This species has the most vibrant plumage of all flamingo species.
The Bali myna is almost entirely white with long head plumes and black wing-tips. Endemic to Bali where it formerly ranged across the north-west third of the island, the species was never very widely distributed.
Black-faced spoonbills are the rarest spoonbills and the only species of spoonbill to be classed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
The black-winged mynas' melodious song, along with their lively temperament and striking plumage make them highly-prized in the cage bird trade. Formerly widespread throughout the island of Java, there are now fewer than fifty mature individuals left in the wild. The last few appear restricted to mangrove areas, where they are presumably harder to trap as compared to the cultivated fields and pastures they formerly flocked to.
These birds forage in flocks of 40 or more, looking through leaf litter on the ground, or flitting from one leafy branch to another in bushes and trees, gleaning for insects.
A macaw’s beak can crack the hardest nut and even crush your finger. Its flexible and scaly tongue contains a bone. Palm nuts are among the toughest nuts but some macaws feed specifically on them.
These birds have found the perfect way to enjoy their nuts without too much beak gnashing. They search through pasture land, looking for palm nuts that have been eaten by cattle and passed out with the tough outer shells removed. Make no mistake – macaws are very smart!
Emus belong to a family of flightless birds called ratites, which also include ostriches, rheas, cassowaries and kiwis. As the second largest bird in the world after the ostrich, it can run at a speed of up to 50 km/hr.
Gentoo Penguins is the world’s fastest underwater bird, swimming at speeds of up to 36km/h!
The golden-shouldered parrot nests in conical termite mounds. Dubbed the ‘antbed parrot’, it excavates its nest during the wet season when the mound is rain softened.
Great Argus are amongst the largest pheasants, related to the peafowls. Males have long twin tail feathers, which grow to a whopping 1.5 m in length, while their flamboyant wing feathers boast many eyespots.
This shy bird not easily observed among the forest foliage except when small groups gather and call in chorus, sometimes for several minutes. The chorus begins with plaintive cries followed by a series of short kok-kok notes and dies down with deeper vibrating calls.
The largest and heaviest leafbird, this bird has a powerful, hooked bill that it uses to pierce mid-sized fruits with a tough covering. The flesh is then dislodged and squeezed out with the bill. Small fruits and pieces of large fruit are eaten directly. On occasion when this bird visits flowers like the tubular ones of climbing vines, it punctures them at the bottom for nectar.
To ensure germination, many seeds and unripe fruits contain toxins to keep animals at bay, What’s a seed- and fruit-eating macaw to do? Well, it could eat some dirt! Rich sediment is carried down the Andes by the Amazon river and deposited on its banks.
This species is threatened by habitat destruction, especially the felling of old-growth trees required for nesting. Because of its size, distinctive calls, and predictable visits to the same feeding sites, it is an easy target for local hunters.
Among the 350 odd parrot species worldwide, grey parrots are best able to mimic human speech.
The Humboldt penguin is a medium-sized black-and-white penguin. All of its upperparts, nape, forehead, throat and face are black, except for a white border stretching from its eye to around the ear-coverts, finally joining on its throat. The base of its bill is fleshy-pink. A black horseshoe shaped breast-band extends down its flanks to the thigh and the white belly is speckled with black spots.
A macaw’s beak can crack the hardest nut and even crush your finger. Its flexible and scaly tongue contains a bone. Palm nuts are among the toughest nuts but some macaws feed specifically on them.
The King Penguin stands at a height of 1 metre. It is the second tallest penguin, after the Emperor Penguin, which is 1.3m tall.
The cackle of the laughing kookaburra is an iconic sound of the dry eucalypt forests of eastern Australia at dawn and dusk.
Out of six flamingo species, the lesser flamingo is the smallest and most numerous with around three million individuals.
Being seedeaters, cockatoos have large beaks with which seeds can be dehusked efficiently. The action of the bill and tongue has been likened to the chewing action of ruminants.
Natives call the masked lapwing the ‘spear-carrying bird’ due to the sharp yellow spurs on its wings.
A macaw’s beak can crack the hardest nut and even crush your finger. Its flexible and scaly tongue contains a bone. Palm nuts are among the toughest nuts but some macaws feed specifically on them.
A macaw’s beak can crack the hardest nut and even crush your finger. Its flexible and scaly tongue contains a bone. Palm nuts are among the toughest nuts but some macaws feed specifically on them.
Rockhopper penguins are so named because of their ability to hop over rocks and boulders, sometimes reaching heights of up to 1.8m.
Hornbills usually pair for life but for both Stumpy and her current partner, it is love at second sight. Stumpy was one of a pair previously released to the wild. The pair were often seen flying together but one day the male disappeared.
The palm cockatoo is the world’s largest cockatoo. Its distinctive cheek patch of bare skin flushes from pink to bright red when the bird is alarmed or excited.
The Papuan hornbill is the only hornbill in New Guinea. Called ‘Kokomo’ in local Tok Pisin language, it is a show stealer. In flight, its wings give off a very loud whooshing sound.
With its one-metre height, the Philippine eagle is the tallest of eagles. It tips the scales at a maximum of eight kilogrammes, which makes it one of the largest eagles in the world.
The rainbow lorikeet is distributed across its range in eastern Indonesia, New Guinea, northern and eastern Australia and the western Pacific Islands.
A macaw’s beak can crack the hardest nut and even crush your finger. Its flexible and scaly tongue contains a bone.
A macaw’s beak can crack the hardest nut and even crush your finger. Its flexible and scaly tongue contains a bone.
The only family of birds that is entirely endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, the turacos are known for their punk ‘hairdos’. The feathers around their head do not have barbules, which gives a glossy appearance to their raised crest.
A macaw’s beak can crack the hardest nut and even crush your finger. Its flexible and scaly tongue contains a bone.
Cockatoos are large parrots, known for their long life spans that range from 40 to 70 years. They differ from other parrots in that they have a head crest and no blue or green feathers. Black cockatoos are found only in Australia.
Named for its unique spoon-shaped bill, the roseate spoonbill has attractive pink plumage and a defined carmine wing patch. The bare green skin on its head takes on a yellowish hue during the breeding season.
Cockatoos have distinctive head crests which are normally kept folded back on the top of the head when relaxed. These are raised as a sign of agitation or curiosity, and to signal threat or romantic intentions.
This bird is observed to perch on low branches and roost in trees. It comes to the ground to forage for food and this is when it is most vulnerable to the introduced rats, cats, dogs and pigs that are found in much of its range.
They are what they eat – scarlet ibises feed on crayfish, crabs and aquatic insects which give their plumage the bright red colour.
A macaw’s beak can crack the hardest nut and even crush your finger. Its flexible and scaly tongue contains a bone.
The southern cassowary is the third biggest bird after the ostrich and emu. Compared to the single wattled northern cassowary, it is slightly larger and has two wattles, which hang loosely from its neck.
Known for its melodious calls, the straw-headed bulbul has been hunted to extinction across much of its range in Southeast Asia.
Male and female eclectus parrots look so different that they were once thought to be separate species. Males are predominantly green; females are red or purplish red.
The sun parakeet is green on the wings, scarlet on the breast and golden orange on the head and neck. This brilliant mix of colours is characteristic of their genus Aratinga, a group of “mini-macaws” found predominantly in northeastern Brazil.
The superb starling (Lamprotornis superbus) is a member of the starling family of birds. It was formerly known as Spreo superbus.
Often confused with owls, the nocturnal tawny frogmouth is closely related to night jars. It has a flat, wide beak like a frog’s mouth, hence its common name.