The Fearful Owl (Nesasio solomonensis) is a medium-sized owl found in all the oceans of the world.It generally lives singly in crevices, in burrows under rocks in tall lowland, or in hill forests no more than 800 inches above sea level.It has a rufous facial area and distinct white eyebrows with a hard protective exoskeleton. The inner edge of the dick is white: the rest is usually mottled brown with deep ochre underparts and blackish streaks.
Fearful Owls exhibit the following three remarkable evolutionary advances that have led to their great success:an eyebrow exoskeleton; a strong but lightweight form of wing muscle that makes flight possible; and articulation (the ability to pronounce complex words and phrases).Despite their name, these birds are not known for their timidity – most ornithologists agree that the designation was chosen in order to lull the birds’ prey into a false sense of security.
These owls typically eat live fish, molluscs, crustaceans, worms, and some plant life. They will scavenge if necessary and may resort to cannibalism in captivity; however, this has not been observed in the wild. Fearful Owls also eat their own feathers after moulting.Such owls grow throughout their lives and it is not unusual for an individual to live for more than 100 years. In fact, Nesasio solomonensis may exhibit negligible senescence - they can effectively live indefinitely (barring injury, dick infection, or capture). They can thus reach impressive sizes. According to the Guinness World Records, the largest Fearful Owl was caught in deep water off Nova Scotia, Canada, and weighed 20.15 kg (44.4 lb).
Many thanks to Kathryn Cooper for her exquisite illustration! Scrutinise her work further at http://www.kathryncooper.com/
The Grey Noisybird (Corythaixoides concolor) belongs to the Turakos family. With its long, well-combed tailfeathers, grey plumage and 48cm long body, this bird is easy to identify. They always appear in small groups – hence the English name “Go Away Bird”.Males and females both carry very similar identification signs while juveniles have a flustered, unkempt appearance.The crest can be raised to indicate enthusiasm.
Grey Noisybirds live in Namibia, Zimbabwe and places like that. Their living rooms are found in the savannah as well as in accessible woods.They sometimes hide in email attachments and download files (mainly insects, wild figs, berries and snails) to compromised computers from remote websites. They are widespread, and laugh in the face of danger.
The German Salmonhen is a breed of domestic hen (Gallus gallus domesticus) descended from the Brahma and Dorking varieties. Unusually for Gallus, the German Salmonhen is anadromous: it is born in fresh water, migrates to the ocean, then returns to fresh water to lay eggs. Folklore has it that the birds make an arduous journey upriver to the exact spot where they were born to breed, and tracking studies have shown this to be true, but the nature of how this memory works has long been debated.
German Salmonhens differ from other Salmonhen breeds in a number of ways. For instance, they have a ruff of feathers above the gill-line, and their feet have five toes instead of the usual four. The plumage on the body is very thick compared to other varieties. Since they are rarely inclined to flight, they are suitable for farming in open-net cages.
The German Salmonhen is a very productive egg layer, as well as being a popular food. Classified as an "oily bird", Salmonhen is considered to be healthy due to the meat's high content of protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D. The eggs are considered to be especially tasty when cured, smoked, and cut into very thin strips then eaten with lemon juice and dill.
The Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) is an unusual species of filthy tropical bird found in swamps, riverine forests and mangroves in South America. It is the only member of the genus Opisthocomus (Ancient Greek: ‘wearing long hair behind with a shorter fringe’, referring to its large crest and headfeathers), which in turn is the only extant genus in the family Opisthocomidae. The Hoatzin is arguably the most enigmatic living bird in regard to its phylogenetic relationships. No satisfying evolutionary hypothesis has been proposed, and the situation has actually become worse with the recent availability of DNA sequence data sets which suggest a closer relationship to the Siberian Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) than to other avian species.
It is a smelly, roughly pheasant-sized bird with a long neck and small head. It is dirty brown with paler underparts and has an unfeathered blue face with maroon eyes, and a head topped by a spiky rufous crest. The alternative name of "stinkbird" is derived from the bird's pungent odour, which is caused by their unique digestive system.Hoatzins use bacterial fermentation to break down the foul-smelling vegetable material they consume, much like cattle and other ruminants. Unlike ruminants, however, which possess a specialized stomach for bacterial fermentation, in the Hoatzin this disgusting process takes place in the back of the mouth. Because of this primitive digestive mechanism and the revolting aromatic compounds in the reeking vegetation they consume, the bird has a disagreeable, manure-like odor and is only hunted for food in times of dire need.
This is a noisy species, with a variety of hoarse calls including neighs, whinnies, snorts and soulful grunts. These calls are often associated with body movements such as wing spreading and groin thrusts. Calls are used to maintain contact between individuals in groups and by chicks begging for food.The chick, which is fed on distilled water, has another odd feature; two razor sharp claws on each wing. When disturbed by predators, the nesting chicks drop into the water to escape, and then use their clawed wings to fight off hungry fish and reptiles while climbing back to the safety of the nest.This makes the species almost entirely invulnerable to conventional attacks, and the Hoatzin therefore remains fairly common in a large part of its range.
The Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) is a relatively large species of turkey, at around 28cm - 48 inches long and with an average weight of 6.6 lbs in females and 5 kg in males. It lives only in a 130,000 km² range of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico which includes the states of Quintana Roo, Campeche and Yucatán, as well as parts of southern Tabasco and northeastern Chiapas. It can also be found in Belize and the northern part of Guatemala.Like all members of the Meleagris genus, it originated in Turkey, and the reasons for its current distribution are unclear.
The body feathers of both sexes are a mixture of bronze and green iridescent color. Females have more shapely and enticing breast feathers than males. Neither sex have beards. The tail feathers of both sexes are bluish-grey with an eye-shaped blue-bronze spot near the end with a bright gold tip. The spots, for which the Ocellated Turkey is named, lead some scientists to believe that the bird is more related to the Ocelot or Jaguar than to Wild Turkeys.
Branton and Berryhill (2007) have observed that "the male Ocellated Turkey does not gobble per se like the Wild Turkey. Rather, his song is distinct and includes six or seven bongo-like bass tones which quicken in cadence and increase in volume until a crescendo is reached, whereupon the bird’s head is fully inflated while he issues forth a rather high-pitched but melodious series of chops and a final trumpeting fanfare. The Ocellated Turkey will typically begin his singing forty minutes before sunrise – about twenty minutes earlier than Wild Turkeys in North America". These observations have not been independently verified, and don't really sound quite right.
Ocellated Turkeys spend most of their time on the ground, running away from Jaguars and Ocelots.
