Peafowl

The term peafowl can refer to the two species of bird in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. Peafowl are best known for the male's extravagant tail which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, and the female a peahen. The offspring are called peachicks. The female peafowl is brown or toned grey and brown. Peachicks can be between yellow, to a tawny colour with darker brown patches.

The male (peacock) Indian Peafowl has iridescent blue-green or green colored plumage. 

The peacock tail ("train") is not the tail quill feathers but the highly elongated upper tail coverts. The "eyes" are best seen when the peacock fans its tail. Like a cupped hand behind the ear the erect tail-fan of the male helps direct sound to the ears. Both species have a crest atop the head. The female (peahen) Indian Peafowl has a mixture of dull green, brown, and grey in her plumage. She lacks the long upper tail coverts of the male but has a crest. 

The female can also display her plumage to ward off female competition or signal danger to her young.

Behavior

The peafowl are forest birds that nest on the ground but roost in trees. They are terrestrial feeders.

Both species of Peafowl are believed to be polygamous. However, it has been suggested that "females" entering a male Green Peafowl's territory are really his own juvenile or sub-adult young and that Green Peafowl are really monogamous in the wild. 

The male peacock flares out his feathers when he is trying to get the female's attention.

During the mating season they will often emit a very loud high-pitched cry. They also travel in hunting packs between ten and ninety

 

 

Cultural significance

In Hinduism, the Peacock is associated with Saraswati, a deity representing benevolence, patience, kindness, compassion and knowledge. Peacock is also the mount of Hindu God of war Murugan. Similar to Saraswati, the Peacock is associated with Kwan-yin in Asian spirituality. Kwan-yin (or Quan Yin) is also an emblem of love, compassionate watchfulness, good-will, nurturing, and kind-heartedness. Legend tells us she chose to remain a mortal even though she could be immortal because she wished to stay behind and aid humanity in their spiritual evolution.

In Greco-Roman mythology the Peacock is identified with the goddess Hera (Juno). The eyes upon the peacock's tail comes from Argus whose hundred eyes were placed upon the peacock's feathers by the goddess in memory of his role as the guard of Io, a lover of Zeus that Hera had punished. The eyes are said to symbolize the vault of heaven and the "eyes" of the stars.

hornbill

    Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly-colored, quite like the toucan, and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible. Both the common English and the scientific name of the family refer to the shape of the bill, "buceros" being "cow horn" in Greek. In addition, they possess a two-lobed kidney.

       Hornbills are the only birds in which the first two neck vertebrae (the axis and atlas) are fused together; this probably provides a more stable platform for carrying the bill.The family is omnivorous, feeding on fruit and small animals. They are monogamous breeders nesting in natural cavities in trees and sometimes cliffs. A number of species of hornbill are threatened with extinction, mostly insular species with small ranges.

Distribution and habitats

The Bucerotidae include about 55 living species, though a number of cryptic species may yet be split, as has been suggested for the Red-billed Hornbill. 

Their distribution includes sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to the Philippines and Solomon Islands, but no genus is found in both Africa and Asia. Most are arboreal birds, but the large ground-hornbills (Bucorvus), as their name implies, are terrestrial birds of open savanna. Of the 24 species found in Africa 13 of these species are birds of the more open woodlands and savanna, and some species even occur in highly arid environments. The remaining species are found in dense forests. This contrasts with Asia, where a single species occurs in open savanna and the remainder are forest species.According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Indonesia has 13 hornbill species, 9 of them exist in Sumatra, and the rest exist in Sumba, Sulawesi, Papua Kalimantan has the same hornbill species as in Sumatra, except the Rangkong Papan (Buceros bicornis).

Description

The brightest colours on most hornbills, like this pair of Knobbed Hornbills, are found on the beaks and bare skin of the face and throat.

Hornbills show considerable variation in size as a family, ranging in size from the Black Dwarf Hornbill (Tockus hartlaubi), at 102 grams (3.6 oz) and 30 cm (1 foot), to the Southern Ground Hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri), at up to 6.2 kg (13.6 lbs) and 1.2 m (4 feet).

  Males are always bigger than the females, though the extent to which this is true varies dependent upon species. The extent of sexual dimorphism also varies with body parts, for example the difference in body mass between males and females is between 1-17%, but the variation is 8-30% for bill length and 1-21% in wing length.The most distinctive feature of the hornbills is the heavy bill, supported by powerful neck muscles as well as by the fused vertebrae. The large bill assists in fighting, preening, and constructing the nest, as well as catching prey. A feature unique to the hornbills is the casque, a hollow structure that runs along the upper mandible. In some species it is barely perceptible and appears to serve no function beyond reinforcing the bill. In other species it is quite large, is reinforced with bone, and has openings between the hollow centre allowing serve as a resonator for call.In the Helmeted Hornbill the casque is not hollow but is filled with ivory and is used as a battering ram used in dramatic aerial jousts Aerial casque-butting has also been reported in the Great Hornbill.

The plumage of hornbills is typically black, grey, white, or brown, although typically offset by bright colours on the bill, or patches of bare coloured skin on the face or wattles. Some species exhibitsexual dichromatism; in the Abyssinian Ground-hornbill, for example, pure blue skin on the face and throat denotes an adult female, and red and blue skin denotes an adult male. The calls of hornbills are loud, and vary distinctly between different species.

Hornbills possess binocular vission, although unlike most birds with this type of vision the bill intrudes on their visual field.This allows them to see their own bill tip and aids in precision handling of food objects with their bill. The eyes are also protected by large eyelashes which act as a sunshade.

Female Great Hornbill feeding on figs. Fruit forms a large part of the diet of forest hornbills

Hornbills are omnivorous birds, eating fruit, insects and small animals. 

   

     They cannot swallow food caught at the tip of the beak as their tongues are too short to manipulate it, so they toss it back to the throat with a jerk of the head. While both open country and forest species are omnivorous, species that specialise in feeding on fruit are generally found in forests while the more carnivorous species are found in open country. Forest living species of hornbills are considered to be important seed dispersers

In some instances hornbills defend a fixed territory. Territoriality is related to diet; fruit sources are often patchily distributed and require long distance travel in order to find, thus species that specialise in fruit are less territorial.

love birds

  A Lovebird is one of nine species of the genus Agapornis (Greek: αγάπη agape 'love'; όρνις ornis 'bird'). They are a social and affectionate small parrot. Eight species are native to the African continent, while the Grey-headed Lovebird is native to Madagascar. Their name stems from the parrots' strong, monogamous pair bonding and the long periods in which paired birds will spend sitting together.

    Lovebirds live in small flocks and eat fruit, vegetables, grasses and seed. Black-winged Lovebirds also eat insects and figs, and the Black-collared Lovebirds have a special dietary requirement for native figs, making them problematic to keep in captivity.

   Some species are kept as pets, and several color mutations were selectively bred in aviculture. Their average lifespan is 10 to 15 years.

Description

   Lovebirds are 13 to 17 centimeters in length and 40 to 60 grams in weight. They are among the smallest parrots, characterized by a stocky build, a short blunt tail, and a relatively large, sharp beak. Wildtype lovebirds are mostly green with a variety of colors on their upper body, depending on the species. 

  The Fischer's Lovebird, Black-cheeked Lovebird, and the Masked Lovebird have a prominent white ring around their eyes. The Abyssinian Lovebird, the Madagascar Lovebird, and the Red-faced Lovebird are sexually demorphic. Many colour mutant varieties have been produced by selective breeding of the species that are popular in aviculture.

Nesting

     Depending on the species of lovebird, the female will carry nesting material into the nest in various ways. The Peach-faced Lovebird tucks nesting material in the feathers of its rump, while the Masked Lovebird carries nesting material back in its beak. Once the lovebirds start constructing their nest, mating will follow. During this time, the lovebirds will mate repeatedly. Eggs follow 3–5 days later. The female will spend hours inside her nesting box before eggs are laid. Once the first egg is laid, a new egg will follow every other day until the clutch is complete, typically at four to six eggs. Even without a nest, lovebirds sometimes produce eggs.

Gender

   Determining Lovebird sex is difficult. At maturity of one year, it may show signs of whether it is male or female, such as ripping up paper and stuffing it into its feathers (female behavior) or regurgitating for its owners (male behavior: the male feeds the nesting female). This behavior is not a reliable indicator. The only sure method is DNA testing. Companies that provide such service exist.

Grooming

   As with pet parrots in general, the tips of lovebirds' toenails should wear down adequately by the parrot climbing over rough surfaced perches. If the parrot has an inactive lifestyle, however, occasionally the toe nails grow long and may need to be trimmed.Only the very tips of the toe nails are trimmed. If too much of a toe nail is trimmed away, it will be painful and bleed from the blood vessels in the centre of the nail.Sharp pointed toe nails that scratch the owner can be blunted by simply filing the point.These procedures are usually done with the help of an assistant carefully holding the parrot wrapped in a towel.

about flamingo

    

       Flamingos or flamingoesare gregarious wading birds in the genus  Phoenicopterus (from Greek φοίνικοπτερος meaning "Phoenix's wing"), the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae. There are four flamingo species in the Americas and two species in the Old World. Flamingos are the national bird of The Bahamas.

Relationship with grebes

     Recent molecular studies have suggested a relation with grebes, while morphological evidence also strongly supports a relationship between flamingos and grebes. They hold at least eleven morphological traits in common, which are not found on other birds. Many of these characteristics have been previously identified on flamingos, but not on grebes. The fossil Palaelodids can be considered evolutionarily, and ecologically, intermediate between flamingos and grebes.

For the grebe-flamingo clade the taxon Mirandornithes ("miraculous birds" due to their extreme divergence and apomorphies) has been proposed. Alternatively, they could be placed in one order, with Phoenocopteriformes taking priority

       Flamingos often stand on one leg, the other tucked beneath the body. The reason for this behavior is not fully understood. Some suggest that the flamingo, like some other animals, has the ability to have half of its body go into a state of sleep, and when one side is rested, the flamingo will swap legs and then let the other half sleep, but this has not been proven. Recent research has indicated that standing on one leg may allow the birds to conserve more body heat, given that they spend a significant amount of time wading in cold water. As well as standing in the water, flamingos may stamp their webbed feet in the mud to stir up food from the bottom.

         Young flamingos hatch with gray plumage, but adults range from light pink to bright red due to aqueous bacteria and beta carotene obtained from their food supply. A well-fed, healthy flamingo is more vibrantly coloured and thus a more desirable mate; a white or pale flamingo, however, is usually unhealthy or malnourished. Captive flamingos are a notable exception; many turn a pale pink as they are not fed carotene at levels comparable to the wild. This is changing as more zoos begin to add prawns and other supplements to the diets of their flamingos.

Feeding

     Flamingos filter-feed on brine shrimp and blue-green algae . Their beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they eat, and are uniquely used upside-down. The filtering of food items is assisted by hairy structures called lamellae which line the mandibles, and the large rough-surfaced tongue. The pink or reddish color of flamingos comes from carotenoid  proteins in their diet of animal and plant plankton . These proteins are broken down into pigments by liver enzymes.The source of this varies by species, and affects the saturation of color. Flamingos whose sole diet is blue-green algae are darker in color compared to those who get it second hand (e.g. from animals that have digested blue-green aglae). Zoo-fed flamingos, who often lack the color enhancer in their diet, may be given food with the additive canthaxanthin^.

Lifecycle

Flamingos are very social birds that live in colonies that can number in the thousands. These large colonies are believed to serve three purposes for the flamingos: predator avoidance, maximizing food intake, and exploiting scarce suitable nesting sites. The most basic and stable social unit of flamingos are pair bonds which are made up of one male and one female. The bond between them tends to be strong; however, in larger colonies (where there are more mates to choose from), mate changes will occur. 
 

     In pair bonds, both the male and the female contribute to building the nest for their egg and defending it. Before breeding, flamingo colonies split into breeding groups of around 15-50 birds. Both males and females in these groups perform synchronized ritual displays. These displays serve to both stimulate synchronous nesting and establish pair formation for birds that do not already have mates.