Grallaria ridgelyi

The Bird that Barks - An ornithologist discovers a curious new species high in the Ecuadorian Andes

By Kristin Leutwyler

Ridgely and fellow birder John Moore first heard the creature's canine cry last November as they ...

So many people refer to Birds of Eden as Birds of Paradise, Birds Paradise, Garden of Eden, Birds of the World and even as World of Birds.  So I wondered if it would help to explain why and how Birds of Eden derived its name.
At first we were going to call our bird sanctuary Kunjani Gorge, but we changed our mind when the municipality we fall under was re-named The Eden Municipality.  There was even talk of The Eden Gate way opening at the N2 Monkeyland turn-off (2km from us).

There is no bird sanctuary or bird park named Birds of Paradise, but there is a species of bird named Birds of Paradise.  Birds of Paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae and belong to the order Passeriformes. The majority of species in this family are found on the island of New Guinea and its satellites, with a few species occurring in the Moluccas and...

Seagulls, aka the rats of the air, are notorious for stealing what does not belong to them, and also being ruthless about it. Above is an seagull being nasty, stealing an ice cream cone from an unsuspecting victim.

With their noisy calls and voracious appetite they are a distinctive feature of the seaside.

But relations between humans and seagulls are becoming fraught. Holidaymakers from all over the World have complained of being "mugged" by fearless seagulls stealing chips, sandwiches and ice...

Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus

Native to central and eastern South America, the Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), or Hyacinthine Macaw, is the largest macaw and the largest flying parrot species in the world, though the flightless Kakapo of New Zealand can outweigh it at up to 3.5kg. In terms of length it is larger than any other species of parrot. While generally easily recognized, it ...