Physical Description

• The great hornbill is one of the largest hornbills, weighing on average 3 kg (6.6 pounds) and ranging in length from 95 to 120 cm (37.4 to 47.24 in.) with a wingspan of 151 to 178 cm (59 to 70 inches).
• They are vividly colored.  The body, head and wings are mostly black; the abdomen and neck are white. The tail is white with a black band.  A preen gland near the tail secretes tinted oil, spread by the bird during grooming, which may give the bill, neck, tail and wing feathers a color varying from yellow to red.
• The most conspicuous feature of the great hornbill is its casque, a hollow structure located on top of the massive bill.  When viewed from the front the casque is U-shaped, with two ridges along the sides that form points in the front and give the species its Latin name bicornis, meaning two-horned.
• Males and females have identical plumages, but the female is smaller and has a bluish-white iris, while the male’s is red.  The back of the casque is reddish in females and the underside of the front and back of the casque is black in males.
• They lack the short feathers under the wing (underwing coverts) that cover the bases of the primary and secondary flight feathers in other birds.  As a result, their flight is often noisy and produces a characteristic “whooshing” sound.
• Like many other hornbills, great hornbills have prominent eyelashes on their upper eyelids.

Life Cycle

Great hornbills breed from January/February to May/June.  Prior to the breeding season males fight each other by butting their casques, often in flight, possibly in competition for females.  A pair will perform duets as part of courtship, wherein a male and female alternate calls to each other.  They select a nest cavity in a large tree. When the female is ready to lay her eggs, she seals herself into the nest cavity using feces, food debris, and wood to cover the entrance from the inside.  She leaves a small slit through which the male feeds her while she lays one or two eggs and incubates them for 38-40 days.  During this time the female completes a full molt.  Although she typically lays 2 eggs, usually only one chick hatches.  When the chick is about 5 weeks old the female emerges from the nest and helps the male feed it.  The chick re-plasters the nest entrance and is fed through the slit for another two weeks.  After the chick emerges, the parents continue to feed it until it is about 15 weeks old, when it becomes independent.  The young birds do not have a casque initially but start to grow one at about 6 months of age. Full development of the casque takes 5 years.  The size of the casque may be important in female selection of a mate.  Great hornbills can live 50 years under human care but average 35-40 years in the wild.

Physical Description

• Lorikeets range in size from ten to twelve inches (25-30cm) long and weigh 3.5 to 5.5 ounces (100-157g).
• They have long tapered tails.
• They are generally slightly smaller and have longer tails than lories, parrots that are members of the same subfamily, loriinae.
• Their plumage is very colorful featuring green backs and blue or brown heads. Their breasts and abdomens are multi-colored combinations of red, gold, yellow, green and blue that vary by species. Their common names describe the breast plumage of several species.
• Their sharply curved beaks are orange to red.
• Males are slightly larger than females with slightly longer beaks.

Life Cycle

Mating season for these lorikeet species varies by locale. Courtship behavior includes wing-fluttering and swaying. They nest high in trees in hollows lined with decayed wood that both male and female prepare. The female lays two to three oval eggs about one inch long (2.7cm) and is solely responsible for incubating the eggs for 24-26 days although her mate may roost in the nest. The chicks hatch featherless and with closed eyes. Both parents participate in caring for the chicks. They fledge in about eight weeks. The young reach sexual maturity between 18 and 24 months. They can live twenty years or more in their native range.

Physical Description

• Humboldt penguins are 25-28 inches (65-72 cm) tall.
• They weigh seven to 13 pounds (3.6-5.8 kg).
• They have black feathers on the back and white feathers on the front with a distinctive U-shaped black band across the front.
• They have a slightly larger bill than other penguins.
• They have splotchy pink patches on their webbed feet and at the base of their bill.

Life Cycle

Like all penguins, Humboldt penguins are monogamous and mate for life. Breeding occurs after a brief courtship. Both the male and female dig a burrow in rookery dried guano (bird poop!) and when it’s ready the female lays two eggs. The parents take turns incubating the eggs until they hatch after about 40 days. The chicks are born with grayish brown downy feathers. Both parents feed their young by regurgitating food. The chicks go through their first molt at 70-90 days replacing their downy feathers with grey adult feathers that lack the distinctive black band on the front. With their adult feathers in place they can maintain body temperature and by 12 weeks they fledge and leave the breeding sight to forage for food on their own. Humboldt penguins reach maturity at about two years of age, and will return to their birth-rookery when they are ready to mate. Humboldt penguins can live up to 30 years in captivity.

Physical Description

• Crowned cranes stand 44-48 inches (112-122 cm) tall; males are slightly taller on average.
• They weigh six to eight pounds (3-4 kg).
• They have a wingspan of six and a half feet (2 m).
• They have slate grey feathers on their body. Wings are white with black and chestnut coloring.
• These birds are named for the distinctive, bristle-like, golden feathers on top of their black head.
• They have a bright red patch above white cheeks and a red neck wattle.
• Their long legs and beak are black.

Life Cycle

Like other cranes, East African crowned cranes are monogamous and pair for life. During breeding season, both males and females participate in graceful and elaborate mating dances. Once paired, mated couples build a large circular nest, made of grasses and vegetation, in a secluded area of marshy ground. The female lays up to four bluish-white eggs, and both parents incubate the eggs; females incubate at night and males during the day. The eggs hatch after 28-31 days. Crane chicks are well developed when they hatch and within a few hours can follow the parent birds around learning how to forage for food. The chicks develop flight feathers at two to four months but after fledging stay with their parents for eight to ten months, until the next breeding season. After leaving their parents, young birds gather with other juveniles and move to new foraging and roosting sites. By 18 months the young have developed adult plumage and begin practicing threat displays and mating dances. East African crowned cranes are fully mature by two to three years of age; these birds can live 20-40 years.years in captivity.

Physical Description

• Sarus cranes stand up to six feet tall (1.8 m).
• They weigh 11-26 pounds (5-12 kg) – males are larger than females.
• They have a wingspan of 8.5 feet (2.6 m).
• They have gray wings and body, a bare red head and upper neck with a narrow band of bristle black feathers, a white crown and black wingtips.
• Juveniles have darker gray body feathers and buff colored feathers on the head.
• They have a long, dark pointed bill.
• They have long pale red legs.

Life Cycle

Sarus cranes are monogamous mating for life. During the breeding season, mated pairs perform loud trumpeting calls and elaborate dance moves. Mated pairs establish a nesting territory and build a large nest in a wet marsh or paddy field. The nest can be more than six feet in diameter and three feet high. Nests may be reused year after year. The female lays a clutch of one or two eggs and both parents share incubation duties – females at night and males during the day. The eggs hatch after about 27-35 days. Newly hatched chicks are well developed when they hatch and they are immediately able to follow the adults around the shallows until they develop flight feathers at two to four months of age. After they fledge they remain with their parents until the next breeding season and then disperse. Because of predation of both eggs and young chicks, the breeding success rate for sarus cranes is estimated at only 20%. Sarus cranes may live up to 42 years in captivity.

Physical Description

• African penguins are small penguins standing between 24 and 27 inches tall (60-70 cm) and weighing between six and nine pounds (2.7-4 kg).  Males are slightly larger than females.
• Their bodies are torpedo-shaped; their backs are black and their chests and bellies are white with a black inverted U-shaped stripe.
• Small black spots on their chests are unique to each individual.
• Their large black heads have C-shaped white feathers surrounding each side of their faces and sharp pointed beaks.
• They stand upright on black webbed feet and walk awkwardly on land.

Life Cycle

African typically stay with a mate for an extended amount of time once a pair bond is formed  Young males court females by dancing and beak slapping.  The pair establishes a bond by sharing loud, harsh calls that sound like a donkey braying.  They nest in shallow depressions either on open ground or under a bush or rock.  Females usually lay two eggs which are incubated by both members of the pair for about 40 days.  Hatchlings are covered in gray or gray-brown down and are brooded constantly for about fifteen days until they can regulate their temperatures.  During the first thirty days, the parents take turns feeding the hatchling partially digested regurgitated food while the other parent forages.  When the chicks are a month old, they are left in nursery groups to stay warm and shelter from predators while both parents forage but continue to be fed until they fledge at 60 to 130 days.  Once they fledge, they leave the colony for one to two years sporting their new plumage of gray backs and white fronts.  Most return to their birth colony prior to molting into adult plumage.  Females are usually mature at three years old and males at four years.  Life span in their natural environment is fifteen-twenty years.  African penguin males in institutions accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums have a median life expectancy of about 17 years; females about 15 years.