![buoyant in flight, slowly flapping and gliding with wings angled back. Several species are as
graceful as terns.
True kites, Milvinae, have rather narrow beaks, the upper mandible being wavy-edged. They are
typified by the red kite (Milvus milvus)—of Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East—and
the black, or black-eared, kite (M. migrans)—found over much of the Old World. Both are large
(to about 55 cm [22 inches]), reddish birds (the black kite darker), lightly streaked on the head,
with long, angled wings and notched tail. The Brahminy kite (Haliastur indus; subfamily Milvinae)
ranges from India to northeastern Australia. It is red-brown except for white foreparts. It eats fish
and garbage. The buzzard kite (Hamirostra melanosternon; subfamily Milvinae) of Australia is a
large black-breasted bird; it lives mainly on rabbits and lizards. It also eats emu eggs, reportedly
dropping rocks on them to break the thick shells.
The snail kites, found only in the New World, also belong to the subfamily Milvinae. They have
sickle-shaped beaks adapted to feeding on snails, their only food. Best known is the Everglade kite
(Rostrhamus sociabilis), now rare in Florida and Cuba but occurring in numbers in eastern Mexico,
Central America, and most of eastern South America. It is a blackish or slate-coloured bird, about
50 cm long, with red eyes and white tail-base.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/birdsfeatures-180111143320/85/Birds-features-8-320.jpg)
Birds features
- 1. BIRDS FEATURES PRESENTED BY ASNA RESHMA FATHIMA.K
- 2. PEACOCK With the three different species worldwide, the peacock, also known as the peafowl, lives naturally in Africa, Australia and parts of Asia. The medium sized, exotic bird is one of the most recognizable animals on the planet for its distinctive physical features. It spends much of its time on the ground in search of grains, seeds and insects. Peacocks can live up to 20 years old and are one of the more prized game birds in the world. TAIL FEATHER TRAIN The male peacock's plumage accounts for more than 60 percent of its total body length. It can reach more than six feet. Males fan their feathers when trying to court females and also in defense against male counterparts. Females peacocks, also known as peahens, often select mates depending on the size of that tail fan. Peacocks shed feathers during molting season, giving opportunity for collection.
- 3. FEATHER EYE AND COLOR It's not just the size of the peacock's plumage that makes it special, but the eye on its tail feathers that set it apart physically from other medium-sized birds. Most males have upwards of 150 feathers, with the "eye," which is usually a bright green, blue and gold, sometimes brown and in rare cases, white. Because of it's elaborate styling, people use the peacock's tail feathers for a variety of decorations, including masks and jewelry. OTHER PHYSICAL FEATURES Male and female peacocks alike have a blue crest on top of their head, though it is not known to serve a purpose. The bird, which has an exotic blue body to go along with its distinct tail feathers, can reach 5 feet in height and more than 4 feet in width, while reaching a maximum weight of 13 pounds. MISCELLANEOUS CHARACTERISTICS To supplement its normal diet of grains and insects, peacocks will occasionally eat small mammals and reptiles. The male peacock mates with up to six different peahens every mating season. Females lay up to 8 eggs, incubating them over the course of a month by sitting on them. Peahens rear babies without the help of the male. Wild dogs, tigers and raccoons are predators peacocks fear.
- 4. Kingfisher Kingfishers are small birds of the order Coraciformes. There are about 90 species, mostly in the Old World and Australasia, Most species are tropical in distribution. Their feathers are often bright colours, such as blue or orange. They have large heads, long, sharp bills, short legs, and stubby tails. Most species have bright plumage with little differences between the sexes. Most are found only in forests. They eat a wide range of prey, including fish. They usually catch prey by swooping down from a perch. Many live near rivers and eat fish, but most species live away from water and eat small invertebrates. Like other members of their order they nest in holes, usually tunnels dug into the natural or artificial banks in the ground. A quarter of all kingfishers nest in disused termite nests. The plumage of most kingfishers is bright, with green and blue being the most common colours. The brightness of the colours is neither the product of iridescence (except in the American kingfishers) or pigments, but is instead caused by the structure of the feathers, which causes
- 5. scattering of blue light (the Tyndall effect). In most species, no overt differences between the sexes exist; when differences occur, they are quite small (less than 10%). The kingfishers have long, dagger-like bills. The bill is usually longer and more compressed in species that hunt fish, and shorter and more broad in species that hunt prey off the ground. The largest and most atypical bill is that of the shovel-billed kookaburra, which is used to dig through the forest floor in search of prey. They generally have short legs, although species that feed on the ground have longer tarsi. Most species have four toes, three of which are forward-pointing. The irises of most species are dark brown. The kingfishers have excellent vision; they are capable of binocular vision and are thought in particular to have good colour vision. They have restricted movement of their eyes within the eye sockets, instead using head movements to track prey. In addition, they are capable of compensating for the refraction of water and reflection when hunting prey underwater, and are able to judge depth under water accurately. They also have nictitating membranes that cover the eyes to protect them when they hit the water; the pied kingfisher has a bony plate which slides across the eye when it hits the water
- 6. Toucan Measuring 63.5 cm (25 in.) in length, the toco toucan is the largest of all toucans. Its black body and white throat are overshadowed by its most recognizable trait: a large colorful beak. The bright orange beak is about 19 cm (8 in.) long – one third of the bird’s total length. But despite its substantial size, the beak weighs less than you may think. Composed of the protein keratin, the structure of beak incorporates many air pockets allowing for a very low mass. oco toucans also use their beaks to pluck and peel fruit, their main source of food. In addition, the beak houses a flat tongue of the same length, which helps the toucan catch insects, frogs, and reptiles. Toco toucans also occasionally eat the eggs of other birds. Toco toucan Although they spend a lot of time in trees, they are not very good at flying. Toucans mainly travel among trees by hopping. When they do take flight, they flap their wings vigorously and glide, traveling only short distances. Toucans nest in the hollows of trees. They often move into cavities created and abandoned by woodpeckers. Several toucans live together in a single hollow. It is in these hollows that they lay their eggs, generally two to four a year.
- 7. Both parents incubate the eggs for 16-20 days. Once the chicks hatch, both parents continue to care for the young. Baby toucans are not born with an excessively large beak; the beak grows as the birds develop. Native to South America, toco toucans inhabit a range of habitats including tropical forests, savannas, and shrubland. Kite Kites are raptors. They have long wings and weak legs. They spend most of the time soaring. Most feed mainly on carrion. Some take live prey. They are birds of prey which, along with hawks and eagles, are from the family Accipitridae. Typically, a kite is lightly built, with a small head, partly bare face, short beak, and long narrow wings and tail. Kites occur worldwide in warm regions. Some kites live on insects; others are primarily scavengers but also eat rodents and reptiles; and a few are strictly snaileaters. Kites are
- 8. buoyant in flight, slowly flapping and gliding with wings angled back. Several species are as graceful as terns. True kites, Milvinae, have rather narrow beaks, the upper mandible being wavy-edged. They are typified by the red kite (Milvus milvus)—of Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East—and the black, or black-eared, kite (M. migrans)—found over much of the Old World. Both are large (to about 55 cm [22 inches]), reddish birds (the black kite darker), lightly streaked on the head, with long, angled wings and notched tail. The Brahminy kite (Haliastur indus; subfamily Milvinae) ranges from India to northeastern Australia. It is red-brown except for white foreparts. It eats fish and garbage. The buzzard kite (Hamirostra melanosternon; subfamily Milvinae) of Australia is a large black-breasted bird; it lives mainly on rabbits and lizards. It also eats emu eggs, reportedly dropping rocks on them to break the thick shells. The snail kites, found only in the New World, also belong to the subfamily Milvinae. They have sickle-shaped beaks adapted to feeding on snails, their only food. Best known is the Everglade kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis), now rare in Florida and Cuba but occurring in numbers in eastern Mexico, Central America, and most of eastern South America. It is a blackish or slate-coloured bird, about 50 cm long, with red eyes and white tail-base.
- 9. Weaver bird There are many remarkable birds in the world. We have already discussed some of them. Today we will discuss the "Weaver bird"; who gets its name from the fact that it weaves its nest together most artistically from Palm leaves. The "Weaver bird" lives in the hot areas of Africa, near the Equator. It has black and yellow feathers, and is a member of the "Cuckoo' family. Its nest is outstanding in many ways; First of all, the weaving itself is very artistic. It is actually a nest within a nest, with the entrance at the bottom. By this method the "weaver" assures itself of two things. Firstly, its house is protected from the rain. As you probably know, the area where the "Weaver" lives receives a large amount of rain in the rainy season. If the "Weaver's" nest would
- 10. have its entrance on top, it would be flooded during the heavy rains. Secondly, its nest, with its eggs and baby birds, is protected from birds of prey, especially the falcon that flies high in the air, and with its sharp eyesight, notices the nests of the small birds, swoops down and devours the young birds. The hawk is also a member of this preying family, which eats up the baby birds in their nests. Besides the birds of prey, the WeaverBird has other enemies. The African tribesmen and their children like to rob the nests of their eggs. To combat this, the Weaver once again proves how smart it is. It picks a tree that is full of ants, and other biting insects, so that the humans keep away from them. In such a tree, our Weaver weaves its nest, in such a fashion that it hangs down from a branch or two branches, with the entrance underneath as mentioned before. The Weaver's eggs are light blue. It sometimes happens that when the father and mother Weaver are not "at home", a cuckoo visits the nest, and lays her eggs there. We once talked about certain birds who are too lazy to build their own nests, and lay their eggs in other birds' nests. The Weaver, however, does not make a fuss about it. Although it is a "smart" bird, it does not differentiate between the colors of the eggs, and it also is not such a great mathematician as to notice how many of the eggs are its own, and how many are strange eggs. Maybe it does know, but at any rate, it pays no attention to it. There are, of course, different kinds of Weaver Birds. Some live, as we mentioned, in the Equatorial forests; some live more to the North; some prefer to make their nests near a village; and others, near a lake. But they all have one thing in common-the ingenious ability to weave their nests in the same fashion, a thing which is surely one of the Wonders of Nature. This knack of the Weaver, is an inborn one. The Almighty created the Weaver with its startling ability to build an artistic nest.
- 11. Parrot Characteristic features of parrots include a strong, curved bill, an upright stance, strong legs, and clawed zygodactyl feet. Many parrots are vividly coloured, and some are multi-coloured. Most parrots exhibit little or no sexual dimorphism in the visual spectrum. They form the most variably sized bird order in terms of length. The most important components of most parrots' diets are seeds, nuts, fruit, buds, and other plant material. A few species sometimes eat animals and carrion, while the lories and lorikeets are specialised for feeding on floral nectar and soft fruits. Almost all parrots nest in tree hollows (or nest boxes in captivity), and lay white eggs from which hatch altricial (helpless) young. Parrots, along with ravens, crows, jays, and magpies, are among the most intelligent birds, and the ability of some species to imitate human voices enhances their popularity as pets. Trapping wild parrots for the pet trade, as well as hunting, habitat loss, and competition from invasive species, has diminished wild populations, with parrots being subjected to more exploitation than any other group of birds. Measures taken to conserve the habitats of some high-profile charismatic species have also protected many of the less charismatic species living in the same ecosystems.
- 12. Pigeon The Body is spindle shaped. Their size varies from 20-25 cm. They are covered by coloured feathers leaving beak and a small portion of the hindlimbs. The body is divisible into head, neck, trunk and a small, conical tail. The head is round and drawn out anteriorly into a strong, hard, pointed beak. The mouth is a terminal wide gape, guarded by elongated upper and lower beaks. The beaks are covered with a horny sheath or rhampotheca. A swol-len area of soft skin, the cere, surrounds the nostril. It is present on each side of the upper beak. The eyes are large and guarded by upper and lower eye-lidsand a transparent nictitating membrane. A pair of ear openings are situated at a short distance behind the eyes. Each opening leads into a short external auditory meatus, ending in the tympanic membrane forming the ear drum. The neck is long and mobile. It helps in the movement of the head in various directions. The trunk is compact, heavy and bears a pair of wings and a pair of legs. The cloacal aperture is at its hind end on the lower surface. Projecting behind the cloacal aperture is the tail. Above the tail is a knob on which opens an oil gland or preen gland or uropygeal gland. It secretes a fluid used for preening the feathers.