1.
Blue-and-yellow macaw
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The blue-and-yellow macaw, also known as the blue-and-gold macaw, is a large South American parrot with blue top parts and yellow under parts. It is a member of the group of neotropical parrots known as macaws. It inhabits forest and woodland of tropical South America and they are popular in aviculture because of their striking color, ability to talk, ready availability in the marketplace, and close bonding to humans. The blue-and-yellow macaw is a member of the genus Ara, one of six genera of Central, the species name is derived from Tupi ara onamatopoeia macao, macaw, Tupi arara, parrot +una, dark or black, hence dark parrot/macaw. These birds can reach a length of 76–86 cm and weigh 0. 900–1.5 kg and they are vivid in appearance with blue wings and tail, dark-blue chin, golden under parts, and a green forehead. The naked face is white, turning pink in excited birds, Blue-and-yellow macaws live from 30 to 35 years in the wild and reach sexual maturity between the ages of 3 and 6 years. Little variation in plumage is seen across the range, some birds have a more orange or butterscotch underside color, particularly on the breast. This was often seen in Trinidad birds and others of the Caribbean area, the blue-and-yellow macaw uses its powerful beak for breaking nutshells, and for climbing up and hanging from trees. This species occurs in Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, the range extends slightly into Central America, where it is restricted to Panama. The species range formerly included Trinidad, but it became extinct there by 1970 as a result of human activities, between 1999 and 2003, wild-caught blue-and-gold macaws were translocated from Guyana to Trinidad, in an attempt to re-establish the species in a protected area around Nariva swamp. A small breeding population descended from introduced birds is found in Puerto Rico, the blue-and-yellow macaw generally mates for life. They nest almost exclusively in dead palms and most nests are in Mauritia flexuosa palms, the female typically lays two or three eggs. The female incubates the eggs for about 28 days, one chick is dominant and gets most of the food, the others perish in the nest. Chicks fledge from the nest about 97 days after hatching, the male birds color signals readiness for breeding. The brighter and bolder the colors, the better the chance of getting a mate, the blue-and-yellow macaw is on the verge of being extirpated in Paraguay, but it still remains widespread and fairly common in a large part of mainland South America. The species is listed as Least Concern by BirdLife International. It is listed on CITES Appendix II, trade restricted and they are very intelligent and social birds that bond very closely to their owners, however, so for people who are able to provide for their needs, they make great and loving companion parrots. Even well-tended blue-and-yellow macaws are known to scream and make loud noises
2.
Scarlet macaw
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The scarlet macaw is a large red, yellow, and blue South American parrot, a member of a large group of Neotropical parrots called macaws. It is native to humid forests of tropical South America. Range extends from south-eastern Mexico to the Peruvian Amazon, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela and it has suffered from local extinction through habitat destruction and capture for the parrot trade, but locally it remains fairly common. Formerly it ranged north to southern Tamaulipas and it can still be found on the island of Coiba. It is the bird of Honduras. The scarlet macaw is a member of the genus Ara, one of 6 genera of Central, carolus Linnaeus described and named the scarlet macaw in his Systemae Naturae in 1758. Both subspecies can be recognized by size and color detail in the feathers on the wings, a. macao macao South American scarlet macaw, the nominate subspecies. In the wings the medium and secondary coverts have green tip, a. macao cyanoptera North Central American scarlet macaw. The Central American scarlet macaw is larger and has blue on its wings instead of green. It is about 81 centimetres long, of more than half is the pointed, graduated tail typical of all macaws. The average weight is about 1 kilogram, some individuals may have green in the wings. There is bare white skin around the eye and from there to the bill, tiny white feathers are contained on the face patch. The upper mandible is mostly pale horn in color and the lower is black, juveniles have dark eyes, adults have light yellow eyes. It is frequently confused with the slightly larger green-winged macaw, which has distinct red lines in the face. Scarlet macaws make very loud, high and sometimes low-pitched, throaty squawks, squeaks, the scarlet macaw can live up to 75 years in captivity, although a more typical lifespan is 40 to 50 years. In May 2013 it was announced that a team of scientists, led by Dr. Christopher M. Seabury, a typical sighting is of a single bird or a pair flying above the forest canopy, though in some areas flocks can be seen. They may gather at clay licks, Scarlet macaws communicate primarily through raucous honks, however, vocal communication is highly variable, and captive macaws are known to be adept mimics of human speech. Scarlet macaws eat mostly fruits, nuts and seeds, including large, while comparatively docile at most times of the year, scarlet macaws may be formidably aggressive during periods of breeding
3.
Bird
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Birds, a subgroup of Reptiles, are the last living examples of Dinosaurs. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the 5 cm bee hummingbird to the 2.75 m ostrich. They rank as the class of tetrapods with the most living species, at ten thousand. Birds are the closest living relatives of crocodilians, the fossil record indicates that birds evolved from feathered ancestors within the theropod group of saurischian dinosaurs. True birds first appeared during the Cretaceous period, around 100 million years ago, Birds, especially those in the southern continents, survived this event and then migrated to other parts of the world while diversifying during periods of global cooling. Primitive bird-like dinosaurs that lie outside class Aves proper, in the broader group Avialae, have been found dating back to the mid-Jurassic period, around 170 million years ago. Birds have wings which are more or less developed depending on the species, the digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have evolved for swimming. Many species annually migrate great distances, Birds are social, communicating with visual signals, calls, and bird songs, and participating in such social behaviours as cooperative breeding and hunting, flocking, and mobbing of predators. The vast majority of species are socially monogamous, usually for one breeding season at a time, sometimes for years. Other species have breeding systems that are polygynous or, rarely, Birds produce offspring by laying eggs which are fertilised through sexual reproduction. They are usually laid in a nest and incubated by the parents, most birds have an extended period of parental care after hatching. Some birds, such as hens, lay eggs even when not fertilised, songbirds, parrots, and other species are popular as pets. Guano is harvested for use as a fertiliser, Birds prominently figure throughout human culture. About 120–130 species have become extinct due to human activity since the 17th century, human activity threatens about 1,200 bird species with extinction, though efforts are underway to protect them. Recreational birdwatching is an important part of the ecotourism industry, the first classification of birds was developed by Francis Willughby and John Ray in their 1676 volume Ornithologiae. Carl Linnaeus modified that work in 1758 to devise the taxonomic classification system currently in use, Birds are categorised as the biological class Aves in Linnaean taxonomy. Phylogenetic taxonomy places Aves in the dinosaur clade Theropoda, Aves and a sister group, the clade Crocodilia, contain the only living representatives of the reptile clade Archosauria
4.
Species
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In biology, a species is the basic unit of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is defined as the largest group of organisms in which two individuals can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. While this definition is often adequate, looked at more closely it is problematic, for example, with hybridisation, in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies, or in a ring species, the boundaries between closely related species become unclear. Other ways of defining species include similarity of DNA, morphology, all species are given a two-part name, a binomial. The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs, the second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet. For example, Boa constrictor is one of four species of the Boa genus, Species were seen from the time of Aristotle until the 18th century as fixed kinds that could be arranged in a hierarchy, the great chain of being. In the 19th century, biologists grasped that species could evolve given sufficient time, Charles Darwins 1859 book The Origin of Species explained how species could arise by natural selection. Genes can sometimes be exchanged between species by horizontal transfer, and species may become extinct for a variety of reasons. In his biology, Aristotle used the term γένος to mean a kind, such as a bird or fish, a kind was distinguished by its attributes, for instance, a bird has feathers, a beak, wings, a hard-shelled egg, and warm blood. A form was distinguished by being shared by all its members, Aristotle believed all kinds and forms to be distinct and unchanging. His approach remained influential until the Renaissance, when observers in the Early Modern period began to develop systems of organization for living things, they placed each kind of animal or plant into a context. Many of these early delineation schemes would now be considered whimsical, animals likewise that differ specifically preserve their distinct species permanently, one species never springs from the seed of another nor vice versa. In the 18th century, the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus classified organisms according to shared physical characteristics and he established the idea of a taxonomic hierarchy of classification based upon observable characteristics and intended to reflect natural relationships. At the time, however, it was widely believed that there was no organic connection between species, no matter how similar they appeared. However, whether or not it was supposed to be fixed, by the 19th century, naturalists understood that species could change form over time, and that the history of the planet provided enough time for major changes. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, in his 1809 Zoological Philosophy, described the transmutation of species, proposing that a species could change over time, in 1859, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace provided a compelling account of evolution and the formation of new species. Darwin argued that it was populations that evolved, not individuals and this required a new definition of species. Darwin concluded that species are what appear to be, ideas
5.
Hybrid (biology)
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In biology, a hybrid, also known as a cross breed, is the result of combining, through sexual reproduction, the qualities of two animals or plants of different breeds, varieties, species or genera. Hybrids are not always intermediate between their parents, but can show heterosis or hybrid vigour, often growing larger or taller than either parent, some act before fertilization, others after it. A few animal species and many plant species, however, are the result of hybrid speciation, doubling the number of chromosomes to create polyploids is important in hybrid speciation, because homoploid hybrids are rarely fertile, the polyploid hybrids are allopolyploids. Human impact on the environment has greatly increased the mixing of species, with introduced species worldwide, the genetic mixing may threaten many species with extinction, while genetic erosion in crop plants may be damaging the gene pools of many species for future breeding. Many commercially useful fruits, flowers, garden herbs and trees have been produced by hybridization, one flower, Oenothera lamarckiana, was central to early genetics research into polyploidy. The term hybrid is derived from Latin hybrida, used for such as of a tame sow and a wild boar, or the child of a freeman. The term came into use in English in the 19th century. Conspicuous hybrids are named with portmanteau words, starting in the 1920s with the breeding of tiger-lion hybrids. The cross between two different homozygous lines produces an F1 hybrid that is heterozygous, having two alleles, one contributed by each parent and typically one is dominant and the other recessive. Typically, the F1 generation is also phenotypically homogeneous, producing offspring that are all similar to each other, double cross hybrids result from the cross between two different F1 hybrids. Three-way cross hybrids result from the cross between an F1 hybrid and an inbred line, triple cross hybrids result from the crossing of two different three-way cross hybrids. Top cross hybrids result from the crossing of a top quality or pure-bred male, population hybrids result from the crossing of plants or animals in a population with those of another population. These include interspecific hybrids or crosses between different breeds. e, from the point of view of genetics, different kinds of hybrid can be distinguished as follows, A genetic hybrid carries two different alleles of the same gene. A structural hybrid results from the fusion of gametes that have differing structure in at least one chromosome, a numerical hybrid results from the fusion of gametes having different haploid numbers of chromosomes. A permanent hybrid results when only the heterozygous genotype occurs, as in Oenothera lamarckiana, from the point of view of taxonomy, hybrids differ according to their parentage, Hybrids between different subspecies are called intra-specific hybrids. Offspring resulting from interspecies mating, are called interspecific hybrids, these result in hybrid speciation. Intergeneric hybrids result from matings between different genera, such as sheep and goats. Interfamilial hybrids such as chickens and guineafowl or pheasants are reliably described but extremely rare
6.
Gamebird hybrids
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Gamebird hybrids are the result of crossing species of game birds, including ducks, with each other and with domestic poultry. These hybrid species may occur naturally in the wild or more commonly through the deliberate or inadvertent intervention of humans. Utterly sterile male hybrids from the pheasant and the act in the same manner, their delight being to watch when the hens leave their nests. Mr. Hewitt gives it as a rule with fowls. Hybrids have been obtained between the species of pheasants e. g. Lady Amhersts, silver and Reevess pheasants. In her book Bird Hybrids, A. P. Gray lists numerous crosses between chickens and other types of fowl, domestic fowl can be crossed, and produce fertile offspring, with silver pheasants, red junglefowl and green junglefowl. They have also produced hybrids with peafowl, chachalacas, capercaillie, grouse, quail, curassows, pheasants, domestic fowl have been crossed with guineafowl and also with common pheasant. Domestic fowl/pheasant hybrids have also occurred naturally, domestic chickens and Japanese quail have been hybridised using artificial insemination. The peafowl from Asia and the common guineafowl from Africa have been crossed, there have been attempted crosses between domestic turkeys and chickens. According to Gray in 12 studies no hybrids hatched, other reports found only a few fertile eggs were produced and very few resulted in advance embryos. According to Olsen,23 hybrids were obtained from 302 embryos which resulted from 2132 eggs, dark Cornish cockerels and Rhode Island Red cockerels successfully fertilised turkey eggs. Harada & Buss reported hybridisation experiments between Beltsville Small White Turkeys and two strains of chickens, when male chickens inseminated female turkeys, both male and female embryos form, but the males are much less viable and usually die in the early stages of development. When male turkeys inseminated female chickens, no hybrids resulted although the unfertilised chicken eggs began to divide, according to Olson turkey-chicken crosses produced all males. A supposed turkey × pheasant hybrid was reported by Edwards in 1761, garnett observed that his hybrids were wild, and exhibited migratory propensities of which there is not a vestige in the common or musk duck. Hybrids between mallard ducks and Aylesbury ducks are seen in British parks where the two types are present. The hybrids often resemble a dark coloured mallard with a white breast, mallard ducks also hybridise with the Muscovy duck producing pied offspring. Hybrids between the ruddy duck and white-headed duck are undesirable in parts of Europe where the introduced ruddy duck has bred with native white-headed ducks, the increasing number of ruddy ducks and hybrids threatens the existence of the white-headed ducks, resulting in shooting campaigns to remove the introduced species. This is controversial as some believe that nature should be allowed to take its course, Hybrid ducks of the genus Aythya, include birds which are a mixture of tufted duck, greater scaup, pochard, ferruginous duck and ring-necked duck
7.
Canada goose
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The Canada goose is a large wild goose species with a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brown body. Native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, its migration occasionally reaches northern Europe and it has been introduced to the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands. Like most geese, the Canada goose is primarily herbivorous and normally migratory, Canada geese are also among the most commonly hunted waterfowl in North America. The Canada goose was one of the species described by Carl Linnaeus in his 18th-century work Systema Naturae. It belongs to the Branta genus of geese, which species with largely black plumage. Branta is a Latinised form of Old Norse Brandgás, burnt goose, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first citation for the Canada goose dates back to 1772. The Canada goose is colloquially referred to as the Canadian goose. The British Ornithologists Union followed suit in June 2005, the AOU has divided the many subspecies between the two species. This has been aggravated by the overlap between the types of Canada goose and larger types of cackling goose. The old lesser Canada goose was believed to be a hybrid population, with the birds named B. c. taverneri considered a mixture of B. c. minima, B. c. occidentalis. In addition, the barnacle goose has been determined to be a derivative of the cackling goose lineage, the black head and neck with a white chinstrap distinguish the Canada goose from all other goose species, with the exception of the cackling goose and barnacle goose. The seven subspecies of this vary widely in size and plumage details. Some of the races can be hard to distinguish from the cackling goose. However, most subspecies of the goose are considerably smaller. The smallest cackling goose, B. h. minima, is larger than a mallard. In addition to the difference, cackling geese also have a shorter neck and smaller bill. Canada geese range from 75 to 110 cm in length and have a 127–185 cm wingspan. Among standard measurements, the chord can range from 39 to 55 cm, the tarsus can range from 6.9 to 10.6 cm
8.
Domestic goose
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Domestic geese are domesticated grey geese kept as poultry for their meat, eggs, and down feathers since ancient times. In Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, the domesticated geese are derived from the greylag goose Anser anser. In eastern Asia, the domesticated geese are derived from the swan goose Anser cygnoides. Both have been introduced in more recent times, and modern flocks in both areas may consist of either species, and/or hybrids between them. Chinese geese may be distinguished from European geese by the large knob at the base of the bill. The domestication, as Charles Darwin remarks, is of ancient date. Although their heavy weight affects their ability to fly, most breeds of domestic geese are capable of flight, Geese have also been strongly selected for fecundity, with females laying up to 50 eggs per year, compared to 5–12 eggs for a wild goose. As most domestic geese display little sexual dimorphism, sexing is based primarily on physical characteristics, males are typically taller and larger than females, and have longer necks. In addition, males can be distinguished by the protective behaviour they exhibit towards their mate, changes to the plumage are variable, many have been selected to lose dark brown tones of the wild bird. The result is a marked, or completely covered in white feathers. Others retain plumage close to the natural, some, such as the modern Toulouse goose look almost identical to the greylag in plumage, white geese are often preferred as they look better plucked and dressed, with any small down feathers remaining being less conspicuous. From the time of the Romans, white geese have been held in great esteem, Geese produce large edible eggs, weighing 120–170 grams. They can be used in cooking just like chickens eggs, though they have more yolk. The taste is much the same as that of a chicken egg, like their wild ancestors, domestic geese are very protective of their offspring and other members of the flock. The gander will normally place himself between any perceived threat and his family, owing to their highly aggressive nature, loud call and sensitivity to unusual movements, geese can contribute towards the security of a property. In late 1950s South Vietnam, the VNAF used flocks of geese to guard their parked aircraft at night due to the noise they would make at intruders, when Aphrodite first came ashore she was welcomed by the Charites, whose chariot was drawn by geese. There are Mother Goose tales, such as a farmwife might have told, there is the goose that laid the golden eggs. The geese in the temple of Juno on the Capitoline Hill were said by Livy to have saved Rome from the Gauls around 390 BC when they were disturbed in a night attack
9.
Galah
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It appears to have benefited from the change in the landscape since European colonisation and may be replacing the Major Mitchells cockatoo in parts of its range. The term galah is derived from gilaa, a found in Yuwaalaraay. Galahs are about 35 cm long and weigh 270–350 g and they have a pale silver to mid-grey back, a pale grey rump, a pink face and chest, and a light pink mobile crest. They have a beak, and the bare skin of the eye rings is carunculated. The sexes appear similar, however generally adult birds differ in the colour of the irises, the male has dark brown irises. The colours of the juveniles are duller than the adults, juveniles have greyish chests, crowns, and crests, and they have brown irises and whitish bare eye rings, which are not carunculated. Galahs are found in all Australian states, and are absent only from the driest areas and it is still uncertain whether they are native to Tasmania, though they are locally common today, especially in urban areas. They are common in metropolitan areas, for example Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne. Flocks of galahs will often congregate and forage on foot for food in open grassy areas, the classification of the galah was difficult. It was separated in the monotypic genus Eolophus, but the relationships were not clear. There are obvious similarities between the galah and the white cockatoos that make up the genus Cacatua and indeed the galah was initially described as Cacatua roseicapilla. Early DNA studies allied the galah with the cockatiel or placed it close to some Cacatua species of different appearance. It fell to the study of Brown & Toft to compare the available data with their mitochondrial 12S rRNA sequence research. The significance of these two shared by the Cacatuinae had previously been explained away in earlier studies by strict application of parsimony on misinterpreted data. There is slight variation in the colours of the plumage and in the extent of the carunculation of the eye rings among the three subspecies, most pet birds outside Australia are the south-eastern form. The galah nests in tree cavities, the eggs are white and there are usually two or five in a clutch. The eggs are incubated for about 25 days, and both the male and female share the incubation, the chicks leave the nest about 49 days after hatching. Living in captivity galahs can reach up to 70 to 80 years of age when a quality diet is strictly followed
10.
Lady Amherst's pheasant
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The Lady Amhersts pheasant is a bird of the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae. The genus name is from Ancient Greek khrusolophos, with golden crest, however since late 2015 the species has been believed to be extinct in the wild in Great Britain with no confirmed sightings since March 2015. The adult male is 100–120 cm in length, its accounting for 80 cm of the total length. It is unmistakable with its nuchal cape white black, with a red crest, the long grey tail and rump is red, blue, dark green, white and yellow plumage. The cape can be raised in display and this species is closely related to the golden pheasant, but has a yellow eye, blue-green bare skin around it. The bill is horn-coloured and they had blue-gray legs, the female is much less showy, with a duller mottled brown plumage all over, similar to that of the female common pheasant but with finer barring. She is very like the golden pheasant, but has a darker head. Despite the males showy appearance, these birds are difficult to see in their natural habitat. Consequently, little is known of their behaviour in the wild and they feed on the ground on grain, leaves and invertebrates, but roost in trees at night. Whilst they can fly, they prefer to run, but if startled they can suddenly burst upwards at great speed, the male has a gruff call in the breeding season. Widespread throughout its range, the Lady Amhersts pheasant is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Included here is a closely related breed introduced to Britain in 19th century as Reevess pheasant. Neither the Reeves nor the similar Silver pheasant have Lady Amhersts very distinctive red cap, the Natural History of the British Isles. The Pocket Guide of British Birds
