The Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae novaeguineae) is a bird in the Kingfisher family. It is the largest Kingfisher in Australia.
The Kookaburra is carnivorous, eating mainly meat.
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Category Birds
Hot Shot: Kookaburra eating a mouse
Flamingo Chick
The American Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) is a large wetland wading bird with reddish-pink feathers, a large beak, long legs, and a curved S-shaped neck.
The adult Flamingo measures 120-145 centimetres (47-57 inches) tall.
The female lays one egg on the muddy ground and both parents look after it. The egg hatches after 28-32 days.
The chick has greyish-white feathers, and does not gain its pink colour for 2-3 years. Both parents look after the chick for the first six years of its life.
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Big bird feathers: Emu, Cassowary, Ostrich, and Rhea
What are the similarities and differences between big bird feathers – the feathers of the largest birds on earth?
The Emu, the Cassowary, the Ostrich, and the Rhea are large flightless ratite birds. The Emu is from Australia, the Cassowary is from northern Australia and New Guinea, the Ostrich is from countries in Africa, and the Rhea is from countries in South America.
Their wings have no keel (anchor) on their sternum (a long flat breastbone) to connect to their wing muscles, which means that the birds can’t fly. Therefore, their feathers are mainly decorative.
What are the similarities between the Alexandrine Parakeet and the Rose-Ringed Parakeet?
What are the similarities between the Alexandrine Parakeet (Psitacula eupatria) and the Rose-Ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)?
Both the Alexandrine Parakeet and the Rose-Ringed Parakeet are Asian parrots with mainly green feathers and a thick red beak.
The Alexandrine Parakeet has a red beak with yellow tips, whereas the Rose-Ringed Parakeet has no yellow tips on its beak.
The Alexandrine Parakeet has a red patch on its shoulder, whereas the Rose-Ringed Parakeet has no red patch on its shoulder.
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Alexandrine Parakeet
The Alexandrine Parakeet (Psitacula eupatria) is a medium-sized bird in the Psittacidae family of parrots.
The Alexandrine Parakeet has mainly green feathers with a light blue-grey sheen on its cheeks and nape (back of the neck). Its belly is yellow-green ad it has a red patch on its shoulders. Its tail is green and blue with a yellow tip, and its undertail is yellow. It has a large, thick, red beak with yellow tips.
The male has a black stripe across his lower cheeks and a pink band on its nape. The female does not have a stripe on her cheek or nape.
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Rhea Eggs
The Greater Rhea has large eggs, but they are not as large as ostrich eggs.
When a female Rhea lays an egg, it is greenish-yellow at first, and quickly changes to dull creamy-white.
A Rhea egg measures about 13 centimetres (5 inches) long and 9 centimetres (3.5 inches) high, which is half the size of an ostrich egg, and almost twice the size of a chicken egg.
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What is the difference between the Emu and the Rhea?
What is the difference between the Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) and the Greater Rhea (Rhea Americana)?
The Emu and the Greater Rhea are large fightless birds. The Emu and the Greater Rhea are both ratites, because they cannot fly (the Ostrich, Kiwi, and Cassowary are also ratites).
The Emu and the Greater Rhea have a large, soft, grey-brown feathered body, a long featherless neck, and long featherless legs with three toes.
The Emu has orange-brown eyes, whereas the Greater Rhea has blue to brown eyes.
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Greater Rhea
The Greater Rhea (Rhea Americana) is a large bird. It is also known as the American Rhea. It cannot fly. Birds that cannot fly are called ratites. The Ostrich, Kiwi, and Cassowary are also ratites.
The Greater Rhea is emu-like with a body of large fluffy grey or brown feathers, a long neck, and long legs. It has three toes like the emu (the ostrich has two toes). Its head, neck, rump, and thighs are feathered.
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Chestnut Teal
The Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea) is a freshwater bird in the dabbling duck family.
The male Chestnut Teal has an iridescent green-feathered head and a mottled chestnut brown body. The female is grey-brown with white-edged feathers. It has light beige legs with webbed feet. Its beak is light-grey. It has red eyes.
It grows to 40-51 centimetres (16-20 inches) in length, with a wingspan of 65-80 centimetres (26-31 inches). Its beak measures 3-4 centimetres (1-1.5 inches) long.
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Courtship dance of the Asian Houbara Bustard
The Asian Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata) is a medium-sized bird native to north Africa.
The male Asian Houbara Bustard dances to attract a mate.
He raises his white head feathers and neck feathers, while tucking in his head.
He does not make a noise; he dances silently, running slowly in front of a female.
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What is the difference between the Common Goldeneye and the Smew?
What is the difference between the Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) and the Smew (Mergellus albellus)?
The Common Goldeneye and the Smew are both medium-sized birds in the family of diving ducks.
The Common Goldeneye has bright golden eyes, whereas the Smew has brown eyes.
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Common Goldeneye
The Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) is a medium-sized bird in the duck family. It is a diving duck. It is a sea duck, living in marine (saltwater) locations, but it breeds in freshwater lakes. It is related to the Smew.
The Common Goldeneye has prominent golden eyes. The male has a dark head with greenish iridescent feathers and a round white patch below its eyes. It has a dark back, a white neck, white sides, and a white chest. The female has a brown head and a mostly grey body. Both males and females have a yellowish beak, yellow legs, and orange-yellow webbed feet. Its beak is grey, although the female has a yellow tipped beak.
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Smew
The Smew (Mergellus albellus) is a medium-sized bird in the wild duck family. It is a diving duck. It is a sea duck, living in marine (saltwater) locations, but it breeds in freshwater lakes. It is also known as the Redhead Smew and the White Nun. It is related to the Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula).
The male and female Smew look different. The male Smew is mostly white, with a black patch around his eye, a black nape, white crest feathers, and a grey rump and sides, with two fine black lines on each side of his chest. Its beak is grey. Its legs and webbed feet are grey.
The female has a rufous-brown (red-brown) head, nape and neck, a white throat and white cheeks, with grey upperparts and a mottled-grey chest. She has brown eyes, grey beak, grey legs, and grey webbed feet. Both the male and the female have a beak with a hooked tip.
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Violet Turaco
The Violet Turaco (Musophaga violacea) is a bird. It is also known as the Violaceous Plantain Eater.
The Violet Turaco has glossy, iridescent violet feathers. It has a yellow forehead, a chestnut crown, a red eye-ring, dark eyes, and white ear coverts. It has a thick orange-red beak. It has a long tail.
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Little Bustard
The Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax) is a large terrestrial game bird.
The Little Bustard is brown with black flecks. Its underbelly is white. It has a grey head and a black neck.
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How does a duck eat a fish?
How does a duck eat a fish?
A duck eats a fish head first. All birds, and animals, that eat fish, eat them head first. Reptiles, such as snakes, also eat their prey, such as rats and mice, head first.
The reason that a duck eats fish head first is to avoid fish bones being stuck in its throat.
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Scarlet Honeycreeper
The Scarlet Honeycreeper (Drepanis coccinea orVestiaria coccinea) is a small bird in the hummingbird family. It is also known as the I’iwi. It was previously categorized as Vestiaria coccinea, but taxonomists changed the classification to Drepanis coccineain 2015.
The Scarlet Honeycreeper is mostly scarlet with black wings and a black tail. It has a long, decurved, pinkish beak.
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Western Barn Owl
The Western Barn Owl (Tyto alba) is a medium-sized bird.
The Western Barn Owl has a wide, white facial disc with a light brown edge. Its underbelly is white and its wings are brown flecked with black. It has long, broad wings. It has big eyes, and a light-grey to beige beak. It does not have ear tufts that many other owls have. It has long legsand toes with sharp claws.
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Southern Screamer
The Southern Screamer (Chauna torquata) is a large wetland bird. It is also known as the Crested Screamer. It is in the Anseriformes family of geese.
The Southern Screamer has grey feathers with a black collar around its neck. Its back is dark-grey and its underbelly is light grey. It has a grey crest and a grey beak. It has a red patch around its eyes. It has pink legs.
It screams loudly.
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