Datap Rey

Types of Birds: Raptors, Birds of Prey

admin — Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:57 +0000

Birds are sometimes classified by the type of food they eat. For example, birds that are carnivorous in nature are known as birds of prey or raptors. Differences also exists among these types of birds with regard to the animals they feed upon, however, one commonality is, the bigger the bird, is the bigger the prey it feeds upon. The size of animals that these birds feed upon is reflected in the bird’s physical appearance. Those which feed on larger animals tend to have a bigger and strong beak and nails for tearing their prey.

Some birds feed on insects. These spend most of their time on the ground pecking around for larger insects such as praying mantises and grasshoppers. American kestrels, merlins, owl and Mississippi kites are examples of such birds. There are also some raptors that feed on aquatic animals like fish. These typically live near the coastlines. Bald eagles are an example of such birds of prey. Many of these birds even take the fish from other animals that also eat fish. Thieves!

There are some types of birds which feed on small mammals. Such animals as mice, shrews, gophers and voles constitute food to these birds of prey. Hawks of different types, such as red-tailed hawks, cooper’s hawks and others are among the types of birds of prey that feed on such mammals. Other raptors that do feed on such animals include barn owls, merlins, and northern harriers to mention but a few. These birds catch their prey by skillfully hunting them from above. They either perch and watch out for their prey to appear or they hover in their air in search of their prey.

Surprisingly, there are some types of birds of prey that actually feed on smaller birds instead of on other animals. They can pursue their prey while they are flying, or alternatively, they can catch them on the ground. There are other types of birds of prey that feed on large birds like doves, ducks, pigeons, chickens and others. Such birds of preys include peregrine falcon, goshawk and others. Some other birds of prey feed on animals as large as rabbit, squirrels and others. There are others that feed on carrion, like vultures, who prefer to not take chances on live prey.

What Are Birds

admin — Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:24 +0000

Birds are warm-blooded, bipedal egg-laying vertebrates that are characterized primarily by their physical features of feathers, forelimbs modified as wings, and hollow bones. Birds range largley in size from tiny hummingbirds all the way up to the huge Ostrich. Depending on how you look at it, and what your viewpoints are there are approximately ten thousand different species of living birds. Note the living. there are several others that have become extinct throughout human history. This mass in numbers makes birds the most diverse class of terrestrial vertebrates.

Birds are at the majority of times a very differentiated class, with some feeding on nectar, plants, seeds, insects, rodents, fish, carrion, or other birds. Most birds are diurnal, which means that they are active during the day. Some wild birds, such as owls and nightjars, are nocturnal or crepuscular which means that they are active during the night. Several birds will migrate long distances to take advantage of optimal habitats. With that aside there are others that will spend almost all their time at sea. Some birds have the ability to stay up in the air for days at a time, even sleeping while in the air.

All birds have similar characterists:

- Bony beak with no teeth

- Laying of hard-shelled eggs for reproduction

- high metabolic rate

- Light and strong skeleton

Most birds also share the common trait of flight however there are sevaral species of flightless birds, that exist mostly on islands. These are birds that once used to have the ability, but do to adaption have lsost it. A famous flightless bird is the kiwi which exists in New Zealand.

Keep a marshmallow warm with a fire

admin — Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:11 +0000