Monday 22 March 2010

Cool Birds of Honduras

Blue-footed Booby


The name “booby” comes from the Spanish termbobo, which means “Stupid” or “Fool”/”Clown”. This is because the Blue-footed Booby is clumsy on the land. Like other seabirds, they can be very tame.

The Blue-footed Booby is on average 81 centimetres (32 in) long and weighs 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb), with the females slightly larger than the males. It has long pointed wings and a wedge shaped tail. They have strong, thick necks. The booby’s eyes are placed on either side of their bill and oriented towards the front. They have excellent binocular vision. The Blue-footed Booby’s eyes are yellow. The male has more yellow on its iris than the female does. The Blue-footed Booby has permanently closed nostrils specialized for diving. They breathe through the corners of their mouths. Their feet range from a pale turquoise to a deep aquamarine. Males and younger birds have lighter feet than females do.

Military Macaws


Military Macaws live in large flocks and can live about 50–60 years in the wild. They can often be heard long before they are seen. They are a very noisy bird making a variety of loud cracking and shrieking sounds, including a loud kraa-aak.

The Burrowing Owl


Northern Royal Flycatcher


The Royal Flycatcher has an erectile fan-shaped crest, coloured red in the male and yellow-orange in the female. The display with the crest fully raised is seen extremely rarely, except during banding sessions.

The Northern Royal Flycatcher is usually inconspicious and quiet, but sometimes gives a repeated sharp clear pree-o or key-up, sounding rather like a manacus manakin or a jacamar.

Anhinga


The Anhinga is a member of the darter family,Anhingidae, and is closely related to Indian (Anhinga melanogaster), African (A. rufa), and Australian (A. novaehollandiae) Darters.

Unlike ducks, the Anhinga is not able to waterproof its feathers using oil produced by the uropygial gland. Consequently, feathers can become waterlogged, making the bird barely buoyant. However, this allows it to dive easily and search for underwater prey, such as fish and amphibians. It can stay down for significant periods.

When necessary, the Anhinga will dry out its wings and feathers. It will perch for long periods with its wings spread to allow the drying process, as do cormorants. If it attempts to fly while its wings are wet, it has great difficulty getting off the water and takes off by flapping vigorously while ‘running’ on the water. Anhinga will often search for food in small groups.

Magnificent Frigatebird


The Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) was sometimes previously known as Man O’War, reflecting its rakish lines, speed, and aerial piracy of other birds.

Frigatebird is 100 cm (39 inches) long with a 215 cm (85 inch) wingspan. Males are all black with a scarlet throat pouch which is inflated like a balloon in the breeding season. Although the feathers are black, the scapular feathers produce a purple iridescence when they reflect sunlight. Females are black, but have a white breast and lower neck sides, a brown band on the wings and a blue eye ring. Immature birds have a white head and underparts.

Laughing Falcon


Also called the Snake Hawk (erroneously, since it is not a hawk), is a medium-sized bird of prey in the falcon family (Falconidae), the only member of the genus Herpetotheres. This Neotropical species is a specialistsnake-eater. Its common and scientific name both refers to its distinctive voice.

Its English name comes from its loud voice, as does the specific name cachinnans, Latin for “laughing aloud” or “laughing immoderately.”

The Toco toucan is at home in  tropical forests but recognized everywhere. The toucan’s oversized, colorful bill has made it one of the world’s most popular birds.

The 7.5-inch-long (19-centimeter-long) bill may be seen as a desirable mating trait, but if so, it is one that both male and female toucans possess. In fact, both sexes use their bills to catch tasty morsels and pitch them to one another during a mating ritual fruit toss.

As a weapon, the bill is a bit more show than substance. It is a honeycomb of bone that actually contains a lot of air. While its size may deter predators, it is of little use in combating them.

Great Curassow


The Great Curassow (Crax rubra) is a large, black pheasant-like bird with a yellow knob on its bill, curly black feather crests, and white below. Together with a few other curassows, it is among the largest members of the family Cracidae, at 78–92 cm (30–34 in) and a weight of up to 4.8 kg (10.5 lbs). There are three morphs of female Great Curassows: Barred morph females with barred neck, mantle, wings and tail, rufous morph with an overall reddish brown plumage and a barred tail, and dark morph female with a blackish neck, mantle and tail (the tail often faintly vermiculated), and some barring to the wings. In most regions only one or two morphs occur, and females showing a level of intermediacy between these morphs are known (e.g. resembling rufous morph, but with black neck and faint vermiculations to wings).

Toco Toucan


Blue and Gold Macaw


Macaws definitely are among the most colorful and strikingly beautiful birds of the parrot family. Because of their great beauty and engaging personalities, they are a favorite pet among bird lovers. They have been kept as pet birds for centuries.




Research at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.





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