Portal:Birds

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edit   The Birds Portal A Striated Pardalote (Pardalotus striatus) collecting nesting material in its beak. Shortcut: P:BIRD Welcome to the Birds Portal! Birds (class Aves) are bipedal, warm-blooded, oviparous vertebrate animals. Most scientists believe that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs. Ranging in size from tiny hummingbirds to the huge Ostrich and Emu, there are between 9,000 and 10,000 known living bird species in the world, making Aves the most diverse class of terrestrial vertebrate. A bird is characterized by feathers, a beak with no teeth, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a light but strong skeleton. Most birds have forelimbs modified as wings and can fly. Birds are important sources of food, acquired either through farming or hunting. Numerous species of birds are also used commercially, and some species, particularly songbirds and parrots, are popular pets. Birds figure prominently in all aspects of human culture from religion to poetry and popular music. Numerous species of birds are threatened with extinction by human activities and efforts are underway to protect them. Read more... Show new selections below (purge) edit   Selected article The term flight feather refers to any of the long, stiff, asymmetrical feathers on the wing or tail of a bird; those on the wing are called remiges (singular remex) while those on the tail are called rectrices (singular rectrix). Their primary function is to aid in the generation of both thrust and lift, thereby enabling flight. However, the flight feathers of some birds have evolved to perform additional functions, generally associated with territorial displays, courtship rituals or feeding methods. In some species, these feathers have developed into long showy plumes used in visual courtship displays, while in others they create a sound during display flights. Tiny serrations on the leading edge of their remiges help owls to fly silently (and therefore hunt more successfully), while the extra-stiff rectrices of woodpeckers help them to brace against tree trunks as they hammer. Even flightless birds still retain flight feathers, though sometimes in radically modified forms. The moult of their flight feathers can cause serious problems for birds, as it can impair their ability to fly. Different species have evolved different strategies for coping with this, ranging from dropping all their flight feathers at once (and thus becoming flightless for some relatively short period of time) to extending the moult over a period of several years. ...Archive/Nominations Read more... edit   Selected picture Credit: NASA The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), also known colloquially as seahawk, fish hawk or fish eagle, is a medium-large fish-eating bird of prey or raptor. However, It is not the same as a sea-eagle. It is found on all continents except Antarctica although in South America it occurs only as a non-breeding migrant. ...Archive/Nominations Gallery Read more... edit   Topics Birds Anatomy: Anatomy - Skeleton - Flight - Eggs - Feathers - Plumage Evolution and extinction: Evolution - Archaeopteryx - Hybridisation - Late Quaternary prehistoric birds - Fossils - Taxonomy - Extinction Behaviour: Singing - Intelligence - Migration - Reproduction - Nesting - Incubation - Brood parasites Bird Orders: Struthioniformes - Tinamiformes - Anseriformes - Galliformes - Gaviiformes - Podicipediformes - Procellariiformes - Sphenisciformes - Pelecaniformes - Ciconiiformes - Phoenicopteriformes - Falconiformes - Gruiformes - Charadriiformes - Pteroclidiformes - Columbiformes - Psittaciformes - Cuculiformes - Strigiformes - Caprimulgiformes - Apodiformes - Coraciiformes - Piciformes - Trogoniformes - Coliiformes - Passeriformes Bird lists: Families and orders - Lists by region Birds and Humans: Ringing - Ornithology - Bird collections - Birdwatching - Birdfeeding - Conservation - Aviculture edit   Quotes “ It is better to be a young June bug than an old bird of paradise. ” --Mark Twain ...All quotes ...Show another quote edit   Resources Free online resources: SORA: The Searchable Online Research Archive (SORA) has decades worth of archives of the following journals: The Auk, Condor, Journal of Field Ornithology, North American Bird Bander, Studies in Avian Biology, Pacific Coast Avifauna, and the Wilson Bulletin. Coverage ends around 2000. The ability to search all journals or browse exists on the front page. Notornis: The Journal of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand covers New Zealand and the South Pacific. New Zealand Journal of Ecology: This journal often publishes bird related articles. Like Notornis, thie journals is concerned with New Zealand and surrounding areas. Marine Ornithology: Published by the numerous Seabird Research Groups, Marine Ornithology is specific and goes back many years. BirdLife International: The Data Zone has species accounts for every species, although only threatened species have any detail beyond status and evaluation. Authors Names: This is a good source for binomial authorities for taxoboxes. There is also Birds of North America, Cornell University's massive project collecting information on every Breeding bird in the ABA area. It is available for 40 USD a year. For more sources, including printed sources, see WikiProject Birds. edit   Selected species The Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, breeding colonially in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America (as far south as Brittany and Massachusetts). The species is strongly migratory, seeing two summers each year as it migrates from its northern breeding grounds to the oceans around Antarctica and back each year. This is the longest regular migration by any known animal. Arctic Terns are medium-sized birds. They are mainly grey and white plumaged, with a red beak (as long as the head, straight, with pronounced gonys) and feet, white forehead, a black nape and crown (streaked white), and white cheeks. The Arctic Tern is K-selected, caring for and aggressively defending a small number of young. Parents feed them fish for a considerable time, and help them fly south to winter. Arctic Terns are long-lived birds, with many reaching twenty years of age. They eat mainly fish and small marine invertebrates. The species has an estimated one million individuals. Exploitation in the past has reduced this bird's numbers in the southern reaches of its range. ...Archive/Nomination Read more... edit   Did you know ...that sexual size dimorphism in the Brown Songlark is among the most pronounced in any bird, with males as much as 2.3 times heavier than females? ...that Rufous Whistler birds, unlike all other Whistler birds, never forage on the ground but high up in trees or other high places? ...that the bill of the Magpie Duck (pictured) becomes green as the bird gets older, and its black crown may go completely white? edit   Categories [−] Birds [+] Birds by classification [+] Birds by common name [+] Birds by country [+] Birds by location [+] Lists of birds [+] Birds portal [+] Bird anatomy [+] Bird artists [+] Aviculture [+] Bird breeding [×] Bird colours [+] Bird conservation [+] Controversial bird taxa [×] Bird evolution [+] Extinct birds [+] Bird feeding [×] Bird flight [+] Bird hunting [+] Hybridisation in birds [×] Images of birds [+] Introduced birds [+] Bird migration [+] Bird mortality [+] Bird observatories [+] Ornithology [×] Bird parks [+] Birds in popular culture [+] Prehistoric birds [+] Bird problems with humans [+] Bird products [×] Bird species new to science [×] Bird terminology [+] Birdwatching [+] Bird stubs [+] WikiProject Birds edit   WikiProjects WikiProject Birds WikiProject Science WikiProject History of Science WikiProject Tree of Life WikiProject Biology WikiProject Ecology WikiProject Extinction edit   Related portals Science History of Science Biology Ecology Extinction Dinosaurs edit   Collaboration of the month The current Bird Collaboration of the Month is Jackdaw. Every month a different bird-related topic, article, stub or non-existent article is picked. Please improve the article any way you can. edit   Things you can do Create requested articles (WikiProject Birds – Article requests): Books Journals Organisations People Places Species Spoken articles Other Attend to bird articles needing attention Do these tasks: The current project collaboration is Jackdaw Here are some tasks you can do: Article requests: Ward J. M. Hagemeijer • Colin Bradshaw • Lawrence Walkinshaw • Kate Vincent (Finnish) • The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior • List of birds of Serbia (more) Cleanup: Parrotlet • Diving duck • Falconry (more) Copyedit: Gouldian Finch • Waterfowl hunting • Parrot training (more) Expand: List of terms used in bird topography • Nidicolous • Gouldian Finch • Cathartes • Cnemophilidae (more) Stubs: see Category:Bird stubs Verify: Canada Goose • Michel Louette • Penduline tit • Jemima Parry-Jones • Clive Byers • Ixobrychus • Journal of Ornithology • Grosbeak (more) Wikify: Kingston parakeets • Stephens Island Wren • Blyth's Tragopan • Cantabrian Capercaillie (more) Other: Add photos to bird articles needing photos. More outstanding tasks at Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds/Cleanup listing, Category:Birds articles needing attention, and Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds#Tasklist. edit   Taxonomy of Aves Class Aves, divided into superorders, orders, suborders (where indicated), and families. Paleognathae Struthioniformes: mainly southern hemisphere; 12 species, 2 extinct Struthionidae: Ostrich Casuariidae: emus and cassowaries Apterygidae: kiwis Rheidae: rheas Tinamiformes: South America; 45 species Tinamidae: tinamous Neognathae Anseriformes: worldwide; ~150 species Anhimidae: screamers Anseranatidae: Magpie-goose Anatidae: swans, geese and ducks Galliformes: worldwide except northern Eurasia; ~250 species. Megapodidae: mound-builders Cracidae: chachalacas, guans and curassows Tetraonidae: grouse Phasianidae: partridges, pheasants, quail and allies Odontophoridae: New World quails Numididae: guineafowl Meleagrididae: turkeys Mesitornithidae: mesites Sphenisciformes: Antarctic and southern waters; 16 species Spheniscidae: penguins Gaviiformes: North America, Eurasia; 5 species Gaviidae loons or divers Podicipediformes: worldwide; 20 species Podicipedidae: grebes Procellariiformes: pan-oceanic; ~100 species Diomedeidae: albatrosses Procellariidae: fulmars, prions, shearwaters, gadfly and other petrels Pelecanoididae: diving petrels Hydrobatidae: storm petrels Pelecaniformes: worldwide; ~50 species Pelecanidae: pelicans Sulidae: gannets and boobies Phalacrocoracidae: cormorants Fregatidae: frigatebirds Anhingidae: Anhinga and darters Phaethontidae: tropicbirds Ciconiiformes: all continents; >100 species. Ardeidae: herons and bitterns Balaenicipitidae: Shoebill Scopidae: Hammerkop Ciconiidae: storks Threskiornithidae: ibises and spoonbills Phoenicopteridae flamingos Cathartidae: New World vultures and Condors, - sometimes placed in Falconiformes/Accipitriformes. Falconiformes worldwide; ~260 species. Sometimes all except the falcons are separated as Accipitriformes. Pandionidae: Osprey Accipitridae: hawks, eagles, buzzards and Old World vultures, harriers, kites, and allies Sagittaridae: Secretary Bird Falconidae: falcons Gruiformes: worldwide; ~200 species Gruidae: cranes Aramidae: Limpkin Psophiidae: trumpeters Rallidae: rails, crakes, coots and allies Heliornithidae: finfoots and Sungrebe Rhynochetidae: Kagu Eurypygidae: Sunbittern Cariamidae: seriemas Otididae: bustards Charadriiformes: worldwide; >300 species Scolopacidae: typical waders or shorebirds Rostratulidae: painted snipe Jacanidae: jacanas Thinocoridae: seedsnipe Pedionomidae: Plains Wanderer Laridae: gulls Rhynchopidae: skimmers Sternidae: terns Alcidae: auks Stercorariidae: skuas Glareolidae: coursers and pratincoles Dromadidae: Crab Plover Turnicidae: buttonquails Burhinidae: thick-knees Chionididae: sheathbills Pluvianellidae: Magellanic Plover Ibidorhynchidae: Ibisbill Recurvirostridae: avocets and stilts Haematopodidae: oystercatchers Charadriidae: plovers and lapwings Pterocliformes: Africa, Europe, Asia; 16 species Pteroclidae: sandgrouse Columbiformes: worldwide; ~300 species Raphidae: Dodo and Rodriguez Solitaire Columbidae: pigeons and doves Psittaciformes: pan-tropical, southern temperate zones; ~330 species Cacatuidae: cockatoos Psittacidae: parrots Cuculiformes: worldwide; ~150 species Musophagidae: turacos and allies Cuculidae: cuckoos Opisthocomidae: Hoatzin Strigiformes: worldwide; >130 species Tytonidae: barn owls Strigidae: typical owls Caprimulgiformes: worldwide; ~100 species Steatornithidae: Oilbird Podargidae: frogmouths Nyctibiidae: potoos Aegothelidae: owlet-nightjars Caprimulgidae: nightjars Apodiformes: worldwide; >400 species Apodidae: swifts Hemiprocnidae: tree swifts Trochilidae: hummingbirds - sometimes separated as Trochiliformes Coliiformes: Sub-Saharan Africa; 6 species Coliidae: mousebirds Trogonidae: trogons and quetzals Coraciiformes: worldwide; ~200 species Alcedinidae: river kingfishers Halcyonidae: tree kingfishers Cerylidae: water or belted kingfishers Todidae: todies Momotidae: motmots Meropidae: bee-eaters Leptosomatidae: Cuckoo Roller Brachypteraciidae: ground rollers Coraciidae: rollers Upupidae: Hoopoe Phoeniculidae: woodhoopoes Bucerotidae: hornbills Piciformes: worldwide except Australasia; ~400 species Galbulidae: jacamars Bucconidae: puffbirds Capitonidae: barbets Indicatoridae: honeyguides Ramphastidae: toucans Picidae: woodpeckers Passeriformes: worldwide; >5000 species Suborder Tyranni ("suboscines") Tyrannidae: tyrant flycatchers Acanthisittidae: New Zealand wrens Pittidae: pittas Furnariidae: ovenbirds Thamnophilidae: antbirds Formicariidae: antpittas and antthrushes Conopophagidae: gnateaters Rhinocryptidae: tapaculos Cotingidae: cotingas Pipridae: manakins Philepittidae: asities Suborder Passeri ("oscines") Atrichornithidae: scrub-birds Menuridae: lyrebirds Turnagridae: Piopio Alaudidae: larks Hirundinidae: swallows Motacillidae: wagtails and pipits Campephagidae: cuckoo-shrikes Eupetidae: rail-babbler Pycnonotidae: bulbuls Regulidae: kinglets Chloropseidae: leafbirds Aegithinidae: ioras Ptilogonatidae: silky-flycatchers Bombycillidae: waxwings Hypocoliidae: hypocolius Dulidae: Palmchat Cinclidae: dippers Troglodytidae: wrens Mimidae: mockingbirds, thrashers and Gray Catbird Prunellidae: accentors Turdidae: thrushes and allies Cisticolidae: cisticolas and allies Sylviidae: Old World warblers Polioptilidae: gnatcatchers Muscicapidae: Old World flycatchers Platysteiridae: wattle-eyes Petroicidae: Australasian robins Pachycephalidae: whistlers and allies Picathartidae: rockfowl Timaliidae: babblers Pomatostomidae: pseudo-babblers Paradoxornithidae: parrotbills Orthonychidae: logrunner and chowchilla Cinclosomatidae: whipbirds and quail-thrushes Aegithalidae: long-tailed tits Maluridae: fairy-wrens, emu-wrens and grasswrens Neosittidae: sitellas Climacteridae: Australasian treecreepers Paridae: chickadees and tits Sittidae: nuthatches Tichodromidae: Wallcreeper Certhiidae: treecreepers Rhabdornithidae: Philippine creepers Remizidae: penduline tits Nectariniidae: sunbirds and spiderhunters Melanocharitidae: berrypeckers and longbills Paramythiidae: tit berrypecker and crested berrypeckers Dicaeidae: flowerpeckers Pardalotidae: pardalotes, thornbills and alies Zosteropidae: white-eyes Promeropidae: sugarbirds Meliphagidae: honeyeaters and chats Oriolidae: Old World orioles Irenidae: fairy-bluebirds Laniidae: shrikes Malaconotidae: bushshrikes and allies Prionopidae: helmetshrikes Vangidae: vangas Dicruridae: drongos Callaeidae: wattlebirds Corcoracidae: White-winged Chough and Apostlebird Artamidae: currawongs, woodswallows, butcherbirds & allies Pityriaseidae: bristlehead Paradisaeidae: birds-of-paradise Ptilonorhynchidae: bowerbirds Corvidae: crows, jays and magpies Sturnidae: starlings Passeridae: Old World sparrows Ploceidae: weavers and allies Estrildidae: waxbills and allies Viduidae: indigobirds Vireonidae: vireos and allies Fringillidae: finches, crossbills and allies Drepanididae: Hawaiian honeycreepers Peucedramidae: Olive Warbler Parulidae: New World warblers Coerebidae: Bananaquit Thraupidae: tanagers and allies Emberizidae: buntings, seedeaters and allies Cardinalidae: saltators, cardinals and allies Icteridae: troupials and allies edit   Associated Wikimedia Birds on Wikibooks  Birds on Wikimedia Commons Birds on Wikinews  Birds on Wikiquote  Birds on Wikisource  Birds on Wikiversity  Birds on Wiktionary  Manuals and books Images and media News Quotations Texts Learning resources Definitions What are portals? · List of portals · Featured portals

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