Guatemala : flora and fauna |
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Guatemala is a small country which is home to 19 different ecosystems, ranging from the mangrove forests on both Pacific and Caribbean coasts to the pine forests of the mountainous interior, to the cloud forests at higher altitudes and to the sub tropical jungle at lower altitudes. These ecosystems include 250 species of mammals, 600 species of birds and 200 species of reptiles and amphibians, many species of butterflies and other insects... and more than 8,000 species of plants !
Here are some examples of this diversity.
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The Swainson's Hawk is a common bird of the western plains of North America. It is one of the most highly migratory of all North American hawks, leaving its breeding grounds in the fall to winter in the pampas of South America. In a life span of seven or eight years, a Swainson's hawk might cover as much as 15,000 miles (24,000 km) during its migrations north and south.
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The Swainson's Hawk is a slender raptor slightly smaller in size than a Red-tailed Hawk. However, the Swainson's Hawk has a slightly longer wingspan and slimmer wings than other soaring hawks. A common color pattern for the adult Swainson's Hawk is dark brown plumage with a brown chest and a pale belly. |
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In flight, the Swainson's Hawk holds its wings in a shallow "V" dihedral and teeters in flight a little like a Turkey Vulture. The long, slim, pointed wings are diagnostic when they show the two-toned effect of pale wing linings and dark flight feathers. No other buteo shows such consistently dark flight feathers. |
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| Parts of this text are from Wkipedia |
