Top 10 Beautifull And Famous Birds Of The World.

Introduction:
Bird, animal with feathers and wings. Birds are the only animals with feathers, although some other animals, such as insects and bats, also have wings. Nearly all birds can fly, and even flightless birds, such as ostriches and penguins, evolved from flying ancestors.Birds are members of a group of animals called vertebrates, which possess a spinal column or backbone. Other vertebrates are fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. Many characteristics and behaviors of birds are distinct from all other animals, but there are some similarities. Like mammals, birds have four-chambered hearts and are warm-blooded—having a relatively constant body temperature that enables them to live in a wide variety of environments. Like reptiles, birds develop from embryos in eggs outside of the mother’s body.
Birds are found worldwide in many habitats. They can fly over some of the highest mountains on earth as well as both of the earth’s poles, dive through water to depths of more than 250 m (850 ft), and occupy habitats with the most extreme climates on the planet, including arctic tundra and the Sahara Desert. Certain kinds of seabirds are commonly seen over the open ocean thousands of kilometers from the nearest land, but all birds must come ashore to raise their young.
Highly developed animals, birds are sensitive and responsive, colorful and graceful, with habits that excite interest and inquiry. People have long been fascinated by birds, in part because birds are found in great abundance and variety in the same habitats in which humans thrive. And like people, most species of birds are active during daylight hours. Humans find inspiration in birds’ capacity for flight and in their musical calls. Humans also find birds useful—their flesh and eggs for food, their feathers for warmth, and their companionship. Perhaps a key basis for our rapport with birds is the similarity of our sensory worlds: Both birds and humans rely more heavily on hearing and color vision than on smell. Birds are useful indicators of the quality of the environment, because the health of bird populations mirrors the health of our environment. The rapid decline in bird populations and the accelerating extinction rates of birds in the world’s forests, grasslands, wetlands, and islands are therefore reasons for great concern.

Mousebird,

common name for a family of small birds found only in Africa. The mousebird lives in open woodland and bushy country south of the Sahara Desert. It is a ground bird capable of moving quickly through thick foliage or along the ground by running or hopping.
The mousebird is 30 to 36 cm (12 to 14 in) in length including its long tail feathers, which reach 20 to 25 cm (8 to 10 in). Both sexes are generally drab brown or gray. Some species, like the blue-naped mousebird and the red-faced mousebird, are marked by a patch of color on the head, neck, or rump. All mousebird species have a short, strong bill similar to that of a finch, and a head crest that is usually erect. Its wings are short and rounded and it is not a strong flier. Instead, the mousebird uses its specially adapted feet and strong bill to pull itself up and climb around in the thick foliage of its environment.
Mousebirds are social birds that live in loosely knit flocks of 6 to 20 individuals. They are very vocal and will whistle and call continuously to keep track of each other. They also roost, or sleep, together in tightly packed groups. Mousebirds are plant eaters who eat leaves, seeds, nectar, and fruit. Flocks of up to 20 birds will move through an area to feed. They can be very damaging to gardens and are considered pests in many areas.
During the breeding season the flock breaks up into nesting pairs. The female lays two to six white eggs in an open bulky nest. Sometimes more than one female will deposit eggs in a single nest to be raised by one female. The male and female take turns incubating, or warming, the eggs by sitting on them for about two weeks until they hatch. The young are born without feathers and are dependent on their parents, who feed them partially digested food. The young leave the nest about three weeks after hatching.
Scientific classification: Mousebirds make up the family Coliidae, in the order Coliiformes. The blue-naped mousebird is classified as Colius macrourus, and the red-backed mousebird as Colius castanotus.

Fowl,

 term originally meaning any kind of bird, and later applied chiefly to edible species. Except in combinations such as waterfowl and wildfowl, in modern usage the word usually is restricted to the common domestic fowl, or chicken. In poultry markets, fowl commonly means a full-grown female bird. Young birds of both sexes, such as broilers and fryers, are called chickens. On poultry farms, male chickens are called roosters or cocks; females, especially those more than a year old, are called hens; females less than a year old are called pullets; very young chickens of either sex are called chicks; and castrated males are called capons.
Like the turkey, pheasant, quail, and other related birds, the domestic fowl is adapted for living on the ground, where it finds its natural foods, consisting chiefly of worms, insects, seeds, and greenstuff. The feet, usually four-toed except in the English breed, Dorking, are designed for scratching the earth. The large, heavy body and short wings make most breeds incapable of flying except for short distances. The crop is large and the gizzard strongly muscular. In adults of both sexes the head is decorated with wattles and a naked, fleshy crest, called the comb, which is more prominent in the male and is variously shaped in the different breeds and varieties. The typical comb is single, serrated and relatively large, either erect or drooping. A variation is the rose comb, with three rows of tubercles merging in a rearward-pointing spike. The pea comb of the Brahma has three low serrated ridges, and the leaf comb of the French Houdan has two ridges, set transversely on the head. The strawberry comb of the Malay fowl is a small, rounded, nodular protuberance set near the eyes, and the V-shaped comb of the La Flèche fowl suggests a pair of tiny horns. Plumage of various fowl ranges in color through white, gray, yellow, blue, red, brown, and black.
In size and shape the various breeds show great diversity. The 5-kg (12-lb) Brahma cock, for example, has a miniature counterpart, the Bantam, weighing about 567 g (about 20 oz). The proportions of the long-legged game fowl contrast sharply with those of the squat Cochin. The stubby tail of the latter is one extreme; another extreme is presented by the Japanese or Yokohama breed, in which the tail feathers of the cock may be as much as 2 m (6 ft) long. In general the members of one breed are alike in shape, the varieties of the breed differing in minor characteristics such as the shape of the comb and in color and markings. A group of breeds developed in a single country or geographical area is often called a class.
In habit, chickens are strictly diurnal, highly gregarious, and polygamous; cocks of the game breeds are especially noted for their courage and pugnacity with rivals. The high fecundity of the species is an important characteristic, especially because the eggs as well as the meat are prized as food (see Egg). Unless otherwise trained, female chickens lay their eggs on the ground, in tall grass or weeds. Periodically, domestic hens become broody; that is, they stop laying and show a strong desire to sit on their nests and hatch chicks. The incubation period is approximately three weeks. The chicks are precocial; that is, when hatched, they are not naked but covered with down and are immediately able to run around. Although they are able to feed themselves, newly hatched chicks can survive about a week without eating, subsisting on egg yolk that is included in the abdomen.

Parrot,

common name applied to any of about 340 species of brightly colored birds that make up the parrot family. Groups of parrots that have their own common names include the cockatoos, lories, lovebirds, macaws, and parakeets. In length, parrots range from the buff-faced pygmy parrot of New Guinea at 8.4 cm (3.3 in) to the hyacinth macaw of South America at 100 cm (39.4 in). A large part of the macaw's length is attributable to its long tail, and it is probably outweighed by the very large (60 cm/23.6 in) but short-tailed palm cockatoo of New Guinea.
Parrots have curved, hooked bills and short legs. Their toes are zygodactyl,—that is, the first and fourth are turned backward. They walk awkwardly but are excellent climbers, often using their bills to pull themselves up to a higher branch. In most parrots the tongue is thick and muscular, used deftly for manipulating seeds, which, with fruit, are their principal food. In the lories the tongue is longer and has a brushlike tip for feeding on nectar.
Most parrots are tropical, with only a few species reaching northern and southern temperate areas. The areas of greatest diversity include South America, Australia, and New Guinea and adjacent islands. Relatively few species inhabit Africa or mainland Asia.
The predominant body color in the family is green, but there are many exceptions. Some American parrots are predominantly blue or yellow, and many have touches of red in the plumage as well. The most colorful parrots are the lories, in which reds and greens predominate, but blue, purple, brown, yellow, and black also appear. The cockatoos are mostly white or black, with touches of yellow, red, or pink.
Virtually all parrots are hole-nesters, using holes in trees, termite mounds, rock cavities, or ground tunnels. The main exception is the monk parakeet of temperate South America, which builds large nests of sticks. In most populations, these are communal nests, with each pair having its own entrance to a structure that can become large and heavy enough to break the branches on which it is placed. In the mid-20th century, many monk parakeets were imported to the United States as cage birds. Some escaped, and many owners, finding their pets unbearably noisy, simply released them. Well adapted to the temperate climate, they bred and formed colonies in several parts of the United States, but in most areas an effort was made to destroy the feral populations, as this species is known to be a serious pest in agricultural areas of its native habitat.
The ability of many parrots to imitate the human voice and other extrinsic sounds is one reason for their popularity as pets. The best of these is the African gray parrot, a 30-cm (12-in) gray bird with a short red tail. Experiments have shown that individuals of this species may have cognitive abilities equal to those of porpoises and primates. Among American parrots the best talkers are the amazons.
The heavy demands of the cage-bird trade, together with loss of habitat, have resulted in many species of parrots becoming endangered. Thousands of parrots are brought into Europe and North America annually, both legally and illegally, and many do not survive the journey. In most countries the capture, export, and import of parrots are strictly regulated, but the laws are difficult to enforce. Ideally, only those parrots that have been bred in captivity should be kept as pets.
Scientific classification: Parrots make up the family Psittacidae. The buff-faced pygmy parrot is classified as Micropsitta pusio, the hyacinth macaw as Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, the short-tailed palm cockatoo as Probosciger aterrimus. The monk parakeet is classified as Myiopsitta monachus, and the African gray parrot as Psittacus erithacus. Amazons make up the genus Amazona.
Types of Parrot:
Lovebird,

 common name for any of several small parrots, commonly kept as cage birds, that tend to sit close to their mates with heads touching. Although sometimes applied to other small parrots, the name belongs properly only to the eight species of a genus found in Africa and Madagascar. These lovebirds range from 13 to 16.5 cm (5 to 6.5 in) in length, with large heads and very short tails. Their bodies are green, blue, or yellow with red, yellow, gray, blue, or black markings on their heads, necks, or tails. Females are larger than males. Some species tuck straw, grass, and even strips of paper in their tails to carry back to their nests. They usually lay six eggs to a clutch. Both parents raise the dependent chicks.
Scientific classification: Lovebirds make up the genus Agapornus of the family Psittacidae, order Psittaciformes.

Parakeet,
 common name for the smaller members of the parrot family. As the name is based on size rather than on taxonomic relationship, members of about 15 diverse genera are called parakeets. Several are commonly kept as cage birds; the best known of these is the Australian budgerigar, which is the bird usually called parakeet in pet stores. Wild “budgies” are mostly green, but many color varieties have been bred in captivity. Budgerigars kept in captivity often mimic human speech, as do some other members of the parrot family.
The largest genus of parakeets in the tropical Americas contains 19 species, known in the cage-bird trade as conures. Closely related to these was the Carolina parakeet, which was once abundant in the southern United States but is now extinct, the last individual having died in captivity in 1918. It was about 30 cm (about 12 in) long, with a long, pointed tail, a green body, and a yellow head and orange face. Its extinction had several causes, but, primarily, it was shot as a severe pest in fruit-growing areas.
Scientific classification: Parakeets belong to the family Psittacidae. The Australian budgerigar is classified as Melopsittacus undulatus. Conures make up the genus Aratinga. The Carolina parakeet is classified as Conuropsis carolinensis.

Macaw,

common name for a group of long-tailed, strong-billed birds of the parrot family, found in the American Tropics. There are 17 living species, and several West Indian species are extinct. Macaws vary greatly in size. At 100 cm (39.4 in), the hyacinth macaw of Brazil and Bolivia is the largest parrot in the world. It is more than three times the size of the smallest macaw, the red-shouldered macaw, a 30 cm (12 in) bird of northeastern South America. Macaws are in great demand for the zoo and pet trade, and thousands are exported, both legally and illegally, to other parts of the world. Both because of this drain on the natural populations and because of habitat loss, several species are severely endangered, especially the blue Spix's macaw, which formerly lived in the interior of Brazil, but is now nearly or wholly extinct in the wild.
Most frequently seen in pet stores and aviaries are the blue and gold macaw and the scarlet macaw, both of which are still reasonably common.
Scientific classification: Macaws belong to the family Psittacidae of the order Psittaciformes. The hyacinth macaw is classified as Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, the red-shouldered macaw as Ara nobilis, Spix's macaw as Cyanopsitta spixii, the blue and yellow macaw as Ara ararauna, and the scarlet macaw as Ara macao.

Lory,

 common name for any of various species of parrots, mostly brilliantly colored (see Parrot). Lories are native to Australia, New Guinea, and many islands of the Pacific and the East Indies. They differ from other parrots in having brush-tipped tongues, which they use in feeding on nectar, pollen, and soft fruits. They range from 15 to 32 cm (6 to 12.5 in) long, with one long-tailed species reaching 42 cm (16.5 in); the smaller species are called lorikeets. Colors include bright red, green, yellow, purple, blue, and black. Lories are gregarious, often gathering in large flocks at flowering trees.
Scientific classification: Lories belong to the family Psittacidae of the order Psittaciformes.

Kakapo,

 rare, flightless parrot found on the North and South islands of New Zealand. The kakapo is also known as the owl parrot because it is nocturnal, or most active at night. It is about 50 cm (about 20 in) long, and its plumage is dull green with bars of dark brown and streaks of yellow. Its degenerate wings are useful only for gliding or for balance while running. The kakapo lives on the ground, hiding in holes under rocks or tree roots during the day and coming out at night to forage for food. It feeds on leaves, fruits, and seeds.
Scientific classification: The kakapo belongs to the family Psittacidae, order Psittaciformes. It is classified as Strigops habroptilus.

Cockatiel,

 common name for a small, crested parrot native to Australia that is a popular pet. It is also known as a quarrion, weero, cockatoo parrot, or crested parrot. Cockatiels are gentle and affectionate birds that make good companions, especially when kept as solitary pets. Their soft call consists of a long, rolling kweel-kweel, but they can be taught to whistle basic melodies or speak simple words.
Cockatiels in the wild live throughout Australia, but they are found mainly in the interior regions. They prefer open fields with groups of trees or bushes and a nearby water source. Australia bans the commercial export of this bird species. Cockatiels purchased as pets in other countries are the offspring of captive birds.
From beak to tip of tail an adult cockatiel is a small bird, ranging in length from 29 to 34 cm (11 to 13 in) and weighing 75 to 125 g (3 to 4 oz). Male cockatiels (cocks) are larger than females (hens). In the wild, cockatiels display mostly slate-gray coloring. Cocks have a bright, lemon-yellow face and throat with prominent orange cheek patches and dark brown to black eyes. The pointed crest of cocks is predominantly yellow, with a grayish-yellow tint at the tip. Their white shoulder and wing patches contrast with a gray body; the beak and feet are also gray. The underside of the tail is black. Hens display similar but more subdued coloring, but the back and rump are a light gray with narrow white stripes. The underside of the tail is also striped with yellow and white markings.
Genetic mutations and selective breeding have produced eight color varieties in captive cockatiels, described as pied, pearl, cinnamon, fallow, silver, lutino, whiteface, and albino. The pied cockatiel may be predominantly white or gray, with an irregular pattern of yellow, white, or gray feathers. The pearl cockatiel is primarily yellow with a checkered or scalloped pattern on the back and wings created by feathers with a yellow or white center and darker edges. Cinnamon and fallow cockatiels are both brown in color, with fallow a lighter brown than cinnamon. The silver cockatiel has metallic gray coloring and red eyes. The lutino cockatiel is mostly white or yellow, with dark red eyes, while the whiteface cockatiel is mostly gray and white with no yellow or orange. Albinos result from the combination of whiteface and lutino coloring. Combinations of these eight color variations are also common.
In the wild, cockatiels band together in flocks of 12 to 100, but they may also occasionally travel in pairs. They are nomadic or migratory birds that follow the availability of food and water. Their diet consists of grains, fruits and berries, seedling grasses, and seeds. Cockatiels forage on the ground but are quick to fly up into trees to avoid birds of prey, their most common predators. Because large cockatiel flocks may devour fields of crops, some farmers consider cockatiels as pests.
In northern Australia, the cockatiel mating season occurs from April to June; in southern Australia, cockatiels breed from August to December. During courtship, the cock displays his white shoulder patches to the hen, and he may drum his feet on the ground or a tree branch. If the hen flies away, the cock follows and repeats his display. Nests are built in hollow trees, usually eucalyptus trees, near fresh water. Both cock and hen take turns incubating the four to seven eggs, which hatch in about three weeks. Cockatiels are one of the few species of parrots in which both sexes share brooding responsibilities.
Cockatiels do not display adult coloring until after their first molting (seasonal shedding of feathers) at six to nine months. They reach sexual maturity between 6 and 12 months. Cockatiels have an average life span of 12 to 15 years.
Scientific classification: Cockatiels belong to the family Cacatuidae of the order Psittaciformes and are classified as Nymphicus hollandicus.

 Cockatoo,common name for 17 species of birds in a family of the same order as the parrot family, found in Australia, the East Indies, and the Philippines. All cockatoos have erectile feathered crests and powerful hooked beaks. Most species are white, but some are gray, pink, or black, with bright markings. Body size of most species lies between 30 and 52 cm (between 12 and 20.5 in), with the largest of the group, the black cockatoo, reaching 67 cm (26.4 in). Cockatoos feed on vegetation, sometimes damaging crops, and are usually gregarious. Courtship involves preening and mutual feeding. They nest in a natural hollow in trees or rocks, where the female lays two to four eggs; both parents care for the young. Intelligent, generally docile, and sometimes capable of mimicking human speech, cockatoos have been popular cage birds.
Scientific classification: Cockatoos belong to the family Cacatuidae of the order Psittaciformes. The black cockatoo is classified as Calyptorhynchus funereus.

Sparrow,

                                                         

 common name originally given to about 23 species of a family of passerine birds found in Eurasia. The name was later applied to more than 50 American species of a different family.
The best-known American sparrow is probably the song sparrow, found throughout most of North America. There are nearly 40 subspecies, ranging in length from 12 to 17 cm (4.7 to 6.7 in), with the largest in Alaska and the smallest around San Francisco Bay. In all the upper surface is some shade of brown, more or less streaked, and the underparts white or buff, streaked with black or brown. The song sparrow's nest, composed of grasses and rootlets lined with fine grasses and long hair, is often placed on the ground. The eggs are variable in color and form; the ground shade is whitish, thickly marked with reddish-brown or lilac.
Another familiar species is the chipping sparrow, 13 cm (5.25 in) long, smaller than most song sparrows. It has a black-streaked, brown back; pale-gray underparts; and (in spring and summer) a bright reddish-brown cap. It is well known for its habit of lining its round, compact nest with horsehairs. Its song, often heard even in the heat of the day, is a simple trill.
The white-crowned sparrow is seen in the eastern United States only as a migrant, but in the west it breeds from Alaska and Canada south to New Mexico in the mountains and to California on the coast; it is a familiar nesting bird even in downtown San Francisco. Depending on the subspecies, it is 16 to 19 cm (6.5 to 7.5 in) long, with a puffy white crown striped with black (buff streaked with dark brown in immature birds), a gray and brown streaked back, gray underparts, and a bright-pink or yellow bill. It is one of the world's most thoroughly studied wild bird species, and much has been learned about its physiology, local song dialects, and migration.
Scientific classification: Sparrows belong to the families Passeridae and Emberizidae of the order Passeriformes. The song sparrow is classified as Melospiza melodia, the chipping sparrow as Spizella passerina, and the white-crowned sparrow as Zonotrichia leucophrys.

Sparrow Hawk, common name for about 16 of the smaller Eurasian members of a large (48 species) hawk genus. The name was originally given to the widely distributed Eurasian sparrow hawk, which breeds across much of Europe and Asia, migrating farther south for the winter. The male is about 28 cm (about 11 in) long, and the female about 38 cm (about 15 in) long. In spite of persecution by gamekeepers, the species is still common in the British Isles, where it inhabits woodlands and farm country, feeding principally on small birds. The American kestrel, long called sparrow hawk, is a falcon, with little in common with the true sparrow hawks except its small size.
Scientific classification: Sparrow hawks belong to the genus Accipiter of the family Accipitridae, order Falconiformes. The Eurasian sparrow hawk is classified as Accipiter nisus. The American kestrel belongs to the family Falconidae and is classified as Falco sparverius.
Eagle, common name for a number of diurnal birds of prey, some of which are the largest members of their family which also includes kites, hawks, buzzards, and certain vultures. The name eagle is somewhat loosely applied, as several of the groups are not particularly closely related to one another, and some birds called hawks are larger than some called eagles

Fierce Hunter: A flying eagle snatches a fish from the water with its long, curved talons. It will carry the fish to a feeding place on land before devouring it. Eagles hunt only during the day; by night, they perch safely in their nests or in some other high spot.
GOLDEN AND RELATED EAGLES
Golden Eagle The golden eagle, found in northern North America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, is one of thirty species of booted eagles, so named because of their completely feathered legs. The golden eagle has an involved aerial courtship display.
The golden eagle is distributed through most of the northern hemisphere. This is the eagle that has been regarded from ancient times as a symbol of courage and power because of its large size, superb aerial skills, and the inaccessibility of many of its nest sites, in wild and mountainous country. In Roman myths this eagle is associated with the principal deity, Jupiter. It was the emblem of certain Roman legions, of France under the Bonapartes, of Germany, and of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires.
In North America the golden eagle occurs as far south as Mexico, but it is most common in the mountainous areas of the western United States and Canada; east of the Mississippi it is relatively rare. Females attain a length of about 1 m (about 3 ft) from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail, and have a wingspread of about 2 m (about 7 ft). Males are smaller, as is true for most of the birds of prey. A characteristic of the genus is the feathering of the legs down to the toes; in other eagles the lower part of the leg is bare and scaled, as in most birds. The body plumage is dark brown, with a distinct golden wash over the back of the head and neck, giving the species its name. The tail of adults is brown with several indistinct pale bands; that of immature birds is white with a dark brown terminal band.
Most golden eagle nests are placed on cliff ledges, but in some areas large trees are preferred. The nest is large and coarse, built of sticks and twigs. The same nest is used from year to year, and the birds add more sticks, so that the nest may eventually be as much as 1.8 m (6 ft) in diameter and 1.5 m (5 ft) high. The usual number of eggs is two, often only one, and occasionally three. They are heavily marked with blotches and spots of various shades of brown. The diet of this species consists mainly of mammals, ranging in size from mice to deer. Birds are taken most often in the breeding season to provide tender food for the young. If live food is in short supply, golden eagles will eat carrion.
There are eight other species in the golden eagle's genus, all in Eurasia. The smallest is the lesser spotted eagle, with a wingspan of about 1.5 m (about 5 ft); it migrates from central Europe to as far south as South Africa. The largest is the wedge-tailed eagle of Australia, a mostly black bird with a wingspan of as much as 2.5 m (about 8.2 ft).