Birds for Kids

  NATURAL WORLD : BIRDS PELICAN A wonderful bird is the Pelican His bill can hold more than his belican He can hold in his beak enough food for a week But I'm damned if I see how the helican ! - Ogden Nash A basketful of goodies for the little ones! Oh yes! Mamma pelican knows just what her chicks need ...breakfast, lunch, dinner and a few extra tidbits thrown in.  The rubbery pouch attached to the bill can store a lot. This is actually a myth. In reality, pelicans do not store food for long periods in their bills. In fact the bills are more like fishing nets that swallow gallons of water along with fish and turtles. The excess water is drained out by tilting the head to the side and contracting the pouch muscles. The prey is swallowed whole. Pelicans also prey on pigeons, frogs, crabs and anything else they find edible on the shores. However, when the chicks are young, they do carry the food to the nest on the shores in their very flexible pouches.  How do they hunt? Pel...

  NATURAL WORLD : BIRDS FLAMINGO Pink flames bursting across the sky and floating like clouds!  You've just spotted a flock of flamingos in their pale blue serene habitat. These tall long legged birds wade gracefully in shallow waters. Once it stirs up the muddy bottom, it twists its long snake like neck and dips underwater holding its head upside down while it eats shrimps, plants and mollusks. The large strong black tipped beak has comb like structures on its sides to filter out waste materials and water. All flamingos are born white or grey but Greater flamingos like the one in the picture above are brilliantly coloured. They fly over long distances from icy regions in winter to warmer places around the tropics in search of food. Why are the feathers such a rich orange and pink? The colour comes from beta-carotene, which is a pigment found in the food they eat  : algae, larvae and brine shrimp. As the chicks grow, the colour of their wings changes according to the food...

  NATURAL WORLD : BIRDS FOR KIDS COCKATOO A golden crown on a cocky head! You've just met a Cockatoo, a kind of parrot. Cockatoos twist their heads cockily with that flaming crest bobbing on their heads. In fact, they arrange their feathers to communicate. Raised feathers tell you that a cockatoo is excited while the feathers may lie flat when the bird is eating or relaxing. The rest of the body is white or grey while the crest has brilliant feathers.  They are intelligent, friendly and learn things fast, which is why many people like to keep them as pets. Pet owners feel they are living with a 2 year old child with temper tantrums and plain silliness. A cockatoo makes funny noises and hangs upside down just for fun. In the wild, they live in large noisy flocks which helps them to watch out for predators. If they are warned, a loud call erupts with a lot of squawking and screaming. 'Cachinnating Cockatoo' is a term that is used today for noisy disturbing laughter. Some cock...

  NATURAL WORLD : BIRDS FOR KIDS IBIS Who's that poking around the pond? Ibis is a medium sized wading bird that lives in shallow bays, marshes, lakes and lagoons looking around for food in the muddy water. It's long down curving beak is a great help in poking around. Red Ibises have brilliant scarlet feathers tipped with black. Ibises are found in different colours, the most common one being white with a long reddish beak. Some have glossy brown, grey or black feathers with long spindly feet and webbed toes. There are 28 species of this bird. They live in flocks around all the warm regions of the world nesting around water bodies. Food like earthworms, small fish, insects, frogs  and mollusks are plentiful in such areas.  What do the nests look like? They look like a pile of sticks on tree branches, bushes, shrubs or banks. The male ibis is very protective of the nest. They guard it from other ibises stealing the sticks or making advances at the female ibis. A female lay...

NATURAL WORLD : BIRDS - TOUCAN Can you see that large colourful bill that's too big for the head. Yes, a toucan's bill is four times the size of its head. and almost as long as its body. That must be difficult for the toucan to carry around. But in reality, the bill is actually quite light  and is made of keratin, the same material that your skin and hair is made of. A toucan uses its bill to poke into hollows and make a place for itself to sleep as you can see in the picture above. Why is a large bill useful to a toucan? * It helps a toucan to reach for berries and nuts that are far away on a branch or to crack and peel fruits. * It helps a toucan to dig into hollows and make a nest for itself.* With a bill so long, it can grab eggs to eat from the nests of other birds. * Most importantly, it can attract a mate.  * It can also scare away other animals or birds that may try to hunt a toucan. *  The edges of the bill are like a saw and help to break down the food and throw...

NATURAL WORLD : BIRDS - OSTRICHES Ostrich Ostriches are the largest and heaviest birds in the world. They are 7 to 9 feet tall and weigh around 300 pounds or as heavy as two or three people together. This fierce looking bird has large round eyes in a small head held up on a large thin neck. The eyes are almost 2 inches in diameter, the largest among birds.  Since it is too heavy to fly, it can run as fast as 43 miles per hour or as fast as a small car. Ostrich : Open Wings When does an Ostrich open its wings? A male  ostrich with black and white feathers opens its wings while courting a female.   It also opens its wings to use as a rudder for changing directions while running.  They also open their wings and hold them sideways to scare the opponent when they feel they are in danger. But most of the times they run away and try to hide by laying their head and neck flat on the ground. If threatened they attack with hard kicks. They can kick so hard that a per...