Showing posts with label Birds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birds. Show all posts

Sunday, 13 April 2014

Flamingo


Traditionally, the long-legged Ciconiiformes, probably a paraphyletic assemblage, have been considered the flamingos' closest relatives and the family was included in the order. Usually the ibises and spoonbills of the Threskiornithidae were considered their closest relatives within this order. Earlier genetic studies, such as those of Charles Sibley and colleagues, also supported this relationship

Thursday, 10 April 2014

Kingfisher


While kingfishers are usually thought to live near rivers and eat fish, most of the kingfisher species in the world live away from water and eat small invertebrates. Like other members of their order they nest in cavities, usually tunnels dug into the natural or artificial banks in the ground. A quarter of all kingfishers nest in disused termite nests. A few species, principally insular forms, are threatened with extinction. In Britain, the word 'kingfisher' normally refers to the Common Kingfisher.

Thursday, 13 March 2014

Blue Tit



Eurasian Blue Tits, usually resident and non-migratory birds, are widespread and a common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and western Asia in deciduous or mixed woodlands with a high proportion of oak. They usually nest in tree holes, although they easily adapt to nest boxes where necessary. Their main rival for nests and in the search for food is the much larger Great Tit.

Tuesday, 4 March 2014

Eagle



Eagle is a common name for some members of the bird family Accipitridae; it belongs to several genera that are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the sixty species of eagles are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just eleven species can be found – two species (the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle) in the United States and Canada, nine species in Central America and South America, and three species in Australia.

Monday, 3 March 2014

Owl



Owls, birds of the order Strigiformes, include about 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision and binaural hearing, and feathers adapted for silent flight. Exceptions include the diurnal Northern Hawk Owl and the gregarious Burrowing Owl.

Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found in all regions of the Earth except Antarctica and some remote islands.

Sunday, 23 February 2014

Snowy Owl



The Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) is a large owl of the typical owl family Strigidae. It was first classified in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus.

Until recently, it was regarded as the sole member of a distinct genus, as Nyctea scandiaca, but mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data (Olsen et al. 2002) shows that it is very closely related to the horned owls in the genus Bubo. However, some authorities debate this classification, still preferring Nyctea. The Snowy Owl is the official bird of the Canadian province of Quebec. It is also widely sought after by birdwatchers and nature-enthusiasts alike.

Wednesday, 12 February 2014

Owls



The Red Owl (Tyto soumagnei) is an owl in the barn owl family Tytonidae. It is also known as the Madagascar Red Owl, Madagascar Grass-owl and Soumange's Owl. It is a rare resident of Madagascar that was virtually unknown from its discovery in 1878 to its rediscovery by researchers from the World Wide Fund for Nature in 1993. 

It is currently listed as vulnerable because of habitat loss, but information is lacking and it may have a wider range than believed. It has possibly been overlooked because of its close resemblance to the closely related Barn Owl.