Larosterna inca

By Cristóbal Alvarado Minic, CC BY 2.0

Etymology: Gull-Tern 

First Described By: Blyth, 1852 

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Aequorlitornithes, Charadriiformes, Lari, Larida, Laridae, Sterninae 

Status: Extant, Near Threatened 

Time and Place: Since 126,000 years ago, from the Chibanian of the Pleistocene through the Holocene of the Quaternary 

Inca Terns are known from the Pacific Coast of South America 

Physical Description: Inca Terns are extremely visually distinctive birds, thanks to their bright red beaks and weird villainous-moustache feather plumes. These birds range in size between 39 and 42 centimeters in length, and are grey over most of their bodies. Their tails are distinctively black, and the wings are grey before ending in a distinctive white band and then continuing to black tips when folded. Their beaks are bright red, large, and slightly curved. They have a small yellow patch of feathers under their eyes, and a very long, curly white feather ribbon going from right under their eye down their neck. Their legs are short and dark red as well. The juveniles tend to be more brown all over before becoming darker with age. 

Diet: Inca Terns feed primarily on small fish, plankton, and scraps. 

By Cristóbal Alvarado Minic, CC BY 2.0

Behavior: These terns will stick to fishing boats in large flocks, hovering around them in order to opportunistically feed off of food brought up by fishing activity. They often will detect large sea mammals and fly away – rapidly – to avoid them, and also to grab the food that is welled up by them. They can often live in flocks of up to 5000 members. They forage by plunging in the water and diving for food, as well as dipping a little on the surface. They do not migrate, and are extremely loud at their colonies – making a variety of cackling and mewing sounds. 

By Cristóbal Alvarado Minic, CC BY 2.0

Inca Terns breed throughout the year, with nests and eggs found in both the summer and the winter. Courting and mating birds are also found all over their range throughout the year. They build nests in fissures, burrows, and caves, as well as underneath rocks and boulders on the shore. They often build nests in mixed-species flocks with petrels and cormorants, though they will hide the nests more when vultures and other predators are present. They lay about two eggs which are incubated for four weeks, they hatch as small fluffy grey blobs that fledge in four more weeks. They are dependent on the parents for another month. The parents are monogamous, with both helping to take care of the young; interestingly enough, their fascinating plumage isn’t for sexual display, but rather to indicate the health of the individuals. In fact, the length of the villain moustache is the clearest indicator of individual health. These birds can live up to 25 years, though it is usually significantly less in the wild. 

By Josue Hermoza, CC BY-SA 4.0

Ecosystem: Inca Terns primarily live in rocky coasts or where sandy beaches are surrounded by cliffs, since those are their primary nesting habitats. They are fed upon by cats, rats, and sea lions, as well as some raptors like falcons, and large seabirds do feed on the nests. 

By Olaf Oliviero Riemer, CC BY-SA 3.0

Other: Inca Terns are considered near threatened, primarily due to fluctuations in food from El Niño – they have dramatic population drops in response, but then rebound quickly when it stops, indicating potential emigration rather than starvation. There is some hunting by humans, but not enough to cause these population drops. There are breeding programs present, especially in zoos, where Inca Terns do quite well. Inca Terns have actually been around since the last Ice Age, where their range was much more northward, indicating they have shifted their habitat with the warming of the planet. 

Sources Under the Cut 

Macrocephalon maleo

By Ariefrahman, CC BY-SA 4.0

Etymology: Great Head 

First Described By: Müller, 1846 

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Galloanserae, Pangalliformes, Galliformes, Megapodiidae  

Status: Extant, Endangered

Time and Place: Within the last 10,000 years, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

Maleos are known entirely from the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia 

Physical Description: Maleos are large landfowl, reaching 55 centimeters in length. These are large, round birds with skinny necks and odd looking heads – they have black crests on the tops of their heads that flop over the back, and little red bands at the top of their beaks. The beaks of Maleos are thick and grey, and they have primarily brown heads. Their backs are black, as are their wings and tails, but their bellies are white; and they have long, grey legs. In addition to all of this, Maleos have orange rings around their eyes that are extremely noticeable. The young tend to have black heads in addition to these features. 

Diet: Maleos feed on a variety of fruits, seeds, insects, and other invertebrates. 

By Stavenn, CC BY-SA 3.0

Behavior: Maleos are Megapodes, which means they are one of the only groups of dinosaurs that don’t take care of their young! Instead, Megapodes make giant mound-nests which use geothermal energy and solar-heat in order to incubate the eggs. Maleos are monogamous, mating with only one individual per season (and potentially per life, but they aren’t very well studied), and the pair builds the nest mound together, lays the eggs, and leaves. Around ten eggs are laid per year, though some may lay as many as thirty. The eggs incubate for nearly three months; when the young hatch, they rapidly lose a lot of weight, before beginning to chow down on as much food as possible and growing rapidly for the next two months. They reach sexual maturity themselves at around two years of age. They can live for up to 23 years. 

By BronxZooFan, CC BY-SA 4.0

These are noisy birds, making a wide variety of calls including brays, rolls, and quacking – to the point of sounding rather surreal in some situations. They tend to spend most of their time foraging with their mate, walking around and gathering the food off of the ground. They do not migrate, but they also do move around the island each year, not sticking in one place or placing their nests in the same sites from year to year. 

Ecosystem: These megapodes live primarily in lowland and hill jungle, going to the beaches for their breeding or in forest clearings with extensive amounts of sand. They usually roost in trees high off of the ground. Maleos are preyed upon by humans, pigs, monitor lizards, and crocodilians. 

By Ariefrahman, CC BY-SA 4.0

Other: Maleos are endangered, with only potentially 14,000 individuals left with a rapidly declining population. The reasons for this seem to be due to human exploitation, egg hunting by humans and introduced mammalian predators, and extensive habitat loss. This is also illegal, as much of that lost habitat is protected – as are the eggs of this species, which are being collected in the thousands. Since they are a delicacy, and not a food source staple, this practice must be condemned and hopefully further regulation can help to increase Maleo populations. 

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources Under the Cut 

Chiappeavis magnapremaxillo

By José Carlos Cortés

Etymology: Chiappe’s Bird

First Described By: O’Connor et al, 2016 

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Enantiornithes, Cathayornithiformes 

Status: Extinct

Time and Place: 120 million years ago, in the Aptian age of the Early Cretaceous 

Chiappeavis is known from the Jiufotang Formation of China, specifically in the Shangheshou Beds 

Physical Description: Chiappeavis was an Opposite Bird, ie the group of bird-like dinosaurs that were extremely diverse and widespread during the Cretaceous period. Chiappeavis is known from a nearly complete skeleton, including some feather impressions. It was a fairly large bird, probably around 20 or so centimeters (though this is a very rough estimate). It had a small snout, with small pointed teeth inside of it, and a fairly large head. Its body was long, and it had large wings – good for more powerful flying as opposed to tighter maneuvering in between trees. Interestingly enough, Chiappeavis had a giant tail fan, which was not actually universal among Opposite BIrds as it is in modern birds. It also had fairly thick, strong feet. 

Diet: It is probable that Chiappeavis fed mainly on arthropods and other hard invertebrates. 

By Ripley Cook

Behavior: It is uncertain what the behavior of Chiappeavis was, given that we do not have extensive skeletons of this dinosaur. Still, it probably wouldn’t have flitted about the trees as much as birds with wings better built for maneuvering. The tail fan of Chiappeavis probably would have been extremely useful in sexual display, as well as other forms of communication – especially since it does not appear to have been very good at generating lift during flight (hence it not being widespread in other Opposite Birds). As such, it is more likely than not that Chiappeavis would have been fairly social, living in groups of multiple birds which communicated and recognized each other with feather displays. This, therefore, leads us to yet another likely hypothesis: that it took care of its young, at least to some extent. Beyond that, the behavior of Chiappeavis is a bit of a question – though it may have been able to dig out insects and other grubs with its strong feet, and then bit into the tough exteriors of these animals with its many needle-like teeth. 

Ecosystem: The Jiufotang Formation was one of the Jehol Biota ecosystems, aka a group of extremely diverse and lush environments that preserved birdie dinosaurs of the Early Cretaceous with great detail. In that, Chiappeavis is one of many dinosaurs found in this location with extensive feather preservation. TheJiufotang Environment was a dense forest, surrounding an extensive number of lakes, and near volcanically active mountains. Still, it isn’t quite as well known as the earlier Yixian formation, and in fact doesn’t seem to have as many plants preserved to inform the exact environment and temperature. Still, it’s reasonable to suppose it may have also been a temperate ecosystem, like the earlier Yixian Formation, potentially even with snow. 

By Jack Wood

In this environment, there were an extremely wide variety of animals. There was a decent diversity of fish, quite a few kinds of mammals, and the weird, unclassifiable Choristoderes were represented by Philydrosaurus, Ikechosaurus, and Liaoxisaurus. This ecosystem was lousy with pterosaurs, featuring a variety of Chaoynagopterids – like Chaoyangopterus itself, Eoazhdarcho, Jidapterus, and Shenzhoupterus; Pteranodonts like Guidraco, Ikrandraco, Liaoningopterus, Nurhachius, Liaoxipterus, and Linlongopterus; Tapejarids like “Huaxiapterus”, (probably) Nemicolopterus, and Sinopterus; and the weirdly late-surviving Anurognathid Vesperopterylus. 

As for dinosaurs, there were many, and most were bird like! There was of course the Ankylosaur Chuanqilong, and the early Ceratopsian Psittacosaurus; there was also an unnamed titanosaur. There was a Tyrannosauroid, SInotyrannus, the Chickenparrot Similicaudipteryx, the raptor Microraptor, and tons of early Avialans like Confuciusornis, Dalianraptor, Jeholornis, Omnivoropteryx, Sapeornis, Shenshiornis, and Zhongjianornis. There were also “true” birds (ie, the line of dinosaurs that would evolve into those we see today) such as Bellulornis, Piscivoravis, Archaeorhynchus, Chaoyangia, Jianchangornis, Parahongshanornis, Schizooura, Songlingornis, Yanornis, and Yixianornis. However, the most diverse group of dinosaurs were the Opposite Birds, of which Chiappeavis was only one of many. There was Alethoalaornis, Boluochia, Bohaiornis, Cathayornis, Cuspirostrisornis, Dapingfangornis, Eocathayornis, Piscivorenantiornis, Pengornis, Gracilornis, Huoshanornis, Largirostrornis, Longchengornis, Longipteryx, Rapaxavis, Shangyang, Sinornis, and Xiangornis – just to name a few! As such the Jiufotange remains as a rich ecosystem in which to study the evolution of this fantastic group of Cretaceous dinosaurs. 

By Scott Reid

Other: Chiappeavis is probably not its own thing – it is one of a number of Opposite Birds described without substantial evidence that it was a distinct genus and, indeed, many researchers consider them to be members of other genera. In this case, Chiappeavis is probably the same as Pengornis. Still, until it is officially lumped in, it must be treated as its own genus. It had a lot of similarities to Pengornis, regardless, indicating the two may belong to a larger clade of Opposite Birds. In short, Opposite Bird Phylogeny is kind of a mess, and needs a lot more intensive work than has currently been done. 

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources Under the Cut 

Pitohui

Hooded Pitohui by Berichard, CC BY-SA 2.0

Etymology: Inedible (Rubbish) Bird 

First Described By: Lesson, 1831 

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Inopinaves, Telluraves, Australaves, Eufalconimorphae, Psittacopasserae, Passeriformes, Eupasseres, Passeri, Euoscines, Corvides, Orioloidea, Oriolidae 

Referred Species: P. kirhocephalus (Northern Variable Pitohui), P. cerviniventris (Raja Ampat Pitohui), P. uropygialis (Southern Variable Pitohui), P. dichrous (Hooded Pitohui) 

Status: Extant, Least Concern 

Time and Place: Since 10,000 years ago, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

Pitohuis are endemic to New Guinea 

Physical Description: The Pitohuis look like your average Corvids – large passerines with dark coloration, thick bills, and high intelligence – but there’s more to these strange birds than meets the eye. Pitohuis are some of the rare examples of poisonous birds! Pitohuis tend to range in size between 20 and 26 centimeters long, and they are mostly black all over with brown to bright orange patches on their bellies or backs – though there is, of course, one species that is primarily brown. They have large, thick black bills, short wings, and short tails. The sexes tend to be very alike in these birds, though some species have subpopulations with different colorations. The juveniles, in general, are more brown in regions that are black in the adults. These birds are extremely toxic, with a neurotoxin called homobatrachotoxin in their skin, feathers, and other tissues. The least toxic parts of these birds are their bones. The toxins are secreted into their feathers on purpose; though some is left behind in muscle and organ tissue, which indicates a lack of sensitivity to the toxins by the birds. Some individuals do not have the toxins, probably due to a lack of the toxin-making beetles in their diets; but this is a variable occurrence and the vast majority of Pitohuis have the toxins in their feathers and skin. 

Southern Variable Pitohui by Markus Lilje

Diet: Pitohuis primarily feed on insects, though at least a few species also supplement their diets with fruit and seeds. Most importantly, they feed on beetles of the genus Choresine, which contain the toxin they incorporate into their feathers. 

Raja Ampat Pitohui, by Carlos N. G. Bocos

Behavior: Pitohuis tend to forage at most levels of the forest, oftentimes in mixed-species flocks, though they are the ones that feed more on poisonous beetles than others in these flocks. They will hide in dense vegetation in order to avoid letting their prey know they’re there, but since they don’t have a lot of predators they don’t have to worry much about them. They do not migrate, but they are extremely vocal and social – making a variety of whistling and calls, which vary in word from species to species. Some are more leisurely than others, and they go between a variety of high and low pitches. Usually, they are quite musical and loud. Pitohuis begin breeding in early spring, and start nesting in the summer – though Hooded Pitohuis tend to lay more in the autumn. Multiple mated pairs probably work together to take care of the nest, which is a cup of vines and tendrils suspended on slender branches a few meters up from the ground. They typically lay one to two eggs a season. 

Hooded Pitohui by Markus Lilje

Ecosystem: Pitohuis live mainly in tropical rainforest and mangrove forests, as well as mountainous forests. They live at a variety of elevations, up to 2000 meters high; many species can also be found at forest edges and swamp forests, as well as lowlands. They do overlap with many other Pitohuis – including each other – and share the poisonous beetles among one another. Potential predators, including a variety of snakes, show marked sensitivity and irritation to even small amounts of the toxins found in the feathers of these birds – and as such, predators of the Pitohuis are not known at this time, at least of the adults. The young, who might not have as much of these toxins in their feathers and skin, are still vulnerable to nest raiders. Humans also do not feed on Pitohuis – leading to their name! 

Northern Variable Pitohui by Paul van Giersbergen

Other: Toxicity in birds is an extremely rare trait, but it seems to have evolved multiple times in birds in New Guinea. In fact, Pitohui is a general name often used for any such poisonous bird, but recent scientific studies has showcased they’re not actually closely related at all! So, many species of Pitohui actually belong to other genera in not closely related groups of songbirds. While the ones we discussed today are Orioles, some are Bellbirds and others are Whistlers/Shrikethrushes. They are all, however, in the general Corvides group. The reasons as to why toxicity evolves in birds is debated – it may be a defensive measure (and is used as such), but it also might just be a consequence of their diet. They had to do something with the toxins from the beetles – so why not shed it out into their feathers? And then, BONUS! They aren’t eaten by a lot of predators! Regardless of how this odd trait began, they aren’t hunted or eaten very much as a result! Though having a limited range, the toxicity of these birds means that they are rarely fed upon by predators – including humans – and as such, they are common in their ranges. 

Hooded Pitohui by Frédéric Pelsy

Species Differences: The Pitohuis mainly differ based on their coloration from species to species, though there are some range differences (the Hooded and Northern Pitohuis live on the northern half of New Guinea, the Southern Pitohui on the Southern Half, and the Raja Ampat Pitohui only on the island of Waigeo. Hooded Pitohuis have black heads and wings, with black tails; the rest of their bodies are utterly black orange. Raja Ampat Pitohuis are brown almost everywhere, except for having a lighter orange on their bellies and black tips to their wings and tails. Northern Variable Pitohuis can be one of three color schemes: grey heads with brown backs black tails and wings and bright orange bellies; black heads with dark orange backs black wings black tails and lighter orange bellies; or dark orange on top all over and a lighter orange on the belly. Southern Variable Pitohuis can be black on their heads wings and tails with a dark red-orange on their backs and bellies; or black on their heads and tails and wings with dark orange on top and lighter orange on bottom in only the males, while the females have more brown heads. So much variation! 

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources Under the Cut 

Irania gutturalis

By Amrou-A, CC BY-SA 4.0

Etymology: From Iran 

First Described By: de Filippi, 1863 

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Inopinaves, Telluraves, Australaves, Eufalconimorphae, Psittacopasserae, Passeriformes, Eupasseres, Passeri, Euoscines, Passerides, Core Passerides, Muscicapida, Muscicapoidea, Muscicapidae, Saxicolinae 

Status: Extant, Least Concern 

Time and Place: Since 10,000 years ago, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

White-Throated Robins are known from the Middle East in the Summer and Eastern Africa in the Winter 

Physical Description: White-Throated Robins are beautiful passerines that actually kind of resemble American Robins in coloration, though they are not closely related at all and this is simply a case of convergent evolution. They range in size between 15 and 17 centimeters long, with grey backs and short black tails. Their wings tend to end in darker grey wingtips. They have a white stripe over their eyes, with a black side of their faces. As the name would suggest, their throats tend to be white in color. They have short, very pointy beaks and long grey legs. The reasons for their name is the coloration of their bellies – most males are a dark red-orange, and the females are as well, but with brown spotting and more white color on their belly. Some males are more of a yellow color than red-orange, which is fascinating. The juveniles tend to look like the females, but more dull in color. 

Diet: White-Throated Robins primarily feed upon invertebrates and fruits, include a variety of beetles and ants, as well as berries. 

By John A. Thompson

Behavior: These robins will forage among the low twigs on the ground, as well as in  bushes and trees. They usually skulk around, spending most of their time in dense undergrowth and hiding in the thicket in order to avoid danger. They are very faithful to their preferred foraging sites, and will even defend them as their territory during the winter foraging season. They are highly migratory, wintering in eastern Africa – from Eritrea to Tanzania – and then leaving their winter sites by the end of March, passing through Kenya and Ethiopia through to Western Asia & Turkey, though some get as far west as Greece and some as far south as Israel. White-Throated Robins then stay in their breeding sites until the end of August, moving back to Africaq by going across the Middle East. 

Given this very noticeable migration, White-Throated Robins are extremely social and coordinated, making noticeable sounds to one another based on the situation at hand. Their songs are loud, vigorous warbling for multiple seconds with a variety of pauses and phrases, including flute-like whistling and scratchy chatters. These songs are often made in flight as well. Sometimes, the males of this species will mimic other birds. They also make warbles, hard “tec-tec-tec” calls, and more trilling calls as well. They can be, and usually are, extremely loud. 

White-Throated Robins tend to breed in dry, rocky slopes with some bushes provided for cover. They usually lay one brood per season, in a nest made of twigs and plant stalks and lined with feathers, usually made in the shape of a flat cup. They’re placed low to the ground in a tree, bush, or stump, and they often place their nests in the same sites from year to year. They lay between four and six pale green-blue eggs, with brown spotting. The eggs are incubated for two weeks, and the young stay for a little bit longer than a week within the next. They then can flutter around at two weeks of age, and fly fully at three weeks. They stick with the parents for another two weeks, before being fully independent. 

By Westan Mese, CC BY-SA 4.0

Ecosystem: White-Throated Robins live in scrubland, steppe, stony arid hillsides, semi-desert, and mountainous regions during the breeding season, usually newer juniper and weedy terrain. They will also go to locations with birch and crab apple. In the winter they tend to live in semi-arid scrub and thickets, including acacia woodland and gardens. They don’t tend to reach higher elevations. White-Throated Robins are often preyed upon by lizards, snakes, and Common Magpies. 

Other: Funnily enough, despite being called a robin and being similar in appearance to the American Robin  – which is actually a thrush – White-Throated Robins are actually chats. Because passerine phylogenetics is a mess. They are not threatened with extinction, and there are probably millions of White-Throated Robins alive today. 

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources Under the Cut 

Myrtis fanny

By Michael Woodruff, CC BY-SA 2.0

Etymology: Named for the Boeotian poet, muse, and teacher

First Described By: Reichenbach, 1854 

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Strisores, Daedalornithes, Apodiformes, Trochilidae, Trochilinae 

Status: Extant, Least Concern 

Time and Place: Since 10,000 years ago, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

Purple-Collared Woodstars are known from the western side of the Andes mountains (in lowland elevations) in the Northern half of South America 

Physical Description: Purple-Collared Woodstars, being hummingbirds, are extremely small dinosaurs, about 7.5 and 8 centimeters long and a little more than 2 grams in weight. Both sexes have green backs, but beyond that they look almost nothing alike. Males have long, curved bills, with blue throats and a violet stripe underneath. The rest of the belly is white. Their wings have black tips and their tails are V-shaped. The females, on the other hand, have less curve to their beaks; their bellies and under-throat are orange, and they have orange tips to their wings. They also have more rounded tails. Juveniles look like the females until they reach sexual maturity, where they either stay like that or develop the adult male plumage.  

Diet: These hummingbirds feed upon nectar from a variety of flowers (including cacti flowers), as well as some insects. 

By Hector Ceballos-Lascurain

Behavior: Purple-Collared Woodstars follow consistent routes back and forth from flower to flower, consistent in where they go and constantly on the move. Like other hummingbirds, they move their wings extremely fast in order to hover at the flower and get nectar with their long curved bills. They do rest occasionally, to bathe and sleep, but they are on the move more often than not. That being said, they do not seem to migrate, but do go up and down the altitude levels of the mountains following the blooming of the flowers. Males will fly in large semi-circles around the females, making twittering sounds at the top of the arc and making more trumpet sounds at the end of the arc. They also make chittering calls to one another while moving around, and chase flies while making different tweets. They breed from March through June closer to the equator, and more south they breed from June through October. They make nests out of plants and spider webs, placed in thin branches a few meters off of the ground. These hummingbirds lay two eggs which are incubated by the females for two weeks. The chicks are black and grey, and fledge after three weeks. They begin breeding at two years of age. 

By Arthur Grosset

Ecosystem: Purple-Collared Woodstars live in coastal scrub and the open woodland from the lowlands up to 3000 meters high in the Andes mountains, and they do not venture into more rainforested territory. They prefer the drier ecosystems for their right types of flowers. 

Other: Purple-Collared Woodstars, thankfully, are not threatened with extinction and are very common in their range; they are also very adaptable to human-created habitats. 

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources Under the Cut 

Eudyptula minor

By J. J. Harrison, CC BY-SA 3.0

Etymology: Good Diver

First Described By: Bonaparte, 1856 

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Aequorlitornithes, Ardeae, Aequornithes, Austrodyptornithes, Sphenisciformes, Spheniscidae

Status: Extant, Least Concern 

Time and Place: From 12,000 years ago until today, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

Little Penguins are known from the coast of Australia and New Zealand 

Physical Description: Little Penguins are some of the most adorable penguins alive today, and the reason is clear: they’re smol! Little Penguins range in size between 40 and 45 centimeters in length, and none weigh more than 2.1 kilograms. They are a blue-grey on their backs and white on their bellies and necks. They have very small flippers, which can be entirely blue or blue only in the center with white banding around it. They have short little tails and small feet, which are formed into lightly orange flippers. Their beaks are short and round, and either light in color or dark depending on the population. The juveniles tend to be a somewhat duller color than the adults, but usually very similar overall. 

By Magnus Kjaergaard, CC BY 3.0

Diet: Little Penguins feed mainly on fish that form schools in the pelagic zone of the ocean (rather than closer to the coast). They’ll also feed on cephalopods and crustaceans. 

By Francesco Veronesi, CC BY-SA 2.0

Behavior: These nocturnal penguins will capture their food via pursuit-diving, mainly swimming around schools of fish in tighter and tighter circles until finally – woosh! – they dive into the middle and grab as much food as they can. In shallower water, they do pursue the fish more directly. They can dive as deep as 50 meters underwater, sometimes more – including 69 meters deep. They go up to 62 kilometers away from the nesting and sleeping colony sites, though they can usually only go a fraction of that in a single day and longer distances are reserved for multiple day trips. Females tend to forage more than the males. They feed alone, though they do forage in groups. They are extremely noisy in their colonies, making a variety of trills, brays, growls, grunts, yelping, trumpeting, and wailing sounds to one another. They do not migrate, but do stay near the breeding colony extensively during the moulting and nesting season. Juveniles will leave the colony for a large amount of time, but do eventually return to breed where they were born. 

By Phillip Island Tourism, CC BY-SA 4.0

Little Penguins begin breeding in July and continue through December, though it varies from colony to colony and from year to year. They tend to stick to one nest site for their whole lives and are also fairly monogamous, though they do divorce from their partners around 76% of the time. If they are unsuccessful in raising any chicks one year, the next year they are more likely to divorce than not. The nests are made in a little bit far apart from one another in the colonie, usually a burrow in the sand lined with plant material. Usually two eggs are laid in the nest and are incubated for a little more than one month by both parents. The chicks hatch extremely fluffy and greyish-brown; they then molt to look dark brown and grey another month later. At this time young birds will form creches together for two more months, hanging out and learning from each other. They then fledge and become juveniles two more months later. They become sexually mature at two to four years of age, and can live for up to 20 years (though shorter is more common). The chicks and nesting colonies tend to feed at dusk. 

By Mark Nairn, CC BY 3.0

Ecosystem: Little Penguins live mainly in sandy and rocky coasts, usually near the bases of cliffs and in sand dunes. They will spend most of their time in temperate to sub-arctic marine waters, many miles offshore. They are preyed upon by cats, dogs, rats, foxes, lizards, snakes, ferrets, stoats, seals, and some other ocean predators. They are mostly affected by introduced mammalian predators at this time. 

By fir0002, GFDL 1.2

Other: While Little Penguins are, overall, doing alright and are even common in terms of population  management; however, a number of human-created threats are affecting certain colonies and bringing many of them to the verge of collapse. Uncontrolled hunting by domesticated dogs and cats are major causes of colony destruction, as are oil spills, fishing interactions (including being caught in nets), human interference and development, as well as cullings by humans attempting to manage populations of other birds. As such, Little Penguins are of major interest for ecological groups in order to preserve their populations in light of these threats. Fossils of this species are known from its current range from the recent ice age. 

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources Under the Cut 

Anurophasis monorthonyx

By Carlos N. G. Bocos

Etymology: Tail-Lacking Pheasant 

First Described By: van Oort, 1910 

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Galloanserae, Pangalliformes, Galliformes, Phasiani, Phasianoidea, Phasianidae, Pavoninae, Tetraogallini 

Status: Extant, Near Threatened 

TIme and Place: Since 10,000 years ago, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

Snow Mountain Quail live entirely in the Snow Mountains of Irian Jaya in New Guinea 

Physical Description: Snow Mountain Quail are adorable little round birds, ranging in size from 25 to 28 centimeters in length. They have small heads and tiny, pointed beaks, with large round bodies. They do not have large tails – as you would assume from their names – but instead have a small tuft of feathers in the shape of a triangle on the ends of their bodies. They also have short, stubby feet. The males are reddish, with brown backs and brown striping on their bodies. The females are more pale, but also with brown backs and brown striping. 

Diet: These quail feed mainly on flowers, leaves, seeds, foliage, and sometimes caterpillars. 

By Charles Davies, in the Public Domain

Behavior: Snow Mountain Quail aren’t the most social pheasant species, usually only foraging in small groups of 2 to 3 individuals. They make small, noisy squeals when flustered, and repeated squee-ing calls when alarmed. They do not migrate, though they do move back and forth along the elevation due to predator activity. They make nests on the edge of grass tussocks, usually in September; where they lay three pale brown eggs with dark brown spots. 

Ecosystem: Snow Mountain Quail are known from grassland and scrubland in the mountains, between 3100 and 3800 meter elevations. This is an extremely remote – and chilly – environment. 

By Romain Risso, CC BY-SA 3.0

Other: Snow Mountain Quail are mainly near threatened due to the extremely limited and unique nature of its habitat. It is also not helped by the fact that the Indonesian Government has not granted protected status to these birds. More work is needed to protect these adorable little birds. 

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources Under the Cut 

Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus

By the USFWS, in the Public Domain

Etymology: Naked Nostrils 

First Described By: Wied-Neuwied, 1841 

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Inopinaves, Telluraves, Australaves, Eufalconimorphae, Psittacopasserae, Passeriformes, Eupasseres, Passeri, Euoscines, Corvides, Corvoidea, Corvidae, Cyanocoracinae 

Status: Extant, Vulnerable 

Time and Place: From 1.8 million years ago through today, from the Calabrian of the Pleistocene through the Holocene 

Pinyon Jays are known from the Southwestern United States 

Physical Description: Pinyon Jays are beautiful, distinctive blue birds. They range from 26 to 29 centimeters in length, making them somewhat small Corvids. The males tend to weigh more than the females. They are a beautiful blue color, fairly uniform all over their bodies, though they do have white and blue striped throat pouches. They have beady black eyes and long, black beaks. These beaks are very pointed and sharp, and the nostrils on them are completely without feathers – hence the meaning of the genus name. The juveniles tend to be more grey and become blue as they get older. 

By Seabamirum, CC BY 2.0

Diet: Pinyon Jays have evolved, specifically, to eat the seeds of Pinyon trees for food. These seeds are very heavy and not great for wind distribution, so they rely on animals to eat them and disperse them. As such, the Pinyon Jay fulfills this role. They’ll eat other seeds too, and supplement their diet with insects and other arthropods and grains. 

By John Drummond

Behavior: Pinyon Jays live in large, cooperative, synchronized flocks – of up to five hundred individuals – which move around their ecosystem together in search of their specialized food, usually gotten on the ground or in seed feeders. They make a wide variety of calls, probably more than fifteen of them, allowing them to coordinate their activities and recognize different individuals in the flock. The begging calls of juveniles are also unique per individual, allowing it to be clear to the adults who exactly needs food. These unique calls for each individual Pinyon Jay means that the individuals can recognize each other completely across these giant flocks. They make long, alarm calls that are combinations of other calls; and they can make very long rambling songs for twenty or more minutes at a time. These giant flocks will roam over large areas, moving nomadically in search of their favorite flocks. 

By Noah Strycker

Pinyon Jays do cache food, allowing for seeds to be grabbed when needed during development, courtship, nest building, egg laying, and incubation. They’ll fly many miles in order to cache seeds, usually in the Fall, and they’ll rely on these cached seeds during the cold months. They will often move the seeds as well, in order to avoid theft from other birds. They’ll cache them in the ground, usually buried in dead needles and twigs – so don’t throw out or pick up such piles!!! Let your fall leaves lie on the ground!!! They will switch to caching in trees when the ground gets too hard to dig into. They remember the location of their caches for at least a week, though it is possible they can remember these locations for longer collectively as a flock. 

By Albert Linkowski

These jays begin breeding in the early spring and continue through to autumn if food is particularly plentiful. They form monogamous pairs, possibly for their entire lives (at least as long as ten years), and they make nests together in very synchronized colonies as flocks. Previous children do help build nests, but it’s not as common as in other species. Both parents will build the nests out of a platform of sticks, with a middle layer of coarse grasses woven together, and the nest lined with finely shredded plants, feathers, and hair. They’ll usually place these nests in pine trees. The pair will lay between 2 and 5 eggs which are incubated by the female for two and a half weeks. Both parents will feed and take care of the chicks in the nest for three weeks. The fledglings then gather together in creches which are guarded by a few adults, as foraging resumes back to normal; the parents will return to their fledglings with food every hour. The young depend on their parents for two to three more months. They are then juveniles, learning from the rest of the flock for a few more years. Sometimes these juveniles will move to other flocks, but they usually stay with their parent flocks for their whole lives. Females will begin breeding at 2 years old, and males at 3 years, and they’ll create many broods throughout their lives. They can live for as long as 16 years, in the best of conditions. 

By Hal & Kirsten Snyder

Ecosystem: Pinyon Jays stick to woodlands and forests where there are pinyon-juniper trees. They’ll also go to chaparral and scrub oak forests, as well as locations of ponderosa and Jeffrey pines. They can also be found in city and town gardens. Pinyon Jays are highly preyed upon, though their flocking and colonial nesting helps to protect them; they also use pinyon, juniper, and ponderosa pine trees for cover, and rarely stray too far from these sites unless needed to for caching and food storage. These birds also mob potential predators, such as Great Horned Owls, Sharp-Shinned Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks, Red-Tailed Hawks, and Common Grey Foxes. They are also preyed upon by ravens, crows, Steller’s Jays, Abert’s Squirrels, Rock Squirrels, snakes, gray foxes, and domestic cats. Sometimes, these predators pull females from their nests while they’re incubating the young. 

By Seabamirum, CC BY 2.0

Other: Pinyon Jays are extremely common birds in their range, but they have undergone extremely rapid population decline due to the loss of its specific woodland habitat. The pinyon-juniper woodland is decreasing due to drought and tree-related diseases. Unfortunately, Pinyon Jays are very nomadic and social, which makes estimating the exact population of these jays fairly difficult. They do use bird feeders in urban and suburban habitats, which means they may be able to get by as their habitat decreases. Interestingly enough, fossils of this bird are known from the last Ice Age, indicating that they did not evolve recently, but have been a fixture of the Southwestern United States for millions of years. 

~ By Meig Dickson 

Sources Under the Cut 

Nyctibius

Common Potoo by Gmmv1980, CC BY-SA 4.0

Etymology: Night Feeder 

First Described By: Vieillot, 1816 

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Strisores, Caprimulgiformes, Nyctibiidae 

Referred Species: N. bracteatus (Rufous Potoo), N. grandis (Great Potoo), N. aethereus (Long-Tailed Potoo), N. leucopterus (White-Winged Potoo), N. maculosus (Andean Potoo), N. griseus (Common Potoo), N. jamaicensis (Northern Potoo) 

Status: Extant, Least Concern 

Time and Place: From 12,000 years ago through today, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

Potoos are known from Central and South America, around the Equator 

Physical Description: Potoos are some of the weirdest birds alive today, looking about as ridiculous and muppet-like as any bird can really look. I’m honestly not sure if there is another living dinosaur that looks more like a muppet – and, of course, we don’t know if any extinct dinosaurs could have taken home the gold. The only probable and possible contender is the Frogmouth, which may just be the slightest amount more muppet-like, but it’s a close contest. They have distinctive faces, that are more feather than underlying tissue – their beaks stick out a bit, with a small hooked beak at the end. They have a large mouth, covered in fluff. Their eyes have a general sunken in appearance, which makes them look very large compared to the rest of the face. Their heads are very large compared to the rest of their bodies, and they have long bodies with short wings and long, fluffy tails. So, when they stand up, they look… well, they look like a stump, or a log standing up. They can then make themselves skinnier, which makes their eyes stand out compared to the rest of their bodies… which gives them the general appearance of a completely ridiculous animal. They can range in size from 21 to 58 centimeters, and range in color from reddish brown, to more orange brown, to more grey in color. This genus is not sexually dimorphic, though some species have variants in color. 

By Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0

Diet: Potoos eat a lot of insects – from beetles to moths, to mantids, ants, termites, cicadas, leafhoppers, and grasshoppers. 

Rufous Potoo by Eric Gropp, CC BY 2.0

Behavior: Potoos will hunt by standing extremely still on their perches – often, again, making themselves to look like a continuous log – and waiting for food to appear. Since they’re nocturnal, they are easily missed by the insects, as they blend into the background around them. Then, when they spot the prey, they launch forward, jutting forward to catch the insects and swallow them. Some species are more clumsy in this endeavor than others, though some are able to make leaps over several meters in order to grab the food they desire. They then return to the same post, returning to their previous log-like stillness as they wait for more food to appear. They’ll look around for the food by turning their heads rapidly from side to side – weirdly like owls, though they are not closely related to them at all. These perches can be only one meter off the ground, or up to 19 meters, depending on the forest around the potoo in question. 

Common Potoo by the American Bird Conservancy

Potoos aren’t the most musical or birds, but they are loud – they make harsh, guttural “bwa-bwa-bwa” calls, similar to laughing or wailing. They can also make drawn out, descending rasps, that are… somewhat more musical at least. They tend to make their sounds mostly at dusk, right before dawn, and also on moonlit nights – so when it is Dark, but not too dark. These sounds, of course, do vary from species to species. There are some courtship calls, including descended calls made by females during the mating ritual, but they aren’t a major feature of these events. So, instead of picturing the great wolves as your moonlight singers, remember: the Potoos can and WILL be making these weird urts, laughs, and whistles, every time the moon is full and out in the sky. Potoos do not migrate, but they do appear to move sporadically in response to season changes and mating territory disturbances. 

Long-Tailed Potoo by Lee R. Berger, CC BY-SA 3.0

As for nesting, Potoos are not… fantastic at the prospect, because of their tiny legs and weird, weird beaks. This makes them not great at both sitting on the nest and feeding the chicks. Still, they do it anyway, and clearly well enough since they aren’t endangered with extinction. They are monogamous, with both parents working together to incubate the egg and raise the chick, and they don’t build a nest – instead, the egg is laid in a depression on the branch, usually on top of a rotting stump. The male incubates the egg during the day, while the female will do so with the male at night. The chick is hidden almost entirely through camouflage. They hatch about a month later, and then stay in the nest for two more months, being protected by the parents and fed by them as well. They look… like clumps of fungus. Hiding underneath the log of their parents. The parents will defend themselves and the nest with mobbing behavior, crowding a predator and dive bombing it, and also calling at it loudly. In short, these birds are a Giant, Giant mess of Chaos. 

White-Winged Potoo by Mark Sutton

Ecosystem: Potoos are known primarily from rainforests, and can be found at any level of the forest – some Potoos are known from the understorey, some from the middle, and some from the canopy – it really depends. They’re also found in very swampy forests, depending on the species and the habitats in question. They tend to stick to where there are easily accessible sources of water, regardless, especially rivers and lakes in the jungle. They stick to the deep interior of the forest, not venturing to forest edges much unless driven to by necessity. Some species are also found in mountain forest habitats. They have few natural predators after reaching adult size, though the young are hunted upon by monkeys and falcons. 

Andean Potoo by Isirvio, CC BY-SA 2.0

Other: Potoos are a part of the Stirsorians, a group of WEIRD BIRDS that are adapted for a variety of extremely unique ecological niches, usually depending on their flight style. Close relatives of the Potoo include the Frogmouth, Nightjars, Oilbirds, Swifts, and Hummingbirds, among others. Potoos are highly adapted for their nocturnal lifestyle, adapted to blend in with their forested surroundings above all else. None are threatened with extinction at this time, though of course some species are rarer than others, and all are vulnerable to climate change and extensive habitat destruction in the American Rainforests. They are also quite uncommon birds, which of course affects their vulnerability as well.

Northern Potoo by Dominic Sherony, CC BY-SA 2.0

Species Differences: The different species of Potoo vary mainly on size, coloration, habitat, and location. The Rufous Potoo is one of the most notable, being very red in color and also the smallest species; it is known from northern Amazonia, in the middle and lower storeys of the forest. Great Potoos are the heaviest species, and greyish to yellowish brown; they are found in the canopy of Amazonia. The Long-Tailed Potoo is the longest species, and is a darker brown; it is found in lowland forest in Amazonia. The White-Winged Potoo has – you guessed it – white wings, and is small in size; it is found in the canopy of lowland Amazonia rainforest. The Andean Potoo is very dark and Extremely Muppety, and is found in mountain forests in the Andes Mountains. The Common Potoo is the most middle brown of them all and very middle in size, so the Averagest Potoo of them All; it is found in wet open woodland, usually at forest edges and the canopy, throughout Northern South America. The Northern Potoo is similar to the Common Potoo but usually larger, and it is also found in forest edges, but in Central America and the Carribean. 

~ By Meig Dickson 

Sources Under the Cut