[Length 18 in. Wingspan 31 in.]

This drake Common Pochard was photographed in a small pond on the grounds of the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, Japan. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: January 1996)

[Length 18 in. Wingspan 31 in.]

This female Common Pochard was photographed at St. James Park, London, England, Great Britain. Photo taken with a Nikkor EDAF 300 f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: April 2002)

[Length 18 in. Wingspan 31 in.]

This drake Common Pochard was photographed at St. James Park, London, England, Great Britain. Photo taken with a Nikkor EDAF 300 f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: April 2002)

[Length 21.5 in. Wingspan 34 in.]

This male Red-crested Pochard was photographed at St. James Park, London, England, Great Britain. It is presumed to be part of the captive waterfowl collection there. Photo taken with a Nikkor EDAF 300 f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: April 2002)

[Length 7.75 in. Wingspan 17 in.]

The Common Poorwill is the only bird known to go into an extended state of torpor (like hibernation) so it can survive several weeks or months without eating. During the winter when food is scarce, it can slow its metabolic rate to lower its body temperature as low as an amazing 41° Fahrenheit, and reduce its oxygen consumption by more than 90%! Native Americans of the Hopi tribe were probably aware of the this behavior, as the Hopi word for the bird, hölchko, means "The Sleeping One". This Common Poorwill was photographed at Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona, USA. Photo taken (by flashlight!) with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Ektachrome 200 film. (Date: May 1985)

[Length 14 in. Wingspan ?? in.]

This Common Potoo was photographed at Metropolitan Park, Panama City, Panama. Photo taken with a AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED lens (EFL=420mm) on a Nikon D300 camera. (Date: August 6, 2011)

[Length 15 in. Wingspan 25 in.]

Greater Prairie-Chickens once bred throughout the vast prairies of North America. Habitat loss has drastically reduced their populations, and one must seek them out at the few remaining grassland areas. An isolated population exists in central-eastern Texas known as "Attwater's" Greater Prairie-Chicken. By 2003 there were less than 50 of these birds in the wild. Captive breeding and re-introduction programs have been implemented to save the population, but progress has been very slow. Today, the only extant population is at the inland Attwater's Prairie-Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, where captive bred birds have been re-introduced into the wild. However, this "Attwater's" Greater Prairie Chicken was photographed just before dawn along FM 2040 slightly north of Aransas NWR, Texas, USA. It may well have been one of the last "wild" birds left in its historic coastal breeding range. Photo taken through a car windshield (and illuminated mostly by the car's headlights!) with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Ektachrome 200 film. (Date: December 1979)

[Length 17 in. Wingspan 28 in.]

Greater Prairie-Chickens once bred throughout the vast prairies of North America. Habitat loss has drastically reduced their populations, and one must seek them out at the few remaining grassland areas. It is worth the effort to do so during the early spring, for the courting ritual of the males is spectacular, to say the least. Each male defends a territory into which he hopes to lure a female by fluffing his feathers, cocking his tale, stomping his feet, and singing a loud thrumming song that sounds like air blown across the top of a soda bottle. This male "Northern" Greater Prairie-Chicken was photographed at the Nature Conservancy's Bluestem Prairie unit in western Minnesota, USA. Photo taken with a 180 mm f2.8 EDAF Nikkor lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: May 1992)

[Length 16 in. Wingspan 25 in.]

This displaying male Lesser Prairie-Chicken was photographed at the West Lek Blind, Cimarron National Grasslands, Kansas, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens (EFL=450mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: May 7, 2006)