Birds Encyclopedia

Pheasant are a group of large birds in the order Galliformes. Males pheasants are usually larger than the females, and they have feathers of bright colours and long tails. There are 35 species of pheasant in 11 different genera. In many countries pheasant species are hunted, often illegally, as game, and several species are threatened by this and other human …

Kingdom: Animalia Family: Cuculidae Order: Cuculiformes Class: Aves Ani – The anis are the three species of near-passerine birds in the genus Crotophaga of the cuckoo family. They are essentially tropical New world birds, although the range of two species just reaches the United States. Recent DNA evidence places them in a new family, Crotophagidae. Unlike some cuckoos, the anis are …

Kingdom: Animalia Family: Anatidae Order: Anseriformes Class: Aves Swan — Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae. There are six to seven species of swan in …

Kingdom: Animalia Family: Diomedeidae Order: Procellariiformes Class: Aves Albatross — Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. They are absent from the North Atlantic, although fossil remains show they once occurred there too and …

Wryneck — The wrynecks (genus Jynx) are a small but distinctive group of small Old World woodpeckers. Like the true woodpeckers, wrynecks have large heads, long tongues which they use to extract their insect prey and zygodactyl feet, with two toes pointing forward, and two backwards. However, they lack the stiff tail feathers that the true woodpeckers use when climbing …

Woodpecker — The woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks are a family, Picidae, of near-passerine birds. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia and New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known to live in treeless areas such as rocky hillsides and deserts. The Picidae …

Woodcock — The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus Scolopax. Only two woodcocks are widespread, the others being localized island endemics. Most are found in the Northern Hemisphere but a few range into Wallacea. Their closest relatives are the typical snipes of the genus Gallinago. Woodcocks have stocky …

Wood Warbler — The Wood Warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix) is a common and widespread leaf warbler in the genus Phylloscopus, family Phylloscopidae & order Passeriformes, which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asia in the southern Ural Mountains. This warbler is strongly migratory and the entire population winters in tropical Africa. This is a …

Widgeon — The wigeons are dabbling ducks in the genus Anas. There are three species: The Eurasian Wigeon, also known as Widgeon or Eurasian Widgeon (Anas penelope, previously Mareca penelope) is one of three species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus Anas. It is common and widespread within its range. This species was first described by Linnaeus in his …

Weaver — The Ploceidae, or weavers, are small passerine birds related to the finches in the family Ploceidae, suborder Passeri & order Passeriformes. These are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills, most of which are from Sub-Saharan Africa, with fewer species in tropical Asia. A few species have been introduced outside their native range. The weaver group is divided into …