If you are going to be traveling, you may find it useful to purchase a handbook of the birds of the world. Some of the most fascinating bird species live in Australia and New Zealand. The emu is the second largest bird in the world (the largest is the ostrich). These flightless birds are nomadic, feeding on grains, fruits, insects and whatever else is available as they travel. They are able to run at speeds of 50 km/h. Folklore states that Emus have the ability to detect rain from hundreds of miles away.

The kiwi bird of New Zealand differs from other birds of the world in that its nostrils are at the end of the beak and proportionally it lays the largest egg in relation to its body. It can be compared to a chicken laying an ostrich egg.

The world’s smallest bird is the bee hummingbird from Cuba. It is only 2.5 inches in length (6.2 cm) and weighs a mere 0.06 oz (1.6 g).

On the other hand the largest bird in the world is the ostrich. The ostrich is indigenous in Africa, however it is farmed throughout the world. It reaches 9 ft (2.7 m) in height and its eggs weigh in at about 3 pounds (1400 g).

Another interesting creature in the avian world is the Gentoo penguin. This flightless bird is the fastest swimming bird in the world. Their primary colony is on the Falklands.

Certain of world’s birds are endemic. This means that they are found only in that specific area. For example the helmeted woodpecker, black-fronted piping-guan and russet winged spadebill are endemic to the Atlantic forest. Endemic to the Nicobar Islands of India are the Nicobar sparrowhawk, Andaman cuckoo-dove, white-headed starling and Nicobar Megapode.

From the world’s smallest bird to the largest, from the fastest in air to the fastest in water, they are all fascinating and worthy of our attention.

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Ostriches live off fruit, nuts, seeds, lizards, succulents and shrubs. To adapt to the dry, desert regions, they are able to get water through the plants. Stones are often eaten to assist with food digestion. As the Ostrich is not capable of flying, they are capable of running speeds of up to 70 kilometers an hour, and their powerful legs can fatally injure predators. Even though Ostriches are not dependant on water, they enjoy taking a bath or refreshing splash when they are able to. In the wild, the Ostriches tend to move together with the antelope and other grazing animals. They themselves are usually in flocks of up to 50 birds, but will tend to break into smaller groups during the breeding season, which is approximately five months.

Once the smaller breeding groups have been established, a hole is dug into the ground that serves as a communal nest. Between 15 to 60 eggs are laid in the nest that are approximately 18 centimeters in length, 11 centimeters in width and can weigh about 1400 grams. These shiny, creamy white eggs can stand the weight of a human. The incubation period is close to 40 days, and the females take turns during the day, and the males at night, to incubate the eggs. If an Ostrich feels threatened while on the nest, they will stretch their necks out along the ground to avoid detection, and do not stick their heads into the ground as many believe. The town of Oudtshoorn, in South Africa, is the largest Ostrich farming community in the world. At present there are approximately 900,000 domesticated Ostriches in this region. Here, you are able to visit the farms, be educated on these amazing birds, see the various product ranges and even ride one, if you are brave enough!

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The Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) is a large flightless bird found in the Seram Islands of Indonesia and the tropical rainforests of Aru, as well as New Guinea and northeastern Australia. Cassowaries have a reputation for being bad tempered and dangerous, a reputation that has been reinforced by the 2004 edition of the Guinness World Records, which lists the Cassowary as the most dangerous bird in the world.

Reaching a weight of 85 kgs, the Southern Cassowary is the second largest bird in the world (after the Ostrich), and is the largest of the three-member Cassowary family. It has hard, stiff plumage, a blue face and neck, a brown casque (horn-like crest) and a red nape. Because of the two red wattles hanging down its throat, the Southern Cassowary is also referred to as the Double-wattled Cassowary or Two-wattled Cassowary. The plumage of the Southern Cassowary is sexually monomorphic, but the female is larger than the male, is dominant and has brighter colored bare parts, as well as a longer casque. The plumage of the immature Southern Cassowary is plain brown.

This solitary bird only pairs in the breeding season, which occurs in late winter or spring. The male Southern Cassowary is a stay-at-home dad. He builds the nest, incubates the clutch of three to six eggs and raises the chicks. The nest, which is a mattress-like structure made out of herbaceous plant material, is built on the ground in a sheltered area, such as among tall grass.

The Cassowary is an elusive bird, preferring to hide out in dense foliage and long grass, avoiding contact with humans. But when disturbed, and especially when cornered or threatened, Cassowaries are known to lash out with their powerful legs, and are fully capable of inflicting a fatal blow to an adult human.

The Cassowary’s prehistoric-looking casque is the subject of much debate among avian experts as to what its purpose is. One possibility is that it serves as an identifying feature for determining the sex of the bird, with the female’s casque being longer than the males. Other suggestions are that the casque is used by the bird to batter its way through thick underbrush; is used as a tool for pushing leaf litter aside when foraging; or it may be used as a weapon in dominance disputes. Research indicates that it is very likely that the Cassowary uses its casque in some form of acoustic communication.

Fruit on low branches, or fallen fruit, is the mainstay of the Cassowary’s diet. In rain forests they serve an integral role in the ecosystem as they swallow the fruit whole and distribute seeds in the excrement across the jungle floor. They are also known to eat fungi, insects, snails, frogs, insects and even snakes.

Sadly, loss of habitat has caused a drastic decline in Southern Cassowary numbers. In the Mission Beach area of Australia alone, Cassowaries have lost around 50 percent of their vital habitat over the past decade. With the encroachment of man, hand feeding the birds has become a problem, as the food offered is seldom good for their state of health. Southern Cassowaries are listed as “vulnerable” on the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) Red List of Threatened Species, which means that avian conservationists are aware of the problem and will no doubt take whatever steps are necessary to stop the decline, and even reverse the current situation.

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Some birds are simply too large to fly. This includes land birds like Ostriches, Emus and Cassowaries. They do not need flight to escape predators. The Ostrich can run away, reaching speeds of 45 miles an hour. Cassowaries can defend themselves with powerful claws.

Several birds choose to swim instead of fly. Penguins, for instance, have wings evolved into narrow paddles they use to push themselves through the water. They are incredible swimmers and divers- large wings would interfere with their underwater abilities.

Many flightless birds evolved on small islands, where there are no mammal predators to fly away from. These birds include the Flightless Cormorant on the Galapagos Island, the now-extinct Dodo bird of Mauritius, many species of rails (small marsh birds), and New Zealand’s famous Kiwi birds.

These island-dwelling flightless birds are at particular risk of extinction. As humans moved onto their islands, they brought with them many mammal predators, such as housecats, mongooses and rats. Unable to escape from these new predators, several flightless birds went gone extinct.

Other flightless birds are still in danger. For instance, non-native predators reduced the Kakapo (New Zealand’s bizarre flightless parrot) to less than a hundred individual birds. Many people are now working hard to clear its home islands of non-native mammals, so that the flightless bird can recover.

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Birds are very different from each other, some birds species feed on nectar whereas other feed on plants, seeds, insects, rodents, fish, carrions, or other birds. Most birds are active during the day and sleeping at night. Some birds such as owls and nightjars are active during the night time (nocturnal).

Many of these feathered friends migrate extensive distances to make use of the most favorable habitats, while others spend almost all their time at sea.

Common characters of birds include a beak with no teeth, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, light strong skeletons and a high metabolic rate. Most birds can fly and also use this method for helping them to find their food and the flee from predators. Flightless species include birds such as penguins, ostriches, kiwis and dodos.

Bird watching or birding (ornithology) is a very popular hobby that includes the observation and study of birds and their habitats. The best times of the year for bird watching in the temperate zones are during spring and fall migration, when the greatest variety of birds may be observed as they make their way north or south. Early morning is the best time for bird watching since many birds are then at their hungriest, searching most actively for food. Birding is usually one of the more relaxing outdoor activities, however some very serious birding enthusiasts will travel very long distances too see a new specie to add to the list of birds they have personally observed.

Sea watching is another type of bird watching where observers based at a coastal watch point, such as a headland, watch birds out at, or moving over, the sea.

Equipment that is usually used for bird watching includes binoculars and a telescope or spotting scope with tripod, a notepad, and one or more field guides.

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