Canadian Endangered Birds T-Shirts - The Shirts |
Tuesday Apr. 8 2008 |
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These locally designed and manufactured t-shirts are available at all Plum locations and on our web store. Two dollars of the purchase price of each Limited Edition Canadian Endangered Species Shirts will be donated to the Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada.
 back |
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The Henslow’s Sparrow is a secretive ground nesting bird that is most often detected by its song, an insect-like “tsi-lik”. This small sparrow breeds only in large, flat fields with no woody plants and with tall, dense grasses. It prefers to run rather than fly from its threats. It can be distinguished from other sparrows by its pale olive green head and hind neck, chestnut wings, and brown and black streaked back. Spending its summers breeding in southern Ontario and its winters in the U.S. states bordering the Gulf of Mexico and in south-eastern states on the Atlantic Coast, this endangered sparrow has suffered extensive breeding habitat loss because of changes in farming practices and urbanization.
The Northern Spotted Owl is the most endangered bird in Canada. It is found exclusively within the temperate coniferous forests of western North America, where it depends on unfragmented old-growth forests to roost, nest and feed. It is a medium-sized, round-headed owl that has brown, buff and white colouring. Spotted Owls largely prey upon flying squirrels, deer mice, and other small mammals. Although the Spotted Owl was formerly abundant, it has become an endangered species in both the U.S. and Canada, primarily because of habitat loss. The situation is especially dire in Canada, where fewer than 11 breeding pairs of the Northern Spotted Owl remain, all of which live in southwest British Columbia.
The Peregrine Falcon has been the favoured raptor of falconers for hundreds of years. This majestic bird of prey, the size of a large crow, is dark coloured with long pointed wings that enable rapid flight and make the Peregrine Falcon the fastest of all raptors reaching diving speeds up to 300km per hour. Living mostly along mountain ranges, river valleys and coastlines, the Peregrine Falcon or “Duck Hawk” is increasingly found in cities, where tall buildings simulate rugged topography and provide the “cliff face” nesting sites these raptors need to breed. This falcon began to decline in North America as a result of the liberal use of DDT that began in the mid-1940’s. The peregrine was declared an endangered species in Canada in 1977. As a result of successful reintroduction programmes and a ban on the use of DDT, their numbers are now steadily increasing.
The Roseate Tern is an endangered bird found along coasts around the world but in Canada is limited to only a few places in the East. At last count, it was estimated that there are fewer than 140 breeding pairs in Canada. Its long, deeply forked tail feathers were in demand in the 1890s for hats but the threats today include trapping, oil spills and losses in nesting habitat along beaches and shorelines. Roseate terns live in large colonies with other terns as a way to fend off predators such as gulls and crows. They feed on small fish and plunge deep into the water to catch their prey, “flying” short distances under water. After breeding in Canada, the terns then take a few weeks to return to their winter home off the coasts of South America. Based on past successes to manage bird colonies, scientists are optimistic that this bird will recover.