Learning topic: Provide advice on animal breeds and species
Commonly kept birds in Australia
Features of the different orders of birds
There are two groups of birds:
· ratites—flightless
· carinates—birds that can fly.
Carinates are then divided into two types: passerines and non-passerines.
Passerines are called ‘perching’ birds. Many are good singers. Their nests vary enormously from neat, feather-lined grass nests (finch) to rough bundles of sticks (magpie) or cup-like nests made from mud (swallow).
Most passerines hop. The young are hatched naked, with their eyes closed, and are dependent on the parents for food, such as insects, worms, fruit. Many live as isolated pairs. Many species are migratory.
Two of the more commonly kept passerines in Australia are:
· canaries—a type of finch
· Australian finches—eg zebra finch.
All other birds are non-passerines including waders, waterfowl, parrots, raptors, pigeons and cuckoos.
Orders/families
Modern birds are grouped into 29 orders throughout the world with 19 orders here in Australia. In these orders, there are over 8 600 known species of birds found throughout the world with over 700 species in Australia.
Struthioniformes
· eg emus and cassowaries
· bulky, flightless birds with powerful two or three toed feet
· hair like feathers
· all originated in the southern hemisphere.
An emu
Podicipediformes
· eg grebes
· small to medium-sized fresh water diving birds
· slender bills
· dense, furry waterproof plumage
· short wings and broadly lobed toes set far back on the body to aid propulsion through the water.
Sphenisciformes
· eg pelican
· thick webbed feet placed at the end of the body for steering and braking in water and for standing erect on land
· two layered plumage with an outer dense, oiled, waterproof coat and a dense underlying downy coat for insulation
· eat fish, crustaceans
· live in the water.
Procellariformes
· eg tube-nosed seabirds, albatross, petrel
· oceanic birds that only come to land to nest, usually in colonies on islands
· strong musky odour
· long bills with tubular nostrils.
Pelicaniformes
· eg cormorants, gannets
· fly and dive or swim underwater to catch their food
· sealed nostrils
· coarse feathers that need constant waterproofing from large preen gland.
Ciconiiformes
· eg herons, storks, ibis, spoonbills
· large, long necked and heavy billed
· long legs for wading.
A spoonbill
Anseriformes
· eg geese, swans, ducks
· webbed toes, duck-billed
· live on water but roost and nest on land.
Falconiformes
· eg birds of prey, eagles, kites, hawks, falcons
· strong bodied, short-necked carnivorous birds
· sharply hooked beaks for ripping and tearing flesh
· taloned feet with three toes forward and one back for striking and grasping prey.
A wedge-tailed eagle
Falliformes
· eg quails, pheasants, turkeys, chickens, mound builders
· fowl-like birds with a crop
· all feed on ground, mainly on seeds and vegetable matter and scratch ground to find food
· wings short and flight laboured; quail make a whirring sound when flying.
Gruiformes
· eg button quails, rails, bustards, crakes, gallinules (moorhens)
· small to very large thin headed, ground feeding birds
· usually have long necks, bills and legs for wading or walking.
A quail
Charadriiformes
· eg snipe, curlew, plover, skuas and gulls
· small to medium-sized shore birds and waders
· all feed, roost and nest on the ground
· many migrate.
Columbiformes
· eg pigeons and doves (and the Dodo)
· squat, bulky
· seed and fruit eating land birds
· have a crop to store food.
Psittaciformes
· eg cockatoos, parrots, budgies
· brilliantly coloured
· fruit, seed and nectar feeding birds
· hooked, cered bill, fleshy tongue and finely scaled feet with two toes forward and two backwards
· most have a crop for storing food
· their colour, ease of keeping and amusing mannerisms have made this group one of the most popular as pets.
A parrot
Cuculiformes
· eg cuckoos, koels, coucals
· mostly arboreal (tree-living) land birds
· parrot-like feet (two toes facing forward and two backwards)
· some have heavy bills without a cere over nostrils.
Strigiformes
· eg owls
· stocky, short necked, broad headed nocturnal birds of prey
· hooked bill for ripping and carrying prey
· forward facing binocular vision
· feathered feet and taloned toes
· soft plumage for silent flight
· asymmetrically placed large ears for pinpointing direction of sound.
An owl
Caprimulgiformes
· eg frogmouth, owlets and night jars
· nocturnal insect catchers with large eyes for night sight and wide, gaping bills usually fringed with long bristles.
Apodiformes
· eg swifts
· small to tiny aerial birds with pointed wings moved by a short arm and long hand bones
· plumage often metallic
· small, smooth
· hanging or perched cup nests.
Coraciformes
· eg kookaburra, kingfisher, bee-eaters and rollers
· large headed, stout billed birds with a lot of blue-green plumage.
Passeriformes
· eg lyre birds, scrub birds, bower birds, crows, swallows, finches
· have a complex structured and muscled voice box, which allows them to sing and defend their territory by throwing their voice
· four toes, three point forward and one backwards to allow them to grip and perch on branches
· tend to make complex nests and the young are hatched naked and helpless (altricial)
· certain members of the finch family are very popular as caged birds.
A kookaburra
Psittacines
· eg parrot-like birds
· rounded body, short legs, broad rounded wings, short necks and large heads
· they have a powerful hooked beak with a thickened area of bare skin at the top of the beak called a cere
· they walk rather than hop, and climb with the aid of the beak
· the young are hatched in hollow trees, banks, etc. and are naked, with their eyes closed and rely on their parents to feed and protect them (altricial)
· psittacines mostly live in flocks and they do not migrate
· they can form close attachments to owners.
There are three groups of psittacines in Australia:
Lorikeets / · live in trees; have special brush-like tongues to feed on nectar; very swift flying; travel in flocks wherever there are flowering trees or shrubs· eg rainbow, scaly breasted lorikeet
Cockatoos / · mostly large birds (40-46cm); short, squarish tail; erectile crest (crest of elongated, pointed feathers which they can raise and lower at will)
· eg sulphur crested, glossy, Major Mitchell, galah, cockatiel
Parrots / · most have long, gradated tails; some live in trees, although two are completely terrestrial (ground and rock parrots).
· Other examples are king, red-rumped, rosellas, Bourkes, budgerigar
Some of the more commonly kept psittacines in Australia
These include:
· sulphur crested cockatoo
· galah
· Major Mitchell cockatoo
· king parrot
· budgerigar—eg parakeet
· lovebirds—eg peach-face
· lorikeets—eg rainbow lorikeet
· rosellas—eg eastern rosella
· grass parrots—eg elegant parrot
· corellas—eg little corella
· cockatiel.
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© NSW DET 2007