Little Egret Species of Bird:

The little egret is a species of wading bird that is one of the few birds that owes its massive success and survival as a species to its migratory pattern. In evolutionary terms, this bird is extremely old and is quite widespread across all continents. Its success lies in the fact that there are no boundaries that this bird will not cross in its quest to find a good nesting site. Like most migratory birds, the little egret is also a colony dweller. The bird has been famous in history because of its plumage that was a major craze amongst people in the earlier centuries. It was so rampant as a fashion icon that the bird was even farmed for its plumage though most supplies of feathers did come from poached wild populations that seriously threatened its existence.

The little egret is an innocuous swamp dweller with a size of about 55 centimeters and a 105 centimeter wingspan. The bird and all of its subspecies are mostly white in color with a red and blue marking near the eyes. Just like another wading bird, the ibis, this species also undergoes some color transformations during its mating seasons. A breeding pair is extremely territorial and marks out an area that is four meters in diameter when the breeding pair has a nest. The chicks are looked after by both parents and are covered in a fluffy down. The diet of the bird consists of swamp reptiles like frogs, as well as insects, crustaceans, and small entities.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the bird remains its spread. Most species of little egrets do not migrate if they are indigenous to the tropics. However, this changes in egrets that hail from Europe. These birds will regularly fly to the warmer regions of the South during winter travelling as far as Africa only to return after winter is over. This travel has caused the spread of the habitat of the bird to extend to Ireland and Netherlands. The bird also spread to the American subcontinent as has become a regular feature of the winter migration of birds there as well. They usually are found in the company of other wading birds and avian swamp dwellers. The little egret is one of the few birds to have enjoyed a status of conservation way back in 1889. This was in response the widespread hunting of the bird for the fashion industry.

Glossy Ibis Bird:

The ibis is a species of birds that are classified as wading birds. These are birds that are native to most continents. The theory is that this is one of the old world birds that have existed during a time when the continents of Africa and South America were connected. This is was a time many millions of years ago after the mega continent of Pangaea started to break up and South America drifted away from Africa. Incidentally, this continental shift is still underway. The Ibis’ major fame comes from being a resident of Egypt and the Nile where it feeds in near marsh like conditions of the river bank.

The glossy ibis is a resident of the American, African, Australian, and parts of the Asian continent. The bird can be found in the marshy parts of the area it inhabits. It preys mostly on small fish and frogs that are endemic to the wetlands. It is also quite common to see this bird near areas where herons are abundant. One of the curious bits of information of this bird is that it is not one of the endangered species of birds in America. This is because of good breeding success inherently in the bird and the fact that massive wetland conservation effects have ensured good populations and that the species is not one of those covered under threatened species lists. This does not mean that the bird is completely free from human dangers. In the state of Florida, one of the most potent threats to the bird comes from the fact that its habitat is slowly being eroded and run off from farmland into areas of wetland is an ever growing threat to this species of the ibis.

The bird is known to have a very boisterous personality when in its native domain, which is wetlands and creates a variety of sounds that include some grunts and croaks. The bird is physically not that dominating in stature, just like other members of its species. It usually just measures 55 centimeters in length and 105 centimeters in wingspan. The bird is characterized by a brown bill, a dark face, and a dark brown or blue plumage. When they do fly, they do not follow the regular aerodynamic flying formation that most migratory birds use, preferring to instead just fly in a single line, south towards their winter hideouts away from the chill.

Black Kite Bird:

The black kite is a bird of prey that is part of the family of eagles, buzzards, and other raptors. This is a bird that is ubiquitous with nearly every part of the world except the Americas. The bird can be identified with its characteristic eagle-like look but its plumage is largely consistent with a single hue of brown. It will have a ribbed set of stripes present on the underside of its tail. The bird is not uncommon to urban areas where like other urban raptor species, they are famed for taking advantage of the thermal air currents that rise of urban structures like buildings. They are particularly adept at catching food on the wing and are known to be major hunters of pigeons and other smaller birds.

These birds are spread all over the world and in areas where they are native to the tropics like India and Africa do not migrate like variants that hail from colder parts of the world like Australia. In these regions, the birds will migrate away from the area during the winters. In the United Kingdom, the bird is only visible as a passing feature on its migratory path towards its native lands. These birds have quite interesting hunting habits and will soar high in the air and swoop down on their prey. They are especially attracted by instinct towards smoke that comes from the ground. This is because of an instinct that tells them that where this is smoke, there would be some kind of prey running away from a fire on the ground. This is quite different in an urban setting and the bird would not hesitate to swoop down on a human that could have some kind of food.

The variants of the bird include the European black kite, black-eared kite, pariah kite, fork-tailed kite, and the Taiwan kite. The black-eared kite is native to the regions of Persian and the Himalayas, the black-eared kite is a native of India, and the Pariah kite is a native of Sri Lanka and Malaysia. In the India subcontinent, the kite is known to follow the patterns of the monsoon and is a regular site before the onset of a major storm or the monsoon period in general. The bird is also of extreme importance to most airports because of the presence of prey near airports that ends up attracting the bird to runaways causing bird strikes.

Wedge-Tailed Eagle Bird:

The Wedge-tailed eagle, also popularly known as the eaglehawk, is one of the world’s largest eagles and the largest raptor known to man. The bird is characterized by its long, large wings and the distinctive wedge shaped tail. The eaglehawk also has fully feathered legs which makes it appear extremely large.
The wedge tailed eagle is known to be one of the largest birds of prey in the world and is not very hard to spot, owing to its wedge shaped tail. The eagle is predominantly dark in color, seen in different shades of dark brown. Since the wings are rather large, the wingspan is huge and usually averages to about 8-8.5 feet. The length of the eagle itself is about 4 feet. It is believed that the wedge tailed eagle is a subspecies of the Verreaux’s eagle, Golden eagle, and Gurney’s eagle. The female is much larger than the male and may weight from 9 lbs. to 12 lbs. The male eagle weighs around 6-9 lbs.

When young, the eagle is usually a mild brown in color, but as it grows, the color becomes darker, ultimately becoming a black-brown color by the time they are adults. It has been observed that the males are slightly darker than the females. The wedge tailed eagles are found abundantly in Australia and Tasmania. They are easily spotted in the open country—especially in the southern and the eastern parts of the continent. The mating rituals of the wedge tailed eagle include a dramatic display of aerobatic flights. A pair may often be seen performing various mid flight acrobatics.

The eaglehawks nest in the wedges of trees. They are not particular about having a new nest. Sometimes, they may simply add new sticks or leaves to an old and abandoned nest. Sometimes, if there is a scarcity of trees or an appropriate nesting place, the eagles may nest on a cliff edge. Both the birds contribute to building a nest. Both the male and the female take turns to incubate the eggs. The young fledglings depend on their parents for food for about six months, after which they become independent and fly away.
The birds fly at very high altitudes and may soar for many hours without beating their wings even once. They can reach 5900 feet easily and may even go higher sometimes. They have very keen eyesight which can see through both the infrared and ultraviolet bands. Since they fly at such high altitudes, their keen eyesight helps them spot prey many feet below.

Tawny Frogmouth Bird:

The Tawny Frogmouth, is an Australian bird which is found in the mainland of the continent, New Guinea, and Tasmania. The bird looks like an owl and is often mistaken as belonging to a subspecies of an owl. There are several colloquial names for the frogmouth, the most common being mopoke or morepork. However, these are alternate names for a sub species of an owl and therefore incorrectly used for the tawny frogmouth.

Both the male and female tawny frogmouths look alike. They are the same in length; both have yellow colored eyes and a wide beak which is covered in a small tuft of feathers. They emit a distinct clacking sounds which they make using their beaks. They are also known for making loud booming calls, which often reverberate around in the wilderness.

The tawny frogmouths, unlike owls, do not fly around hunting for prey. Instead, they sit at a very low perch and wait for food to come to them. They sit very still and catch their prey in their beaks as soon as it crosses them. They may also suddenly fall from their perch, dropping on the ground, to catch their prey.
The tawny frogmouths are nocturnal and hunt only in the night. They roost on dead trees or branches which are very close to the trunk, during the day. They are extremely clever birds and are able to camouflage themselves among their surroundings by sitting extremely still. When they are sitting still, they often look exactly like a part of the branch. The color of their feathers also allows them to pull this off.

The primary prey of the tawny frogmouth are rodents and insects. They may also feed on frogs and other smaller animals from time to time. However, unlike owls, they do not use their talons to catch their prey; they use their beaks for hunting and catching prey.

They have only one partner throughout their life and remain with that partner until either of them dies. They make a very untidy and loose platform to perch on and may make repairs from time to time to keep it from falling apart.

Though the tawny frogmouths look a lot like owls there are several behavioral differences between the two. Owl’s feet are much stronger since they use their talons for hunting. As opposed to this, the talons of the tawny frogmouths are not very strong. Owls are able to swing about their talons but the tawny frogmouths can’t do that.

Chowchilla Bird:

The Chowchilla belongs to the order of Passeriformes, to which more than half of the birds in the entire world belong. This bird can only survive in wet tropics and therefore is native only to Australia and is not even found in the neighboring Tasmania.  The bird is usually found in the upland rainforest regions of Australia. However, it does not generally inhabit some of the wettest areas of the region. The bird is also known as the Northern Longrunner. Apart from the chowchilla, there is only one other identified longrunner species.

The chowchilla dwells on the ground, unlike most other birds. It is unmistakable for its appearance. Both the males and the females of this species are dark brown in color. They have a unique white colored ring around their eyes. Their tail feather shaft is also visible as it extends beyond the feather vanes as the spin of the bird. The males are easily identifiable because of their white neck, belly and breast. The female’s throat and upper breast is of a bright rufous color and the lower portion of the breast as well as the belly is white in color.

The bird is in the habit of foraging for food, generally in the litter of leaves. It typically scratches the leaves in order to search for food and while doing this, it calls loudly. The calling of the chowchillas is different from region to region and it is believed that the chowchillas interact in different dialects with each other. Their vocalizations are rather complex but largely, the sounds emitted are that of chattering and singing.
The chowchilla is often also known as the Spalding’s Spinetail, which is what it was called before being named as chowchilla. This name was given to them owing to their long spines which often extend beyond the feathers, becoming visible.

Since the bird typically forages for food on the ground, the tail has adapted itself to support the chowchilla when it is trying to lean backwards, looking for food. The bird leans backwards and throws aside leaves in order to search for small animals and insects which it can consume. Sometimes, the bird gets so involved in this that it gets completely covered in litter, thus disappearing for short whiles.
The birds flock together and are extremely territorial. They usually move together in groups of 3-8. They move quickly and are usually related to each other.

Brolga Bird:

The Brolga (Grus rubicund) is one of the largest flying birds found in Australia, commonly called as Australian Crane. Brolga is one of the cranes which are found in Australia, the other crane is known as Sarus. The brolga, also the official bird emblem of the state of Queensland, is a tall and slender light-grey coloured crane. Both male and female brolgas have similar appearance except for the fact that males are a bit larger than their female partners. The brolga is a gregarious wetland bird species with a patch of red skin on their heads.

Here are a few quick key facts about brolga:

• Social creatures: Brolgas are social birds and mostly live in a large flock which is led by a male Brolga. They make a large family and may leave their natural habitat outside breeding season. Brolgas usually fly to very high altitudes in search of cool air.  However, once their breeding season approaches they always prefer to come back to their natural habitat.
• Habitat: These birds nest in freshwater marshes and large open wetlands, preferably lakes, grassland, and irrigated croplands that occur primarily close to permanent open water which is in association with vegetation. They can also survive in marginal brackish and salty wetlands. They are the only creatures with the unique feature of having a gland in the corner of their eyes. This helps in passing out the excessive salt.
• Eating habits: Brolgas are omnivorous; however, they prefer swollen tubers from vegetative plants. They eat a variety of food items including grass, wetland plants, small fishes, small reptiles, crustaceans, roots, small lizards, and insects.  They usually feed during the daytime and generally go very far in search of food.
• Lifetime partners/lifelong commitment: Brolgas choose a mate for life time and mostly isolate their territory which is protected by both the partners. Their mating season is generally winter (November-December). Both female and male partners take up the responsibility to incubate the two eggs which almost take a month to hatch.
• Mating Dance: During their mating season they display graceful dancing skills. They are popularly known for their intimate mating dance. Brolgas may dance solely for the opposite genders but generally they dance in pairs. At times a dozen of them dance together, by stretching their wings and dramatically shaking their head. These birds have trumpet like loud calls which they make during flight, rest and especially during the courtship display.
• Threats to the species: The threats to the survival of these birds include loss of freshwater habitats. It is crucial to protect the wetlands and encourage predator control by landowners, for retaining the suitable breeding habitats.

Black Falcon Bird:

The Black Falcon is a large falcon that is a native of Australia and is not naturally found in any other place in the country. The black falcon is the largest of all falcons found in Australia. The bird is found mainly in open grassy areas or woodlands in the northern parts of Australia. It can also be found along tree lined water bodies in the Australian region. It is a raptor that flies at a high speed. It has typical wings which are long, pointing and tapering. Even though it is a relatively large bird, the shape of the wings allows it to take long flights. The color of the bird ranges from dark brown to a raven black. However, the throat is usually paler than the rest of the body. The feet and the beak are also different colored in a hue of bluish white.
Like some of the other raptors, the female black falcon is larger, about 22 inches long, whereas the male black falcon is only about 18 inches long. Other than the size difference, there is not much of a difference in the appearance of the two. The male and the female black falcons have a rather interesting relationship.

The black falcon is a relative of the brown falcon with the only difference being the color of the down and the absence of a barred tail. The flying action of the black falcon is also different from the brown one. While the brown falcon flies with slow strokes that appear like rowing, the black falcon flies with strong and powerful beating of the wings. The black kite may also appear similar to the black falcon but has a forked tail.

The black falcon is not a very commonly found bird and is sparsely spread in the inland of the Australian region. Like many other birds, the black falcon also has certain seasonal movements and may travel southwards with the change of season. It is nomadic and may also change its habitat with the changing availability of food.

The falcon preys on small birds which it hunts in midair. However, the black falcon is also known to hunt smaller animals that dwell on ground. Animals like rabbits, lizards, quails and rats often fall prey to the black falcon. Depending on the availability of food, the black falcon may also be seen feeding on dead carcasses. They are also known to steal their prey from other raptors.

Whiskered Tern Bird:

The whiskered tern is a small, plump marsh tern. It is also referred to as the black fronted tern or marsh tern. It is a sea bird which belongs to the tern family and has many different races which differ in size and plumage. During breeding its cheeks and sides of the neck turn white and the crown becomes black. The upper area of the body and upper wings are a lighter grey, while the under parts are dark grey. The underside of the tail and wings is white. The eyes are white and the bill is red. The tail is slightly forked. Male and females appear similar. The non-breeding birds have a similar appearance to the breeding ones, expect for their white under parts, white foreheads and white streaks on the crown. Young whiskered terns have a pale grey plumage on the back, upper wings and rump. Their tails are pale grey with black edges.

Young and non-breeding whiskered terns may sometimes be confused with young and non-breeding white winged black terns. White winged black terns are however smaller and leaner and also more compact that the whiskered terns. The other differentiating factor is that the whiskered terns have forked tails with a slightly square tip. Whiskered terns may be found in the mainland areas in Australia. They do not however live in the arid areas of the mainland. They breed in segregated populations throughout southern Europe, Asia, Australia, Madagascar and south-east Africa. These birds tend to live in freshwater swamps, floodwaters, sewage farms, dams, shallow freshwater wetlands and brackish lakes. Whiskered terns are a nomadic and migratory species. Many birds migrate from Australia to south east Asia and Indonesia.

These birds feed on insects and larvae, amphibians, smaller fish and crustaceans. They feed in three different methods, namely plunging, hawking and dipping. When they plunge, they first hover and then dive with their wings raised about 2-4 meters above the water. When hawking they take insects on the wing. They mostly hawk above dry plains.  Breeding season of these birds is irregular. Breeding takes place in colonies in marshes and swamps. They build their nests as either floating or still rafts composed of vegetation. Males and females are both involved in building the nests and caring for the young. Whiskered terns may become aggressive with intruders or attackers, including humans. They emit loud cries and swoop down repeatedly and can even strike the individual’s head with their beaks, if they perceive threat.

Rufous Owl:

The rufous owl lives in rainforests, wet dense forested areas and the surrounding woodlands. During the day it roosts in leafy trees. A rufous owl has a dark rufous colored forehead, crown, nape, back and upper wings. There is also a fine light brown barring on these areas. There are broader bars on the upper tail. The face is a blackish brown and the neck, breast and under part is rufous with fine cream bars. The undersides of the wings are light brown with broad cream bars. The male birds are larger than the females and have flatter and broader heads. Young owls are downy and much smaller in size. Young adult birds have broad bars and a dark sepia color.

Rufous owls tend to have a shy nature and are essentially elusive birds. They are nocturnal birds and very protective of their nests, which they will aggressively defend. They are not very vocal and mostly do not emit any calls outside of the breeding season. The pairs of owls may chatter very softly while roosting. The call these owls most commonly emit is a double hooting which has a deep pitch and is similar to the powerful owl’s call. It is however less powerful and more nasal. The call of the female birds is higher pitched. Rufous owls hunt powerfully and feed on a variety of prey such as beetles, birds and even flying foxes. Other examples of their prey include blue-winged kookaburras, white cockatoo, scrubfowl, herons, ducks, parrots and even crayfish. These owls are able to catch their prey in a variety of ways. Scrubfowls may be taken from their perches, phasmids may be snatched during flight, flying foxes may be hunted aerially and crayfish may be taken from flowing flood water.

The breeding season of the rufous owl is very regular and the females tend to lay their eggs at the same time each year. If there are still young birds in the nest from the previous breeding season, the adult birds may not nest during the present season. The birds begin to roost closely with each other when nesting time approaches. Both, male and female birds may become very aggressive towards humans if they perceive a threat to their nest. Nests are usually hollows in the tree limbs or trunks. The incubation of the eggs last for 37 days. The young owls stay dependent on the parents for many months, sometimes even until the next breeding season.