Matt Buckley of Edge Sculptures has created a number of superb sculptures of birds including the Bald and Golden Eagle ; a Barn and Tawny Owl ; a Penguin and Puffin as well as a Robin and very large Tyrannosaurus Rex !
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Eagle | Barn Owl | Tawny Owl | Penguin | Puffin | Robin
The Tyrannosaurus Rex or T-Rex lived throughout what is now western North America, 68-66 million years ago. It had a massive skull balanced by a long, heavy tail. Relative to its large and powerful hind limbs, the T-Rex had forelimbs that were short but unusually powerful for their size with two clawed digits. The most complete specimen measures up to 12.3 m (40 ft) in length, up to 3.66 meters (12 ft) tall at the hips, and according to most modern estimates 8.4 metric tons (9.3 short tons) to 14 metric tons (15.4 short tons) in weight. The T-Rex is still among the largest known land predators and is estimated to have exerted the strongest bite force among all terrestrial animals.
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.The bald eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on fish, which it swoops down and snatches from the water with its talons. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species, up to 4 m (13 ft) deep, 2.5 m (8.2 ft) wide, and 1 ton in weight. Bald eagles are not actually bald ; the name derives from an older meaning of the word, “white headed”. The adult is mainly brown with a white head and tail ; as weell as a large hooked beak. The sexes are identical in plumage, but females are about 25 percent larger than males.
The Golden Eagle is one of the best-known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere and is the most widely distributed species of eagle. These birds are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their napes. Golden eagles use their agility and speed combined with powerful feet and massive, sharp talons to snatch up a variety of prey, mainly hares, rabbits and ground squirrels. They maintain home ranges or territories that may be as large as 200 km2 (77 sq mi). They build large nests in cliffs and other high places to which they may return for several breeding years.
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl and one of the most widespread of all birds, found almost everywhere in the world. Barn owls specialise in hunting animals on the ground and nearly all of their food consists of small mammals which they locate by sound, their hearing being very acute. They usually mate for life unless one of the pair is killed, when a new pair bond may be formed. Breeding takes place at varying times of year according to the locality, with a clutch, averaging about four eggs, being laid in a nest in a hollow tree, old building or fissure in a cliff. The female does all the incubation, and she and the young chicks are reliant on the male for food. When large numbers of small prey are readily available, barn owl populations can expand rapidly.
The Tawny Owl is a stocky, medium-sized owl commonly found in woodlands. The tawny owl has underparts that are pale with dark streaks, and the upper parts are either rufous, brown or grey. This nocturnal bird of prey hunts a wide variety of prey species, but usually primarily takes small mammals such as rodents. Tawny owls usually hunt by dropping from a perch to seize their prey, which they typically swallow whole.Although many people believe this owl has exceptional night vision, its retina is no more sensitive than a human’s and its asymmetrically placed ears are key to its hunting by giving it excellent directional hearing. Its nocturnal habits and eerie, easily imitated call, have led to a mythical association of the tawny owl with bad luck and death.
Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere with only one species found north of the equator. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have dark and white plumage and flippers for swimming. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid and other forms of sea life which they catch while swimming underwater. They spend roughly half of their lives on land and the other half in the sea.
The European Robin is known simply as the Robin in the British Isles and is about 12.5–14.0 cm (5.0–5.5 inches) in length. The male and female are similar in colouration, with an orange breast and face lined with grey, brown upper-parts and a whitish belly. It is found across Europe, east to Western Siberia and south to North Africa; it is sedentary in most of its range except the far north.
Puffins are any of three species of small birds that are notable for their ability to “fly” under water as well as in the air. Although they are excellent swimmers and divers, their walking appears clumsy. They have a brightly colored beak during the breeding season and feed primarily by diving in the water. Puffins breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among rocks or in burrows in the soil. All puffin species have predominantly black or black and white plumage, a stocky build, and large beaks. They shed the colorful outer parts of their bills after the breeding season, leaving a smaller and duller beak. Their short wings are adapted for swimming with a flying technique under water. In the air, they beat their wings rapidly (up to 400 times per minute) in swift flight, often flying low over the ocean’s surface.
Bird Edge Sculptures
Eagle | Barn Owl | Tawny Owl | Penguin | Puffin | Robin | T-Rex