BioBrevia: Going Deep

Lake Erie's east basin

Map: CHS/NOAA

I live on the north shore of Lake Erie. I watch its water levels rise and fall, its storms rage and subside. I boat hundreds of kilometres on its surface in the course of a year. I watch the migratory birds, butterflies and dragonflies swarm along Long Point every spring and fall. I swim on its wonderful sandy beaches. I'm intrigued by all aspects of Lake's Erie's natural history and geography. To that end, I've enjoyed this set of bathymetry maps from the Canadian Hydrographic Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)  National Geophysical Data Center's Marine Geology and Geophysics Division, and the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

BioBrevia: National Birds of the World

Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin)

Photo: Philina English

Canadian Geographic has put together a map showing some national birds from around the world. A surprising number of countries, including Canada, don't have officially recognized national birds, but are in the process of selecting one. Unfortunately, the map doesn't stick to the conventional names that most of us are used to. It has the United States' bird labelled as American bald eagle, which isn't a real species name; simply, Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is correct. Most birders will know Cuba's national bird, not as the tocororo, but as the Cuban Trogon (Priotelus temnurus), but only the former name is given. And there are no scientific names with which to cross-reference the other obscure local or colloquial names like cahow (Bermuda Petrel [Pterodroma cahow]) or Canje pheasant (Hoatzin [Opisthocomus hoazin]). It's an interesting map, nonetheless.