Unknown bird photographed near fabled "Paradise Road" in Wisconsin

Oh maybe the title was alittle of a stretch but i have no clue what this bird is and it looked much larger than a stork. It was taller than a person and reminded me of a ostridge more than a common crane or stork seen here in Wisconsin. What is it?



it was witnessed near the supposed haunted paradise rd, and was just sitting in a empty corn field in the middle of nowhere.

Mod Edit: Removed over-sized image and added link (Re-formatted back to original).
[edit on 20-7-2009 by Gemwolf]

Mod Edit: Replaced "Prehistoric" with "Unknown" in title.

[edit on 20-7-2009 by Gemwolf]

[edit on 20-7-2009 by Gemwolf]

I don't know what kind of bird that is, but it doesn't look "prehistoric" to me. Looks to be an immature crane of some sort. I'm pretty sure a bird expert could ID it. Any links to the article where the pic is from?

From these British eyes, it looks like a heron. I don't know if you have them over there, but it definitely has the essence of heron.

It is an emu, kinda like a small ostrage (sp). I had one on the farm down in Missouri. They are raised for their meat, its kinda like chicken. This one must have wandered off....

I'd put my money on it being a Sandhill Crane.

WIKI

reply to post by ken10


you beat me to it Ken. My guess as well, possibly a juvenile. Would be good to have a better idea of the size of it.

Maybe the OP could edit the title as it is misleading and you know it.

Originally posted by ken10
I'd put my money on it being a Sandhill Crane.

WIKI

We get sandhills here quite a bit A HUGE nest of them out by Pleasure Lake (a lake that is perpetually no more than 2 feet deep, but pretty large in surface area).

It is an Emu. We had a few emu's on our deer lease when we bought it. Being a large, 2 legged bird, the deer were scared off for a few years from them. We donated them to a group that has emu's around here.

A minor aside...emu is not very good eating. Tough, tough meat.

yep looks like the same sandhill cranes in the farmers feild behind my house. Neat looking birds but there calls between two of them drive me crazy,

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan



The bird in the image looks too skinny in the midsection for an Emu, IMO. And I agree Emu isn't the greatest eating, dark meat and kinda on the oily side.

reply to post by hiii_98


KEN10 and Argentus are so very right.
Check out this site for a great match of your photo:

naturestockshots.com...

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan


We get sandhills here quite a bit A HUGE nest of them out by Pleasure Lake (a lake that is perpetually no more than 2 feet deep, but pretty large in surface area).

It is an Emu. We had a few emu's on our deer lease when we bought it. Being a large, 2 legged bird, the deer were scared off for a few years from them. We donated them to a group that has emu's around here.

A minor aside...emu is not very good eating. Tough, tough meat.

My dogs would probably equate an Emu to a huge Chicken, and attempt to capture it for dinner, or maybe possibly play time lol.

An Emu was my first guess as well in regards to the bird in this photograph.

i was expecting a pterodactyl lol.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


I have to agree. Emu. there used to be several farms in my area raising them and I was happy to visit them on occasion. They are indeed very good eating, unfortunately in my neck of the woods people are not too adventurous culinarily speaking so all those farms stopped raising them. However....to my eye, the picture in the OP contains an emu.

Originally posted by Tamale_214
reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

 

I have to agree. Emu. there used to be several farms in my area raising them and I was happy to visit them on occasion. They are indeed very good eating, unfortunately in my neck of the woods people are not too adventurous culinarily speaking so all those farms stopped raising them. However....to my eye, the picture in the OP contains an emu.

I am an Australian - WE HAVE EMUS - they are on our national crest - THIS IS NOT AN EMU - one more time for the slower amongst you - THIS IS NOT AN EMU.

This bird is either a stork or crane.

EMU = NO....

Whooping Crane?

Link

Mod Edit: Fixed link.


[edit on 20-7-2009 by Gemwolf]

Originally posted by SvenTheBerserK
Maybe the OP could edit the title as it is misleading and you know it.

how? The reason i posted is the fabled myth is that this location has "prehistoric birds" in it. So i took a photo of one of these supposed prehistoric birds and posted it. I'm myself definatly leaning towards the sandhill crane theory. Its just the size of this thing was enormous, not sure if the picture does it justice. Either way the photo may help dispel some of the mistaken identity rumors.

www.strangeusa.com...

i found this photo online, looks similiar



[edit on 20-7-2009 by hiii_98]

[edit on 7/20/2009 by frey51]

[edit on 7/20/2009 by frey51]

I have to agree. The title of the thread is a bit misleading...

Either way, it's definitely not an Emu. The build is completely different.

Emu images

It could perhaps be a juvenile Whooping Crane, but it's more likely to be a young Sandhill Crane. The dark patch on the head is clearly visible.

thanks for the title change MOD

sorry for the mislead.