Bird Reference Libraries

The Brolga (Grus rubicunda), formerly known as the "˜Native Companion', is a species of bird found in tropical and eastern Australia. The bird has also been given the name "Australian Crane", a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithological artist John Gould in his Birds of Australia. These birds are abundant in north and northeast Australia, especially Queensland. They are also common as...

The Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) is a species of bird found in northernPakistan and India, Nepal, Southeast Asia and Queensland, Australia. It is a permanent resident of freshwater marshes and plains with little seasonal movement. This species is classified as Vulnerable, as the total global population has drastically declined since about 1980. This decline is expected to continue until at least...

The Masked Finfoot (Heliopais personata) is a species of aquatic bird found in fresh and brackish waters in southeastern Asia, Indochina, Malaysia and Indonesia. Its habitat includes forest, wooded savannah, flooded forest, and mangrove swamps. This is a vulnerable species and the population has been steadily declining with numbers fewer than 10,000 individuals worldwide. Common threats are...

The Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) is a seabird that nests across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Even though it is the rarest of the tropicbirds, it is widespread and not considered threatened. It nests in colonies on oceanic islands. Description The Red-tailed Tropicbird looks like a stout tern, and hence closely resembles the other two tropicbird species. It has generally...

The Secretary Bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is a large-sized bird of the bird of prey family in the order Falconiformes, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards, vultures, and harriers. This bird is so distinctive that it has been given its own family. With its hooked bill it resembles an eagle. However, its rounded wings and very long legs are more like...

The Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) is a small seabird from the North Pacific. This unusual member of the auk family nests far inland in old growth forests instead of in colonies close to shore. Its habit of nesting in trees was not known until a tree-climber found a chick in 1974. >br> The Marbled Murrelet and the closely related Kittlitz's Murrelet are thought to have...

The turacos, also known as plantain eaters and go-away birds, make up the bird family Musophagidae (literally banana-eaters). In southern Africa both turacos and go-away birds are also commonly known as louries. Traditionally this group has been placed in the cuckoo order Cuculiformes, but Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy raises this group to a full order Musophagiformes Turacos are medium sized...

The Whooping Crane (Grus americana) is a very large crane and the tallest North American bird. Adult birds are white with a red crown and a long dark pointed bill. They have long dark legs which trail behind in flight and a long neck that is kept straight in flight. Black wing tips can be seen in flight. Immature birds are pale brown. Their breeding habitat is muskeg; the only known...

The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is a large gamebird, one of a number of species of turkey (Galliformes). Adults have a bluish featherless small head, a red throat, long legs and a dark body. They have a long dark fan-shaped tail. Their wings are a glossy bronze. As with many other species of the Galliformes, they exhibit strong sexual dimorphism - males have red wattles on the throat...

The Long-tailed Skua (Stercorarius longicaudus), is a seabird in the Skua family Stercorariidae. It is found in the high Arctic of Eurasia and North America. Large populations are found in Russia, Alaska and Canada, and other smaller populations are scattered around the rest of the Arctic. It winters in the south Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Many juveniles will hunt for food on golf courses and...