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The Philippine eagle
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The Philippine eagle ( Pithecophaga jefferyi), also known as the monkey-eating eagle, is found exclusively in the forests of the Philippines. It has brown- and white-coloured plumage, and a shaggy crest, and generally measures 86 to 102 cm (2.82 to 3.35 ft) in length, weighs 4.7 to 8.0 kg (10.4 to 17.6 lb), and has a 2 meter wingspan. It is considered the largest of the extant eagles in the world in terms of length and wing surface. Among the rarest and most powerful birds in the world, it has been declared the Philippine national bird. Unfortunately, however, it is critically endangered, mainly due to massive loss of habitat resulting from deforestation in most of its range. Killing a Philippine eagle is punishable under Philippine law by 1 ...
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1207 |
bio_man |
6 years ago |
What color is a toucan's skull?
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Well, obviously it's white, but take a look at its bill! The attractive 7.5-inch-long bill is possessed by both male and female toucans. Interestingly, they use them during a mating ritual, pitching fruit to one another, but has very limited use as an excavation tool. Toucans make their nests in tree hollows found in rain forest regions of Southern Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean region to which they are native. ...
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1101 |
bio_man |
6 years ago |
Can you spot the camouflaged frogmouth bird?
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The frogmouths are a group of nocturnal birds found from across India and southern Asia to Australia. They are named for their large flattened hooked bills and huge frog-like gape, which they use to take insects. The one's shown above are tawny frogmouths, and they exhibits one of the best examples of cryptic plumage and mimicry, which perch low on tree branches during the day camouflaged as part of the tree. Their silvery-grey plumage patterned with white, black, and brown streaks and spots allows them to freeze into the form of a broken tree branch and become practically invisible in broad daylight. The tawny frogmouth often chooses a broken part of a tree branch and perches upon it with its head thrust upwards at an acute angle using it ...
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1040 |
bio_man |
6 years ago |
Deadbeat birds
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Brood parasites are organisms that rely on others to raise their young. It's the equivalent of having a baby, placing him/her in a basket, and then leaving it on a random person's front porch. While this may seem strange to us, it's not uncommon to some species of birds. One of nature's shrewdest examples of this behavior comes from cowbirds. Not only do they lay their eggs inside the nests of other birds and expect them to rear the foster chicks as their own, scientists have found another way these birds may be harming their hosts -- their extra-thick eggshells can crack the hosts’ own eggs when they falls into the nest. To test this idea, researchers of recent study gathered 157 freshly laid cowbird eggs and dropped them onto host eggs fro ...
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2944 |
bio_man |
5 years ago |
Quack! Cheep-cheep! Honk!
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Different bird species have distinct calls that they recognize and pay attention to. Play the compilation video below and see if you can recognize any of the bird sounds; these birds are specific to North America. The first six birds have familiar calls, the next six displays birds that are widespread across North America, and the final set has some trickier birds. If you think that you're an expert or know of someone who is, have them play the video blindfolded - you'll be interested to see how they respond!
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12514 |
bio_man |
3 years ago |
Did birds evolve from dinosaurs?
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We often hear people say that modern birds evolved from some dinosaurs. Apart from both being reptiles, what evidence have paleontologist discovered that validates this claim? A small bird-like dinosaur, called the archaeopteryx (left), lived in what is now southern Germany about 150 million years ago. About the size of a crow, it had a shortened tail, long hands, a perching toe slightly turned backward, and wing feathers that were adapted for flight. This creature has long been considered the most ancient bird known. However, despite its birdlike characteristics, its body more closely resembled those of small meat-eating dinosaurs than those of more birdlike dinosaurs. Many paleontologists identify the archaeopteryx as the so-called missing ...
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4073 |
bio_man |
3 years ago |
Most intelligent bird species
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Birds are very clever animals. They exhibit a wide range of smart behaviors, including good memories, extensive communication, planning for the future, and remembering the past. Some birds can solve problems, and others are capable of adapting to new environments and conditions. Experts often think of intelligence in terms of creative abilities used to solve problems. Some scientists believe that tool-using birds show such abilities. The woodpecker finch (first from left) of the Galapagos Islands, for example, has learned to use a cactus spine or small twig as a probe to remove carpenter bee larvae from their tunnels. The Egyptian vulture (second from left) uses rocks to break open ostrich eggs. Gulls learn to drop clams and turtles onto roc ...
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18204 |
bio_man |
3 years ago |
The flightless bird from New Zealand
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The kakapo is a strange little flightless bird native to New Zealand. Sadly there are now only 126 kakapo left in conservation areas, where they eat a range of plants. But researchers who have been studying ancient poo samples have recently found that around 900 years ago kakapo ate a lot of pollen from a root parasite known as Hades flower. The two no longer exist in the same place and Hades flower is also rare, which begs the question - were the birds responsible for pollinating it? Further research needs to be done, but it is an interesting conservation link. ...
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5804 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Have you ever seen a pink-necked green pigeon?
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This is the pink-necked green pigeon ( Treron vernans) and it is honestly not Photoshopped. They\'re found in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
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7631 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
A baby macaw
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Here are some adorable images of macaw parrot chicks getting weighed and measured. The one on the left is just one week old, and the one on the right is seven weeks old. Researchers at the Tambopata Research Center have been studying the wild macaw populations for years and tracking the growth of the nestlings. By climbing up into the trees and gathering data on these macaws, the researchers are able to do a lot of interesting science and gather information critical to protecting these species. ...
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4799 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
The kiwi bird
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The kiwi is a flightless bird found only in New Zealand. They're around the size of a chicken, and lay the largest eggs in relation to their body size of any bird in the world. Their eggs can be up to 20% of the females body weight - the equivalent of a 130 pound woman giving birth to a 26 pound baby. ...
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5501 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Anyone heard of a Hoopoe?
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A Hoopoe (pronounced who-poh, scientific name: Upupa epops) is a colourful African bird which has a distinctive ‘crown’ of feathers. The species is highly distinctive, with a long, thin tapering bill that is black with a fawn base. The strengthened musculature of the head allows the bill to be opened when probing inside the soil. The hoopoe has broad and rounded wings capable of strong flight; these are larger in the northern migratory subspecies. The Hoopoe has a characteristic undulating flight, which is like that of a giant butterfly, caused by the wings half closing at the end of each beat or short sequence of beats. Listen to it sing: ...
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3085 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
A bird with a moustache
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Inca terns are unique and beautiful birds—slender with white-tipped gray feathers, a white curly moustache, yellow lips and a bright orange-red bill. They have a distinctive call that sounds like a high pitched laugh, which is often accompanied by bowing gestures. Inca terns are natives of the western shoreline of South America and the islands located offshore. They are especially abundant in northern Chile and Peru in the summer. They migrate in winter, venturing to Ecuador and central Chile. Inca terns swoop down and pluck fish from near the water’s surface. They also sometimes get scraps left behind by whales, or flock to where sea lions are eating on rocks, to steal stray bits of food. A male who is interested in a female will perform aer ...
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2976 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Feeding ducks bread could actually be harmful
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Feeding bread to wild ducks is incredibly harmful. Bread has almost no nutrients that are useful for the duck, so they become malnourished and more susceptible to disease. Compounding the problem is excessive bread in the water, which leads to high levels of E. coli and even botulism outbreaks. Wild ducks need to stay wild, and artificially feeding them causes them to lose their natural instincts for acquiring food. If you want to feed captive waterfowl, consider chopped vegetables, whole grains, or fruit instead. ...
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3027 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
One colourful bird
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Meet the fruit dove. These colourful, frugivorous doves are found in forests and woodlands in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Males and females of many fruit dove species look very different. For example, the female Many-coloured Fruit Dove shares the male’s crimson crown and deep pink undertail feathers, but is otherwise green, whereas the male has a crimson on the upper back and has areas of yellow, olive, cinnamon, and grey.
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4376 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
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