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14 Fun Facts About Sea Hawks
Smithsonian Mag ^ | 1-31-2014 | Joseph Stromberg

Posted on 02/04/2014 3:53:04 PM PST by Sir Napsalot

1. There's no such thing as a "seahawk."

The Seattle franchise might spell it as one word, but biologists don't. In fact, they don't even use the term to refer to one particular species.

You could use the name sea hawk to refer to an osprey (pictured above, note: not shown) or a skua (itself a term that covers a group of seven related species of seabirds). Both groups share a number of characteristics, including a fish-based diet.

2. The Seattle Seahawks' "seahawk" isn't actually a sea hawk.

Before every home game, the team releases a trained bird named Taima to fly out of the tunnel before the players, lead them onto the field and get the crowd jazzed up for the game. But the nine-year-old bird is an augur hawk (also known as an augur buzzard), native to Africa, not a seafaring species that can properly be called a sea hawk.

(Excerpt) Read more at smithsonianmag.com ...


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1 posted on 02/04/2014 3:53:04 PM PST by Sir Napsalot
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To: Sir Napsalot

An interesting article yet the neglected to mention Steve Largent.


2 posted on 02/04/2014 3:55:31 PM PST by gorush (History repeats itself because human nature is static)
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To: Sir Napsalot
3. Ospreys live on every continent besides Antarctica.

4. Ospreys have reversible toes.​

5. Ospreys have closable nostrils.

6. Ospreys usually mate for life.

7. The osprey species is at least 11 million years old.

8. In the Middle Ages, people believed ospreys had magical powers.

9. Skuas steal much of their food.

10. Some skuas kill other birds, including penguins.

11. Skuas will attack anything that comes near their nests, including humans.​

12. Sometimes, skuas will fake injuries to distract predators.

13. Skuas are attentive parents.

14. Some skuas migrate from the poles to the equator each year.

3 posted on 02/04/2014 3:58:03 PM PST by Sir Napsalot (Pravda + Useful Idiots = CCCP; JournOList + Useful Idiots = DopeyChangey!)
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To: gorush

Miami had a team in the first year of AAFC that eventually left and settled in Baltimore called the Miami Seahawks.


4 posted on 02/04/2014 4:06:14 PM PST by Perdogg (Ted Cruz-Rand Paul 2016)
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To: Sir Napsalot
So, Seattle's "Seahawk" is actually an augur buzzard from Africa? :-))

That does take some of the sting out.

5 posted on 02/04/2014 4:11:34 PM PST by colorado tanker
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To: Sir Napsalot
Taima Is First Hawk Out Of The Tunnel On Game Day!

Video at link.

6 posted on 02/04/2014 4:12:31 PM PST by cynwoody
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To: Sir Napsalot

Sea hawks or no Seahawks, I’m still down two bills cause the damn Broncos didn’t cover


7 posted on 02/04/2014 4:13:28 PM PST by Ivan Mazepa
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To: Sir Napsalot

And.........

Ospreys are some really good suppressors for the .45 ACP.

;-)


8 posted on 02/04/2014 4:16:28 PM PST by RandallFlagg ("I said I never had much use for one. Never said I didn't know how to use it." --Quigley)
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To: Sir Napsalot
We have a few ospreys around here, usually perched on a snag over the salt water.
I used to run a salmon troller in SE Alaska and the bird life on the outer coast is really something. The parasitic jaegers were pretty rough on the seagulls and most other seabirds. I guess they call them Arctic skuas, also. I'm no bird expert but have probably seen more than most avian fanatics.
9 posted on 02/04/2014 4:23:34 PM PST by dainbramaged (Windage and elevation, Mrs. Langdon; windage and elevation.)
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To: Ivan Mazepa
I’m still down two bills cause the damn Broncos didn’t cover

Seahawks D - 9

Broncos O - 8

As a niners fan, I feel your pain.

10 posted on 02/04/2014 4:31:16 PM PST by Doomonyou (Let them eat Lead.)
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To: dainbramaged
The parasitic jaegers were pretty rough on the seagulls and most other seabirds. I guess they call them Arctic skuas, also.

It's definitely confusing. In Britain and other parts of Europe, they call them skuas. But in North America, we call them jaegers. Three species in the Arctic: pomarine, long-tailed, and parasitic jaeger.

And yes, they're very aggressive.

11 posted on 02/04/2014 5:33:16 PM PST by Flycatcher (God speaks to us, through the supernal lightness of birds, in a special type of poetry.)
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To: Sir Napsalot
Another fun fact:

2014 in chinese culture is the year of the Horse.

Doesn't apply to Denver it seems.

12 posted on 02/04/2014 7:11:03 PM PST by QT3.14
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