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Category Birds

Which are the biggest birds?

The African ostrich can grow up to 2.5 metres tall, which is much taller than the average man. The huge wandering albatross has the largest wingspan in the world, at up to three metres. Its long, pointed wings make it an excellent glider.

Amazing! There are around 9,000 different kinds of birds, in many colours, shapes and sizes. They live all over world, in steamy jungles, icy regions, by the sea, in towns, and some move from one area to another when they migrate.

Is it true? The first bird dates back to dinosaur times.

Yes. Archaeopteryx is the earliest bird-like creature that we know of. It lived 150 million years ago. It had a head like a reptile, sharp teeth, a long tail and feathered wings.

What are birds?

Birds all have two legs, two wings, a beak, they lay eggs and they are the only animals those have feathers. But not all birds can fly, and not all flying animals are birds.

Which are the smallest birds?

Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in world. The bee hummingbird of Cuba is no bigger than a bumblebee! Hummingbirds can flap their wings at up to 90 beats per second. They get their name from the humming sound their wings make.

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What is a bird of prey?

Birds of prey catch and eat other animals. They are excellent hunters, with strong hooked beaks and sharp claws called talons, which they use to kill and tear at prey.

Why are birds of prey good hunters?

The eyes of a bird of prey are different from other birds’ eyes. They’re very big, and face forwards so they can judge detail and distance well. A buzzard’s eyes are as big as yours!

Amazing! Eagles can catch animals much bigger and heavier than themselves. The harpy eagle which lives in South American jungles is the biggest eagle of all. It has huge feet which it uses for grabbing and crushing monkeys and other animals.

Is it true? Some birds eat eggs.

Yes. The Egyptian vulture uses stones to break into its favourite food, ostrich eggs. Birds can have very fussy tastes. Bat hawks, for example, only eat bats. Some eagles eat fish, while others prefer snakes.

How do ospreys hunt?

Ospreys fly high above the water looking for fish. When they spot one, they dive and enter the water feet-first to catch it. Their toes have tiny sharp spikes for gripping slippery fish.

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What does the Tailorbird use to stitch its nest?

Common tailorbirds are small songbirds found in many parts of Asia. They are less than 15 cm long and have greenish upper parts and a chestnut-coloured patch on the head. Their pointed tail is usually held upright and they keep flitting between branches. And yes, they get their name for the incredible nests they build, er… stitch.

A stitch in time…

While some species use nests for roosting, most build and use their nests for laying eggs and raising their young ones. And it’s for the latter that the tailorbird too uses its nest. But it’s no ordinary nest! It’s linked to a craft and no two nests may look the same. The nest is fashioned out of leaves that are broad and strong enough to support and safeguard the eggs and the chicks. With its needle-like beak, the bird punches tiny holes along the edges of the chosen leaves that are still attached to the tree branch. The holes are so tiny that they do not affect the leaf in any way. In fact, the leaves remain green and help with camouflage. The bird then carefully stitches together the edges of these leaves using plant fibre or insect silk – just like humans work with a needle and thread! When the leaves are stitched, they resemble a cup. Once the cup is ready, the bird then cushions it inside using feathers, fur, grass, cotton, etc. if a thread or leaf is damaged mid-way, efforts are taken to repair the nest. However, if it’s beyond repair, it’s abandoned and a new one is stitched. The putting together of the nest is also a gentle lesson for us on sharing of work – while the female stitches the nest, the male brings in the supplies.

 

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Which are the flightless birds related to pigeon, evolved in Mauritius and went extinct a few centuries ago?

Dodos were flightless birds, related to pigeons. They evolved on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.

The dodo, bigger than a turkey, weighed about 23 kg (about 50 pounds). It had blue-gray plumage, a big head, a 23-cm (9-inch) blackish bill with reddish sheath forming the hooked tip, small useless wings, stout yellow legs, and a tuft of curly feathers high on its rear end. 

The dodo’s prominent role in bringing attention to the extinction of species, coupled with advances in genetics that could allow for its resurrection (de-extinction), have led scientists to consider the possibility of bringing the dodo back. The sequencing of the dodo genome by geneticists in 2016 reinvigorated this discussion as well as the ethical debate of using de-extinction techniques to alter natural history.

 

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Which island nation’s people are called kiwis, named after their national bird?

The name derives from the kiwi, a native flightless bird, which is a national symbol of New Zealand. Until the First World War, the kiwi represented the country and not the people; however, by 1917, New Zealanders were also being called “Kiwis”, supplanting other nicknames.

The kiwi has long had a special significance for the indigenous M?ori people, who used its skin to make feather cloaks for chiefs. The bird first came to European attention in 1811 when a skin ended up in the hands of a British Museum zoologist, George Shaw, who classified it as a type of penguin and portrayed it as standing upright. After early sightings by Europeans the kiwi was regarded as a curiosity; in 1835 the missionary William Yate described it as “the most remarkable and curious bird in New Zealand”.

In the early 1900s cartoonists began to use the kiwi as a representation of New Zealand. For example, in a 1904 New Zealand Free Lance cartoon a plucky kiwi is shown growing to a moa after a rugby victory of 9–3 over a British team. The next year, The Westminster Gazette printed a cartoon of a kiwi and a kangaroo (representing Australia) going off to a colonial conference. Trevor Lloyd, who worked for The New Zealand Herald, also used a kiwi to represent the All Blacks rugby team, but he more often drew a moa. Other symbols for New Zealand at this time included the silver fern, a small boy and a young lion cub. But until the First World War the kiwi was used as a symbol of the nation rather than the people of New Zealand.

 

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Why are bird bones hollow?

Migration can be a long and hard journey, and the bigger the bird, the harder it seems the journey would be as the bird has to keep its heavy body flying such a distance.

However, birds have a unique bone structure that makes flying and the rigors of migration easier for them — hollow bones!

A human bone is dense and filled with bone marrow. However, a bird bone is hollow and filled with air. It also has some cross-sections of bone, called struts, that make the bone strong and help birds withstand taking off, flying and landing.

According to Matt Wedel of the University of California Berkeley, as a baby bird grows, the air sacs that make up its lungs “invade” its bones, forming a bunch of tiny hollows. The air sacs stay attached to these hollows for a bird’s life. This, along with a forward-and-backward arrangement of air sacs, helps give birds a little-known superpower: They can take in oxygen while both inhaling and exhaling.

 

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In one of Ravi Varma’s most popular paintings, Damayanthi, the Princess of Vidharbha, is depicted with which bird?

Ramya Krishnan who is best known for her character of Shivagami in the Baahubali franchise was recreated as ‘Damayanti’ who is intently listening to the swam recount tales of Nala. 

Title ‘Hamsa Damayanti’, Ravi Varma painted this in 1899, the portrait has been inspired from a sub-plot in the epic Mahabharata about Damayanti and the king of Nishada, Nala. 

It is said that smitten by her beauty, Nala sent over a swan who sings praises about the king in order to make Damayanti fall in love with him.

It’s also interesting that the mode of communication between between Damayanti and Nala is a swan, who mates for life. Damayanti and Nala are also known for their unwavering loyalty towards each other no matter what.

 

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Name the iconic director of the movie “The Birds”.

The Birds is a 1963 American natural horror-thriller film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Loosely based on the 1952 story of the same name by Daphne du Maurier, it focuses on a series of sudden and unexplained violent bird attacks on the people of Bodega Bay, California, over the course of a few days.

In 2016, The Birds was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the United States Library of Congress, and selected for preservation in its National Film Registry.

The majority of the birds seen in the film are real, although it is estimated that more than $200,000 was spent on the creation of mechanical birds for the film. Ray Berwick was in charge of the live birds used in the production, training and catching many of them himself. The gulls were caught in the San Francisco garbage dump and the sparrows were caught by John “Bud” Cardos. However, the captured sparrows had to be used alongside birds from pet shops to achieve full effect in the scene where they invade the house.

 

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In the epic “The Ramayana”, which bird informs Rama about Sita’s abduction?

In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Jatayu is a divine bird and the younger son of Aruna. His brother, Sampati, is a demi-god who has the form of an eagle and was an old friend of Dasharatha (Rama’s father).

The evil Ravana, King of the Demons, who had 10 heads and 20 arms, spied Rama’s beautiful wife Sita in the forest. He fell in love with her instantly. Ravana arranged for his servant Maricha to disguise himself as a golden deer and tempt Rama and Lakshman away from Sita. Lakshman drew a circle in the dust around Sita to protect her and told her not to step out of the circle.

But Ravana cleverly disguised himself as an old beggar man, and begged Sita for food and drink. Sita took pity on him and stepped out of the circle. The beggar man turned back into Ravana, catching Sita in his arms and pulling her into his magic flying chariot. Sita cried for help and a fierce bird Jatayu attacked Ravana in an effort to stop him. But Ravana cut off the bird’s wings with his sword. Sita threw her necklace to the ground, in the hope that Rama would save her. 

After narrating about the Sita’s abduction to Sri Rama and Lakshmana,the wounded Jatayu dies.Sri Rama then performed the final funeral rites of Jatayu. At this place the Sri Rama is worshipped as the Vijayaraghava Perumal in the Vijayaraghava Perumal temple.The water body where Jatayu fell is called Jatayu Theertham. The same legend is also associated with Thirupullabhoothangudi Temple.

 

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Which earliest known bird species is also the transitional form between birds and reptiles?

A total of seven specimens of the bird are known at this time.

It has long been accepted that Archaeopteryx was a transitional form between birds and reptiles, and that it is the earliest known bird.

Archaeopteryx lived in the Late Jurassic around 150 million years ago, in what is now southern Germany, and also Portugal, during a time when Europe was an archipelago of islands in a shallow warm tropical sea, much closer to the equator than it is now. Similar in size to a Eurasian magpie, with the largest individuals possibly attaining the size of a raven, the largest species of Archaeopteryx could grow to about 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in) in length. Despite their small size, broad wings, and inferred ability to fly or glide, Archaeopteryx had more in common with other small Mesozoic dinosaurs than with modern birds. In particular, they shared the following features with the dromaeosaurids and troodontids: jaws with sharp teeth, three fingers with claws, a long bony tail, hyperextensible second toes (“killing claw”), feathers (which also suggest warm-bloodedness), and various features of the skeleton.

 

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