Worlds bird creatures

Saturday 26 April 2014

Albatross

Perhaps best-known for its being cursed by sailors as a harbinger of bad luck, this bird of the world's southern oceans spends long periods at sea, covering several thousand kilometers on a single foraging trip, and comes to shore seasonally to nest. It is long-lived, with an estimated life-span of 30-40 years, and is one of sixteen albatross species identified as globally threatened in recent years, in large part due to drowning on fishery longlines Albatrosses range in length from 50 to 125 cm (20 to 50 in). Plumage varies from white through dark gray or gray-brown, with combinations of all three being common. The large hooked bill, covered with horny plates, has characteristically prominent tubular nostrils. The three front toes are webbed, and the rear toe may be absent or vestigial. Albatrosses live on land only during the breeding season, usually nesting in colonies on the shores of remote oceanic islands. Courtship displays are highly elaborate. Incubation of a single large white egg lasts two to three months.
» Population: 15,000 breeding pairs
» Location: Southern oceans
» Wingspan: 9 feet
» Weight: 20 pounds
» Diet: Squid & fish
» Nests: Cones of mud and grass
» Appearance: Adult has white head and body, upper wing mostly brown black with an area of white at the leading edge.

Shearwaters

There is just something about procellarids, the shearwaters and petrels. Perhaps it is their gliding flight over the waves, covering huge distances without apparent effort. Perhaps it is the fact that we must venture away from our land habitat into the open ocean to observe them, and therefore rarely see them well from a constantly moving boat. Perhaps it is awe for their incredible transequatorial migrations, knowing that a bird seen in the Gulf of Alaska was nesting in the Southern Hemisphere just a month or so before.
» Sexes similar
» Pelagic bird only coming ashore to breed
» Medium-size shearwater
» Brown upperparts
» White underparts
» Dark undertail coverts
» Long tail
» Underwings white with dark border
» Rapid wingbeats

Petrels

Name given to various ocean birds belonging, like the albatross and shearwater , to the order of tube nosed swimmers. Many petrels fly over the waves skinning closely that they give the appearance of walking on the water. Being tireless fliers by day, at night they rest on the water; many return to land only to breed

» Sexes similar
» Pelagic bird only coming ashore to breed
» Small-sized storm-petrel
» Dark bill with tube on top
» Dark plumage
» Dark rump
» Wedge-shaped tail
» Deep, rapid wingbeats

Herons

Common from the Alaskan coast through to the Galapagos Islands, Great Blue Herons are the largest member of the heron family found in North America. At full height they reach over 3 feet and have a wing span of over 70 inches. Its head is white with a broad black stripe on either side that extends into long narrow feathers at the back of its head. The body is a dark grayish-blue with streaked underparts. During the breeding season the head, lower neck and back are ornated with long, slender plumes. The extraordinary long, thin legs are orange/yellow. Birdwatchers find this heron easy to identify even in silhouette as it will stand with its head hunched upon its shoulders or an alertly extended neck. In flight the neck is folded into the shoulders and the legs held stiffly behind while the huge wings dip and rise in a slow, deep wingbeat.
» Length: 38 inches Wingspan: 70 inches
» Sexes similar
» Huge long-legged long-necked wader
» Usually holds neck in an "S" curve at rest and in flight
» Long, thick, yellow bill
Adult:
» White crown and face
» Black plume extending from above and behind eye to beyond back of head » Brownish-buff neck with black-bordered » white stripe down center of foreneck
» Blue-gray back, wings and belly
» Black shoulder
» Shaggy neck and back plumes in alternate plumage

Ibises

Ibises range in size from 18 to 40 inches head to tail length with a corresponding wingspan of 36 to 38 inches. They have long, spindly legs, long necks and long, slender down-curved bills. The feet are partly webbed and the wings are long and broad.In sustained flight head and neck are stretched forward, and slow flapping wing beats alternate with short glides. Each species is conspicuously patterned and some are entirely black, white, or red. The plumage of both sexes is similar in all species, but adults and young often differ in the color of the legs bill or face skin.

» Nomadic.
» Has no feathers on head, neck or back.
» Skin on head and throat is black. Skin on back is white.
» Breast and underside are white, with a black tail and bill.
» Breed in colonies often mixed and associated with spoonbills.
» Build their nests in secluded areas on trampled reed beds.
» They do not commence breeding until their breeding grounds are flooded to usually at least 1m.

Storks

Storks have a dignified appearance, standing graceful and tall or marching deliberately on slender legs. Nature has a good purpose for those long legs, of course: they allow the stork to take long strides and wade into deep water or tall grasses and reeds in search of food. A long neck allows them to stretch out to capture their prey. Storks are also beautiful in flight. They fly mostly by soaring on warm air currents, with long, broad wings that only flap occasionally. They stretch their necks out and dangle their legs behind them as they fly, making them recognizable even from far away. Some storks have bare patches on their heads and necks. In the scavenger species, this is thought to prevent feathers from getting stuck together with blood or mud, but the bare places are also used to impress, becoming more brightly colored during breeding season. Some storks also use their feathers in displays, like the woolly-necked stork Ciconia episcopus that has feathers to puff out around its throat like a ruffed collar.
» Description: Large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds; long, bare throat sac
» Size: 150 cm (59 in)
» Weight: Up to 9 kg (20 lbs)
» Diet: Insects, baby crocodiles, flamingos, small mammals, fish and carrion
» Life span: Up to 20 years in zoos; wild life span not known
» Habitat: Marshes, savannas and fields.

Friday 25 April 2014

Wrens

Wrens are small, active birds, basically brown in color, that often perch with their tails held straight up. They forage on or just above the ground in thick brush, forest understory or marsh vegetation. Wrens belong to Family Troglodytidae, with about 70 species in the New World, most of them in the tropics. Only one species lives in the Old World: the winter wren, which likely spread from Alaska to Siberia and extended its range westward until, eons in the past, it reached Britain and Iceland. Some wrens nest in cavities; others build roofed structures out of plant matter. The males of several species build "dummy" nests, preliminary nests placed in tree cavities, woodpecker holes and nest boxes, and less frequently in odd enclosed spaces such as tin cans, pockets of clothing hung outdoors, hats, boots, flower pots and drainpipes. Later, a female will choose one of the male's dummy nests, finish its construction, and lay eggs in it. Wrens often pester other birds and evict them from nest cavities, puncturing their eggs or pecking their young to death. They destroy nests in cavities and in the open; they also wreck other wrens' nests. Why such belligerence? Does an abundance of empty nests discourage predators from looking further and finding an active wren's nest? Or does killing its rivals' offspring reduce pressures on prey populations, making it easier for a wren to feed its own young?

Wrens eat mainly insects and spiders. A few species will also feed on berries and seeds. Owls, small hawks and house cats take adult wrens; raccoons, opossums, minks, weasels, mice, squirrels, woodpeckers and snakes raid wrens' nests. Some wrens migrate southward in winter, while other species remain as permanent residents on their breeding range. Five species are found in Pennsylvania.
» Small buffy songbird.
» Tail often held upward.
» Rusty underparts.
» White eyestripe.
» Loud.
» Size: 12-14 cm (5-6 in)
» Wing span: 29 cm (11 in)
» Weight: 18-22 g (0.64-0.78 ounces)
» Sexes look alike; male slightly larger

Woodpecker

Woodpeckers and their relatives are in the Picidae family. Family members that have been spotted in North America include woodpeckers, flickers, sapsuckers and even a Wryneck! These birds are especially adapted for finding their meals on trunks of trees. Their skulls are extra thick so they are not injured by their constant pecking on trees, while their beaks are sharpened into points to peck holes and reach inside to get their food. Additionally many times there are small feathers over their nostrils so they do not accidently inhale wood chips. Along with long beaks, members of this bird family usually have long long tongues with a tiny barb at the end, allowing them to grab onto insects in their never-ending quest for food.Look for these bird to have stout and stiff tails that help prop them up as they cling to tree trunks and peck away.
» There are about 200 species of woodpecker, ranging from the tiny tropical piculets to the big imperial woodpecker.
» Woodpeckers have short legs and strong claws for clinging to tree trunks, while unusually stiff tail feathers serve as props when climbing.
» Length: 10 inches
» Wing Span: 16 inches
» Mating season: Spring and summer. Red-bellied woodpeckers usually nest 2 or 3 times during a season.

Weaver finches

Weaver bird, name for the Ploceidae, a family of Old World seed-eating birds closely resembling finches (hence the alternate name weaver finch). It includes a number of so-called goldfinches and waxbill finches that are actually weaver birds, rather than true finches of the family Fringillidae. The weavers are named for the highly complex woven nests built by many species, though others build only crude nests, and the parasitic widow weavers build no nests at all. Most weavers are sedentary, noisy, gregarious, and polygynous, with elaborate courtship rituals. The weaver group is divided into the buffalo, sparrow, typical, and widow weavers. The African buffalo weavers are black-and-brown birds 8 to 10 in. (20.3–25.4 cm) long, that travel in small flocks and build bulky compartmented nests with separate chambers for two or more pairs. Of the 35 sparrow weavers the best known, and in fact one of the most widely distributed and familiar small birds in the world, is the English sparrow native to Europe, W Asia, and N Africa. It is the most successful town and city dweller among birds, and has followed European civilization wherever it has gone; it was introduced to North America in 1852. As common in Asia is the Eurasian tree sparrow (also introduced in the United States), a nuisance in rice fields and sold in great quantities for food. These birds build untidy domed nests with side entrances. Most specialized of the sparrow weavers is the social weaver of Africa, famous for its apartment-house nest, in which 100 to 300 pairs have separate flask-shaped chambers entered by tubes at the bottom. They build these structures, which may be 10 ft (3 m) high and 15 ft (4.5 m) across, high in a sturdy tree, beginning with a roof of straw thatch. Of the 100 or more African and Asian typical weavers, the small quelea, only 5 in. (12.7 cm) long, sometimes causes huge crop losses in Africa by feeding on grain in flocks numbering as many as one million birds. The African widow weavers (named for the long, drooping black tail plumes of the breeding male), or whydahs, are notable for their selective parasitic nesting habits; they lay their eggs in the nests of waxbills, and their eggs are white, as are those of the waxbill, rather than spotted, as are those of all other weavers. Many of the weaver family are kept as cage birds, especially the colorful waxbills (e.g., the Java sparrow, mannikin, munia, grenadier, cutthroat, and cordon-bleu, locust, parrot, Gouldian, and fire finches). Weaver birds are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Passeriformes.


» HABITAT AND RANGE:worldwide, except Australia and Pacific Islands, in woods and scrub
» DESCRIPTION:11-19 cm; bill conical, sharply pointed; wide variety of plumages with various streaking and/or red or yellow predominating; male often more colorful than female;
» FOOD:feed on seeds, buds and fruits and some insects
» BREEDING:unusual or unpredictable breeding seasons; most spp. gregarious and many nomadic; monogamous; 2-7 eggs; biparental care.

Waxwings

The Cedar Waxwing is one of the most frugivorous birds in North America. Many aspects of its life, from its nomadic habits to its late breeding season, may be traced to its dependence upon fruit. The name "waxwing" comes from the waxy red appendages found in variable numbers on the tips of the secondaries of some birds. The exact function of these tips is not known, but they may serve a signaling function in mate selection. Cedar Waxwings with orange instead of yellow tail tips began appearing in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada beginning in the 1960s. The orange color is the result of a red pigment picked up from the berries of an introduced species of honeysuckle. If a waxwing eats the berries while it is growing a tail feather, the tip of the feather will be orange. The Cedar Waxwing is one of the few temperate dwelling birds that specializes in eating fruit. It can survive on fruit alone for several months. Unlike many birds that regurgitate seeds from fruit they eat, the Cedar Waxwing defecates fruit seeds. The Cedar Waxwing is vulnerable to alcohol intoxication and death after eating fermented fruit.
» Medium-sized songbird.
» Gray-brown overall.
» Crest on top of head.
» Black mask edged in white.
» Yellow tip to tail; may be orange.
» Size: 14-17 cm (6-7 in)
» Wing span: 22-30 cm (9-12 in)
» Weight: 32 g (1.13 ounces)
» Sexes nearly alike