Great Spotted Kiwi

Wildlife Creatures | Great Spotted Kiwi | The Great Spotted Kiwi, Great Gray Kiwi, or Roroa, Apteryx haastii, is a species of kiwi endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. The Great Spotted Kiwi, as a member of the Ratites, is flightless. It is the largest of the kiwi.  There are about 22,000 Great Spotted Kiwis in total, almost all in the more mountainous parts of northwest Nelson, the northwest coast, and the Southern Alps. A minority live on islands. 

This kiwi is highly aggressive, and pairs will defend their large territories (49 acres) against other kiwi.Great Spotted Kiwi are nocturnal, and will sleep during the day in burrows. At night, they feed on invertebrates and will also eat plants.  The egg is the largest of all birds in proportion to the size of the bird. Chicks take 75 to 85 days to hatch, and after hatching, they are abandoned by their parents.Great Spotted Kiwis are the largest of the kiwis, the male is 45 cm (18 in) tall, while the female is 50 cm (20 in) tall.

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Okinawa Rail

Wildlife Creatures | Okinawa Rail | The Okinawa Rail (Gallirallus okinawae) is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae. It is endemic to Okinawa Island in Japan where it is known as the Yanbaru Kuina. Its existence was only confirmed in 1978 and it was formally described in 1981. It is a medium-sized and almost flightless rail with short wings and tail, olive-brown upperparts, black underparts with white bars and a red bill and legs.It occurs in subtropical moist forests and in neighbouring habitats. It nests and feeds on the ground but usually roosts in trees.

 It is classified as an endangered species and is threatened by habitat loss and introduced predatorsIt is about 30 cm long with a wingspan of 50 cm and a weight of around 435 g. It is almost flightless and has very short wings and tail. The bill is large and bright red with a whitish tip. The long, strong legs are red as are the iris and eye-ring. The upperparts are olive-brown while the underparts are black with narrow white bars. The face is black with a white spot between the bill and eye and a white line behind the eye, extending back to the side of the neck. The undertail-coverts are dark brown with pale bars.

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Southern Cassowary

Wildlife Creatures | Southern Cassowary | The Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) also known as Double-wattled Cassowary, Australian Cassowary or Two-wattled Cassowary, is a large flightless black bird. It is a ratite and therefore related to the Emu, Ostrich, and the genus Rhea.It has hard and stiff plumage, a brown casque, blue face and neck, red nape and two red wattles hanging down its throat. The three-toed feet are thick and powerful, equipped with a lethal dagger-like claw up to 12 cm (4.7 in) on the inner toe.

 The plumage is sexually monomorphic, but the female is dominant and larger with a longer casque and brighter-colored bare parts. The juveniles have brown longitudinal striped plumage. It is the largest member of the cassowary family and is the second heaviest bird on earth, at a maximum size estimated at 85 kg (190 lb) and 190 cm (75 in) tall. Normally this species ranges from 127-170 cm (50-67 in) in length. The height is 1.5-1.8 m (4.9-5.9 ft) and females average 58 kg (130 lb) and males averaging 29-34 kg (64-75 lb). Most adult birds will weigh between 17 and 70 kg (37 and 150 lb).

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Royal Penguin

Wildlife Creatures | Royal Penguin | The Royal Penguin (Eudyptes schlegeli) is a penguin-type, which can be found on the sub-Antarctic islands in the Australian region (Macquarie Island and adjacent islands). It is one of the species of crested penguins. There is no distinction among the subspecies on the Penguin canopy, but they should not be confused with the similarly named King Penguin or Emperor Penguin. The IUCN classifies the Royal penguin as vunerable. The scientific name commemorates the German zoologist Hermann Schlegel. There is some controversy over whether Royal Penguins are a sub-species of Macaroni Penguins. 

Individuals of the two groups have been known to interbreed, though this is a relatively rare occurrence. Indeed, other penguins have been known to form mixed-species pairs in the wild. They inhabit the waters surrounding Antarctica. Royals look very much like Macaroni Penguins, but have a white face and chin instead of the Macaronis' black visage. They are 65-76 cm (26-30 in) long and weigh 3-8 kg (6.6-18 lb). Males are larger than females. Royal Penguins breed only on Macquarie Island and, like other penguins, spend much of their time at sea, where they are assumed to be pelagic.

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Swan

Wildlife Creatures | 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 or seven species of swan in the genus Cygnus; in addition there is another species known as the Coscoroba Swan, although this species is no longer considered one of the true swans. Swans usually mate for life, though 'divorce' does sometimes occur, particularly following nesting failure.

The number of eggs in each clutch ranges from three to eight. The word swan is derived from Old English swan, akin to the German Schwan and Dutch zwaan and Swedish svan, in turn derived from Indo-European root *swen (to sound, to sing). Young swans are known as swanlings or as cygnets, from Greek κύκνος, kýknos and from the Latin word cygnus ("swan") and the Old French suffix -et ("little"). An adult male is a cob, from Middle English cobbe (leader of a group); an adult female is a pen. The swans are the largest members of the waterfowl family Anatidae, and are among the largest flying birds.

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Turkey

Wildlife Creatures | Turkey | A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species. The other living species is Meleagris ocellata or the Ocellated Turkey, native to the forests of the Yucatán Peninsula. Turkeys are classed in the taxonomic order of Galliformes. Within this order they are relatives of the grouse family or subfamily. Males of both species have a distinctive fleshy wattle or protuberance that hangs from the top of the beak called a snood in the Wild Turkey and its domestic descendants. 

They are among the largest birds in their ranges. As in many galliform species, the male (tom or gobbler) is larger and much more colorful than the female (hen). When Europeans first encountered turkeys in the Americas, they incorrectly identified the birds as a type of guineafowl (Numididae). Guineafowl were also known as turkey fowl (or turkey hen and turkey cock) because they were imported to Central Europe through Turkey. The name turkey fowl, shortened to just the name of the country, stuck as the name of the North American bird.

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