Hey Blog! After seeing my first swifts of the year today, I have decided to tell you about some of the most incredible creatures in existence, animals that survived the last mass extinction and who rule the skies today.
Birds are a class all to themselves. They are feathery, winged creatures, and contrary to many ideas, not all birds can fly. Though most flightless birds are not so well known, such as the Rea and Kiwi (not to be confused with the fruit, which is a plant!); the penguin, a very well-known bird, is actually flightless as well. Evolution has changed the penguin’s ancestors to be better swimmers, an adaptation many species alive today went through in the past. But it’s not just aquatic changes birds have gone through. Winter moults (the scientific name for shedding old feathers and growing new ones) can change birds like the ptarmigan, that lives in the Highlands of Scotland, to pure white over winter to camouflage with the snow; and summer moults give it a mottled brown plumage to blend in with the rocks. Some birds, called birds of prey, have remained in evolutionary terms closer to dinosaurs as they eat meat, contradictory to their name which suggests they are prey. Another quite literally weird thing is that swifts, which come to the UK every summer to breed, are more closely related to hummingbirds (a small group which feed on nectar, can fly backwards and beat their wings faster than any other bird) than the birds that are most like them in appearance. I totally recommend the RSPB handbook of British birds if you are interested in birds and live in the UK, as it helps to identify both common and rare birds that live in the UK.
As I said in “A bird in the hand” back in March, I ringed several common garden birds (I mean giving them ID rings, not calling them up on the phone!) and released them. This was one of the best days of my life, as I got up close and personal with small, living, breathing creatures, closer than I had ever been before. Every year since we moved to this house we have watched the blackbirds build a nest in the hedge, the ivy, or next door, and the sparrows nest in the eves every spring. However, my first interest in birds started in Ghana, West Africa, where I really wanted to see Turacos and Glossy Starlings. We went out on long walks over the weekends, going to parks, as the city was busy and had no wildlife. Once, we saw a Northern White-faced Owl, which is one of the few wildlife encounters from Ghana I still remember, the others being the snake, monitor lizards, a kingfisher, an unidentified sunbird, night-herons, purple herons, and red bishop birds. It was very cool. When we came back to the UK, my bird interest continued, sparking a lifelong passion for wildlife.
Avian species are a valuable contribution to our planet. They fill in many of the gaps that other animals leave empty. I hope people can care for birds, respect them, and build a more nature-friendly world.