The African ostrich is the world's tallest living bird; where does the second tallest, the emu, come from?
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Emu The emu ("Dromaius novaehollandiae") is the second-largest living bird by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus "Dromaius". The emu's range covers most of mainland Australia, but the Tasmanian emu and King Island emu subspecies became extinct after the European settlement of Australia in 1788. The bird is sufficiently common for it to be rated as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
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Common ostrich The ostrich or common ostrich ("Struthio camelus") is either one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member(s) of the genus "Struthio", which is in the ratite family. In 2014, the Somali ostrich ("Struthio molybdophanes") was recognized as a distinct species.
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Common crane The common crane ("Grus grus"), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family "Gruidae", the cranes.
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African hoopoe The African hoopoe ("Upupa africana") is a species of hoopoe in the Upupidae family. Previously considered as a subspecies ("Upupa epops africana") of the hoopoe, due to its vocalisations and small differences in plumage, but it is otherwise similar to the rest of the species.
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African pipit The African pipit ("Anthus cinnamomeus") is a fairly small passerine bird belonging to the pipit genus "Anthus" in the family Motacillidae. It is also known as the grassveld pipit or grassland pipit. It was formerly lumped together with the Richard's, Australasian, mountain and paddyfield pipits in a single species, Richard's pipit ("Anthus novaeseelandiae"), but is now often treated as a species in its own right.
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Galliformes Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkey, grouse, chicken, New World quail and Old World quail, ptarmigan, partridge, pheasant, junglefowl and the Cracidae. The name derives from "gallus", Latin for "cock" or "rooster". Common names are gamefowl or gamebirds, landfowl, gallinaceous birds, or galliforms. "Wildfowl" or just "fowl" are also often used for the Galliformes, but usually these terms also refer to waterfowl (Anseriformes), and occasionally to other commonly hunted birds. This group has about 290 species, one or more of which are found in essentially every part of the world's continents (except for the innermost deserts and perpetual ice). They are rarer on islands, and in contrast to the closely related waterfowl, are essentially absent from oceanic islands—unless introduced there by humans. Several species have been domesticated during their long and extensive relationships with humans.
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Mullerornis Mullerornis is the smaller of the two genera of extinct elephant birds (Aepyornithidae) of Madagascar (the other is "Aepyornis"). Species include "Mullerornis agilis" Milne-Edwards and A. Grandidier, 1894, and "M. grandis" Lamberton, 1934. A bone possibly belonging to "Mullerornis" has been radiocarbon dated to about 1260 BP, suggesting that the animal was still extant at the end of the first millennium.
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Bird measurement Bird measurement or bird biometrics are approaches to quantify the size of birds in scientific studies. The measurements of the lengths of specific parts and the weights of birds varies between species, populations within species, between the sexes and depending on age and condition. In order for measurements to be useful, they need to be well defined so that measurements taken are consistent and comparable with those taken by others or at other points of time. Measurements can be useful to study growth, variation between geographically separated forms, identify differences between the sexes, age or otherwise characterize individuals birds. While certain measurements are regularly taken in the field to study living birds some others are applicable only to specimens in the museum or measurable only in a laboratory. The conventions used for measurement can vary widely between authors and works, making comparisons of sizes a matter that needs considerable care.
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Moa The moa were nine species (in six genera) of flightless birds endemic to New Zealand. The two largest species, "Dinornis robustus" and "Dinornis novaezelandiae", reached about 3.6 m in height with neck outstretched, and weighed about 230 kg . When Polynesians settled New Zealand around 1280 CE, the moa population was about 58,000.
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Lark-like bunting The lark-like bunting ("Emberiza impetuani") is a species of bird in the family Emberizidae, which is native to southern Africa.
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Viphya Forest Viphya Forest is a forest south of Mzuzu, a city in Malawi. It is situated on the Viphya Plateau, amongst the Viphya Mountains. It has an area of 560 km and is billed as the largest man made forest in Africa, although Johannesburg also makes this claim. Among the birds to be found in Viphya Forest are the scaly francolin, ("Francolinus squamatus"), olive woodpecker ("Dendropicos griseocephalus"), and the red-faced crimson-wing ("Cryptospiza reichenovii").
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List of birds of Gauteng An alphabetic list of common names of birds occurring in Gauteng, South Africa. Gauteng includes both the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria, and numerous satellite municipalities spreading over a total of some 18 000 square km and an enormous diversity of habitat, and ranging in elevation from 1300 to 1900 metres. Gauteng lies at the junction of three major biomes – grassland to the south, arid savanna to the north-west, and moist savanna to the north-east and east – this location largely accounts for its great diversity of species.
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Drakensberg The Drakensberg (Afrikaans: Drakensberge, isiZulu: uKhahlamba, SeSotho: Maluti) is the name given to the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation in this region – 2000 to . It is located in South Africa. The name by which it is now known is "Drakens Mountain", or "Mountain of the Dragons".
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Neumann's starling Neumann's starling, or Neumann's red-winged starling ("Onychognathus neumanni") is a bird native to Africa. This starling breeds on rocky cliffs, outcrops and gorges mainly in the Sahel from Mauretania and Equatorial Guinea to western Sudan. Its English and binomial names commemorate German ornithologist Oscar Rudolph Neumann.
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Egyptian goose The Egyptian goose ("Alopochen aegyptiaca") is a member of the duck, goose, and swan family Anatidae. It is native to Africa south of the Sahara and the Nile Valley.
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Amazonian umbrellabird The Amazonian umbrellabird ("Cephalopterus ornatus") is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae native to the Amazon basin with a separate population on the eastern slopes of the Andes. The male bird is entirely black, with a black crest and inflatable wattle on the throat, and at 48 to , may be the largest passerine bird in South America. The female is slightly smaller. Both have an undulating flight, described as woodpecker-like, and the male has a loud, booming call.
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Platypus The platypus ("Ornithorhynchus anatinus"), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth. The animal is the sole living representative of its family (Ornithorhynchidae) and genus ("Ornithorhynchus"), though a number of related species have been found in the fossil record. The first preserved platypus body was thought to have been a fake, made of several animals sewn together, when it was first looked at by scientists in 1799.
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Cinereous tinamou The cinereous tinamou ("Crypturellus cinereus"), also known as brushland tinamou, is a type of ground bird found in swamp and lowland forests in northern South America. They have some localized names that have been used by the indigenous people such as in Amazonas where they are called "inambu-pixuna", and in Pará, Brazil where they are called "nambu-sujo". Also, throughout their range they are called "inhambu-preto". Cinereous tinamous have been around for many centuries. They are part of the oldest families of the world today and have fossils discovered dating back tens of millions of years. Their quick reflexes play a role in their ability to survive.
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Whooping crane The whooping crane ("Grus americana"), the tallest North American bird, is an endangered crane species named for its whooping sound. In 2003, there were about 153 pairs of whooping cranes. Along with the sandhill crane, it is one of only two crane species found in North America. The whooping crane's lifespan is estimated to be 22 to 24 years in the wild. After being pushed to the brink of extinction by unregulated hunting and loss of habitat to just 21 wild and two captive whooping cranes by 1941, conservation efforts have led to a limited recovery. As of February 2015, the total population was 603 including 161 captive birds.
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South African ostrich The South African ostrich ("Struthio camelus australis"), also known as the black-necked ostrich, Cape ostrich or southern ostrich is a subspecies of the common ostrich endemic to Southern Africa. It is widely farmed for its meat, eggs and feathers.
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Mallee emu-wren The mallee emu-wren ("Stipiturus mallee") is a bird species in the family Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia.
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Eastern gorilla The eastern gorilla ("Gorilla beringei") is a critically endangered species of the genus "Gorilla" and the largest living primate. At present, the species is subdivided into two subspecies. Grauer's gorilla, formerly known as the eastern lowland gorilla ("G. b. graueri") is more populous, at about 3,800 individuals. The mountain gorilla ("G. b. beringei") has only about 880 individuals. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature mentioned illegal hunting in its assessment of threats to the species.