Category Amazing Birds

           The Philippine eagle is a giant forest raptor, found only in Philippines. Once upon a time, the bird was known as the monkey-eating eagle. Do you know why?

            The people who discovered the bird erroneously thought that the eagle fed exclusively on monkeys. However, it was discovered later that the bird’s diet include colugos, large snakes, monitor lizards and even large birds, such as hornbills.

            The bird is considered as one of the three largest and most powerful eagles in the world. Its nest is enormous and is usually built at the top of a tall tree. It is a predator.

            The Philippine eagle is one of the world’s rarest and certainly among the most critically endangered vertebrate species. Incessant deforestation of the Philippine lowlands has confined this glorious bird to hills and mountains. They are hunted down by man, too

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          Splendid colours, unusual plumage and other distinct body features make some birds unique. The Eurasian hoopoe is such a bird. Its appearance is so striking, especially when its crest is up. When the bird files, it shows off its broad, tropical butterfly-like wings. These birds are good at camouflaging too.

          The Eurasian hoopoe is about 25 to 32 centimetres long. Its wingspan comes to about 50centimetres. A medium-sized bird weighs between 46 and 90 grams. The bird feeds mostly on insects. However, small reptiles, frogs and plant matter such as seeds and berries become part of its diet as well.

         The bird is abundantly found in Europe, Asia, North Africa and northern Sub-Saharan Africa. They move from one place to another seasonally, in response to rain, in some regions such as Sri Lanka and India.

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          Pigeons are very sociable birds. They are one of the oldest domesticated birds in the world. Is to not an exquisite sight to watch hundreds of pigeons landing down together or taking off to the sky in unison? The largest of pigeon species is the Victoria crowned pigeon.

          The Victoria crowned pigeon can grow to the size of a large chicken. Unlike the domesticated encountered in cities or villages. They are found only in New Guinea and a few surrounding islands in dense jungles. It has a blue lace-like crest with white tips and it makes deep whooping sounds. Its name is derived from Queen Victoria, the British monarch who lived in the 10th century. The length of the bird typically is about 73 to 75 centimetres. However, some specimens have been recorded to cross 80 centimetres in length. The bird weighs around 3.5 kg. Due to deforestation, the species is facing the threat of extinction.

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          Toucans are beautiful birds that have large, colourful bills and vibrant feathers. There are over forty different varieties of toucans. Too toucans are the largest of the species. They measure up to 64 centimetres in length.

          A toco toucan has a black body and a white throat. However the most striking feature of the bird is its colourful beak. The bird feeds on insects, frogs, small reptiles, small birds and their eggs and nestlings. Its long bill enables it to reach for things that otherwise are out of reach.

          Toco toucans are commonly found in South America. They inhabit a range of habitats including tropical forests, savannahs and shrub lands.

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          Have you heard of the Inca Civilization that flourished in Peru between the 15th and the 16th centuries? There is a bird that takes its name from this civilization – Inca tern.

          They are named so as their habitat was under the Inca Empire’s rule years ago. Sometimes the bird is found in the southwest coast of Ecuador too.

          The most distinguishing characteristic of the Inca tern is its beautiful white moustache. Both male and female birds have this feature. They prefer to breed on rocky cliffs. They build their nests in a hollow or burrow in the ground. Sometimes, the bird uses the old nest of Humboldt penguins for laying eggs. Typically, an Inca tern lays one two eggs.

          The Inca tern feeds on small fish. It has the ability to spot its prey from the air. It can swoop down into the water and grab its prey with its pointed beak, all in a matter of seconds. The bird is also known for its distinctive call, which resembles the mew of a cat.

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          The wild is vibrant with colourful birds. Their splendorous hues, add vitality to the green canvas of nature. The Luzon bleeding-heart is an amazing bird that astonishes us with its brilliant colours.

          The bird has a bold-like mark on its breast extending down the belly. The colouration creates the illusion of blood oozing down from its breast.

          At the first glance, the bird looks slate grey in colour. However, it can appear to be purple, royal blue or bottle green because of the iridescence of the feathers. The colour will vary further depending on the lighting conditions.

          The Luzon bleeding-heart is a shy and secretive bird. It is very quiet and keeps to the ground. It does not leave the ground except for nesting.

          Endemic to the southern parts of the large island of Luzon, the bird is found, sometimes, in the neighbouring small Polillo Islands in Philippines too.

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          The national bird of Malaysia is a fellow with a helmet – the rhinoceros hornbill. Its helmet is not used to protect it from head injuries, but rather to make its horns heard around the forest.

          The rhinoceros hornbill is a large forest hornbill and it gets its name from the casque, a helmet like structure on its bill that resembles a rhino’s horn. The casque is hollow and acts as a resonating chamber, amplifying the bird’s call.

          Rhinoceros hornbills have a single partner throughout their life. Looks like they believe in marriage! They nest in huge trees with cavities and are found in mountain forests uptio1400 metres above the sea level. They are found in Borneo, Sumatra, Java, the Malay Peninsula, Singapore and southern Thailand.

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          The males of the ribbon tailed astrapia carry their long white tail feathers wherever they fly just like a jet plane leaves a smoky white trail in the sky. The male ribbon tailed astrapia has the longest tail feathers in relation to the size of its body. A medium sized bird is around 32 cm long and its tail measures up-to 1m.

          The females appear rather dull with brown plumage in comparison to the males who have glossy reddish brown feathers and white tail feathers. The tail feathers do not provide any survival aid. Often, it gets tangled on the braches when the birds swing into action. The tails are rather used to attract females for mating.

          The female ribbon tailed astrapia enjoy the privilege of choosing their partner, a compensation for their dull appearance indeed! Also known as Shaw Mayer’s astrapia, this bird belongs to the bird-of-paradise species. It was discovered recently in Papa New Guinea.

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          The shoebill is unique because taxonomists find it hard to classify it into any of the existing groups.

          The bird does not have any obvious connections to any other bird species, living or extinct. The giant of a bird is endemic to Africa and is mostly found in the northeastern swamps. A full grown shoebill is usually 1-1.4 m tall with a wingspan of 2.3-2.6 m. they are named after their beaks which look like a shoe.

          They are skilled hunters and lungfish is their preferred prey. Young shoebills are often eaten up by crocodiles. Ironically, young crocodiles are sometimes eaten up by shoebills though they prefer fish. Because of its huge size and colour, shoebills are sometimes compared to Hippogriff, a mythical creature that appears in J K Rowling’s Harry Potter series. It doesn’t have four legs, though!

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          How would it look if a bird has claws on its wings? Wing claws were a common feature of prehistoric birds. Hoatzins have managed to maintain their wing claws even after generations of evolution. Baby hoatzins are born with wing claws that are shed as they mature.

          Flying is a difficult task for hoatzins and walking impossible. Even a 300m long flight would be a huge achievement for them. They usually prefer to live in swamps and waterside homes though they cannot swim well. However, young hoatzins can jump into water and swim when faced with danger. Their maroon eyes pop out of their blue, featherless skin around their head and their brown plumage is largely kempt.

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