Magnificent Frigatebird

Out of all the birds in the world, frigatebirds have the largest wingspan in comparison to their body.

Looks:

Frigatebirds are majestic creatures, with gleaming purple-black feathers, a deeply forked tail and a grey hooked beak. Males also have a red throat pouch that they puff up to attract females in the breeding season. Females lack this; instead they have a white patch on their chest, and a turquoise ring around their eye. Juveniles have a white head and belly.

Feeding:

A frigatebird’s diet consists of fish, squid, jellyfish and other marine animals. Lacking the waterproof oil other seabirds have, they are unable to land or take off from the water. Due to this, they are forced to snatch their food from the surface of the sea.They are also nicknamed ‘pirate birds’ due to their tendency to attack other birds and steal their food. 

Breeding:

The female makes a nest out of twigs brought to her by the male. Usually the nest is built in a clump of mangrove, though occasionally she may build it in a tree or on the ground. Afterward she lays a single white egg, which incubates for about 50 days before hatching.

The male departs once the hatchling is half-grown, leaving the female to bring up the chick alone. The male molts and breeds again with a different female, presumably never giving his previous mate a second thought.

Habitat:

These birds live in tropical locations, soaring across the sea to hunt and rarely touching land. When they do, they choose islands such as the Galapagos to breed on or rest.

Lifespan:

Frigatebirds can live for about 15 to 30 years.

White-faced Herons

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Once I had my friend over and we were just about to go out the door when I spotted the most beautiful bird. It was tall, grey, with a long thick beak and white face. It was a white-faced heron, hunting for lizards in my garden. Today, we saw that it had visited us again. It was leaning over the pond, where our fish were lurking. We were worried that it would gobble them up. What were we to do? we wondered. Luckily, we didn't see the heron eat any fish. Except for a little black wriggly thing in its beak. Still, I would like to share with you the wonders of these amazing birds...

Habitat
Wetlands, shrub and shallow watery places.

Feeding
Small reptiles, fish, frogs, and others.

Breeding
White-faced heron breeding usually occurs in spring. The pair build the nest together, a shallow bowl of sticks. They make it on high leafy branches. Their breeding plumage consists of long plumes on the neck, back, and head. The females lay 3 to 5 light blue eggs in the nest, and normally one clutch is laid every year. After about 25 days, the eggs hatch and the mother and father guard the babies for 3 to 4 weeks and the chicks are ready to fledge after 40 days. The chicks are fed upon by owls, kookaburras, magpies and others.

Lifespan
About or over 70 years.

(If you want to learn more about white-faced herons and see some awesome pictures, click here!)

King Birds of Paradise

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The King bird of Paradise is said to be the most vividly coloured of its species.

Looks

Male King birds of Paradise are small birds, with scarlet bodies and white underparts.  Males have blue feet and long, green-tipped curled tail wires. The females, however, are not nearly as striking, with dull brown feathers and barred underparts, though they have the same bright feet as the males. 

Breeding

The courtship of the male is an elaborate display of feather fluffing and tail swinging. Some may compete at display grounds called elks.

Once they have mated, the pair makes the nest together and cares for the chicks. The incubation period of the eggs is 17 to 21 days. After 17 to 30 days the chicks are ready to leave the nest.

Feeding

The King bird of Paradise eats mostly fruit and insects.

Habitat

These birds live in lowland forests in New Guinea, as well as on close by islands.

Wilson's Birds of Paradise

Wilson's bird of paradise

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Here's a movie for Wilson's bird of paradise!

Looks

Male Wilson’s birds of paradise have a bare bright blue crown that is visible even at night, criss-crossed with a black pattern. They have deep red backs, two curled tail wires, and a yellow patch on the backs of their necks. The male birds also have a shining grey-black beak and stunning blue feet, with an emerald green chest. The females are a dull brown with pale blue feet and head, scoop-shaped markings on its belly, and darker brown wings with reddish tips. Females have no tail wires.

Feeding

Wilson’s birds of paradise eat insects and fruit. 


Habitat
Wilson's birds of paradise live in montane and hill forests, sometimes lowlands.

Breeding

Before he starts his display, a male bird first clears a stage. He makes sure there is plenty of sunlight for the females to admire him properly, then he begins. The display consists of the male spreading his green “shield”, and letting out a high-pitched cheep. He will also dip his head and hold up his spiral tail feathers, puffing up the yellow patch on his neck.

Blue Birds of Paradise

Blue bird of paradise

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Video of Blue bird of paradise displaying!

Looks

Blue birds of paradise have blue-white beaks, black bodies and heads, and stunning blue wings. Its back and magnificent tail plumes are bright blue as well. A ring of white surrounds their eyes, and the males have two long black wires coming out from their tails, curling at the tips elegantly. The females have brown underparts, while the males have blue.

Feeding

Like the Raggiana bird of paradise, Blue birds of paradise usually just eat fruit, like figs and berries, with a few lizards and insects. They will sometimes defend and guard fruit trees.

Habitat
These birds live in southeastern New Guinea, in low montane forests.

Breeding

To attract a female, the male bird hangs upside down from a branch and fans out his tail plumes while making a metallic whirring sound. The blue bird of paradise bobs up and down, waving his tail at the females. Male Blue birds of paradise mate more than once in their lifetime. Once the two birds have mated, the female incubates and cares for the eggs and chicks by herself.

Raggiana Birds of Paradise

There are many different birds of paradise, but they all have something in common: beauty.

Raggiana bird of paradise

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Video of Raggiana bird of paradise reproduction!

Looks

The national bird of New Guinea, Raggiana birds of paradise have light maroon-brown body plumage and grey-blue feet and beak. Male birds have green throats, and a yellow cap on their heads that joins a band of yellow going under its chin like a chinstrap. They have magnificent ruff of red feathers that they display when courting a female. Females have no red ruff, instead they are plain maroon-brown with a darker face, throat, ear-coverts, and chin. They are smaller than the males, with shorter wings.

Feeding

Raggiana birds of paradise eat mostly fruits such as berries and figs. It may also eat insects and spiders, as well as frogs and lizards.

Breeding

When the time comes to mate, males birds perch in trees to attract the females' attention. They clap their wings, shake their heads and puff out their beautiful red-orange tail plumes. Once they have mated, the female lays 1 or 2 eggs in a bowl-shaped nest made of leaves, ferns, and plant fibres.

Bald Eagles

Bald eagles aren't actually bald. Instead, they have white feathers on their heads. 

Looks

Bald eagles have white feathers on their head and tail. They have fierce yellow beaks and dark brown body and wings. 

Feeding

With a diet of mainly fish, sometimes birds, and small mammals, bald eagles are sea eagles. They mainly eat carrion and steal scraps of meat from other animals. They catch fish by diving down close to the water and snatching up their prey with their sharp talons.

Habitat

Bald eagles live near water where they can fish, and tall trees in which they can nest. These eagles live in North America, by lakes, rivers, and in coastal areas.

Breeding

A bald eagle’s nest is the biggest in the world, weighing 1.1 tons. At five years of age, bald eagles are old enough to mate. They usually mate for life, if they succeed in breeding. Other things may prevent them from being together. When they mate, they do a spectacular courtship display, gripping each other’s claws and falling towards the ground. They split up before hitting the ground, though, and continue their display with different amazing feats.

Lifespan

In the wild bald eagles can live up to 30 years. But in captivity they can live about 40 or 50 fifty years. 


History


Bald eagles used to be extremely endangered due to the use of pesticides and the destruction of their habitat. Now they not threatened, but are still protected.

Penguins

There are lots of different penguin species. They include: the Fairy penguin, the Emperor penguin, and the Gentoo penguin.

Breeding

Most penguins normally lay 1 brood, but the Little Penguin, or the Fairy Penguin, lays about 2. 

Habitat

Penguins live mostly in the southern hemisphere, though they can also be found on every other continent. They nest on islands, where they are safer from predators.

Looks

Penguins cannot fly; instead of using their tiny wings to lift themselves, they use them to swim. They are very agile in the water, looking like a bird in the air. But on land they are quite clumsy. Sometimes they slide on their bellies down hills.


Penguins are black with white chests and belly, with white under their wings. They use the same camouflage as dolphins. Anyone looking up would not see the white belly of a penguin against the pale water. Someone looking down from above wouldn’t see black against the deep, dark water. 

Feeding

Penguins can dive very deep in search of prey. Penguins eat fish and squid, sometimes krill. They also eat other crustaceans. 

Here's an incredible video of king penguins!

Barn Owls

Barn owls have a large wingspan. Their disc-shaped faces help them to locate prey.

Feeding

Barn owls eat small rodents, like rats and mice. They hunt using their amazing hearing and eyesight, flying close to the ground then diving when they spot prey. 

Breeding

These owls breed mostly in April. Barn owls can nest in caves and attics. The mother owl lays about seven eggs, and the father takes prey to the mother while she sits on the eggs and looks after her chicks. 

Looks

Barn owls have heart-shaped faces. They are gold-brown and white, with long legs and a short tail. They have black and white speckles on their shoulders and wings, with a hooked beak. They scream instead of hoots, and they have large black eyes.

Habitat

Barn owls live in South America, North America, Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, India and also Australia. They like forests, fields and farms.

Nocturnalism

Barn owls are nocturnal.

Lifespan

Barn owls can live up to 5 or 27 years.

Here's an awesome video of the majestic Barn Owl!

Blue-footed boobies

Blue-footed boobies are called "boobies" because they are clumsy. They are clumsy on land, but not in the sky.

Feeding

Blue-footed boobies eat fish, hunting them by diving down from the sky or sitting on the water waiting for a school of fish to swim by.

Habitat

Blue-footed boobies are marine birds. They nest on rocky ledges, and spend their days flying above the ocean and resting on islands. 

Breeding

To attract a female, the male will spread his wings and stamp his feet to try and impress her. Once they have mated and built a nest, the pair take turns sitting on the eggs. When they are two months old, baby Boobies can take care of themselves.

Looks

Blue-footed boobies are white with brown and black streaks on their heads. They have long dark grey beaks and their yellow eyes are on either side of their head.

They have long, skinny wings and startling blue feet. Their feet darken in colour as they age. They breath through the edges of their mouths because their nostrils are closed permanently for diving.

Female Blue-footed boobies are a bit bigger than the male birds. 

There are different types of boobies, like Red-footed boobies and Brown boobies.

Lifespan

Wild Blue-footed boobies live an average of 17 years.