Category Amazing Birds

          Hummingbirds are very small birds. The bee hummingbird is the smallest among them. As their name suggests, they are almost the size of a bee. The male may weigh about 1.95 grams! Now, compare the bee hummingbird with an ostrich that weighs about 145 kg.

          Hummingbirds are swift, flitting through the air like a flash. They are generally found in Cuba and the Isle of Pines. The nectar form flower is their main food. However, they also prey on insects occasionally. The colouration of the bird is so brilliant that its iridescence makes it look like a tiny jewel. A lot of research is being done in determining the movement of the bird; for now, we do not know much about it. Ornithologists consider the birds sedentary, as they seem to spend a long time in one place.

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       The angle tern, also known as white tern, fairy tern and white noddy, is an all-white bird. The eyes of the bird are black which gives the bird another worldly appearance.

       The bird is found across the Pacific Ocean from the coasts of Chile and Colombia to New Zealand from china to India, the islands of the Indian ocean and the coast of South Africa. And wherever it stays, it chooses to stay in places with perfect sunshine and coral beaches. However, the bird is occasionally found in Japan, Madagascar, Mexico, and on some islands in the Atlantic Ocean.

       It feeds on ordinary fish and squid. It procures them by swooping down and snatching them from the water surface. The white tern has a wingspan between 76 and 87 centimetres and a long black bill. It was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Andres Sparrman in 1786.

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       Have you heard stories of fairies that fly or can talk on water? These imaginary beings were probably conjured up after man had sighted some exquisite birds like the pheasant-tailed jacana.

       The pleasant-tailed jacana has long pheasant-like tail feathers, which, incidentally give it its name. They are water bids and spend considerable time in water, looking for food. They have long legs with stretched-out toes and claws. These features enable the bird of defy gravity and walk through the leaves of water lilies. In facts, the leaves would submerge in water due to the weight of the bird and the onlooker gets an illusion that the bird is trotting on water. Due to this, the bird is sometimes called ‘fairy walking over water’.

       The pheasant-tailed jacana is a shy bird. It loves to spend time in undisturbed ponds where there is abundant vegetation, such as lotus and water hyacinth.

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       The vermilion flycatcher is a small bird popular among birders. The colour of the bird is predominantly vermilion, from which it derives its name. The bird is also known as the common vermilion flycatcher.

      Its vibrant colour has made the bird a favourite of pet owners. The male birds tend to lose their colouration when they are in cages or in confinement.

      The vermilion flycatcher is probably the most distinctive of the flycatchers on account of its vivid plumage.

       The bird tends to remain perched on an exposed branch for long periods, making short flights in order to catch passing insects.

       Sometimes, the bird re-sorts to eating little fish too! This little bird measures about 13 to 14 centimetres in length and weighs about 11 to 14 grams.    

Pink

       The flamingos have pink colour because of the beta-carotene in their crustacean and plankton diet.   

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       Do you know that some birds can kill humans? Of course, we are not talking about birds from the Jurassic Era! The southern cassowary is probably the world’s most physical dangerous bird. In fact, it has killed many humans with its blade-like claws when provoked.

      The southern cassowary is a black flightless bird. They are tall birds, and can reach about the height of an average human being. They are very secretive; they do not come out of their habitat unlike other flightless birds such as emus and ostriches. They like to live a solitary life and avoid human contact. It is perhaps the largest member of the cassowary family and is considered as the second heaviest bird on earth, its maximum weight estimated as being 8 kg. They are found in Indonesia, New Guinea and northeastern Australia.

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       Found in North America, grouses are a group of birds that resemble chickens. The greater sage-grouse is also known as sage-hen its name derives from Sagebrush Country in the western United States., where it is commonly found. The bird has sacs on its neck that can inflate during courtship.

       A full grown greater sage-grouse has a long, pointed tail and legs with feathers that reach the toes. The male has a yellow patch over each eye, a greyish crest and a white breast. It has a dark brown throat and a black belly. These birds love to stay idle.

       The greater sage-grouse is in decline due to loss of habitat. The bird is recognized as threatened or near threatened by several national and international organizations.

Picture Credit : Google