In Times Of Plenty, Kingfisher Birds Can Forgo Their More Active Hunting Methods In Favour Of Simply

In times of plenty, Kingfisher birds can forgo their more active hunting methods in favour of simply waiting on an outcropping near water, beak agape.

Much like the fabled star captains peppered throughout history, the motto of the Kookaburra is 'Never give up, never surrender'.

Owls have a well-deserved reputation for wisdom, but even greater is their capacity to teach. Above, a Little Owl supervises a dog studying for an upcoming German vocabulary test.

basically who i want to be when i grow up

More commonly known as Goth Turkeys, Trinidadian Piping Guans are critically endangered. Many attribute this to a general decline in popularity of the Gothic genre as a whole, but in reality it is simply the perennial conflict between Man and Nature. Specifically, the mating call for this darkly romantic bird sounds uncannily like Robert Smith wordlessly crooning at all hours of the night and day, while the locals prefer Siouxsie Sioux to the exclusion of all other vocals.

Bare-throated Bellbird - Procnias nudicollis

The Bare-throated bellbird, Procnias nudicollis (Passeriformes - Cotingidae), is a striking white bird known from a wide area of east Brazil, north-east Argentina and east Paraguay. 

This bird is regarded as one of the loudest birds in the world. Its call is a loud and far-reaching series of metallic, two-tone koink and prroink notes emitted from high in the forest canopy. This remarkable call is the result of extreme sexual selection, as is the male’s arresting appearance of all-white plumage with turquoise, black, bristly, bare skin around the eyes, throat and lower neck. 

This species is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as its global population is estimated to number no more than 10,000 in total, although it probably numbers fewer, and is thought to be in steep decline. This has most likely been caused by habitat loss and trapping for the cage-bird trade.

References: [1] - [2]

Photo credits: [Top: ©Ricardo Gentil | Locality: Parque Estadual Turístico do Alto Ribeira (PETAR), Iporanga, São Paulo, Brazil, 2013] - [Bottom: ©Fábio Manfredini | Locality: Parque Estadual Turístico do Alto Ribeira (PETAR), Serra do Paranapicaba, Iporanga, São Paulo, Brazil, 2012]