Bird Trivia #1

• 453 bird species have been seen in Kansas.

• Ring-necked pheasants were introduced in Kansas in the 1880's, having been brought to the United States from Asia.

• The mallard is the most common duck in Kansas.

• Starlings and blackbirds feed on grain, traveling up to 30 miles from their roost in search of food each day.

• Two types of prairie chickens are found in Kansas.  Kansas has the largest known population in the world of Greater Prairie Chickens and more Lesser Prairie Chickens than any other state in the United States.

• The Western Meadowlark is official state bird of Kansas.

• Owls have large fixed eyes so the entire head of an owl swivels as the owl looks around or behind itself.

• During migration, 90% of the world's population of certain shorebird species pass through Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area and/or Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Kansas.

• Just one winter roost of blackbirds in Kansas can hold up to 10 million birds.

• According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, whooping cranes were probably always rare, with an estimated population of 500 to 700 whooping cranes in 1870.  Today, there are 411 whooping cranes in North America, including 266 birds found in the wild.