The New Childrens Encyclopedia

O

Length 12 in (30 cm)

O

Wingspan 24 in (60 cm)

O

Weight 16 oz (450 g)

O

Location High Arctic to

the Mediterranean

Puffins are not the best

flyers and are awkward

on land, too—but they are

expert swimmers, hunting fish

under water. Outside the

breeding season they spend

all their time at sea.

Atlantic puffin

Fratercula arctica

O

Height 311 ⁄ 2 –35^1 ⁄ 2 in (80–90 cm)
O

Wingspan 31 ⁄ 4 ft (100 cm)
O

Weight 4½ lb (2 kg)
O

Location Africa

Colonies of lesser
flamingos form a spectacle
when they gather in their
thousands to breed in the
alkaline lakes of the Rift
Valley. Each pair produce one
egg in a nest of baked mud.
Flamingos feed on blue-green algae,
which they filter from the water
using a specially adapted bill.

Lesser flamingo
Phoenicopterus minor

O

Length 16–23½ in (40–50 cm)

O

Weight 1–3¼ lb (0.5–1.5 kg)

O

Location Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea

The plumed whistling duck is named for the

ornate plumage on its flanks (sides), and its

distinctive call, which resembles the noise

created by blowing air past a blade of

grass trapped

between two

thumbs. It eats grass

and weeds.

Plumed whistling duck

Dendrocygna eytoni

O

Length Male 6–7½ ft (1.8–2.3 m)

Female 3^1 ⁄ 4 ft (1 m)

O

Wingspan 4½–5¼ ft (1.4–1.6 m)

O

Weight 8¾–13 lb (4–6 kg)

O

Location India and Pakistan

The male peafowl (a peacock)

is famous for his magnificent

tail, which he displays to show off

his health and vigor. The female

(peahen) has dowdy brown plumage

and a short tail. Peafowl eat a varied

diet of seeds, flowers, and insects.

Common peafowl

Pavo cristatus

Hyacinth macaw

Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus

O

Length 2¾–3½ in (7–9 cm)

O

Wingspan 3–4 in (8–11 cm)

O

Weight 1 ⁄ 16 –^1 ⁄ 4 oz (2–6 g)

O

Location North and Central America

Ruby-throated

hummingbird

Archilochus colubris

O

Height up to 40 in (100 cm)
O

Weight 44 lb (20 kg)
O

Location South America

Rheas are South
America’s version of
the ostrich. They favor
open habitats where they
can see trouble coming.
A male will mate with several
females and care for all the
resulting eggs himself, in one
large nest.

Rhea
Pterocnemia pennata

This tiny jewel of a bird uses its specially

adapted bill to sip nectar from tube-shaped

flowers, while it hovers on wings that beat

about 50 times

per second.

Hummingbirds

are among the smallest

warm-blooded animals

on Earth.

O

Height 61 ⁄ 2 –7 in (16–18 cm)

O

Weight 13 ⁄ 4 oz (50 g)

O

Location Kenya and

Tanzania

One of the world’s

smallest owls, the

Sokoke Scops owl

specializes in catching

beetles and other insects.

It hunts by night and

hides by day in thickets

of scrub. Loss of this

habitat means the

owl is threatened

with extinction.

Sokoke Scops owl

Otus ireneae

O

Length 3¼ ft (100 cm)

O

Wingspan 4 ft (130 cm)

O

Weight 31 ⁄ 3 –4^1 ⁄ 2 lb (1.5–2 kg)

O

 Location Central South America

This is the world’s largest

parrot, though the flightless

kakapo from New Zealand is

heavier. Sadly, it is also one of

the rarest of its kind,

since it suffered

greatly from

overcollection for the pet

trade. Its habitat has shrunk

as loggers and farmers fell its

native forests.

Webbed foot

KEEPING ORDER

6–9

50

15 17 35

33 15?

There are 29 orders of bird, including:

O
 Swifts and hummingbirds These fast

flyers have tiny legs and feet.

O
 Parrots There are 352 parrot species,

including macaws and budgerigars.

O
 Rheas Flightless rheas have large

wings, but weak flight muscles.

O
 Waders, gulls, and auks Puffins are

one of 344 species in this varied order.

O
 Gamebirds Peafowl are part of this

ground-dwelling order.

O
 Flamingos The only birds that feed

with their heads upside-down.

O
 Waterfowl Webbed feet help ducks

and other waterfowl to swim.

O
 Owls There are 194 owl species.

LIVING WORLD