The Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) is a small wading wetlands bird in the Scolopacidae family of shorebirds.
The Curlew Sandpiper is mottled brown with dark-grey upperparts, rust-red underparts, and a white rump. In winter, it has pale-grey upperparts and white underparts. It has a long down-curved black beak, a long neck, a small head, and grey legs.
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What is inside a bird egg?
An egg is made of several elements, such as a shell, two shell membranes (inner and outer membranes), a vitelline membrane, an air chamber, the chalazae, the egg white (called albumen), the yellow egg yolk, and a germinal disc.
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What is the difference between a Swallow and a Swift?
Both Swallows and Swifts have long pointed wings.
Both Swallows and Swifts have short legs.
Both Swallows and Swifts have wide beaks to catch insects.
Both Swallows and Swifts are highly aerial when flying.
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The African Black Swift (Apus barbatus) is a small passerine bird in the Apodidae family of swifts. It is highly aerial, spending most of its life in the air. It is not related to swallows; it is in the same Order as hummingbirds.
The African Black Swift is black-brown except for a small, white or pale-grey patch on its chin. It has a short, forked tail. It has long, swept-back wings, which can rotate at the base (like hummingbird wings). It has short legs.
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The Rock Martin (Ptyonoprogne fuligula fusciventris) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family.
The Rock Martin has brown feathers with pale-brown on the upper chest and underwings and white markings on the tail feathers.
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The Indian Spotted Eagle (Clanga hastata) is a large bird of prey, a raptor, and an accipiter.
The Indian Spotted Eagle has light brown feathers with white spotted markings on its back, head, and neck. It has a broad head and a wide mouth with a sharp, downward curved, black beak. Its cere (at the base of its beak) is light-beige. Its eyes are dark brown. Its upper tail is light brown with white bars. It has yellowish feet with strong, sharp talons (claws).
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Bird eggs can be many colours.
Different bird species lay different coloured eggs. The eggs can be all one colour or they can have stains, called blotches, spots, patterns, speckles, and markings.
Most birds lay white, cream, or light beige eggs.
Birds that have nests in trees and shrubs usually have blue to green eggs, plain or spotted.
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The Ural Owl (Strix uralensis) is a medium-sized bird.
The Ural Owl had pale, grey-brown feathers with dark markings on the back of its head and underparts. Its round face has a disc shape, with an orange-yellow beak, and black eyes with a red eye-ring. It has a long, wedge-shaped tail with dark bars. Its wings are rounded.
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The Palm-Nut Vulture (Gypohierax angolensis) is a bird of prey, a raptor, and an accipiter. It is also known as the Vulturine Fish Eagle. It is related to the buzzard and the eagle.
The adult Palm-Nut Vulture is all white except for black areas in its wings and tail. It has a red patch around each eye.
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The Pied Imperial Pigeon (Ducula bicolor) is a medium-sized bird in the dove and pigeon family.
The Pied Imperial Pigeon is white with a narrow, dark-tipped blue-grey beak. It has dark grey-black feathers on its wings and tail. It has grey legs and black eyes.
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The Common Raven (Corvus corax) is a large bird in the crow family. It is also called the Northern Raven. It is a corvid.
The Common Raven has iridescent black feathers, with a thick, black beak and black-brown eyes. It has a long, graduated tail. It has black shaggy feathers around its throat and above its beak.
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The Ruff (Calidris pugnax) is a medium-sized wading wetlands bird. It is a Sandpiper in the Scolopacidae family of shorebirds.
The Ruff is a long-necked bird with a small head and a rounded belly. It is grey-brown with white and grey mottled underparts. It has colourful black, chestnut or white head tufts. It has a medium-sized black beak. It has long yellow or orange legs.
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The Luzon Bleeding-Heart Dove (Gallicolumba luzonica) is a medium-sized bird in the dove and pigeon family of ground birds.
The Luzon Bleeding-Heart Dove is grey with iridescent purple, blue, or green feathers. It has a whitish-buff underbelly that has a reddish stripe that looks like blood on its chest. The male has a brighter red patch than the female. Its wings are grey with black bands. Its body is rounded, with a short tail and long pink legs.
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The European Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus) is a medium-sized bird of prey, an accipiter, and a raptor. It is also called the Pern.
The European Honey Buzzard is eagle-like with a small head, flat wings, and a long tail with a few dark bars. Its feathers are honey-brown. The male has a blue-grey head, and the female has a brown head. The female is slightly darker than the male. Both the male and the female have yellowish to light-orange eyes, and a grey beak with a yellow cere.
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The Temminck’s Tragopan Pheasant (Tragopan temminckii) is a medium-sized bird.
The male Temminck’s Tragopan Pheasant is red and orange, with white-spotted feathers. It has a black beak and pink legs. Its facial skin is blue and bare with no feathers. It has inflatable dark-blue wattles (skin flaps) on its face. The female has brown and white-spotted feathers with blue circular eye skin.
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What is nesting?
Nesting means to build a place for female birds or other animals (such as turtles or lizards) to lay her eggs.
A nest is usually made of twigs, grass, or mud, and is located in hollow trees, on a tree branch, on the ground or in a number of other safe locations.
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What do parrots eat?
Parrots have a strong curved beak which can crack open nuts and seeds.
Their beaks and their brush-tipped tongues can also get to the seeds in fruit.
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The Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) is a small bird.
The Mistle Thrush has pale grey-brown upper parts, a greyish-white chin and throat, and black spots on its yellow-beige underparts. It has a rounded head, long pointed wings, and a long tail with white tips. Its eyes are dark-brown and its beak is blackish. It has yellowish-brown legs and feet.
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The Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) is a medium-sized freshwater bird in the perching duck family. It is related to the Wood Duck.
The male Mandarin Duck has a red beak, large white crescent above his eye, and a reddish face with ‘whiskers.’ His chest is purple with two vertical white bars, with ruddy sides, and two orange sails at the back. Sails are large feathers that stick up like boat sails. The male has orange legs.
The female has a white eye-ring and a stripe from the eye to her back. She has a paler underbelly, a small white side stripe, and a pale tip on her beak. The female has grey legs.
Both the male and female Mandarin Duck have crests, but the purple crest is larger on the male. When the male moults (sheds feathers), he looks similar to the female, except that he has a bright yellow-orange or red beak.
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