The most beautiful bird-Collared Puffbird

Photo Source: John.C mittermeier/Flicker

The Collared Puffbird (Bucco capensis) is a sit-and-wait hunting bird found across the northern region of South America in the Amazon Basin, southern Colombia and Venezuela, and the Guianas.

The puffbirds are an insectivorous bird family related to the jacamars, but lacking the iridescent colours of that group. The Collared Puffbird grows to about 21 cm in length, and prefers to sit and wait for prey, which has earned it nicknames such as "lazy bird" and "sleeper".

SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA

Black Robin

Black Robin

The Black Robin or Chatham Island Robin Petroica traversi is an endangered bird from the Chatham Islands off the east coast of New Zealand. It is closely related to the New Zealand Robin.

Description:

Petroica traversi is a sparrow-sized bird. Its plumage is almost entirely brownish-black, unlike its mainland counterparts, and as it evolved in the absence of mammalian predators, its flight capacity is somewhat reduced. In the early 1980s only five Black Robins survived but were saved from extinction by Don Merton and his team, and by "Old Blue", the last remaining female.

All of the surviving black robins are descended from "Old Blue", unfortunately giving little genetic variation among the population and creating an extreme population bottleneck. Interestingly, this seems to have caused no inbreeding problems, leading to speculation that the species has passed through several such population reductions in its evolutionary past and thus losing any alleles that could cause deleterious inbreeding effects. It was generally assumed that the minimum viable population protecting from inbreeding depression was around 50 individuals, but this is now known to be an inexact average, with the actual numbers being below 10 in rapidly-reproducing small-island species such as the Black Robin, to several hundred in long-lived continental species with a wide distribution (such as elephants or tigers).

Distribution:

The species is still endangered, but now numbers around 250 individuals in a single population on tiny Little Mangere Island. Ongoing restoration of habitat and eradication of introduced predators is being undertaken so that the population of this and other endangered Chatham endemics can be spread to several populations, decreasing the risk of extinction by natural disasters or similar stochastic events.

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Mountain Robin / Mountain Thrush

Mountain Robin / Mountain Thrush

The Mountain Thrush is a large thrush which breeds in highlands from southern Mexico to western Panama. This is a bird of tall mountain forests and adjacent more open areas and woodland edge. Its prefererence is for oak with many epiphytes and mosses, normally from 1800 m altitude to the timberline. It descends in flocks as low as 900 m in the wet season.

Description:The Mountain Robin resembles other Turdus thrushes in general appearance and habits. It is 23-26 cm long, and weighs 86 g on average. The adult is uniformly dull olive-brown with faint white streaks on the throat. The bill is black and the legs are dark brown. The juvenile resembles the adult, but has but has buff or orange streaks on the head and upperparts, and dark spotting on the underparts.

There are three poorly-defined subspecies:

Nominate T. p. plebejus of the mountains of Costa Rica and western Panama is described above.

T. p. differens from the Pacific slope of Mexico to Caribbean, Guatemala is more olive above, and more olive brown and less grey below

T. p. rafaelensi of the highlands from Honduras to northwestern Nicaragua is intermediate between the northern and southern subspecies above, and is often merged with differens.

Two superficially similar relatives share this species range. Sooty Robin is blacker with an orange bill, eyering and legs, and Clay-colored Robin is much paler and yellow-billed.

Feeding / Diet:

The Mountain Robin behaves like other thrushes. It forages on large branches or on the ground, in flocks when not breeding, progressing in hops and dashes with frequent stops. It turns leaf litter seeking small fruits, insects and spiders.

Breeding:

It builds a grass or rootlet-lined large cup nest, concealed amongst epiphytes, 3-12 m above the ground on a tree branch. The female lays 2-3 unmarked greenish-blue eggs between March and June.

Call / Song:

The breeding season song is an unthrushlike mechanical monotone chip chip cher chip chip cher cher, and the call is a high seee or whip. 

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Nightjar Bird

Nightjars are small to large nocturnal birds that are found around the world, except for the polar regions.

Some North American species are named as nighthawks.

They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers, as they were often seen in fields together with goats and sheep, and the myth was born that they were there to suck milk from the teats of goats (the Latin word for goat-sucker or goat-milker is Caprimulgus). However, instead they fed on the insects that were attracted to livestock. In the past, night-flying birds - such as the nightjars - were suspected of witchery. 

The nightjar, as suggested by the name, is strictly nocturnal. Throughout the day, it typically rest quietly in densely vegetated hiding places. At night, they become active as they hunt flying insects in more open landscapes, such as forest clearings, wetlands and along rivers.

Their cryptic appearance blends perfectly into their habitat and they are very difficult to spot during the daytime, when they are usually hidden away sleeping. They are most easily detected at night when light from car headlights are reflected ruby-red from their eyes, as they are sitting on tracks or roads. However, their presence is most often made known by their loud calls given at dusk.

The common name of many of nightjars is is often derived from its call.

They inhabit desert regions, grassland and open wooded areas, and forests. They occur from sea-level up to 1,300 feet or 4,200 meters.

Eighty-nine species are currently known, with 6 species currently being threatened of extinction. Conservationists have noted that populations of Nightjars have been dramatically declining over the last years.

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Bittern Bird

Bittern


Bitterns comprise the subfamily Botaurinae, part of the heron family Ardeidae.

      These are small to medium-sized birds, which can be distinguished from other heron or egret-like birds by their necks, which are much shorter and thicker than other members of the group. In flight bitterns keep their necks retracted, in the same manner as other herons and egrets.

Bitterns are typically patterned with a streaked chest and mottled wings of various shades of brown or black. Unlike herons and egrets, which quickly take flight when disturbed, bitterns often remain still, preferring to rely on not being seen.

They are secretive in habits, remaining largely concealed amongst reedbeds, flooded grasslands and the margins of freshwater ponds, lakes and rice paddies. They may also occur at the edge of mangrove forests, but mainly prefer freshwater habitats.

They are stealth feeders, waiting patiently or advancing slowly towards their prey which  includes a variety of fishes, amphibians, aquatic reptiles and insects.

Globally 14 species of bittern are recognised, of which 5 occur in Southeast Asia.





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Hornbill Bird

Hornbill

Hornbills show considerable variation in size as a family, ranging in size from the Black Dwarf Hornbill (Tockus hartlaubi), at 102 grams (3.6 oz) and 30 cm (1 foot), to the Southern Ground Hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri), at up to 6.2 kg (13.6 lbs) and 1.2 m (4 feet). Males are always bigger than the females, though the extent to which this is true varies dependent upon species. The extent of sexual dimorphism also varies with body parts, for example the difference in body mass between males and females is between 1-17%, but the variation is 8-30% for bill length and 1-21% in wing length.
The most distinctive feature of the hornbills is the heavy bill, supported by powerful neck muscles as well as by the fused vertebrae. The large bill assists in fighting, preening, and constructing the nest, as well as catching prey. A feature unique to the hornbills is the casque, a hollow structure that runs along the upper mandible. In some species it is barely perceptible and appears to serve no function beyond reinforcing the bill. In other species it is quite large, is reinforced with bone, and has openings between the hollow centre allowing it to serve as a resonator for calls.In the Helmeted Hornbill the casque is not hollow but is filled with ivory and is used as a battering ram used in dramatic aerial jousts.
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Weaver Bird

Weaver Bird

Baya Weaver - male
Ploceus philippinus
Habitat : Secondary forest edge
Location : Kranji, Singapore
Notes : This nest is nearing completion, and all that remains is for the entrance tube to be added.

Baya Weaver - female
Habitat : Secondary forest edge
Location : Kranji, Singapore
Notes : The female inspects the handiwork of the male, and makes final touches where necessary.

Baya Weaver - colony
Habitat : Secondary forest edge
Location : Kranji, Singapore
Notes : Part of a colony of more than 10 nests in various stages of completion. Strips of grass for nest construction are taken from the long lalang grass in the foreground. Nest  suspended by one-metre long woven grass at Sungei Buloh, Singapore.
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