Ten Spectacular Flightless Birds

There are many species of Birds, but these ones in the List are most Vulnerable to harm because they cannot fly to escape danger.

All of the Birds that Live in this World are Beautiful, but these Birds are even More Unique because of their Inability To Fly.

1. Takahe Bird

This bird is only found in New Zealand and is considered to be an endangered specie of any living flightless birds under rail family. Its been assumed to be extinct before but after a very long search, some takahe birds were found near Lake Te Anau in the Murchison mountain. its overall length is up to 63 cm (24.8 in). It is a stocky bird, with reduced wings, strong legs and a massive bill. At present, there are 225 remaining Takahe birds in its habitat and is being carefully bred to prevent extinction. The only problem is the slow maturity and the low fertility of mature Takahe bird.

2. Penguin

A penguin cannot fly but is a very good swimmer because it can flap its arms rapidly. Its kind lives only in the Southern hemisphere, it is because of the cold temperature there. There about 20 species of penguins but is still debated until now. The largest living species is the Emperor Penguin, while the smallest is the Little Blue Penguin. Penguins usually feed on fishes, squids and other small sea preys they could find while swimming underwater.

3. Kiwi

This bird is endemic to New Zealand and is used as the national symbol of the country. This flightless bird is considered to be the smallest among the ratites. There are about 5 species of this kind of bird. Kiwis are very shy and nocturnal that is why they are vulnerable to predators, but ever since people built sanctuaries for them, they can already be seen in daylight. They have a very sharp sense of smell, and they are a very unusual kind of bird having nostrils at the end of their bills.

4. Cassowary

This is knwon to be the second largest flightless birds next to ostrich. They are fed mainly on fruits and other plants that edible. Its species is also part of the ratite and has only three accepted today: Southern Cassowary, Dwarf Cassowary, Northern Cassowary. They are a very kind of bird but once disturbed would be a very dangerous bird as listed by the Guinness. Although Cassowary birds are already becoming extinct.

5. Ostrich

This is known as the lasrgest flightless bird and it is the only specie that lives of its family. I know that most of us already know this fact but its egg is even larger than its brain that is why this kind of bird is known to do crazy things. An ostrich can run as fast as 46 miles per hour and is considered to be the faster bird runner on land. There is nothing to be worried about with this species because they are not even close to being endangered.

6. Rhea Birds

This specie belongs to the flightless ratite birds and is native to South America. Among any other flightless birds, it has large wings that are spread when this bird is running. It has two species; the American Rhea and the Darwin’s Rhea. This bird reach up to 6 months until it become mature but does not go into breeding until it reach the age of 2 years old.

7. Kakapo

If we are going to examine the fosils of the Kakapo in the entire country of New Zealand, it would seem that it is the most common bird before. The species of this bird are already becoming extinct that is why many conservation plans have been made to prevent this bird to get extinct. According to statistics, the number Kakapo birds significanly increased. They are nocturnal, that’s why the meaning of their name is “night owl”. This bird is also named as parrot owl because of its features.

8. Emu

This bird is the largest native bird of Australia is the only extant member of genus Dromaius. This bird reaches up to 2 m (6.5 ft) in height, and is common to mainland Australia. Almost the same as the ostrich, it can run up to the maximum speed of 30 miled per hour. It is not yet becoming extinct nor is it near of becoming endagnered. It is because of its environment that makes it sake frm any harm. There are about three extant specie in Australia.

9. Galapagos Cormorant

The name itself would suggest that it is a native in the Galapagos Island. Among any other cormorants, this is the only specie that has lost the ability to fly, it could be because this bird has adopted life on the land and water. This bird has an estimated 1500 embers left on the wild that is why many groups try to have active conservation program to save the lives of the remaining flightless cormorant. It normally feeds on fishes, eels, small octopus, and other small sea creatures. This bird is considered to be the largest among its extant species. Reproduction of its bird starts on the coldest months like July to October when there is an abundant food.

10. Dodo

The dodo is an extinct, flightless bird that lived on an island in the Indian Ocean near Mauritius. The species lost the ability to fly presumably because food on Mauritius was abundant and mammalian predators were absent. It is genetically related to pigeons and doves, and its closest relative is the likewise extinct Rodrigues Solitaire. The Dodo was about one metre (3.3 feet) tall and weighed about 20 kilograms (44 lb). Its appearance is evidenced only by paintings and written accounts from the 17th century. Because these vary considerably, and only a few sketches are known to have been drawn from life, its exact appearance remains a mystery. 

Birds Also Have a Brain and Feelings

Millions of People Cried after watching these Pictures in Several Countries.
It is said that the Photographer sold these Pictures for a "Very Nominal Fee" to the Most Famous Newspaper in France.
All copies of that Newspaper were sold out on the day these pictures were Published.

Here his wife is injured and the condition is fatal.
She was hit by a car as she swooped low across the road.

Here he brought her food and attended to her with love and compassion.

He brought her food again but was shocked to find her dead.
He tried to move her….a rarely-seen effort for swallows!

Aware that his sweetheart is dead and will never come back to him again.
He cries with adoring love.

He stood beside her, saddened of her death.

Finally aware that she would never return to him.

He stood beside her body with sadness and sorrow.
And many people think animals don’t have a brain or feelings?

World Largest Owl Species

Owls are a Group of Birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 extant bird of Prey Species.
They are found in all regions of the Earth except Antarctica, most of Greenland and some remote islands.
Most owls are Nocturnal, Actively Hunting their Prey only in Water and Darkness.
Several types of Owl, however, are Crepuscular – active during the Twilight Hours of Dawn and Dusk.
An Owl’s Sharp Beak and Powerful Talons allow it to kill its Prey before swallowing it whole (if it is not too big).

The Largest Owl By Length is the Great Grey Owl, which measures around 70 cm (28 in) on average and can attain a length of 84 cm (33 in).
However, The Heaviest and Largest Winged Owls are two similarly-sized Eagle Owls — The Eurasian Eagle-Owl and The Blakiston’s Fish Owl .
These two Species, which are on average about 2.53 cm (1.00 in) shorter in length than The Great Grey, can both attain a wingspan of 2 m (6.6 ft) and a weight of 4.5 kg (10 lb) in the largest females.

1. Eurasian Eagle Owl

The Eurasian Eagle-Owl is one of the largest owls in the world. They favor rocky outcrops and cliffs in a variety of wooded habitats throughout much of Europe and Asia.

This owl mainly eats mammals, but will also hunt birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish, and insects.

Eurasian Eagle-Owls usually hunt at night from a perch, or while flying low over the ground or tree-tops.Prey is captured on the ground, in the air, or after plunging into water.

Eurasian Eagle-Owls prefer to nest on ledges, in cave entrances, and within rock crevices on cliffs. They will sometimes use the abandoned nests of other large raptors.

The female lays 2 – 4 eggs that are incubated for 34 – 36 days. The young owls fledge at about 7 weeks of age, but the parents tend the fledglings for another 3 – 4 months. This owl becomes sexually mature at 2 – 3 years.

2. Great Grey Owl

The Great Grey Owl or Lapland Owl is a very large owl, distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. In some areas it is also called the Great Gray Ghost or Phantom of the north. This owl does not have ear tufts and has the largest facial disc of any raptor.

Their breeding habitat is the dense coniferous forests of the taiga, near open areas, such as meadows or bogs. Great Grey Owls do not build nests, so typically use nests previously used by a large bird, such as a raptor. They will also nest in broken-topped trees and cavities in large trees. Nesting may occur from March to May. Four eggs are the usual clutch size.

These birds wait, listen, and watch for prey, then swoop down; they also may fly low through open areas in search of prey. Their large facial disks, also known as “ruffs”, focus sound, and the asymmetrical placement of their ears assists them in locating prey, because of the lack of light during the late and early hours in which they hunt.

On the nesting grounds, they mainly hunt at night and near dawn and dusk; at other times, they are active mostly during the night. They have excellent hearing, and may locate (and then capture) prey moving beneath 60 cm (2 feet) of snow in a series of tunnels solely with that sense.

The call of the adult is a series of very deep, rhythmic whoos, which is usually given in correlation to their territories or in interactions with their offspring. At other times, adults are normally silent. The young may chatter, shriek or hiss.

3. Snowy Owl

The Snowy Owls (Body, 20 to 28 in (52 to 71 cm); wingspan, 4.2 to 4.8 ft (1.3 to 1.5 m Weight:3.5 to 6.5 lbs (1.6 to 3 kg)) breed on the Arctic tundra, where females lay a clutch of 3 to 11 eggs.

Clutch size depends upon the availability of food, and in particularly lean times a usually monogamous pair of owls may not breed at all. Females are darker than males, with dusky spotting, and never become totally white.

The snowy owl is a patient hunter that perches and waits to identify its prey before soaring off in pursuit. Snowy owls have keen eyesight and great hearing, which can help them find prey that is invisible under thick vegetation or snowcover.

The owls deftly snatch their quarry with their sharp talons. A snowy owl’s preferred meal is lemmings—many lemmings.

An adult may eat more than 1,600 lemmings a year, or three to five every day.

Coconut Crab - The Robber Crab

Coconut Crab - The Robber Crab

Coconut Crab is the Largest Terrestrial Arthropod in the World.
 
It is known for its ability to crack Coconuts with its Strong Pincers in order to eat the contents.

It is sometimes also called the Robber Crab because some Coconut Crabs are rumored to steal Shiny Items such as Pots and Silverware from Houses and Tents.

Coconut Crab is a Large Edible Land Crab related to the Hermit Crab and are found in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans .. They eat Coconuts for a living!

How would you like to be on an Island and come across a Crab that is more than 3 feet from Head to Tail and weighs up to 40 pounds, with a pair of Large Pincers strong enough to open Coconuts!

They can climb Trees too, but they only eat Coconuts that have already fallen to the ground. Coconut Crab meat has been considered a Local Delicacy. 

This Photo gives a good idea of how Large these Crabs are!  

(A coconut crab is seeking Food from a Black Trashcan)

Read more: http://notecook.com/main-course/fish/coconut-crab/#ixzz1QqtW7hAT

A Tale of Two Cockies

A Tale of Two Cockies

A Story of Love, Compassion, Friendship & Loyalty 

About eight years ago a wild Australian Sulphur Crested Cockatoo flew into a car and broke its wing. The motorist took it to the Vet in Nerang, Queensland, who had to amputate the wing. We adopted her - for which we needed a National Parks and Wildlife permit - and kept her in a cage outside where she was often visited by wild Cockatoos. One of the things that impressed us was how she would push lettuce leaves through the bars of the cage, offering food to visitors.
Last Sunday 23 July 2006, she again had a visitor.

 

As usual he spent a lot of time sitting on the cage with a tamper proof latch.

There was a lot of talking and grooming. A bloke has to look presentable when courting a bird!

Things got interesting when he approached the front door. . ..

 

The clever fellow figured out how to undo the tamper proof latch!

He opened the door for a lot of mutual grooming and food sharing...

 

Oooh that's nice! Scratch a bit more on that side, dear...

He was not shy to get into the cage and would go in and out a number of times.

They mated! We are looking forward to beautiful baby cockatoos. Will keep you posted.

   Later on, the whole extended family came visiting but the special mate was back every day so far.

 We leave the door open during the day but if we forget, it doesn't matter - cockatoos have intelligence that rival primates. Because she has only one wing, she stays inside or just sits on top. Guess what happened next...
The Babies
At first it seemed as though he was annoyed because she did not fly off with him and he would squawk a lot. He soon came to understand that she could not fly so he just stayed. However, she was no longer returning to her cage. The two of them would stay in the trees in our garden and because the yard is well fenced, they were safe from dogs but the neighbour's cat is not kept indoors at night and we often have to chase it away. Chances are the cat would come off second best in a confrontation with a Cockatoo but at night cats remain a danger because they could stalk a sleeping bird on the ground. 

 Cockatoos make their nests in hollow logs but we noticed the male hard at work digging a hole under a clump of Lilly Pilly trees. We put down a hollow log for them but they just ignored us. The nest he dug was a hole with a short tunnel leading off to where she laid her eggs. Once there were eggs in the nest, the male became extremely aggressive. You better not get near the nest or he will take chunks of flesh from your foot. It was difficult to take these pictures because I literally had to steal them while running away from the male. 

 We kept a vigil to see how things were progressing. They took turns incubating the eggs and covering the tunnel. After about three weeks, the eggs hatched. Have a careful look at this picture and try to spot the bit of yellow fluff. 

 Whenever Mum & Dad Cockatoo leave the nest, we try to get a look but you have to do it while running because Dad Cockatoo is chasing you!

Second lap running around the Lilly Pilly trees!

Well, I hope his mother thinks he is pretty and eventually I might think so too but at the moment, both of them just look like pink balls with a bit of yellow fluff.

They are growing fast and if the Dad allows me, I'll try to get some more pictures as they grow up and share with you.