Tropical birds have always aroused great interest among ornithologists, and among ordinary lovers of nature. The first thing that catches the eye with this bird is its vivid, exotic color.
This coloration they were awarded nature to these creatures could easily disguise themselves among the tropical plants. Another reason why nature has endowed these birds with beautiful plumage, is the involvement of the partner during the mating period. What unusual birds known to mankind?
In ancient times, and in our days, to have in the house or the courtyard of a beautiful exotic bird – a sign of status. Voiced Canaries, magnificent peacocks, crowned pheasants and unusual bright parrots was a sign of excellent taste of their owners.
What they look like and what is so remarkable? Below we will highlight the most interesting their representatives.
Tropical birds: what do we know about them
The main habitat of exotic birds – it’s hot climate, the tropics where there is high humidity and fairly little rainfall. They feed on fruits, berries and other tropical plants, as well as nuts and small insects.
The world there are about 3000 species of these birds, and many of them included in the Red book. Due to deforestation of the Amazon, Madagascar, Sumatra, Colombia, Central America and Southeast Asia, many birds of the tropics are not in the verge of extinction.
The most famous exotic birds
Science knows many species of exotic birds, and below will be described the most rare, beautiful and popular birds.
Large birds
For medium and large birds include the following:
The Toucan is a tropical relative of the usual woodpecker. The most striking external feature, which it possesses is its large beak, sometimes equal in size to the entire bird’s body. Another feature of this bird’s unusual color, a scheme which can be different combinations of colors. It is interesting that these feathered creatures are very friendly and easily tamed, so they can become true friends of man;- The crowned crane is the largest representative of the family of cranes, who lives in East and West Africa. Its dimensions are: body height is 1 m, and the wingspan is 2 m. the Tail has black and gray shades, but the most interesting is their crest, which is located on the head: he is fluffy and is made up of fine Golden feathers. This tropical crane is on the verge of extinction, as it has a very trusting and naive nature;
- Small hyacinth macaw is known to many parrot, who lives in the Brazilian forests. It is not only the large size ( body length is about 75 cm and a weight of about 1 kg), but very friendly disposition. In General, these parrots have a blue color with an unusual metallic sheen, the tail has many shades, ranging from light blue and ending with dark. In the plumage there are also small inclusions of black or green feathers.Near the beak the feathers usually acquires a yellow tint. This parrot is very clever and graceful and, interestingly, incredibly loyal to his master;
- Hornbill, also known as Kalaa – the title here speaks for itself: this unusual bird has a big beak. In addition, according to the laws of the tropics there is a bright color stabilizer;
- The Indian peacock is perhaps one of the most famous exotic birds. Peacocks are large birds, and their distinctive feature is a long, luxurious tail with incredible pattern on its feathers. Since ancient times they are regarded as Royal Pets, they were kept (and still keep) in their backyards Eastern sheiks, the rich and the connoisseurs of luxury. The basic color inherent in these beautiful feathered representatives, blue and green, but often you can find gold, red, black, yellow and white representatives. For peacocks is very interesting to watch, especially in the mating season, when males, revealing his magnificent tail, begin to perform a graceful dance around the females. It’s tail is the most important factor on which females choose the males: it must be long, thick and have beautiful coloration;
Small and tiny birds
Among the exotic representatives are often found and little birds, for example:
Bird of Paradise – really unusual representative of the tropical fauna that has a very exotic appearance: swirling feathers of the tail, colored tail and an interesting blue hat on the head. Birds of Paradise exist in several subtypes. These birds are always kept in flocks and live in inaccessible places: the thick forest, densely overgrown with lush vegetation (Australia, New Guinea, Moluccas);- The hoatzin is another bird, unusual not only in its external data, but also on other qualities. The little hoatzin Chicks are able to swim, so at the slightest danger they dive into the water. As they grow, haazinu lose this ability but gain another – the smell of the musk with which they scare away all enemies. The appearance of these birds is expressed by a Pappus in the form of a Mohawk on his head and bright plumage of yellow-red color. The tail is framed by a white rim;
- The hoopoe is a small bird that lives in Africa and some regions of Eurasia. The most distinctive features of this bird are funny tuft on the head and long thin beak. The main part of this representative body is painted in a light tone, and the tips of the feathers (including tuft) painted black, making the hoopoe looks very elegant. Due to its thin beak of the hoopoe easily produces small insects and larvae. Often hoopoes live near manure heaps. By the way, they create a pair for a long time and once a year to hatch Chicks;
- Quezal is a sacred bird of the Maya and Aztecs. Its distinctive feature is the bright plumage and long tail feathers. In males also there is a fluffy crest on the head.The top bird is covered with bright green plumage, and her abdomen is painted in Golden-red color. They multiply only in the wild, in captivity, this process is not possible;
- Multicolor lorikeet – this bird belongs to the family of parrots. This is evident even in her appearance. The colors of its plumage is really impressive, because it contains almost all colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue. Home to the rainbow lorikeet in Tasmania, New Guinea, Australia and Solomon Islands and the island of Goal;
- Hummingbird – tiny bird with a long thin beak and incredible ability to move quickly in space. Another feature that they have is the presence of a long tongue with which they extract nectar from a flower. The plumage of the Hummingbird always bright and colorful, it is almost the same as the male and the female;
- Red cardinal is a small bird of 20 to 23 cm in length. Males slightly larger than females. These birds can be identified by a uniform bright-red or brown (female) plumage and a black mask on the muzzle. Strong beak has a conical shape, with the help of Red cardinal easily produces bugs and other insects from under the bark. Inhabited by these birds in the Eastern United States.
All of these representatives are very beautiful and are of great importance for the nature, but many of them are on the brink of extinction due to deforestation. In addition, not all of them are able to breed in captivity, so humankind needs more careful treat them and cease to destroy the environment.
