D Exclusive Artist
Today's Quote:

Birds have always been are our biological barometers. From the ‘canary in the coal mine’ to weather predictions, documentation of climate change, monitoring habitat health, urban noise, and the introduction of spring. Birds are ‘man’s next best friend.’

Carla Dove, Forensic ornithologist, Smithsonian Institute
Today's Bird Fact:
Keas, one of the world smartest parrots, actually were redirecting traffic by moving traffic cones into the road to get cars to stop, so the Keas could beg for food.



Today's Cool Birds... New Zealand Parrots

The Kea (found in Songbird ReMix Threatened, Endangered, Extinct 3)

The Kākāpō (found in Songbird ReMix Threatened, Endangered, Extinct 2)
 
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Ken Gilliland

Extraordinary
HW3D Exclusive Artist
Since my attention today's is on erupting volcano and the survival of endangered birds of Hawai'i. I'm doing a Hawaiian bird segment today... Be sure to check out Songbird ReMix Hawai'i. ...and yes, the new Nene (from Waterfowl 5: Geese) will be eventually be included when Hawai'i gets updated.)

Today's Bird Quote:

"Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, close to us and everybody in the world, and as universal as a bird?"
-David Attenborough
Today's Bird Facts:
  • Over half of the known endemic bird species on Hawai’i evolved from the house finch.
  • Of the 71 known species of endemic Hawaiian bird, one-third are extinct and two-thirds of the remaining living species are endangered or threatened.
  • What makes a bird endangered? While it’s easy to understand why a bird like the Kakapo is endangered with 86 birds left on the planet, some other species may be harder to figure. So why is a bird such as the ‘Akepa from Hawai’i (estimated population 6,000) more endangered than the Yellow-breasted Bunting (estimated population 2,300+)? The reason is that the number of birds, while an important factor, is only part of the consideration in endangerment.
The easiest way to explain the criteria is to review the R-E-D system. R-E-D stands for RARITY - ENDANGERMENT – DIVERSITY. The total number of birds would relate to rarity. The perils facing the birds would be endangerment. Diversity relates to how far the species extend over physical terrain. For instance, a species limited to a single island would be more at risk than a species spread over a continent. So let’s take the case of the ‘Akepa and Yellow-breasted Bunting and apply the R-E-D system.

Rarity: The Bunting population is less than the ‘Akepas. Chalk one up for the Buntings.

Endangerment: The ‘Akepa require old growth Koa forests that are almost extinct from the Hawaiian Islands. Also the ‘Akepa has little to no immunity to avian malaria. The Buntings have issues with nesting and human populations which are much less immediate threats than the ‘Akepa so the ‘Akepa wins the “E” round.

Diversity: The ‘Akepa are on a secluded part of an island within an specific elevation. The Buntings are throughout North-eastern Europe and Asia. Diversity is clearly an issue with the ‘Akepa. Chalk one up for the ‘Akepa.

While the Bunting won the “R” round, the ‘Akepas decisively won the “E” and “D” rounds and that’s why the ‘Akepas are considered Endangered while having greater numbers.

Today's Cool Birds:
The calls of the birds of the Hawai'i (Big Island)
Which Hawaiian birds evolved from the House Finch?
finch chart.jpg


 
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Ken Gilliland

Extraordinary
HW3D Exclusive Artist
Today is the final day of my Audubon's Birthday Sale. Thank-you to everybody for supporting my product line and the endangered Tri-colored Blackbird.
Here's a link to the sale page for one last look. I think it's appropriate to end with a Tri-colored Blackbird theme for today...

Quote of the Day:

Only after the last tree has been cut down.
Only after the last river has been poisoned.
Only after the last fish has been caught.
Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.
-- Cree Indian Prophecy

Bird Facts of the Day:

  • To say that Tricolored Blackbirds are social birds might be an understatement. Of all passerines in North America, they form the largest breeding colonies. In the 1930s one colony covered almost 59 acres and contained around 300,000 birds—about as many as are in the entire present-day population.
  • Though they still form large colonies, the number of Tricolored Blackbirds has declined dramatically since the 1930s. Research conducted in the 1930s estimated that there were around 2–3 million Tricolored Blackbirds, but now researchers estimate that there are only around 300,000.
  • Tricolored Blackbirds are not homebodies, they routinely fly up to 3 miles from their breeding sites to find areas rich with food.
  • Parents use a clever tactic to encourage their young to leave the nesting colony. They fly to the nest with food, but instead of giving it to their young immediately, they fly away with it, encouraging the youngsters to follow.

Cool Bird of the Day:

Link to Audubon's Tri-colored Blackbird page
Link to Cornell Labs' Tri-colored Blackbird page

Yes, the thread started with this video and yes, I have it posted every year of my sale, but it's message is something I never get tired of hearing...

 
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