Even More

Blue bird-of-paradise

Among the gorgeous canopy dwelling birds of paradise, few are so lovely and in so much danger as this species. It is limited to a few fragmented patches of lower mountain forest in a single country. It has an incredible inverted display that males perform hanging upside down, and the glowing blue feathers are unworldly.

Body length: 30 cm.The blue bird-of-paradise inhabits tropical and subtropical moist forest, usually between 1,400 and 1,800 meters above sea level.

The blue bird-of-paradise has blue feathers on its wings, back and tail; the bill is ivory in color and there is a white ring around the eyes.Male blue birds-of-paradise also have fine blue tail plumes with two delicate, long streamers, while, in contrast to the dark males, females have chestnut underparts.During their mating display, males will give a rhythmic 'wahr...wahr...' call.

The Blue Bird-of-paradise likes to eat fruits. They also eat insects like grasshoppers and crickets.

The male courts female blue birds using its beautiful and decorative plumes. These plumes make the male irresistibly attractive. They are a very stylish species of birds.

Habitat loss is the most important threat to the survival of the blue bird-of-paradise. Much of the native forests of Papua New Guinea are being cleared to make way for agriculture and development and it is likely that the already small population of the blue bird-of-paradise will become increasingly fragmented. The colorful feathers of these birds have traditionally been in demand and the species continues to be targeted by hunters.

The blue bird-of-paradise is protected by law in Papua New Guinea and international trade is restricted by its listing on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).More research into the distribution of these beautiful birds is required in order to accurately gauge the risk currently facing their population.

KIWI

The "Kiwi" is a flightless New Zealand bird.The kiwi (bird) is unusual in at least two respects. First, it is the only bird in the world that has its nostrils at the end of its beak. Second, the female kiwi has the largest egg, in proportion to its body size, of any bird in the world (except possibly for the hummingbird). Kiwi are about the same size as chickens, but their eggs are almost as big as those of ostriches! Kiwi birds have been designated as New Zealand "honorary mammals". The only real native mammals in New Zealand are two kinds of forest-dwelling bats. Biologists and the like please note: the kiwi is a member of the order Apterygiformes and comes in six species, including (Apteryx mantelli, Apteryx australis, Apteryx oweni, and Apteryx haasti).

The kiwi is a curious bird. it cannot fly, has loose, hairlike feathers, strong legs and no tail. Mostly nocturnal, they are most commonly forest dwellers, making daytime dens and nests in burrows, hollow logs or under dense vegetation. Kiwi are the only bird to have nostrils at the end of its very long bill which is used to probe in the ground, sniffing out invertebrates to eat, along with some fallen fruit. It also has one of the largest egg-to-body weight ratios of any bird - the egg averages 15 per cent of the female's body weight (compared to two per cent for the ostrich).

Adult kiwi usually mate for life, and are strongly territorial. Females are larger than males (up to 3.3 kg and 45 cm). Depending on the species, the male kiwi does most of the egg incubation, which is usually one clutch of one egg per year from June to December. Chicks hatch fully feathered after a long incubation of 70-85 days, emerge from the nest to feed at about five days old and are never fed by their parents. Juveniles grow slowly, taking three to five years to reach adult size.

Kiwi are long-lived, and depending on the species live for between 25 and 50 years.

The kiwi is related to a group of birds called ratites. The closest relatives to kiwi today are emus and cassowaries in Australia, but also the now-extinct moa of New Zealand. There are five species of kiwi:

1.Brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)

2.Rowi (Apteryx rowi)

3.Tokoeka (Apteryx Australis)

4.Great spotted kiwi or roroa (Apteryx haastii)

5.Little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii).

Kiwi were once more abundant and widely distributed throughout New Zealand than they are today. The overall rate of decline for kiwi populations not part of conservation programs is estimated to be three per cent per year for brown kiwi, and two per cent for great spotted kiwi and tokoeka. All populations of the remaining species are under management. In 2008, the number of kiwi remaining was estimated to be approximately 72,600.

Shoebill (Balaeniceps Rex)

The unmistakable, prehistoric-looking shoebill is one of the most impressive birds to be found in Africa. A mysterious inhabitant of impenetrable marshes, this tall wading bird possesses a bluish-gray plumage, long black legs, broad wings and muscular neck, but is undeniably dominated by its fantastically unique 'shoe-like' bill, from which its common name derives.

Height: 115 - 150 cm, Body length: 100 - 120 cm,Weight: 4 - 7 kg.

Their favorite food is the mamba, a type of lungfish. They also eat baby crocodiles and chicks. The most prominent feature of the Shoebill is its ability to stay still for long periods. It sits quietly in the swamp waiting for fish to approach. As soon as one sees it, it lays its whole body onto the surface water and captures the fish with its beak.

The Shoebill is well known as for its habit of remaining motionless for long periods. It sits in the swamp waiting patiently until its favorite fish comes from, and can go for hours without moving. Its unique appearance and large head and beak leave a lasting impression. Now, the Shoebill is on the brink of extinction. This is because people are turning more and more of their swamp habitat into farmland. Found in extensive papyrus grass and reed swamps and seasonally flooded marshes with floating vegetation, preferring those formed by papyrus.

Broken distribution in tropical east Africa from Sudan and western Ethiopia in Zambia.

Although widespread, the shoebill is considered uncommon, with a total world population estimated at 5,000-8,000.The small population is declining due to habitat destruction and degradation, nest disturbance, increased hunting levels and capture for the bird trade.

Fire and drought threaten habitat in Zambia, nests are trampled by large herbivores feeding in swamps, and there is some evidence for trapping and persecution. Conflict in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo has disrupted some protected areas (e.g. Akagera National Park) that support the species, and the proliferation of firearms has greatly facilitated hunting of this bird.

International trade in the shoebill is limited by the species' listing on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). However,the trade does still occur, and this certainly poses an unwelcome pressure to already-dwindling populations. Plans are underway to upgrade the shoebill to Appendix I of CITES, which would render all trade illegal.

Cassowary

The cassowary is a large species of flightless bird, that is natively found in the forests of Papua New Guinea and on its surrounding islands.The cassowary is closely related to other large flightless birds including emus and ostriches and is the third tallest and second heaviest bird in the world behind these two.

The southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) has glossy black plumage and a bright blue neck, with red coloring on the nape. Two wattles of bare, red colored skin hang down from the throat. Cassowaries have stout, powerful legs and long feet with 3 toes; the inner toe on each foot has a sharp claw that can reach up to 80 millimeters in length.

Height: 1.3 - 1.7 m, Female weight: up to 60 kg.Male weight: 35 kg.

Cassowaries are usually solitary, and males are subordinate to females if they meet. Females may lay several clutches of eggs during the breeding season, which runs from June to October. These are laid directly onto the forest floor and the male then takes sole responsibility for their care. The male incubates the eggs for around 50 days, turning the eggs and only leaving his charges in order to drink. He cares for his offspring for up to 16 months, protecting them under his tail if threatened.

Cassowaries fight by kicking out with their legs.They have a fearsome reputation, but their diet is composed almost entirely of fruit. These birds are important dispersers of a number of rainforest seeds, ranging far in search of fruiting trees.

The cassowary inhabits dense tropical forest in New Guinea and its surrounding islands and parts of north-eastern Australia. There are three species of cassowary which are the Southern Cassowary or Double-wattled Cassowary, found in southern New Guinea, northeastern Australia, and the Aru Islands, the Dwarf Cassowary or Bennett's Cassowary, found in New Guinea, New Britain, and on Yapen, and the Northern Cassowary or Single-wattled Cassowary, found in northern and western New Guinea, and Yapen.

The destruction of rainforest and wet tropical coastal lowland habitat is the most important cause of the decline in the southern cassowary population. As forest is cleared to make way for agriculture or development, populations become fragmented and isolated, reducing genetic variation.

In Australia, most of the remaining habitat of the southern cassowary is now located within protected areas .A recovery plan for the species has been drawn up by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, with the aim of securing and enhancing the status of the southern cassowary in Australia through integrated conservation initiatives.In New Guinea, further data on population numbers is required and hunting restrictions may need to be imposed.

Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno)

The most spectacular feature of the resplendent Quetzal, often held to be the most beautiful and ornate bird species in the Western Hemisphere, is the greatly elongated, glistening emerald-green tail feathers of breeding males. These are longer than the entire body of the bird, and are in fact upper tail coverts that extend beyond the bird's snow-white tail, forming an elegant train of 'streamers' that are flaunted during the mating season in a spectacular swooping flight display.

The bushy crest (due to elongated feathers of the crown and nape) of both sexes of the Resplendent Quetzal and the extremely long tail coverts of the male makes the species unique in its family.  In general, the female Quetzal differs from other Trojans in its range by the larger size and the rich green coloration, as opposed to a brown or gray.

Measurements of wing and tail taken from Johnsgard (2000):

Wings: 189-206 mm (mean 199 mm) in males; 193-208 mm (mean 198.4 mm) in females. Wings of male mocinno average 7 mm longer than those of costaricensis (as given).

Tail: 179.5-195.5 mm (mean 187.4 mm) in males; 184-216 mm (mean 196.8 mm) in females. Rectrices of male moccino average 20 mm longer than the costaricensis (as given).  Longest uppertail coverts in males: 480-855 mm for costaricensis and 650-957 mm for mocinno.

Tarsus: 19.1-20.8 mm (mean 19.9 mm) in males; 19.4-21.2 mm (mean 20.1 mm)  in females (Wetmore 1968).

Culmen (from base): 21.9-26.3 mm (mean 23.5 mm) in males;  21.0 - 25.8 mm (mean 23.3 mm) in females (Wetmore 1968).

Mass: 180-210 g (Collar 2001).

Two subspecies of the Resplendent Quetzal are recognized (Clements 2007). The southern subspecies costaricensis inhabits Costa Rica and the western highlands of Panama, while nominating machine occurs in southern Mexico, Honduras, eastern El Salvador, and north central Nicaragua. The subspecies costaricensis has generally been smaller (see Measurements); the uppertail coverts of the male are shorter and narrower; and it is less golden in tone (Johnsgard 2000).

Found in the canopy and sub-canopy of undisturbed humid montane cloud forest, thickly vegetated ravines and cliffs, and pastures at forest edges.High mountain ranges (900 - 3,200 m) that are cool are often favoured.The nest is a deep, unlined excavated cavity with a single entrance in a decaying tree trunk or stump, or occasionally enlarged from an old existing woodpecker's hollow.In Costa Rica, altitudinal migrations have been recorded, in which the bird moves to lower elevations in the non-breeding season

The breeding season of the resplendent Quetzal varies slightly across its range, but tends to fall somewhere between February and July. During this time, males attract females by performing courtship dances, aerial displays, calls and loud singing. Both the male and female assist in nest building, after which mating occurs within the chamber. One to two eggs are laid, which are then incubated by both parents for 17 to 18 days. Once hatched, the male and female take turns to feed the chicks until they fledge after 23 to 31 days. It has been reported that less than 20 % of young survive to leave the nest, being preyed upon by toucanets, brown jays, squirrels and weasels, and that of those that fledge, another 80 % die before adulthood.

The resplendent Quetzal has declined significantly due to destruction of its cloud-forest habitat for subsistence agriculture, and hunting for food and trade. It has long been thought that the Quetzal does not fair well in captivity, and its inability to be caged has led it to become a symbol of liberty.

The resplendent Quetzal is legally protected in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama, but enforcement in remote areas is extremely difficult and poaching evidently continue. The species occurs in numerous protected areas across its range. In particular, Costa Rica has made great efforts to preserve the endangered bird through setting up an extensive system of national parks and wildlife reserves, resulting in a highly successful and lucrative eco-tourism business.

California condor (Gymnogyps californianus)

The California Condor is one of the most endangered birds. The population steadily declined to fewer than 25 birds, mainly due to shooting and poisoning. In the 1980s, the remaining wild condors were captured for captive breeding programs. By 1992, the first captive-bred California Condors were reintroduced in California.

California Condors are social birds and they spend a great deal of time feeding and roosting together.

Males and females are indistinguishable by size or plumage. Juveniles are gray and adult feathers do not replace this down until the age of five to seven months.Sub-adults retain a gray head until they reach maturity at five to seven years of age, when they acquire the full coloration of an adult.

Size: Length: 117 - 134 cm,Wingspan: up to 275 cm,Weight: 9 kg.

Soaring over large distances on their immense wings, condors search by sight for the carrion upon which they feed. Adults in captivity begin to breed at six to eight years of age and pairs mate for life, producing one chick every two years. California condors, like many New World vultures engage in an unusual behavior known as 'urohydrosis' in order to keep cool. This involves urinating on their own legs, which takes heat away from their body through evaporation; the cooled blood is then circulated back through the body.

As recently as the early 1800s, the California Condor occupied mountains along the Pacific coast from British Columbia to northern Baja California. By the mid-twentieth century, the population declined to a small population in south-central California. Through captive breeding, California Condors have been reintroduced to the coastal mountains of south-central California and the Grand Canyon area of northern Arizona. Condors prefer mountains, gorges, and hillsides, which create updrafts, thus providing favorable soaring conditions.

The original decline of the California condor followed the extinction of many large mammals in North America.Despite legal protection since 1900,the 20th Century decline was due to human induced pressures such as trapping, shooting, egg collecting and lead poisoning following ingestion of carcasses killed with lead shot. Unfortunately lead poisoning still occurs regularly and remains the condor's greatest threat; other current threats include collisions with power lines, shooting, and both deliberate and accidental poisoning.

The California Condor's diet consists of medium and large-sized dead mammals like cattle, sheep, deer, and horses in any state of decay. Condors may travel several hundred miles in search of food.

Condors nest in a cave or cleft among boulders on a cliff or hillside. The female will lay the single egg directly on the floor of the cave. The egg is incubated for 54 - 58 days. The young condor learns to fly in about 6 months, but will stay with its parents for several more months. The extended breeding season prevents condors from breeding yearly. California Condors usually become sexually mature at 6 years of age.

Plains-wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus)

The Plains-wanderer is an elusive little bird that is found only in the grasslands of south-eastern Australia. It is also threatened and in decline. Read to see how Trust for Nature is working hard to turn its numbers around.

The Plains-wanderer is a small quail-like bird standing about 12-15 cm tall and weighing 40 to 95 grams. Both sexes have straw-yellow legs and bills, and their plumage is mainly fawn with fine black rosettes. The larger female is easily distinguished by her prominent white-spotted black collar above a rich rufous breast patch.

The Plains-wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus) is a small, quail-like bird which only lives in native grasslands. Like many other species of Australian animals, is found nowhere else in the world. In fact the Plains-wanderer is unique because it is the only species of bird in the taxonomic family Pedionomidae. Even though it looks like a quail the Plains-wanderer is more closely related to gulls and terns and other shorebirds. Its closest relative is thought to be the South American seedsnipe, a shorebird that eats plants. Researchers think that because of this link to South America, the Plains-wanderer may have a lineage that traces back over sixty million years to when Australia was connected to South America and Antarctica (Baker-Gabb 1995).

The Plains-wanderer has declined greatly since European settlement. Areas where the species was formerly common and is now so reduced in numbers that it is effectively extinct include eastern NSW, south-western Victoria, and south-eastern South Australia. Its current stronghold is the western Riverina of southern NSW. Areas of secondary importance include north-central Victoria and central-western Queensland. The bird was formerly fairly common until about 1920 on the Slopes and Tablelands, and there are two earlier records of birds near Sydney.

They occur in semi-arid, lowland native grasslands that typically occur on hard red-brown soils. These grasslands support a high diversity of plant species, including a number of state and nationally threatened species.Grassland habitat structure is more important than species composition.Preferred habitat typically has 50% bare ground, 10% fallen litter, and the remaining 40% comprised of herbs, forbs and grasses.

Historical loss of habitat from clearing and pasture improvement.Prolonged drought or overgrazing will also result in a loss of habitat due to the reduction of suitable ground cover. Fox predation and developments that lead to elevated numbers of foxes represent a significant threat. Increased mouse densities that are associated with irrigated cereal crops such as rice can cause an increase in fox numbers.

Priority actions are the specific, practical things that must be done to recover a threatened species, population or ecological community. 

Giant Pitta (Pitta Caerulea)

This particular variety is actually rare as well as patchily dispersed inside it's variety as well as will probably possess a reasonably little worldwide populace that is thought to become decreasing reasonably quickly due to deforestation all through high of its variety. Therefore, it is regarded as Close to Endangered.

Pita caerulea occurs in the Sundaic lowlands, from south Tenasserim, Myanmar, peninsular Thailand, Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, Kalimantan and Sumatra (not recorded this century), Indonesia and Brunei (BirdLife International 2001). It is scarce or rare throughout its range, although it may be overlooked due to its shy nature. It occurs at low densities, even in optimal habitat.

This species occurs primarily in primary and tall secondary forests in lowlands and hills, up to 1,200 m. It is most often found in dense, swampy areas, although there are records of overgrown rubber estates, scrub and secondary thickets. Little is known of its precise habitat requirements.

The populace dimension of the varieties is not quantified, however it is actually referred to as rare in order to uncommon. This particular variety will probably be decreasing consistent with prices associated with woodland clearance all through its variety.

 Rates of forest loss in the Sundaic lowlands have been extremely rapid, owing partly to the escalation of illegal logging and land conversion, with deliberate targeting of all remaining stands of valuable timber including those inside protected areas. Forest fires have also had a damaging effect (particularly in 1997-1998). The magnitude of these threats may be allayed by this species's tolerance of hill forest, which is under less pressure from logging and agricultural conversion.

 

Carry out repetitive studies over the variety to look for the degree associated with diminished as well as prices associated with variety contraction. Carry out environmental research to enhance knowledge of it's exact environment needs, threshold associated with supplementary habitats as well as reaction to fragmentation. Successfully safeguard substantial regions of appropriate woodland from crucial websites, within each purely guarded place as well as neighborhood brought several make use of places.