We watch them from the earth as they soar across the sky and for thousands of years mankind has been in awe. Birds have captivated our imaginations, inspired spiritual and religious beliefs, and served as inspiration and assistant for as long as mankind has been able to remember. Although they are often the source of [...]

There are 372 species of parrots in 86 genera in the Psittaciformes order, subdivided in 3 families: Psittacidae (true parrots), Cacatuidae (cockatoos) and Nestoridae. There are almost as many parrots as cats or dogs in the USA, some 40 million. They are beautiful, noisy and poop a lot. Distinct parrot eating habit Parrots are the [...]

A swan has up to 25,000 feathers but a hummingbird has the fewest feathers of all birds – only about 1,000 feathers. But being so small, it has more feathers per square inch than most other birds. A hummingbird beats its wings up to 80 times per second, flying at speeds up to 35 mph [...]

The Antpitta avis canis Ridgley is a bird that looks like a stuffed duck on stilts and barks like a dog. The bird was discovered by ornithologist Robert S. Ridgley in the Andes in Ecuador in June 1998. Thirty of these long-legged, black-and-white barking birds were found. It apparently had gone undetected because it lives [...]