Thorny Animals _ Alive Thorns!

Some of Thorny Animals of the World

In Animal kingdom, some of animals have protective arms for defense such as horn, venom, sharp nail, venomous spine & teeth, toxic saliva etc. Animals have many positive and alternative defense mechanisms by using protective arms against their predator & prey.

For example, the coast horned lizard, as a defense, the lizard can shoot high pressure streams of blood out of its eyes if threatened. The short-beaked echidna is covered in fur and spines, and has a distinctive snout and a specialized tongue, which it uses to catch its prey at a great speed. The porcupine fish having venom in their spikes, and bodies, which if ingested could paralyze a person or even cause death.

There are some living things that have inoculations that will preserve them from being endangered.

1. European Hedgehog

Hedgehogs are easily recognized by their spines, which are hollow hairs made stiff with keratin. Their spines are not poisonous or barbed and, unlike the quills of a porcupine, cannot easily be removed from the hedgehog. However, spines normally come out when a hedgehog sheds baby spines and replaces them with adult spines.

Hedgehogs are primarily nocturnal, although, depending on the species, they may be more or less active during the day. The hedgehog sleeps for a large portion of the daytime either under cover of bush, grass, rock or in a hole in the ground.

Again, different species can have slightly different habits, but in general hedgehogs dig dens for shelter. All wild hedgehogs can hibernate, although not all do; hibernation depends on temperature, species, and abundance of food.

The hedgehog uses its quills to protect itself from predators, using muscles which draw their quilled skin to cover their full body, and pulling in the parts of their bodies not covered, such as their head, feet, and belly. This form of defense is the hedgehog's most successful, but is usually their last resort.

Hedgehogs have many alternate defense mechanisms. In most situations a hedgehog will flee rather than confront a threat, rolled up in a ball or not. All hedgehogs possess the stamina to run. Many can make 4.5 miles per hour or better, and are particularly adept at climbing steep walls, trees, and fences and even swimming.

2. Thorny Devil

Thorny Devil is an Australian lizard. It is also known as the Thorny Dragon, Mountain Devil, Thorny Lizard, or the Moloch. It grows up to 20 cm (8 in) in length and can live up to 20 years, colored in camouflaging shades of desert browns and tans; these change from pale colors when warm to darker colors in cold. The species is entirely covered with conical spines that are mostly un-calcified.

It also features a spiny "false-head" on the back of the neck, the animal presents this to a potential predator by dipping its real head. Females are larger than males. The Thorny Devil's body is ridged in structure, and enables the animal to collect water from any part of its body, which is then channeled to the mouth.

An intimidating array of spikes covers the entire upper side of the body; these thorny scales are a defense mechanism against predators. Camouflage and deception may also be used to evade predation. It has an unusual gait, involving freezing and rocking, as it slowly moves in search of its preferred diet.

The thorny devil is covered in hard, somewhat sharp spines to dissuade predators by making it difficult to swallow. It also has a false head on its back: when it feels threatened it lowers its head between its front legs, and only the false head is visible.

The food that the devil mainly eats is ants. They can eat thousands of ants in one day. They collect moisture in the dry desert via night-time condensation of dew which forms on the skin and is channeled to the mouth in hygroscopic grooves between its spines. During rain events, capillary action allows the lizard to suck in water from all over its body.

3. Io Moth Caterpillars

The Io Moth caterpillars are gregarious in all their instars, many times traveling in single file processions all over the food plant. As the larvae develop, they will lose their orange color and will turn bright green and urticating, having many spines.

These stinging spines have very painful venom that is released with the slightest touch. The green caterpillars have two lateral stripes, the upper one being bright red and the lower one being white. When the caterpillars are ready, they spin a flimsy, valve less cocoon made from a dark, coarse silk.

 

The eggs have large micropyle rosettes that turn black as the fertile eggs develop. They are usually laid in clusters of more than twenty. From the eggs, orange larvae emerge, usually eating their egg shell soon after hatching. They go through 5 instars, each one being a little different.

This little caterpillar is very cute with its little yellow trees sticking out all over its body. You would probably want to pick it up to have a closer look. If you did, you would more than likely have either an itchy or a burning sensation or need medical assistance.

Those little yellow tree-like structures are spines that are attached to poison glands and are meant for predators. Their bodies are pale green with yellow and red stripes growing to about two inches. Even though they catch your eye and are interesting to look at, you had better look at them from afar. These caterpillars turn into the most beautiful butterflies you have ever seen.

4. Porcupine

Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills that defend or camouflage them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver.

Most porcupines are about 25–36 in (63–91 cm) long, with an 8–10 in (20–25 cm) long tail. Weighing between 12–35 lb (5.4–16 kg), they are rounded, large and slow. Porcupines come in various shades of brown, grey, and the unusual white. Porcupines' spiny protection resembles that of the unrelated hedgehogs and echidnas.

The common porcupine is an herbivore. It eats leaves, herbs, twigs and green plants like skunk cabbage and clover and in the winter it may eat bark. The North American porcupine often climbs trees to find food. The African porcupine is not a climber and forages on the ground.  It is mostly nocturnal, but will sometimes forage for food in the day. Porcupines have become a pest in Kenya and are eaten as a delicacy.

Porcupines occupy a short range of habitats in tropical and temperate parts of Asia, Southern Europe, Africa, and North and South America. Porcupines live in forests, deserts, rocky outcrops and hillsides. Some New World porcupines live in trees, but Old World porcupines stay on the rocks. Porcupines can be found on rocky areas up to 3,700 m (12,100 ft) high. Porcupines are generally nocturnal but are occasionally active during daylight.

5. Spiny Orb-Weaver

Spiny orb-weavers, they are also commonly called Spiny-backed orb-weavers, due to the prominent spines on their abdomen. These spiders can reach sizes of up to 30mm in diameter (measured from spike to spike). Although their shell is shaped like a crab shell with spikes, it is not to be confused with a crab spider. Orb-weaver's bites are generally harmless to humans.

 

Even though this little spider is noticeable because of its colors, it does not have anything strange or different going on with it otherwise. It does have a hard abdomen that can be white, orange, or yellow with red markings.

There are thorns coming out of this abdomen that supposedly protect it from predators, but the spider is so small no other animal can see it to eat it. Other than that, it is a typical spider that weaves flat webs to catch flying bugs for its dinner. They are harmless and only come indoors if someone or something brings them inside.

6. Coast Horned Lizard

The coast horned lizard can be found from Baja California north to California's Sacramento Valley. It is a widely divergent species with over 6 subspecies in their relatively small range. As a defense the lizard can shoot high pressure streams of blood out of its eyes if threatened.

The coast horned lizard appears rough and spiky but is actually smooth-skinned, although it has sharp spikes along its sides, back and head. It is a large species, and can reach 10 cm (4 inches) excluding the tail. It is less rounded than other horned lizards.

It has two large dark blotches behind its head, followed by three broad bands on its body, with several smaller bands along the tail. Its color can be various shades of brown, with cream 'accents' around the blotches and the outer fringe of its scales.

7. Short-beaked Echidna

The short-beaked Echidna, also known as the Spiny Ant Eater because of its diet of ants and termites. Echidna is covered in fur and spines, and has a distinctive snout and a specialized tongue, which it uses to catch its prey at a great speed. Short-beaked echidnas are typically 30 to 45 centimeters (12 to 18 in) in length, having a 75-millimetre (3 in) snout, and weigh between 2 and 5 kilograms (4.4 and 11 lb).

 

During the winter, it goes into deep torpor and hibernation to save energy and reduce metabolism, before emerging, as the temperature increases, to breed. Female echidnas only lay one egg a year, and the mating period is the only time the otherwise solitary animals meet one another; the male has no further contact with the female after mating.

After the young are born, they are only the size of a grape, but grow rapidly on the mothers' milk, which is very rich in nutrients. After a period, they are too large and spiky to stay in the pouch, and after around six months they leave the burrow and have no more contact with their mothers.

This echidna has extremely strong front limbs and claws due to its mechanical advantage, which allows it to burrow quickly with great power. As it needs to be able to survive underground, it has a great tolerance to high levels of carbon dioxide and a lack of oxygen. It has no weapons or fighting ability, and repels predators by curling into a ball and deterring opponent with its spines.

The echidna lacks the ability to sweat and cannot deal with heat well, so it tends to avoid daytime activity in hot weather; it can swim if needed. The snout has mechanical and electroreceptor’s that help it to detect what is around it, and it also has the ability to reason.

8. Lionfish

Lionfish or Pterois is a genus of venomous marine fish found mostly in the Indo-Pacific, known collectively as the lionfish. It’s characterized by red, white and black stripes, showy pectoral fins and venomous spiky fin rays. It’s range in size from 6.2 to 42.4 cm with typical adults measuring 38 cm and weighing an average of 480 g. They are well known for their ornate beauty, venomous spines and unique tentacles. 

 

Lionfish are known for their venomous fin rays, a feature that is uncommon among marine fish in the East Coast coral reefs. The potency of their venom makes them excellent predators and dangerous to fishermen and divers.

They can live from five to fifteen years and have complex courtship and mating behaviors. Females release two mucus-filled egg clusters frequently, which can contain as many as fifteen thousand eggs.

The lionfish is a predator native to the Indo-Pacific. It aggressively preys on small fish and invertebrates. They can be found around the seaward edge of reefs and coral, in lagoons, and on rocky surfaces to fifty meters. They show a preference for turbid inshore areas and in harbors. Lionfish have a generally hostile attitude and are territorial towards other reef fish.

9. Sea Urchin

Sea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea of the echinoderm phylum. They inhabit all oceans. Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from 3 to 10 centimeters (1.2 to 3.9 in) across.

 

Common colors include black and dull shades of green, olive, brown, purple, and red. They move slowly, feeding mostly on algae. Sea otters, wolf eels, triggerfish, and other predators feed on them. Their "roe" (actually the gonads) is a delicacy in many cuisines. The sea urchin has hundreds of tiny tuber feet, which they use for traveling.

Sea urchins eat bits of plants and small animals by using their teeth. They grow five teeth in the middle of their backside, which they use to pull, tear and rip algae off rocks. They are about four inches and come in many different colors, purple and pink being the most common. The sea urchin can live and reproduce for up to 200 years.

10. Globe Fish

The Slender-Spined Porcupine fish or globefish, found in the waters of southern Australia, as far north as Port Jackson to Geraldton, Western Australia. It is most common in Port Phillip Bay and the coastal waters of Tasmania in shallow coastal waters and under manmade jetty’s.

It is one of the smallest members of the Porcupinefish family, growing up to a maximum length of 28cm and with slight differences in its markings. These interesting little swimmers are much like the puffer fish, only they have spines all over their skin.

The fish grows to be around four feet or larger and instead of having venom in their spikes, the porcupine fish have a poison in their bodies, which if ingested could paralyze a person or even cause death.

These fish have large beck-like teeth that never stop growing, so they like to live around coral to bite on and wear their teeth down. If they are threatened by another bigger fish, the porcupine will inflate its body, just like the puffer, and become too big for the predator to eat. These fish are great swimmers except, as you can imagine, when they are all puffed up.

11. Crown-of-Thorns Starfish

The crown-of-thorns starfish is a large nocturnal sea star that preys upon coral polyps. The crown-of-thorns receives its name from venomous thorn-like spines that cover its body. It is endemic to tropical coral reefs in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean.

As solitary animals, they feed alone and maintain constant distance between themselves and other members of their species. The crown-of-thorns is the second largest sea star in the world. Only the sunflower starfish is larger.

The crown-of-thorns starfish normally range in size from 25 to 35 cm. The sharp spines on the sides of the starfish's limbs resemble thorns and create a crown-like shape, giving the creature its name. The thorns are very sharp and are capable of piercing through standard wetsuits and other clothing. They are also venomous. When the crown-of-thorns feed, they release a chemical which is known to attract more starfish to the area. It is also has very vibrant colors.

The crown-of-thorns produces a neurotoxin which can be released through its spines. Not only are the wounds themselves serious, but the neurotoxin can cause a sharp stinging pain that can last for hours, as well as nausea and vomiting.

Frequently, the area around the wound turns a dark blue and begins to swell (edema), which may persist for weeks. The spine(s) themselves may break off and become embedded inside the skin. This can lead to infection, and increased toxicity.

12. Long-Horned Grasshoppers

The diet of Long-Horned Grasshoppers (Tettigoniids) includes leaves, flowers, bark, and seeds, but many species are exclusively predatory, feeding on other insects, snails or even small vertebrates such as snakes and lizards.

Some are also considered pests by commercial crop growers and are sprayed to limit growth. Large tettigoniids can inflict a painful bite or pinch if handled but seldom break the skin.

This is the craziest looking thing ever seen. It is related to the grasshopper and cricket, but this katydid must have been adopted. This insect is a bright beautiful green color with little thorns all over its body—even its legs.

If you would touch one of the thorns, it would easily cut through your skin. Its head is bigger than a grasshopper’s head, and it has what looks like a crown on the top of it made out of thorns with a reddish hue.

13. Thorny Skate

The thorny skate is mainly lives near the bottom of the coastline of North Atlantic Ocean in depths ranging from 20 to 1000 meters and temperatures from 1 to 10 degrees Celsius.

It was also located in Lake Melville, near Goose Bay, Labrador. Rivers empty into the lake and the lake bottom is mostly made up of sand. Thorny skates have been caught in this lake in the 1980s by ice fishermen when outside temperatures were -30 degrees C.



The length of its body and tail is generally slightly less than 1 meter and width is about half a meter. Its underside is smooth, but the upper side is, as the name suggest, very rough with many small thorns all over and 13-17 larger ones in line from the back of the head to end of the tail.

The top side is brown with possibly black spots and the underside is white. It has a hard, roughly triangular snout and a tail, which is shorter than its body. It eats crustaceans, small fishes and worms. It produces egg capsules, which are 3.4-8.9 cm long and 2.3-6.8 cm wide, which hatch outside the body.  Article Source: Wikipedia & web



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Aquatic Flowers _ Ornaments of Water Kingdom

Aqua Flowers, Aquatic Beauty!

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also called angiosperms). The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs. Flowers give rise to fruit and seeds. Many flowers have evolved to be attractive to animals, so as to cause them to be vectors for the transfer of pollen.

In addition to facilitating the reproduction of flowering plants, flowers have long been admired and used by humans to beautify their environment, but also as objects of romance, ritual, religion, medicine and as a source of food.

Here are some Aquatic Flowers:

1. Amazon Lily

Victoria amazonica or Amazon Lily is a species of flowering plant, the largest of the Nymphaeaceae family of water lilies. The species has very large leaves, up to 3 m in diameter that float on the water's surface on a submerged stalk, 7–8 m in length. The species was once called Victoria regia after Queen Victoria, but the name was superseded. 

Victoria amazonica is native to the shallow waters of the Amazon River basin, such as oxbow lakes and bayous. It is depicted in the Guyanese coat of arms. The flowers are white the first night they are open and become pink the second night. They are up to 40 cm in diameter, and are pollinated by beetles.

2. Water Lily

Nymphaea nouchali or Water Lily, commonly known as the Red and blue water lily, Blue star water lily,Star lotus, or by its synonym Nymphaea stellata, is a water lily of genus Nymphaea. This aquatic plant is native to the Indian Subcontinent area.

In its natural state the Red and blue water-lily is found in static or slow-flowing aquatic habitats of little to moderate depth. Nymphaea nouchali is the National flower of Bangladesh (where it is known as "Shapla") .It was spread to other countries already in ancient times and has been long valued as a garden flower in Thailand and Myanmar to decorate ponds and gardens.

3. Water Hyacinth

One of the fastest growing plants known, water hyacinth reproduces primarily by way of runners or stolons, which eventually form daughter plants. It also produces large quantities of seeds, and these are viable up to thirty years. The common water hyacinth’s (Eichhornia crassipes) are vigorous growers known to double their population in two weeks.

The leaves are 10–20 cm across, and float above the water surface. They have long, spongy and bulbous stalks. The feathery, freely hanging roots are purple-black. An erect stalk supports a single spike of 8-15 conspicuously attractive flowers, mostly lavender to pink in colour with six petals. When not in bloom, water hyacinth may be mistaken for frog's-bit.

4. Lotus

Nelumbo nucifera, known by a number of names including Indian Lotus, Sacred Lotus, Bean of India, Padma or simply Lotus native to Tropical Asia and Queensland, Australia. It is commonly cultivated in water gardens. The white and pink lotuses are national flowers of India and Vietnam, respectively.

The roots of Nelumbo nucifera are planted in the soil of the pond or river bottom, while the leaves float on top of the water surface or are held well above it. The flowers are usually found on thick stems rising several centimeters above the leaves. The plant normally grows up to a height of about 150 cm and a horizontal spread of up to 3 meters, but some unverified reports place the height as high as over 5 meters. The leaves may be as large as 60 cm in diameter, while the showy flowers can be up to 20 cm in diameter.

5. Bog Arum

Calla (Bog Arum, Marsh Calla) is a genus of flowering plant in the family Araceae, containing the single species Calla palustris. It is native to cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, in central, eastern and northern Europe (France and Norway eastward), northern Asia and northern North America (Alaska, Canada, northeastern contiguous United States).

It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant growing in bogs and ponds. The leaves are rounded to heart-shaped, 6–12 cm long on a 10–20 cm petiole, and 4–12 cm broad. The greenish-yellow inflorescence is produced on a spandex about 4–6 cm long, enclosed in a white spate. The fruit is a cluster of red berries, each berry containing several seeds.

6. Water Smartweed

Persicaria amphibia is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by several common names, including water knotweed, water smartweed, and amphibious bistort. It is native to much of North America and Eurasia, but it is known on most continents as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed. It grows in many types of wet habitat, such as ponds, streams, and marshes

The plant produces a thick stem from its rhizome. The stem may creep, float, or grow erect, rooting at stem nodes that come in contact with moist substrate. Stems are known to reach 3 meters long in aquatic individuals. The stems are ribbed and may be hairless to quite hairy in texture. Leaves are lance-shaped or take various other shapes and are borne on petioles. They may be over 30 centimeters in length.

7. Water Morning Glory

Ipomoea aquatica is a semi-aquatic tropical plant grown as a leaf vegetable. It is known in English as Water Spinach, Water Morning Glory, Water Convolvulus, or by the more ambiguous names "Chinese spinach" and "swamp cabbage". It has many other names in other languages, such as "Phak bung" in Thai and "Kangkung" in Malay and Indonesian. It is found throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

Ipomoea aquatica grows in water or on moist soil. Its stems are 2–3 meters (7–10 ft) or more long, rooting at the nodes, and they are hollow and can float. The leaves vary from typically sagittate (arrow-head-shaped) to lanceolate, 5–15 centimeters (2–6 in) long and 2–8 centimeters (0.8–3 in) broad. The flowers are trumpet-shaped, 3–5 centimeters (1–2 in) diameter, usually white in color with a mauve centre. The flowers can form seed pods which can be used for planting.

8. Water-Pepper

Water-pepper or Water pepper (Persicaria hydropiper) is a plant of the family Polygonaceae. It grows in damp places and shallow water. It is a cosmopolitan plant, found in Australia, New Zealand, temperate Asia, Europe, and North America. It has some use as a spice because of its pungent flavour.

The water-pepper has several active ingredients. The plant contains an essential oil (0.5%) which consists of monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids:α-pinene, β-pinene, 1,4-cineol, fenchone, α-humulene, β-caryophyllene, .Carboxylic acids (cinnamic, valeric and caproic acid) and their esters were present in traces. The composition depends strongly on genetic factors.

9. Water Poppy

Limnocharitaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants in the monocot order Alismatales. It is commonly known as the water poppy family. They are small, perennial, aquatic herbs, native to the tropics, but adventives or naturalized in the subtropics as a result of cultivation.

Limnocharitaceae consists of three genera, and these, in turn comprise eight species. Some of the species are closely related and, consequently, hard to identify. Butomopsis is monospecific (B. latifolia) and indigenous to tropical Africa, Southeast Asia, and northern Australia.  It has become a weed in Indonesia. It is sometimes sold as an ornamental for aquariums. Hydrocleys

Has five species. . Hydrocleys nymphoides is common in water gardens, and probably for this reason, it is persistent in the wild in Florida and Texas.

10. Spring Cress

The Bulbous Cress, Bittercress, or Spring Cress (Cardamine bulbosa) is a perennial plant native to eastern North America.

This plant grows in moist soils of bottomland woods and wet meadows. In late spring and early summer, white flowers are produced well above the foliage.

11. California Bulrush

Schoeneoplectus californicus is a species of sedge known by the common names California bulrush and giant bulrush. It is also sometimes called "tule", but the closely related Schoenoplectus acutus is the more correct owner of that name.

Schoeneoplectus californicus is a rhizome water plant found in marshy areas from southern and western North America to South America and on Pacific islands including some of those in the Hawaiian and Cook chains. It has tall, thin, dark green stems which are usually triangular in cross-section and woolly, bristly tan or brown flowers in panicle inflorescences.

12. Water Snowflake

Nymphoides also is a genus of aquatic flowering plants in the family Menyanthaceae. The genus name refers to their resemblance to the water lily Nymphaea. Nymphoides are aquatic plants with submerged roots and floating leaves that hold the small flowers above the water surface. Flowers are sympetalous, most often divided into five lobes (petals).

The petals are either yellow or white, and may be adorned with lateral wings or covered in small hairs. The inflorescence consists of either an umbellate cluster of flowers or a lax raceme, with internodes occurring between generally paired flowers.

13. Water Fringe

Nymphoides peltata (syn. Villarsia nymphaeoides, Fringed Water-lily, Yellow Floating-heart, Water Fringe) is an aquatic plant of the family Menyanthaceae native to Eurasia. It has cordate floating leaves that support a lax inflorescence of yellow flowers with fringed petal margins. The fruit is a capsule bearing many flattened seeds with stiff marginal hairs.

The plants are commonly sold for use in ornamental water gardens. Outside their native range, however, they can escape cultivation and become nuisance noxious weeds.

14. Lady's Smock

Cardamine pratensis (Cuckoo Flower or Lady's Smock), is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia. Cardamine pratensis is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 40-60 cm tall, with pinnate leaves 5-12 cm long with 3-15 leaflets, each leaflet about 1 cm long. The flowers are produced on a spike 10-30 cm long, each flower 1-2 cm diameter with four pale pink (rarely white) petals. It grows best close to water.

It is grown as an ornamental plant in gardens, and has become naturalised in North America as a result of cultivation. In some European countries, including parts of Germany, the plant is now under threat. It is a food plant for the orange tip butterfly and makes a valuable addition to any garden which aims at attracting wildlife. It was once used as a substitute for Watercress. Article source: Wikipedia

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National Birds of_SAARC

National Birds of SAARC countries

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an organization of South Asian nations. The concept of SAARC was first adopted by Bangladesh during 1977, under the administration of President Ziaur Rahman (Former President of Bangladesh). It was founded in December 1985 and dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasizing collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined the organization in 2005.

The 16 stated areas of cooperation are agriculture and rural, biotechnology, culture, energy, environment, economy and trade, finance, funding mechanism, human resource development, poverty alleviation, people to people contact, security aspects, social development, science and technology; communications, tourism.

Here are the SAARC countries national birds:

 

1. Oriental Magpie Robin

[The National Bird of Bangladesh]

The Oriental Magpie Robin is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but now considered an Old World flycatcher. They are distinctive black and white birds with a long tail that is held upright as they forage on the ground or perch conspicuously.

Distributed in many parts of tropical South and Southeast Asia, they are common birds in urban gardens as well as forests. They are particularly well known for their songs and were once popular as cage birds.

The Magpie Robin is the National Bird of Bangladesh, where it is common and known as the Doel (Bengali: দোয়েল). It is a widely used symbol in Bangladesh, appearing on currency notes, and a landmark in the city of Dhaka is named as the Doyel Chatwar (meaning: Doyel Square).

2. Peafowl or, Peacock

[The National Bird of India]

Peafowl are two Asiatic species of flying birds in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae, best known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, and the offspring peachicks. The adult female peafowl is grey and/or brown. Peachicks can be between yellow and a tawny color with darker brown patches.

The male (peacock) Indian Peafowl has iridescent blue-green or green colored plumage. The peacock tail ("train") is not the tail quill feathers but the highly elongated upper tail coverts. The "eyes" are best seen when the peacock fans its tail.

Like a cupped hand behind the ear the erect tail-fan of the male helps direct sound to the ears. Both species have a crest atop the head. The female (peahen) Indian Peafowl has a mixture of dull green, brown, and grey in her plumage. She lacks the long upper tail coverts of the male but has a crest. The female can also display her plumage to ward off female competition or signal danger to her young.

3. Common Raven

[The National Bird of Bhutan]

The Common Raven, also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids. There are at least eight subspecies with little variation in appearance although recent research has demonstrated significant genetic differences among populations from various regions.

It is one of the two largest corvids, alongside the Thick-billed Raven, and is possibly the heaviest passerine bird; at maturity, the Common Raven averages 63 cm (25 inches) in length and 1.2 kg (2.6 pounds).

It continues to be used as a symbol in areas where it once had mythological status: as the National Bird of Bhutan, Official Bird of the Yukon territory, and on the Coat of Arms of the Isle of Man (once a Viking colony).

4. Himalayan Monal

[The National Bird of Nepal]

The Himalayan Monal, also known as the Impeyan Monal or Impeyan        Pheasant or Danphe is a bird of genus Lophophorus the pheasant family, Phasianidae. It is the national bird of Nepal, where it is known as the Danfe, and the state bird of Uttarakhand.

Traditionally, the Himalayan Monal has been classified as monotypic. However, studies have shown that the male Himalayan Monals of northwestern India lack the white rump that other Himalayan Monals have, and have more green on the breast, indicating the possibility of a second subspecies.

It is a relatively large-sized bird with reference to family Phasianidae. About 70 cm in length, the weight of males and females range between 1980-2380g and 1800-2150g respectively. Adult males possess a long crest, are feathered with multi colored plumage throughout their body, while the females, like in other pheasants, are dull in color with the upper parts covered with dark brownish-black feathers.

5. Chukar Partridge

[The National Bird of Pakistan]

The Chukar is a rotund 32–35 cm (13–14 in) long partridge, with a light brown back, grey breast, and buff belly. The shades vary across the various populations. The face is white with a black gorget. It has rufous-streaked flanks, red legs and coral red bill. Sexes are similar, the female slightly smaller in size and lacking the spur. The tail has 14 feathers, the third primary is the longest while the first is level with the fifth and sixth primaries.

The Chukar is the National bird of Pakistan. In Punjab, the Chukar has been considered as a symbol of intense, and often unrequited, love. It was considered to be enamored by the moon and said to constantly gaze at it. Due to their pugnacious behavior during the breeding season they are kept in some areas as fighting birds.

6. Jungle-fowl

[The National Bird of Sri Lanka]

The male Sri Lankan Jungle-fowl ranges from 66–73 cm (26–29 in) in length and 790–1,140 g (1.7–2.5 lb) in weight, essentially resembling a large, muscular rooster. The male has orange-red body plumage, and dark purple to black wings and tail. The feathers of the main descending from head to base of spine are golden, and the face has bare red skin and wattles. The comb is red with a yellow centre. As with the Green Jungle-fowl, the cock does not possess an eclipse plumage.

The female is much smaller, at only 35 cm (14 in) in length and 510–645 g (1.1–1.42 lb) in weight, with dull brown plumage with white patterning on the lower belly and breast, ideal camouflage for a nesting bird.

7. Brown Booby

[The National Bird of Maldives]

The Brown Booby is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. The adult brown booby reaches about 76 centimeters (30 in) in length. Its head and upper body are covered in dark brown, with the remainder being a contrasting white. The juvenile form is gray-brown with darkening on the head, wings and tail. While these birds are typically silent, bird watchers have reported occasional sounds similar to grunting or quacking.

Brown Boobies are spectacular divers, plunging into the ocean at high speed. They mainly eat small fish or squid which gather in groups near the surface and may catch leaping fish while skimming the surface. Although they are powerful and agile fliers, they are particularly clumsy in takeoffs and landings; they use strong winds and high perches to assist their takeoffs.

8. Bearded Vulture

[The National Bird of Afghanistan]

The Lammergeier, Lammergeyer, or Bearded Vulture, ("Bearded Vulture-Eagle"), they are not much more closely related to the Old World vultures proper than to, for example, hawks, and differ from the former by their feathered neck. Although quite dissimilar, Egyptian and Bearded Vulture both have a lozenge-shaped tail that is unusual among birds of prey.

It eats mainly carrion and lives and breeds on crags in high mountains in southern Europe, North Africa, Southern Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, and Tibet, laying one or two eggs in mid-winter which hatch at the beginning of spring. Populations are resident. It was formerly killed in significant numbers because people feared (without justification) that it carried off children and domestic animals; the bird was also hunted as a trophy.      Article Source: wikipedia

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