Physical World/Birds

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Ostrich.jpg
Ostrich


Struthio camelus

It can run at speeds of about 40 mph, the top land speed of any bird. The ostrich is the largest living species of bird and lays the largest egg of any bird species. It has just two toes on each foot (most birds have four), with the nail on the larger, inner toe resembling a hoof

Emu.jpg
Emu


genus Dromaius

The emu is the second largest bird in the world and the largest bird native to Australia

Female emus court the males

Southern cassowary.jpg
Southern cassowary


(Casuarius casuarius)


The third tallest and second heaviest living bird, smaller only than the ostrich and emu

The most dangerous bird in the world. The blade-like claws are capable of killing humans and dogs if the bird is provoked

Kiwi.jpg
Kiwi


genus Apteryx

Endemic to New Zealand. Kiwi is the only ratite that does not have a reduced number of toes. Kiwis lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world. Kiwi is the smallest living ratite

Kakapo.jpg
Kakapo


Strigops habroptilus

The world’s only flightless parrot, from New Zealand. Also called the owl parrot, it is nocturnal and ground-dwelling

The total known population is only 200 living individuals

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Kea


Nestor notabilis

A parrot found in forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. The Kea is one of the few recorded alpine parrots in the world. Destroys rubber parts of cars

Galah.jpg
Galah

Eolophus roseicapilla


Also known as the rose-breasted cockatoo or ‘pink and grey’

They are extremely noisy, often screeching, hanging upside down, dancing and playing

Galah is also derogatory Australian slang, synonymous with fool or idiot

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Cockatiel


Nymphicus hollandicus

A member of the cockatoo family endemic to Australia

The cockatiel's distinctive erectile crest expresses the animal's emotional state

Kookaburra.jpg
Laughing kookaburra


Dacelo novaeguineae

A carnivorous bird in the family Halcyonidae. Native to eastern Australia. Known for its laughing call. Previously known as the Laughing Jackass

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Andean condor


Vultur gryphus

The largest largest flying land bird in South America

Heaviest bird of prey. Andean condor has a maximum wingspan of 3.2 m

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Red-crowned crane


Grus japonensis

Famous for dances during the breeding season. Heaviest species of crane

Adult red-crowned cranes are named for a patch of red bare skin on the crown, which becomes brighter in the mating season

Quetzal.jpg
Resplendent quetzal


Pharomachrus mocinno

Plays an important role in Mesoamerican mythologies. The resplendent quetzal is Guatemala's national bird, and an image of it is on the flag and coat of arms of Guatemala. It is also the name of the local currency

Lyrebird.jpg
Lyrebird


genus Menura

They are most notable for their ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment. Lyrebirds are notable because of the striking beauty of the male bird's huge tail when it is fanned out in display; and also because of their courtship display

Bowerbird.jpg
Bowerbird


family Ptilonorhynchidae


Bowerbirds are most known for their unique courtship behaviour, where males build a structure and decorate it with sticks and brightly coloured objects in an attempt to attract a mate

Butcherbird.jpg
Butcherbird


genus Cracticus


Similar to magpies. They get their name from their habit of impaling captured prey on a thorn, tree fork, or crevice. This "larder" is used to support the victim while it is being eaten, to store prey for later consumption, or to attract mates

Drongo.jpg
Drongo


family Dicruridae


Small, insectivorous Australasian bird

The word drongo is used as a mild form of insult meaning "idiot". This usage derives from an Australian racehorse of the same name rather than the bird

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Waxwing


genus Bombycilla


Waxwings are characterised by their silky plumage. They have unique red tips to some of the wing feathers where the shafts extend beyond the barbs; these tips look like sealing wax, and give the group its common name

Hornbill.jpg
Rhinoceros hornbill


Buceros rhinoceros


Characterized by a long, down-curved heavy bill. Hornbills are the only birds in which the first two neck vertebrae (the axis and atlas) are fused together. Many hornbill species have ‘casques’, decorative growths on the upper mandible of the bill

Mouth of the hornbill nest is a small slit through which the male feeds the female

Secretary bird.jpg
Secretary bird


Sagittarius serpentarius

Looks like it has quill pens tucked behind the ear. It is a bird of prey endemic to Africa and kills snakes

It appears on the coats of arms of Sudan and South Africa

Bee hummingbird.jpg
Bee hummingbird


Mellisuga helenae

With a mass around 1.6–2 g and a length of 5–6 cm, it is the smallest living bird

Hummingbirds have the highest metabolism of any homeothermic animal

Quelea.jpg
Red-billed Quelea


Quelea quelea


The world's most abundant wild bird species, with an estimated adult breeding population of 1.5 billion pairs. The distribution area of the Red-billed Quelea covers the majority of sub-Saharan Africa

Boobies.jpg
Booby


genus Sula


Blue-footed and red-footed species

Their name was possibly based on the Spanish slang term bobo, meaning "stupid", as these tame birds had a habit of landing on board sailing ships

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Great northern loon


Gavia immer

Known as the great northern diver in Eurasia

Well known in Canada, appearing on the one-dollar "loonie" coin and the previous series of $20 bills, and is the provincial bird of Ontario

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Pitohui


genus Pitohui


Poisonous bird. The skin and feathers of some pitohuis, especially the variable and hooded pitohuis, contain powerful neurotoxic alkaloids

Endemic to New Guinea

Poorwill.jpg
Common poorwill


Phalaenoptilus nuttallii

Nocturnal bird in the nightjar family

The only bird known to go into torpor for extended periods. Such an extended period of torpor is close to a state of hibernation, not known among other birds

Oriole.jpg
Baltimore oriole


Icterus galbula

It received its name from the resemblance of the male's colours to those on the coat-of-arms of Lord Baltimore. It is the inspiration for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team

Northern cardinal.jpg
Northern cardinal


Cardinalis cardinalis

Also known as the redbird

It is the mascot of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball's National League and the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League

Spoonbill.jpg
Spoonbill


family Threskiornithidae


Wading birds. All spoonbills have large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading through shallow water, sweeping the partly opened bill from side to side

Bittern.jpg
Eurasian bittern


Botaurus stellaris

Also known as the great bittern

A wading bird in the heron family. The mating call or contact call of the male is a deep, sighing fog-horn or bull-like "boom"

Roadrunner.jpg
Roadrunner


genus Geococcyx

Also known as a chaparral bird. A fast-running (up to 20 mph) ground cuckoo that has a long tail and a crest

Wile E. Coyote tries to catch a roadrunner in the Looney Tunes cartoons

Cormorant.jpg
Cormorant


family Phalacrocoracidae


There is no consistent distinction between "cormorants" and "shags"

Humans have used cormorants' fishing skills in China and Japan, where they have been trained by fishermen

Egret.jpg
Great egret


Ardea alba


Also known as the common egret or great white heron

Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from the herons, and tend to be named differently because they are mainly white or have decorative plumes

Goldcrest.jpg
Goldcrest


Regulus regulus

Known as the "king of the birds" in European folklore. Member of the kinglet family

The goldcrest is the smallest European bird. It has greenish upper-parts, whitish under-parts, and has two white wingbars

Avocet.jpg
Pied avocet


Recurvirostra avosetta

The pied avocet was extinct as a breeding species in Great Britain by 1840. Its successful recolonisation at Minsmere, Suffolk, in 1947 led to its adoption as the logo of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Northern lapwing.jpg
Northern lapwing


Vanellus vanellus


Also known as the peewit (from its cry), green plover, or (in the British Isles) just lapwing (which refers to its peculiar, erratic way of flying). It has rounded wings and a crest

Great bustard.jpg
Great bustard


Otis tarda


Possibly the heaviest living flying animal. It also arguably the most sexual dimorphic extant bird species, in terms of the size difference between males and females

It was hunted out of existence in Britain by the 1840s. In 2004, a project overseeing the reintroduction to Salisbury Plain in using eggs taken from Russia was undertaken

Red kite.jpg
Red kite


Milvus milvus


By the 20th century, the breeding population was restricted to a handful of pairs in South Wales, but recently the Welsh population has been supplemented by re-introductions in England and Scotland

Capercaillie.jpg
Western capercaillie


Tetrao urogallus


Also known as the wood grouse or heather cock. Largest member of the grouse family

The word capercaillie is a corruption of the Scottish Gaelic capull coille, meaning "horse of the woods"

Ptarmigan.jpg
Rock ptarmigan


Lagopus muta

A medium-sized gamebird in the grouse family. It is seasonally camouflaged; its feathers moult from white in winter to brown in spring. It is the only British bird to change plumage between winter and summer

Barn owl.jpg
Barn owl

Tyto alba

The most widely distributed species of owl and the most widespread landbird species in the world, occurring in every continent except Antarctica. The face is characteristically heart-shaped and is white. This owl does not hoot, but utters an eerie shriek

Tawny owl.jpg
Tawny owl

Strix aluco

Also known as the brown owl

Mentioned in Love's Labour's Lost "Then nightly sings the staring owl, Tu-whit; Tu-who"

Great grey owl.jpg
Great grey owl

Strix nebulosa

World's largest species of owl by length


Adults have a large rounded head with a grey face and yellow eyes

Eurasian eagle owl.jpg
Eurasian eagle-owl

Bubo bubo


One of the largest living species of owl


It has distinctive ear tufts and orange eyes

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Emperor penguin

Aptenodytes forsteri

The tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species. Endemic to Antarctica


The only penguin species that breeds during the Antarctic winter. The female lays a single egg, which is incubated by the male while the female returns to the sea to feed

Macaroni penguin.jpg
Macaroni penguin

Eudyptes chrysolophus

One of six species of crested penguin, it is very closely related to the royal penguin


English sailors in the Falkland Islands apparently named the species for its conspicuous yellow crest

Adelie penguins.jpg
Adélie penguin

Pygoscelis adeliae

They are named after the Antarctic territory of Adélie Land, in turn named for the wife of French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville who discovered the penguins in 1840

Galapagos penguin.jpg
Galapagos penguin

Spheniscus mendiculus

Endemic to the Galapagos Islands. It is the only penguin that lives north of the equator in the wild