Category Zoology

          Generally, ducks are not particularly attractive. How-ever, the Mandarin ducks are strikingly beautiful. One would even wonder if an artist had accidentally dropped his palette over the bird!

           The males have a bushy brown crest and cheek ruffs, large white eye patches, dark neck and back with black and white markings, and greenish flanks. Females, on the other hand, are mainly grey-brown in colour.

          Mandarin ducks are 41-49 centimetres long with a wingspan of 65 to 75 centimetres. Their population was high in East Asia once. However, large-scale exports and the destruction of forest habitat have reduced their population in eastern Russia and China to below 1,000 pairs. These ducks are closely related to the wood ducks of North America. They love wooded watercourses as they spend much of their time perching and nesting in trees. They feed at dawn and dusk.

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          Some birds are very few in number and could be found only in a particular area. The Montserrat oriole survives only in two areas; its population ranges between 200 to 800.

          The Montserrat oriole is endemic to the island of Montserrat in the Lesser Antilles. Its name is derived from the name of the island. It is impossible to find this beautiful bird beyond a small range of about 16 square kilometres.

          The Montserrat oriole is black and yellow in colour. It feeds mainly on fruits and insects. It lays two spotted eggs. The binomial name of the bird is Icterus Oberi, which is derived from Frederick Albion Ober, an American naturalist.

          Both natural calamities and human interventions have adversely affected its habitat. The volcanic activity between 1995 and 1997 and a hurricane called Hurricane Hugo that struck the South East United State adversely affected the bird.

          Deforestation is another reason for the dwindling number of these birds.

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          Have you seen some talented people mimicking other’s voices? Some are exceptionally good at it. In nature, there are some supreme mimics such as the superb lyrebird, an Australian songbird. One of the world, it is also noted for its elaborate tail and exquisite appearance. It can mimic a range of voices. In fact, the bird has the ability to reproduce any sound it happens to hear!

          The bird looks like a large brown pheasant. It has black legs, feet and bill. The colour of the wings is rufous. The males of the species are typically 100 centimetres long and females are about 80 centimetres. They weigh about one kilogram. The species is found only in the south east regions of Australia. However, it has been introduced to Tasmania. It lives on small invertebrates found on the forest floor or in rooting logs.

          They do not move about much, preferring to stay in one place for long. Therefore, they are known as sedentary birds.

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          Puffins are birds with brightly coloured beaks. They live off fish from the open sea; therefore they are known as pelagic birds. The tufted puffin is a medium-sized puffin. Its thick red bill and yellow tufts make it distinct from other members of its family.

          The size of a tufted puffin comes around 35 centimetres in length and three quarters of a kilogram in weight. The bird has the ability to dive into the deep waters and swim through the sea using its wings. It can rapidly swim through schools of small fish by spreading its tail. The webbed feet help it to steer through water.

          They prefer to inhabit islands or cliffs that are relatively inaccessible to predators and high enough so that they can take to the air successfully.

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           The Philippine eagle is a giant forest raptor, found only in Philippines. Once upon a time, the bird was known as the monkey-eating eagle. Do you know why?

            The people who discovered the bird erroneously thought that the eagle fed exclusively on monkeys. However, it was discovered later that the bird’s diet include colugos, large snakes, monitor lizards and even large birds, such as hornbills.

            The bird is considered as one of the three largest and most powerful eagles in the world. Its nest is enormous and is usually built at the top of a tall tree. It is a predator.

            The Philippine eagle is one of the world’s rarest and certainly among the most critically endangered vertebrate species. Incessant deforestation of the Philippine lowlands has confined this glorious bird to hills and mountains. They are hunted down by man, too

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          Splendid colours, unusual plumage and other distinct body features make some birds unique. The Eurasian hoopoe is such a bird. Its appearance is so striking, especially when its crest is up. When the bird files, it shows off its broad, tropical butterfly-like wings. These birds are good at camouflaging too.

          The Eurasian hoopoe is about 25 to 32 centimetres long. Its wingspan comes to about 50centimetres. A medium-sized bird weighs between 46 and 90 grams. The bird feeds mostly on insects. However, small reptiles, frogs and plant matter such as seeds and berries become part of its diet as well.

         The bird is abundantly found in Europe, Asia, North Africa and northern Sub-Saharan Africa. They move from one place to another seasonally, in response to rain, in some regions such as Sri Lanka and India.

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