Category Birds

Juvenile White-Naped Crane

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Some animals have young that look similar to their adult parents. Other animals have young that look very different from their adult parents. 

The White-Naped Crane (Antigone vipio) is a large wetlands bird. The adult measures about 130 centimetres (51 inches) tall, with a large wingspan of 2 metres (6.5 feet). The young (juvenile) White-Naped Crane looks very different from its parents.

The juvenile White-Naped Crane has fluffy pale-brown and white feathers. The adult White-Naped Cranehas a grey and white striped neck and a grey body. It takes 2-3 years for the juvenile to gain its adult feathers.

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RESEARCH: Scientists think penguins in Antarctic prefer ice-free conditions

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Scientists have been studying penguins in the Antarctic Region.

Polar biologists have seen populations of penguins increase during years when there is not a lot of ice in the region. They have also seen breeding reductions during the years when there is a lot of sea ice. However, they did not know why ice-free conditions made populations increase. But after this recent study, the polar biologists think they know why.

Polar biologists at the Japanese National Institute of Polar Research put electronic global positioning system (GPS) tags on 175 Adelie Penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) in the Antarctic Region. They also put video cameras in different locations to monitor what happens during the four seasons of the year when there are different sea ice conditions.

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American Flamingo: from Juvenile to Adult

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Some animals have young that look like a similar but miniature version of the adult. Other animals have young that look very different from the adult.

The young (juvenile) American Flamingo looks very different from its parents.

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 juvenile flamingo has fluffy grey feathers. The adult flamingo has reddish-pink well-defined feathers. It takes 2-3 years for the juvenile flamingo to gain its pink feathers.

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Mallee Ringneck Parrot

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The Mallee Ringneck Parrot (Barnardius zonarius barnardi) is a sub-species of the Australian Ringneck. It is a medium-sized bird in the Psittaculidae family of parrots. 

The Mallee Ringneck Parrot is green with a yellow ring around the back of its neck. Its head is bright green with a dark-green strip from its eye to the back of its neck. Its back, rump and wings are blue to green. Its chest is bluish-green to turquoise green with a yellowish band across its abdomen. Its broad tail is green and blue. It has a light beige beak with a red frontal band.

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Common Swift

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The Common Swift (Apus apus) is a bird in the Apodiformes order. It looks similar to the Barn Swallow and the House Martin, but it is related to the Hummingbird and Treeswift. 

The Common Swift is black-brown, except for a small patch of white or pale-grey on its chin. It has long swept-back, narrow wings that resemble the silhouette of an anchor or a boomerang.  It has a short-forked tail. It has short legs.

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Willie Wagtail

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The Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophyrs leucophyrs) is a passerine songbird. It is not related to the Eurasian Wagtail in the Motacillidae family. It is related to the crow, raven, drongo, and bird of paradise. It wags its tail from side to side when it is on the ground.

The Willie Wagtail has black upperparts and white underparts. It has a white eyebrow. It has a black fantail. It has a short, thin, black beak, which has a hooked tip. It has long, black legs for its size. 

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Flight: How do birds fly?

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How do birds fly?

Not all birds fly. Some birds fly for short distances, and some birds can fly for long distances. Some birds can fly very high, and some birds stay close to the ground. 

To fly, birds need (1) wings, (2) flight muscles, (3) a streamlined body, (4) thin, light or hollow bones, and (5) strong but light flight feathers.

Birds need flight feathers on their wings and tail that let air flow through and around the feathers.

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What is falconry?

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What is falconry? 

Falconry is the tradition of hunting with birds of prey, or raptors. It is called falconry because the birds are in the Falconidae family, which includes all birds of prey that kill their prey with their sharp beaks.

Birds in the Falconidae family include falcons, gyrfalcons, hobbies, kestrels, and merlins.

Other birds of prey are also trained, such as those in the Accipitridae family, including eagles, goshawks, and hawks. Accipiters kill their prey with their feet, by swooping on their prey and killing it with their sharp claws, called talons.

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World Migratory Bird Day

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World Migratory Bird Day is held annually on the second Saturday in May and the second Saturday in October. In 2020, it will be held on 9-10 May. The 2020 theme for World Migratory Bird Day is ‘Birds Connect Our World.’

World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) aims to raise awareness of the need to conserve migratory birds and their habitats. 

The 2020 theme of ‘Birds Connect Our World’ focuses on the three flyways (three main migratory routes in the world). WMBD aims to increase awareness about general and specific threats that birds are facing when they migrate.

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Common Buzzard

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The Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a medium-sized bird of prey, and a raptor, in the Accipitridae family of accipiters. It is related to the Balkans Long-Legged Buzzard and the Steppe Buzzard. 

The Common Buzzard can be varied in colour from light to dark, although it usually has orange-tinted feathers with dark lines, a red or orange tail, a pale head and white underwings. It has a rounded hear with a sharp, thin, hooked beak and large eyes. It has short legs and sharp claws, called talons. 

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