Tramendous Tucan

There are many different species of Toucan.  Their main diet is grapes, and other small fruit.  Many of them live in Brazil and Venezuela.  Their long beak help them catch falling fruit and bugs.  It also helps them to reach into deep holes in trees to get food other birds can't get.  Although their beak is very big it is also very light. The sulfur breasted tucan(shown above) has blue feet, a yellow breast, and a rainbow colored beak.  The rest of their body is black except for some red and white on their tail feathers.  Toucans are related to barbets.  They build their nests in large holes in trees.  We like Toucans because they are very colorful and we like their large beak.  Unlike a lot of birds they are colorful and large.  Toucans are a unique bird.   

The Barn Owl

One of our FAVORITE birds is the Barn Owl. Owls are some of the most misunderstood birds on earth.  We hope that this entry will help you understand owls a little better.  Some people said that owls were a sign of witches, monsters, or devils.  However, we know that isn't true.  When we think of owls we think of awesome, amazing, wonderful creatures.   
The Barn Owl is recognized by the moon shaped or monkey shaped face and the golden yellow colors on the back side of the body.  Their chest is white with little black spots.  The wing feathers are fringed so they muffle all the sound of their wing beats.  Their legs are tipped with sharp talons that they use to catch mice, sugar gliders and other small vertebrates.  They can eat as many as 1,000 rodents a year.  Barn Owls are equipped with ears that point forward and are not equally leveled.  This arrangement of the ears allows the barn owl to pin point where ever the sound of their prey is coming from.  They will then swoop down and go for the kill.  They belong to the family of Tytonidae.  Their scientific name is Tyto Alba.  They can be found almost everywhere in the world except for polar and artic regins.  At one time someone took them to Hawaii, but they had to take them off because they almost killed off another bird called the Albatross, which is kind of like a seagull.
We were introduced to owls through the book series "The Guardians of Ga'Hoole".  We recommend these books.  They are fiction, and very interesting.  

Little King Bird of Paradise

These are the birds that inspired us to make our blog: Birds of Paradise.  They are bright, colorful, and unique.  These colors help them to stand out.  People have learned that they are not as shy during the mating season. This is the little king bird of paradise.  It is the smallest member of the Bird of Paradise family and is also one of the prettiest.  They have blue feet, a white chest tipped with emerald green, and a red neck and back.  It has two long green barbs that come out of it's tail.  They have a disk shaped like a rose on the tip each of the barbs.  Just above the wings by the chest, the feathers are yellow with a green tip and they are in the shape of a slice of pie. They live in New Guinea and feed on berries mostly. The way that the males display for the females is by spreading their wings and flipping up side down.  They just hang their and repeat the process. They are 7 in. long and are one of the coolest birds I've ever seen.  

This is a close up view of the disk found on the tail feather of a Little Bird King of Paradise.

Hoatzin

 This is a Hoatzin!  Many people call them stink birds because they SMELL!  We're guessing that's why nobody eats them.  They have a blue face and  an orange/gold crest.  Their neck is dark brown, striped with white.  They have small wing muscles so they can't fly very well. Their wings are brown with a streak of brick red.  They live in South America in the Amazon Rain Forest.  

There is something very unique about their babies.  The babies develop claws on their wings.  Once the claws are developed the babies will start to walk on all fours like a Pteranodon.  After two to three weeks the claws disappear.  The babies are also very good at swimming.  This is important because if the babies accidentally fall off a branch into a river they can swim back to shore and climb back up the tree.  Some people think these birds lived in the age of the dinosaur so they are also called living fossils.  We think that might be a true theory.  These are magnificent birds!!  We are glad we know about them.

The Crowned Crane

The Crowned Crane is a unique bird.  It's amazing because of the feather display on its head.  The bizarre colors of the feathers really stand out from other cranes.  I think that they are a very pretty bird.  Crowned Cranes live in Africa.  They usually live in marshlands.  These long legged birds belong to the Gruiformes family.  They can be as tall as 38inches.   Kyle

A lot of the time cranes will eat bugs and reptiles which makes them very helpful in gardens.  The way that they get their prey is by stamping their feet so that the bugs will fly up where their head is.  That makes the bug easier to catch.  I believe that the crowned crane is the most amazing crane I've ever seen.  Tyler