Weird Bird Beaks Weird Bird a Reading A–Z Level N Leveled Book Word Count: 530 Beaks

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Weird Bird Beaks Weird Bird a Reading A–Z Level N Leveled Book Word Count: 530 Beaks LEVELED BOOK • N Weird Bird Beaks Weird Bird A Reading A–Z Level N Leveled Book Word Count: 530 Beaks • R H • N Written by Joe Slade Visit www.readinga-z.com www.readinga-z.com for thousands of books and materials. Photo Credits: Front cover: © Thomas Marent/Minden Pictures; back cover: © Keith Kapple/ SuperStock; title page, page 5: © Tim Zurowski/All Canada Photos/SuperStock; page 4: © Markoflaherty/Dreamstime.com; page 6: © Louise Heusinkveld/Oxford Scientific/Getty Images; page 7: © Pat Morris/ardea.com; page 8: © Tim Fitzharris/ Minden Pictures; page 9: © FLPA/Alamy; page 10: © Dreamstime.com; page 11: © Kip Evans/Alamy; page 12: © Eduardo Rivero/123RF; page 13 (top): © U Walz/ Blickwinkel/age fotostock; page 13 (center): © blickwinkel/Alamy; page 13 (bottom): Weird Bird © Duncan Usher/Alamy; page 14 (top): © Kevin Schafer/Minden Pictures; page 14 (center): © Gerry Ellis/Minden Pictures; page 14 (bottom): © Bassam Hammoudeh/ Beaks SuperStock Weird Bird Beaks Level N Leveled Book Correlation Written by Joe Slade © Learning A–Z LEVEL N Written by Joe Slade Fountas & Pinnell M All rights reserved. Reading Recovery 20 DRA 28 www.readinga-z.com www.readinga-z.com Table of Contents Bearded Barbet ................ 4 Crossbill ...................... 5 Rhinoceros Hornbill ............ 6 Bearded Barbet Huia.......................... 7 I am a bearded barbet. Sword-billed Hummingbird ..... 8 I have a large, thick beak that has Brown Pelican ................. 9 pointed parts on the bottom like Shoebill Stork................. 10 sharp teeth. Hairlike feathers look like a beard on my beak. Spoonbill..................... 11 I live where it is dry in Africa, Toucan....................... 12 where I build my nest in a Glossary ..................... 14 dead tree. I feed on fruit and sometimes on insects. Weird Bird Beaks • Level N 3 4 Crossbill Rhinoceros Hornbill I am a crossbill. I am a rhinoceros hornbill. My beak is crossed like an X, which I have a horn on the top of my beak helps me to pull the seeds out of that I use to knock down fruit. a pinecone. I also use my horn to fight and Pinecones grow on trees called sometimes to attract a mate. conifers, but conifers don’t produce I bring food to my mate when she good pinecones every year. sits on our eggs. I travel all over to find pinecones If you think my horn looks weird, instead of living in one place. you should see my eyelashes! I am one of the few birds that have them. Weird Bird Beaks • Level N 5 6 Huia Sword-Billed Hummingbird We are huias (HOO-yuhs). We I am a sword-billed hummingbird. lived in New Zealand until we I am a very small bird with a very became extinct. long beak. I’m the only bird with “I am the male. My beak is thick a bill that is longer than my body! and strong.” I use my long beak and even longer “I am the female. My beak is thin tongue to get nectar from tube- and curved.” shaped flowers. Our beaks are so different that for a I can stick my tongue out and pull long time, people thought we were it back in again about 13 times completely different types of birds. per second! Weird Bird Beaks • Level N 7 8 Brown Pelican Shoebill Stork I am a brown pelican. I am a shoebill stork. I have a pouch of skin under my My beak is shaped like a shoe beak that can hold a lot of fish. with a hook on the end that helps me eat fish. I hunt in the ocean, diving down from the air. Sometimes, I’ll eat frogs and even small crocodiles. I sometimes steal fish from other birds, but they steal from me, too. I hunt fish by waiting for one to Gulls even sit on my head and swim by and then falling onto it back while they take fish right out with my mouth open. of my pouch! Weird Bird Beaks • Level N 9 10 Spoonbill Toucan I am a spoonbill. I am a toucan. I have a long beak that flattens My huge and colorful beak is out at the end like a spoon. actually very light because it’s full of air pockets. Because I am white and pink, people sometimes think I’m a flamingo. I eat fruit, seeds, insects, and eggs. To find food, I sweep my beak My beak helps me to reach fruit back and forth in the mud and while I sit in rainforest trees. I have shallow water. two claws that point forward and two that point backward to help me I like to eat frogs, shellfish, seaweed, hold onto branches. and small fish. Weird Bird Beaks • Level N 11 12 Glossary extinct (adj.) having died out completely (p. 7) Many of us have weird beaks. shellfish (n.) animals that have shells Sometimes they help us to catch and live in the water or eat food. (p. 11) air pockets (n.) areas of air surrounded Sometimes they just look wild! by matter (p. 12) Weird Bird Beaks • Level N 13 14.
Recommended publications
  • Brown Pelican
    118 Pelicans — Family Pelecanidae Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis The failure of Brown Pelican nesting in southern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and its link to DDT, was a key case alerting the world to the unintended ill effects of persistent pesticides. Happily, once the release of DDT in the United States was banned, the pelicans recovered quickly. By the 1990s Brown Pelican was again common along San Diego County’s coast, numbers peaking in late summer and early fall. Nevertheless, the popu- lation remains fragile, and in California the Brown Pelican is still formally listed as an endangered spe- cies. The nesting colony nearest San Diego County is on Los Coronados Islands off Tijuana. Winter: The Brown Pelican is common all along San Diego County’s coast, as well as over the nearby ocean. Photo by Anthony Mercieca The largest numbers are where secure roost sites, on coastal bluffs or man-made structures, lie near good fish- ing, as at Torrey Pines State Reserve (N7; up to 218 on Diego Bay the pelican is more numerous north and west 26 December 1999, B. C. Moore), La Jolla (P7; 150 on 26 of the bridge than to the south of it, though many roost December 1998, L. and M. Polinsky), Point Loma (S7; 156 on the dikes of the salt works at the south end. on 18 December 1999, J. C. Worley), and North Island Brown Pelicans enter all lagoons open to the tide (S8; 302 on 18 December 1999, R. T. Patton). In San but, except at one site, are only casual on fresh water.
    [Show full text]
  • Status and Ecology of the Brown Pelican in the Greater Puerto Rican Bank Region Jaime Agustin Collazo Iowa State University
    Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 1985 Status and ecology of the brown pelican in the Greater Puerto Rican Bank region Jaime Agustin Collazo Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, and the Environmental Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Collazo, Jaime Agustin, "Status and ecology of the brown pelican in the Greater Puerto Rican Bank region " (1985). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 8684. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/8684 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This reproduction was made from a copy of a manuscript sent to us for publication and microfilming. While the most advanced technology has been used to pho­ tograph and reproduce this manuscript, the quality of the reproduction is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. Pages in any manuscript may have indistinct print. In all cases the best available copy has been filmed. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help clarify notations which may appear on this reproduction. 1. Manuscripts may not always be complete. When it is not possible to obtain missing pages, a note appears to indicate this. 2. When copyrighted materials are removed from the manuscript, a note ap­ pears to Indicate this.
    [Show full text]
  • Hornbills of Borneo
    The following two species can be easily confused. They can be recognized If you want to support Hornbill Conservation in Sabah, please contact from other hornbill species by the yellow coloration around the head and neck in Marc Ancrenaz at Hutan Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project: the males. The females have black heads and faces and blue throat pouches. [email protected] HORNBILLS OF BORNEO Wrinkled hornbill (Aceros corrugatus): A large, mainly black hornbill whose tail is mostly white with some black at the base. Males have a yellow bill and more prominent reddish casque while females have an all yellow bill and casque. SABAH MALAYSIA The presence of hornbills in the Kinabatangan area is an indication that the surrounding habitat is healthy. Hornbills need forests for nesting and food. Forests need hornbills for dispersal of seeds. And the local people need the forests for wood Wreathed hornbill (Rhyticeros undulatus): A large, primarily black hornbill products, clean water and clean air. They are all connected: whose tail is all white with no black at the base. Both sexes have a pale bill with a small casque and a dark streak/mark on the throat pouch. people, hornbills and forests! Eight different hornbill species occur in Borneo and all are found in Kinabatangan. All are protected from hunting and/or disturbance. By fostering an awareness and concern of their presence in this region, hornbill conservation will be ensured for future generations. Credits: Sabah Forest Department, Sabah Wildlife Department, Hutan Kinabatangan Orangutan Conserva- tion Project (KOCP), Hornbill Research Foundation, Chester Zoo, Woodland Park Zoo.
    [Show full text]
  • Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections
    SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOLUME 131, NUMBER 9 BREEDING AND OTHER HABITS OF CASQUED HORNBILLS (BYCANISTES SUBCYLINDRICUS) (With 6 Plates) By LAWRENCE KILHAM Bethesda, Md. (Publication 4259) CITY OF WASHINGTON PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOVEMBER 8, 1956 THE LORD BALTIMORE PRESS, INC. BALTIMORE, MD., U. S. A. PREFACE I went to Uganda at the invitation of the East African High Com- mission to carry on virus research as a visiting scientist at the Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, where I worked from August 1954 until mid-May 1955. My ornithological observations were made as an ama- teur in the early mornings and evenings, and on weekends. It had been my hope to study some particular field problem in addition to making a general acquaintance with African bird life. The nature of the prob- lem was determined soon after my arrival. In my bird notes, black- and-white casqued hornbills [Bycanistes suhcylindricits (Sclater)] soon took up more pages than any other species. They came to our garden frequently. In addition, a pair of them roosted and carried on courtship activities in a tree above our house. When I discovered a concentration of hornbill nests in the Mpanga Research Forest, it was apparent that I had an unusual opportunity to study the natural history of casqued hornbills. Present studies did not begin until many females were already walled in. A few pairs of late-nesting hornbills, however, enabled me to witness the beginning stages of nesting ac- tivity. Observations on 16 nesting pairs gave, in the aggregate, a rounded picture of breeding and other habits of these birds.
    [Show full text]
  • Bird Checklists of the World Country Or Region: Ghana
    Avibase Page 1of 24 Col Location Date Start time Duration Distance Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World 1 Country or region: Ghana 2 Number of species: 773 3 Number of endemics: 0 4 Number of breeding endemics: 0 5 Number of globally threatened species: 26 6 Number of extinct species: 0 7 Number of introduced species: 1 8 Date last reviewed: 2019-11-10 9 10 Recommended citation: Lepage, D. 2021. Checklist of the birds of Ghana. Avibase, the world bird database. Retrieved from .https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?lang=EN&region=gh [26/09/2021]. Make your observations count! Submit your data to ebird.
    [Show full text]
  • Onetouch 4.0 Scanned Documents
    / Chapter 2 THE FOSSIL RECORD OF BIRDS Storrs L. Olson Department of Vertebrate Zoology National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution Washington, DC. I. Introduction 80 II. Archaeopteryx 85 III. Early Cretaceous Birds 87 IV. Hesperornithiformes 89 V. Ichthyornithiformes 91 VI. Other Mesozojc Birds 92 VII. Paleognathous Birds 96 A. The Problem of the Origins of Paleognathous Birds 96 B. The Fossil Record of Paleognathous Birds 104 VIII. The "Basal" Land Bird Assemblage 107 A. Opisthocomidae 109 B. Musophagidae 109 C. Cuculidae HO D. Falconidae HI E. Sagittariidae 112 F. Accipitridae 112 G. Pandionidae 114 H. Galliformes 114 1. Family Incertae Sedis Turnicidae 119 J. Columbiformes 119 K. Psittaciforines 120 L. Family Incertae Sedis Zygodactylidae 121 IX. The "Higher" Land Bird Assemblage 122 A. Coliiformes 124 B. Coraciiformes (Including Trogonidae and Galbulae) 124 C. Strigiformes 129 D. Caprimulgiformes 132 E. Apodiformes 134 F. Family Incertae Sedis Trochilidae 135 G. Order Incertae Sedis Bucerotiformes (Including Upupae) 136 H. Piciformes 138 I. Passeriformes 139 X. The Water Bird Assemblage 141 A. Gruiformes 142 B. Family Incertae Sedis Ardeidae 165 79 Avian Biology, Vol. Vlll ISBN 0-12-249408-3 80 STORES L. OLSON C. Family Incertae Sedis Podicipedidae 168 D. Charadriiformes 169 E. Anseriformes 186 F. Ciconiiformes 188 G. Pelecaniformes 192 H. Procellariiformes 208 I. Gaviiformes 212 J. Sphenisciformes 217 XI. Conclusion 217 References 218 I. Introduction Avian paleontology has long been a poor stepsister to its mammalian counterpart, a fact that may be attributed in some measure to an insufRcien- cy of qualified workers and to the absence in birds of heterodont teeth, on which the greater proportion of the fossil record of mammals is founded.
    [Show full text]
  • Birding Tour to Ghana Specializing on Upper Guinea Forest 12–26 January 2018
    Birding Tour to Ghana Specializing on Upper Guinea Forest 12–26 January 2018 Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, Ankasa Resource Reserve (Dan Casey photo) Participants: Jim Brown (Missoula, MT) Dan Casey (Billings and Somers, MT) Steve Feiner (Portland, OR) Bob & Carolyn Jones (Billings, MT) Diane Kook (Bend, OR) Judy Meredith (Bend, OR) Leaders: Paul Mensah, Jackson Owusu, & Jeff Marks Prepared by Jeff Marks Executive Director, Montana Bird Advocacy Birding Ghana, Montana Bird Advocacy, January 2018, Page 1 Tour Summary Our trip spanned latitudes from about 5° to 9.5°N and longitudes from about 3°W to the prime meridian. Weather was characterized by high cloud cover and haze, in part from Harmattan winds that blow from the northeast and carry particulates from the Sahara Desert. Temperatures were relatively pleasant as a result, and precipitation was almost nonexistent. Everyone stayed healthy, the AC on the bus functioned perfectly, the tropical fruits (i.e., bananas, mangos, papayas, and pineapples) that Paul and Jackson obtained from roadside sellers were exquisite and perfectly ripe, the meals and lodgings were passable, and the jokes from Jeff tolerable, for the most part. We detected 380 species of birds, including some that were heard but not seen. We did especially well with kingfishers, bee-eaters, greenbuls, and sunbirds. We observed 28 species of diurnal raptors, which is not a large number for this part of the world, but everyone was happy with the wonderful looks we obtained of species such as African Harrier-Hawk, African Cuckoo-Hawk, Hooded Vulture, White-headed Vulture, Bat Hawk (pair at nest!), Long-tailed Hawk, Red-chested Goshawk, Grasshopper Buzzard, African Hobby, and Lanner Falcon.
    [Show full text]
  • Pelecanus Occidentalis) in Costa Rica
    First record of leucism in brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) in Costa Rica Primer registro de leucismo en el pelícano pardo (Pelecanus occidentalis) en Costa Rica Roberto Vargas-Masís*1,2 & Pilar Arguedas-Rodríguez1,3 ABSTRACT Leucism in birds is rarely observed in the Pelecaniformes order and has not been recorded for the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) in Costa Rica. We describe an observation of a leucistic brown pelican with white plumage, pink coloration on the bill and feet, but normal color on the eyes. Leucism in birds is the most frequently reported color aberration and these cases present low survival rates for individuals. Although isolated cases occur in birds, these reports help determine the frequency of these events for spe- cific bird populations and species. Keywords: Leucism, brown pelican, plumage, albinism, Costa Rica. RESUMEN El leucismo en las aves se observa raramente en el orden Pelecaniformes y no ha sido registrado para el pe- lícano pardo (Pelecanus occidentalis) en Costa Rica. Describimos una observación de un pelícano marrón leucístico con plumaje blanco, coloración rosa en el pico y las patas, pero color normal en los ojos. El leu- cismo en las aves es la aberración de color más frecuentemente reportada y estos casos presentan tasas bajas de supervivencia para los individuos. Aunque se presentan casos aislados en aves, estos reportes permiten determinar la frecuencia de estos eventos en ciertas poblaciones y especies de aves. Palabras claves: Leucismo, pelícano pardo, plumaje, albinismo, Costa Rica. INTRODUCTION Birds obtain their coloration from pigments or refractive structures in feathers and skin (Yusti-Muñoz & Velandia-Perilla, 2013).
    [Show full text]
  • Bird Checklists of the World Country Or Region: Myanmar
    Avibase Page 1of 30 Col Location Date Start time Duration Distance Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World 1 Country or region: Myanmar 2 Number of species: 1088 3 Number of endemics: 5 4 Number of breeding endemics: 0 5 Number of introduced species: 1 6 7 8 9 10 Recommended citation: Lepage, D. 2021. Checklist of the birds of Myanmar. Avibase, the world bird database. Retrieved from .https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?lang=EN&region=mm [23/09/2021]. Make your observations count! Submit your data to ebird.
    [Show full text]
  • Some Makueni Birds
    Page 164 Vol. XXIII. No.4 (101) SOME MAKUENI BIRDS By BASIL PARSONS A few notes on the birds of Makueni, a very rich area less than 90 miles from Nairobi, may be of interest. Most of this country is orchard bush in which species of Acacia, Commiphora, and Combretum predominate, with here and there dense thickets, especially on hillsides. Despite Kamba settlement there is ~till a wealth of bird life. The average height above sea level is about 3,500 feet, and the 'boma' where we live is at 4,000 feet. To the west and south-west are fine hills with some rocky precipices, the most notable being Nzani. Much of my bird-watching has been done from a small hide in the garden situated about six feet from the bird-bath, which is near a piece of uncleared bush, and in this way I have been able to see over 60 species at really close range, many of them of great beauty. Birds of prey are very numerous. The Martial Eagle rests nearby and is some• times seen passing over. The small Gabar Goshawk raids our Weaver colony when the young are fledging, I have seen both normal and melanistic forms. The Black• shouldered Kite is often seen hovering over the hill slopes, and the cry of the Lizard Buzzard is another familar sQund. Occasionally I have seen the delightful Pigmy Falcon near the house. Grant's Crested and Scaly Francolins both rouse us in the early morning. On one occasion a pair of the former walked within three feet of my hide.
    [Show full text]
  • Visual Fields in Hornbills: Precision-Grasping and Sunshades
    Ibis (2004), 146, 18–26 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Visual fields in hornbills: precision-grasping and sunshades GRAHAM R. MARTIN1* & HENDRI C. COETZEE2 1School of Biosciences, The University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK 2Ground Hornbill Research and Conservation Project, Private Bag X1644, Warmbaths, 0480, Republic of South Africa Retinal visual fields were determined in Southern Ground Hornbills Bucorvus leadbeateri and Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills Tockus leucomelas (Coraciiformes, Bucerotidae) using an ophthalmoscopic reflex technique. In both species the binocular field is relatively long and narrow with a maximum width of 30° occurring 40° above the bill. The bill tip projects into the lower half of the binocular field. This frontal visual field topography exhibits a number of key features that are also found in other terrestrial birds. This supports the hypothesis that avian visual fields are of three principal types that are correlated with the degree to which vision is employed when taking food items, rather than with phylogeny. However, unlike other species studied to date, in both hornbill species the bill intrudes into the binocular field. This intrusion of the bill restricts the width of the binocular field but allows the birds to view their own bill tips. It is suggested that this is associated with the precision-grasping feeding technique of hornbills. This involves forceps-like grasping and manipulation of items in the tips of the large decurved bill. The two hornbill species differ in the extent of the blind area perpendicularly above the head. Interspecific comparison shows that eye size and the width of the blind area above the head are significantly cor- related.
    [Show full text]
  • American White Pelican (Pelecanus Erythrorhynchos) Francesca J
    American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) Francesca J. Cuthbert Florida. 4/6/2008. © Jerry Jourdan (Click to view a comparison of Atlas I to II) Weighing up to 15 pounds (6.8 kg) and with a were described as transients. These observations were scattered throughout the state but most wingspan of nine feet (2.7 m), the American were in the LP and were associated with the White Pelican is among the largest birds in the Great Lakes as well as several inland sites (e.g. world. In the U.S., this species is found Houghton Lake). During MBBA I, the only primarily in the western and southern regions of observations for this species were from the country, but its range is slowly moving Manistee and Monroe counties, and Isle Royale eastward into the Great Lakes. The first National Park. At this time, the species was still confirmed breeding in Michigan was in 1999 a non-breeder. By the time of the current during the third Great Lakes Colonial Waterbird MBBA II survey, pelicans were nesting Census when a research team (Cuthbert et al. irregularly and in small numbers on one island 2003) found nests with eggs and young on an in Michigan. Sightings, however, were reported island in Delta County. from nine counties inland in the SLP and at coastal sites in lakes Michigan and Huron in Distribution both the NLP and UP. Recent observations by F. A major region of the breeding range of the Cuthbert and N. Seefelt indicate there is American White Pelican in North America is potential for pelicans to nest at other locations in the northern Great Plains.
    [Show full text]