"and told the cook what they had seen, and she scolded them for not bringing back the chandelier. The cook set out herself. Fundevogel turned into a pond and Lenchen a duck on it. The cook knelt down to drink up the pool, but Lenchen caught her head and drew her into the pond to drown. The children went safely home again. Foundling-Bird Foundling-Bird is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, number 51. It is Aarne–Thompson type 313A, the girl helps the hero flee, and revolves about a transformation chase. Others of the type include ""The Master"
"to breed in October and November. Unlike most of their closer relatives—with the exception of the African black duck—they are fiercely territorial during the breeding season; furthermore, pairs remain mated until the young are independent. This species is listed as an endangered species by the IUCN Red List. The Lac Alaotra wetlands, where historically the largest number of these birds was to be found, have suffered habitat destruction on a large scale in the latter half of the 20th century, and local waterbird populations have declined dramatically. The Madagascan pochard was rediscovered in 2006, though not in the Lac Alaotra"
"Picathartes The picathartes, rockfowl or bald crows are a small genus of two passerine bird species forming the family Picathartidae found in the rain-forests of tropical west and central Africa. They have unfeathered heads, and feed on insects and invertebrates picked from damp rocky areas. Both species are totally non-migratory, being dependent on a specialised rocky jungle habitat. Both species are listed as vulnerable to extinction on the IUCN Red List. The taxonomic position of the clade and its two species has been confusing. At various times, it has been grouped with the babblers, flycatchers, starlings, crows and others before"
"Pied wheatear The pied wheatear (""Oenanthe pleschanka"") is a wheatear, a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher (family Muscicapidae). This migratory central Asiatic wheatear occurs from the extreme southeast of Europe to China, and has been found wintering in India and northeastern Africa. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe. The male is a boldly marked white-and-black bird. The white crown tinged with brown contrasts with the black face and throat and white rump. The female"
"give hoarse growls. Males have whistles cut off by a final nasal note ""aaoo-oo-haa"". Their breeding habitat consists of marshes and lakes with a metre or more water depth. Pochards breed in much of temperate and northern Europe into Asia. They are migratory, and spend winter in the south and west of Europe. In the British Isles, birds breed in eastern England and lowland Scotland, in small numbers in Northern Ireland with numbers increasing gradually, and sporadically in the Republic of Ireland, where it may also be increasing. While uncommon, individuals are also occasionally seen in the south of England,"
"Pied butcherbird The pied butcherbird (""Cracticus nigrogularis"") is a songbird native to Australia. Described by John Gould in 1837, it is a black and white bird long with a long hooked bill. The head and throat are black, making a distinctive hood, while the mantle, as are much of the tail and wings. The neck, underparts and outer wing feathers are white. The juvenile and immature birds are predominantly brown and white. As they mature their brown feathers are replaced by black feathers. Two subspecies are recognized. Within its range, the pied butcherbird is generally sedentary. Common in woodlands and"
"mountains. These birds require forest litter for foraging, a large enough area to contain army-ant swarms (Dorylinae), and rocks, cliffs or caves for nesting sites. Picathartes The picathartes, rockfowl or bald crows are a small genus of two passerine bird species forming the family Picathartidae found in the rain-forests of tropical west and central Africa. They have unfeathered heads, and feed on insects and invertebrates picked from damp rocky areas. Both species are totally non-migratory, being dependent on a specialised rocky jungle habitat. Both species are listed as vulnerable to extinction on the IUCN Red List. The taxonomic position of"
"Double-banded plover The double-banded plover (""Charadrius bicinctus""), known as the banded dotterel or pohowera in New Zealand, is a species of bird in the plover family. Two subspecies are recognised: the nominate ""Charadrius bicinctus bicinctus"" breeds in New Zealand, and the Chatham Islands while ""Charadrius bicinctus exilis"" breeds in the Auckland Islands. The double-banded plover is distinguished by a dark, grey-brown back with a distinctive white chest and a thin band of black situated just below the neck running across the chest along with a larger brown band underneath. During breeding season, these bands are more dominantly shown on the"
"Psilopterus Psilopterus (Greek for ""bare wing"") is an extinct genus of phorusrhacid (""terror bird"") from the Middle Oligocene to Late Miocene of Argentina. Compared to other phorusrhacids, members of the genus are both relatively gracile and diminutive, and include the smallest known species of terror bird: with the head raised ""P. bachmanni"" was in height and weighed about , while the largest members of the genus were only about . The birds resemble the modern cariama (""Cariama cristata""), except with a heavier build and considerably smaller wings. The strong morphological similarity between the claws of the predatory cariama and ""Psilopterus"","
"Mountain chickadee The mountain chickadee (""Poecile gambeli"") is a small songbird, a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. Often, it is still placed in the genus ""Parus"" with most other tits, but mtDNA cytochrome ""b"" sequence data and morphology suggest that separating ""Poecile"" more adequately expresses these birds' relationships. The American Ornithologists' Union has been treating ""Poecile"" as a distinct genus for some time. Adults of both sexes have a black cap joining a black postocular stripe behind distinctive white eyebrows. Their backs and flanks are gray and they have paler gray underparts; they have a short black bill,"
"with or without emergent vegetation. They are suspected to have been strong migrants in the past but the construction of numerous farm dams seems to allow them a more sedentary lifestyle. They reach highest concentrations in Africa's central plateaus and in the south-western winter rainfall region. Southern pochards are sociable and gregarious. They have been seen in groups of up to 5,000. The birds are solitary nesters, building nests out of leaves and stems on the banks of a river surrounded by vegetation. The female southern pochard lays a clutch consisting of six to fifteen eggs. The female incubates the"
"Chukar partridge The chukar partridge, or simply chukar (""Alectoris chukar""), also called ""Chukor"", is a Eurasian upland gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It has been considered to form a superspecies complex along with the rock partridge, Philby's partridge and Przevalski's partridge and treated in the past as conspecific particularly with the first. This partridge has well marked black and white bars on the flanks and a black band running from the forehead across the eye and running down the head to form a necklace that encloses a white throat. The species has been introduced into many other places and"
"Becard A becard is a bird of the genus ""Pachyramphus"" in the family Tityridae. The genus had traditionally been placed in Cotingidae or Tyrannidae, but evidence strongly suggests that it is better placed in the family Tityridae, where it is now placed by the IOC. The genus contains seventeen species: Some authorities, either presently or formerly, recognize several additional species as belonging to the genus ""Pachyramphus"" including: The becards are characterized by their large heads with a slight crest. The smaller members of this genus have graduated tails and most members are sexually dimorphic, although the cinnamon becard and the"
"young, with the mother abandoning the chicks at 8 weeks old, before they are capable of flying. They remain flightless for another 2–4 weeks. There is little information on redhead vocalizations outside of breeding calls. Males will emit calls when courting the female. When the neck is fully extended in the neck-stretching display, males will emit a distinct ""wheee-oww,"" which sounds catlike. Males may also produce a soft coughing call, although this call is less frequent. Females will emit a soft ""errrr"" note when she is inciting a male. All pochards have similar diets that include both plant and animal"
"Bustard Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and on the steppes of the Old World. They range in length from . They make up the family Otididae (formerly known as Otidae). Bustards are omnivorous and opportunistic, eating leaves, buds, seeds, fruit, small vertebrates, and invertebrates. Bustards are all fairly large with the two largest species, the kori bustard (""Ardeotis kori"") and the great bustard (""Otis tarda""), being frequently cited as the world's heaviest flying birds. In both the largest species, large males exceed a weight of , weigh around on average"
"Psophodidae Psophodidae is a family of passerine birds native to Australia and nearby areas. It has a complicated taxonomic history and different authors vary in which birds they include in the family. In the strictest sense, it includes only the 5 or 6 species of whipbirds and wedgebills (""Psophodes"" and ""Androphobus""), but some authors also includes at the quail-thrushes (""Cinclosoma""), 8 species of ground-dwelling birds found in Australia and New Guinea, and the jewel-babblers (""Ptilorrhoa""), 3 or 4 species found in rainforest in New Guinea. The Malaysian rail-babbler (""Eupetes macrocerus"") was formerly sometimes placed in this family, which would then"
"author Johann Jakob Kaup, and under the ICZN it must therefore be treated by default as masculine, giving the masculine form of the species epithet: ""cinctus"". Grey-headed chickadee The grey-headed chickadee or Siberian tit (""Poecile cinctus"", formerly ""Parus cinctus"") is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread resident breeder throughout subarctic Scandinavia and northern Asia, and also into North America in Alaska and the far northwest of Canada. It is a conifer specialist. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate. Curiously (with respect to its name), the bird has no grey on its"
"ranging from open woodland to the dense canopy of rainforests. The nest of a becard is a bulky globular mass of dead leaves, mosses, and fibers with the entrance near the bottom of the nest. Nests are typically wedged or slung from the outer branches of trees at the mid or upper levels. Becard A becard is a bird of the genus ""Pachyramphus"" in the family Tityridae. The genus had traditionally been placed in Cotingidae or Tyrannidae, but evidence strongly suggests that it is better placed in the family Tityridae, where it is now placed by the IOC. The genus"
"songs. Taylor's 'Is Birdsong Music? Outback Encounters with an Australian Songbird' offers portraits of the remote locations where the species is found. Pied butcherbird The pied butcherbird (""Cracticus nigrogularis"") is a songbird native to Australia. Described by John Gould in 1837, it is a black and white bird long with a long hooked bill. The head and throat are black, making a distinctive hood, while the mantle, as are much of the tail and wings. The neck, underparts and outer wing feathers are white. The juvenile and immature birds are predominantly brown and white. As they mature their brown feathers"
"on insects and other invertebrates. In the desert, quail-thrushes also eat some seeds. They build a cup-shaped nest among shrubs or on the ground. Two or three eggs are laid. Psophodidae Psophodidae is a family of passerine birds native to Australia and nearby areas. It has a complicated taxonomic history and different authors vary in which birds they include in the family. In the strictest sense, it includes only the 5 or 6 species of whipbirds and wedgebills (""Psophodes"" and ""Androphobus""), but some authors also includes at the quail-thrushes (""Cinclosoma""), 8 species of ground-dwelling birds found in Australia and New"
"The elements were found in the Arroyo Chasicó Formation in Buenos Aires Province of Argentina and are dated to the Late Miocene (Chasicoan). Psilopterus Psilopterus (Greek for ""bare wing"") is an extinct genus of phorusrhacid (""terror bird"") from the Middle Oligocene to Late Miocene of Argentina. Compared to other phorusrhacids, members of the genus are both relatively gracile and diminutive, and include the smallest known species of terror bird: with the head raised ""P. bachmanni"" was in height and weighed about , while the largest members of the genus were only about . The birds resemble the modern cariama (""Cariama"
"Cyprus wheatear The Cyprus wheatear or Cyprus pied wheatear (""Oenanthe cypriaca"") is a small, 14–15 cm long passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It was formerly treated as a subspecies (race) of pied wheatear but Sluys and van den Berg (1982) argued that the form deserved full species status, on the basis of differences in biometrics and especially song, and the lack of sexual plumage dimorphism in ""cypriaca"". This migratory insectivorous species breeds only in Cyprus, and winters in"
"Pilotbird The pilotbird (""Pycnoptilus floccosus"") is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is monotypic within the genus Pycnoptilus. The species is endemic to south-east New South Wales and eastern Victoria in Australia. Its natural habitat is temperate wet sclerophyll forests and occasionally temperate rainforest. There are two subspecies ""Pycnoptilus floccosus floccosus"" lives in alpine areas of New South Wales such as the Snowy Mountains and ""Pycnoptilus floccosus sandfordi"" lives in lowland forest from Newcastle to Melbourne. The pilotbird is a large, plump species of acanthizid, measuring around in length and weighing . It has a large head"
"Oriental magpie-robin The oriental magpie-robin (""Copsychus saularis"") is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but now considered an Old World flycatcher. They are distinctive black and white birds with a long tail that is held upright as they forage on the ground or perch conspicuously. Occurring across most of the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia, they are common birds in urban gardens as well as forests. They are particularly well known for their songs and were once popular as cagebirds. The oriental magpie-robin is the national bird of"
"origin in the Old World. Order: PICIFORMES Piciformes Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes, the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives. The Piciformes contain about 71 living genera with a little over 450 species, of which the Picidae (woodpeckers and relatives) make up about half. In general, the Piciformes are insectivorous, although the barbets and toucans mostly eat fruit and the honeyguides are unique among birds in being able to digest beeswax (although insects make up the bulk of their diet). Nearly all Piciformes have parrot-like zygodactyl feet—two"
"Pied heron The pied heron (""Egretta picata""), also known as the pied egret is a bird found in coastal and subcoastal areas of monsoonal northern Australia as well as some parts of Wallacea and New Guinea. The species was originally described by ornithologist John Gould in 1845. Recent taxonomists put this species in the genus ""Egretta"". There are no recognised subspecies. It is a small heron, 43–55 cm long, with dark slaty wings, body, and crested head, with a white throat and neck. The appearance is similar to the white-necked heron. Males (247–280 g) are heavier than females (225–242 g),"
"European pied flycatcher The European pied flycatcher (""Ficedula hypoleuca"") is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. One of the four species of Western Palearctic black-and-white flycatchers, it hybridizes to a limited extent with the collared flycatcher. It breeds in most of Europe and western Asia. It is migratory, wintering mainly in tropical Africa. It usually builds its nests in holes on oak trees. This species practices polygyny, usually bigamy, with the male travelling large distances to acquire a second mate. The male will mate with the secondary female and then return to the primary female in"
"high bush/tree vegetation (Randler et al. 2009). Cyprus wheatear The Cyprus wheatear or Cyprus pied wheatear (""Oenanthe cypriaca"") is a small, 14–15 cm long passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It was formerly treated as a subspecies (race) of pied wheatear but Sluys and van den Berg (1982) argued that the form deserved full species status, on the basis of differences in biometrics and especially song, and the lack of sexual plumage dimorphism in ""cypriaca"". This migratory insectivorous species"
"the female has a pale pinkish head and neck with a paler bill. The black of the body extends as a narrow strip on the front of the neck. Wings have a leading white edge. In flight it would not contrast as much as the syntopic white-winged duck. Wing does not have the dark trailing edge of the red-crested pochard. Confusion with male red-crested pochards stems mainly from observations of swimming birds, as the latter species also has a conspicuous red head (although the color is actually very different from the pink-headed duck). Spot-billed ducks, on the other hand, can"
"Piciformes Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes, the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives. The Piciformes contain about 71 living genera with a little over 450 species, of which the Picidae (woodpeckers and relatives) make up about half. In general, the Piciformes are insectivorous, although the barbets and toucans mostly eat fruit and the honeyguides are unique among birds in being able to digest beeswax (although insects make up the bulk of their diet). Nearly all Piciformes have parrot-like zygodactyl feet—two toes forward and two back, an arrangement"
"Songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the clade Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as a scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ""oscen"", ""a songbird"". This group contains 5000 or so species found all over the world, in which the vocal organ typically is developed in such a way as to produce a diverse and elaborate bird song. Songbirds form one of the two major lineages of extant perching birds, the other being the Tyranni, which are most diverse in the Neotropics and absent from many parts of the world."
"March 27, 2017. Plover Plovers ( or ) are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. There are about 66 species in the subfamily, most of them called ""plover"" or ""dotterel"". The closely related lapwing subfamily, Vanellinae, comprises another 20-odd species. Plovers are found throughout the world, with the exception of the Sahara and the polar regions, and are characterised by relatively short bills. They hunt by sight, rather than by feel as longer-billed waders like snipes do. They feed mainly on insects, worms or other invertebrates, depending on habitat, which are obtained by a"
"Asia and is common across that range. There are estimated to be somewhere between 96,000 and 420,000 individuals in Europe. As Europe forms 5 to 24% of the global range, the total population may be in the region of 400,000-8,400,000 individuals. The population is believed to be stable with no particular threats so the bird is rated as being of ""Least Concern"" by Birdlife International. Pied wheatear The pied wheatear (""Oenanthe pleschanka"") is a wheatear, a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be"