Rare species are species with small populations. Many move into the endangered or vulnerable category if the negative factors affecting them continue to operate.
Scientists estimate that 150-200 species of plant, insect, bird and mammal become extinct every 24 hours. This is nearly 1,000 times the “natural” or “background” rate and, say many biologists, is greater than anything the world has experienced since the vanishing of the dinosaurs nearly 65m years ago.
KAKAPO
The kakapo, also called owl parrot, is a species of large, flightless, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot of the super-family Strigopoidea, endemic to New Zealand. It has finely blotched yellow-green plumage, a distinct facial disc, a large grey beak, short legs, large feet, and relatively short wings and tail.
The kakapo is critically endangered; the total known adult population is 209 living individuals, all of which are named and tagged, confined to four small islands off the coast of New Zealand that have been cleared of predators.
• Kakapo are entirely vegetarian. Their diet includes, leaves, buds, flowers, fern fronds, bark, roots, rhizomes, bulbs, fruit and seeds.
•At a cost of about $500,000 per year, the Kakapo Recovery Programme is a major expense. If rescue and breeding efforts on the islands stopped for financial or political reasons, the bird would likely go the way of the dodo
Turquoise-browed motmot
• The turquoise-browed motmot also known as Torogoz, is a colourful, medium-sized bird of the motmot family, Momotidae. It inhabits Central America from south-east Mexico, to Costa Rica, where it is common and not considered threatened. It lives in fairly open habitats such as forest edge, gallery forest and scrubland.
• It lives in fairly open habitats such as forest edge, gallery forest and scrubland. It is more conspicuous than other motmots, often perching in the open on wires and fences. From these perches it scans for prey, such as insects and small reptiles.
•According to the IUCN Red List, the total Turquoise-browed motmot population size is approximately 50,000-499,999 individuals.
Mandarin duck
- The mandarin duck is a perching duck species native to the East Palearctic. It is medium-sized, at 41–49 cm long with a 65–75 cm wingspan. It is closely related to the North American wood duck, the only other member of the genus Aix.
- The Mandarin lives in the forests of China and Japan. They prefer wooded ponds and fast flowing rocky streams to swim, wade, and feed in.
- Mandarin ducks aren't doing well in their habitat.Sadly, they're threatened by severe habitat loss across their native range and have a global population of around 65,000 individuals.
- In traditional Chinese culture, mandarin ducks are believed to be lifelong couples, unlike other species of ducks. Hence they are regarded as a symbol of conjugal affection and fidelity, and are frequently featured in Chinese art
Ribbon tailed astrapia
- The ribbon-tailed astrapia, also known as Shaw Mayer's astrapia, is a species of bird-of-paradise. The ribbon-tailed astrapia is distributed and endemic to subalpine forests in western part of the central highlands of Papua New Guinea. Like many other ornamental birds-of-paradise, the male is polygamous.
- The ribbon-tailed astrapia is medium-sized, up to 32 cm long (without including the tail of the male, which can be over 1 metre). Male ribbon-tailed astrapia are generally around 125 cm whereas females are around 35 cm. The body of males are velvet black. The male has an iridescent olive green and bronze plumage, and is adorned with ornamental "ball" plume above its bill and two extremely long, ribbon-like white tail feathers. The female has a much duller brown and black body with an iridescent head. Unlike males, females do not have the long white tails. Hybrids between this species and the Princess Stephanie's astrapia, in the small area where their ranges overlap, have been named Barnes's astrapia
- It eats Fruit, especially from the Umbrella Tree, and insects, spiders and frog
Hoatzin
- The hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin), also known as the reptile bird, skunk bird, stinkbird, or Canje pheasant, is a species of tropical bird found in swamps, riparian forests, and mangroves of the Amazon and the Orinoco basins in South America. It is notable for having chicks that have claws on two of their wing digits.
- Born with clawed wings!: People believed Hoatzins were prehistoric because of the claws that young birds sport on their wings. This is an adaptation to keep them from falling into the water as they clamber around lakeside vegetation.
- Hoatzin is vulnerable to nest predation. Eggs and chicks are preyed upon by monkeys, tayras (mustelidae) and other mammals, but also by avian predators such as falcons, hawks and eagles
- The hoatzin is the only bird with a digestive system that ferments vegetation as a cow does, which enables it to eat leaves and buds exclusively. Hoatzins feed on swamp plants, grinding foliage in a greatly enlarged crop (not the gizzard, as in other birds).
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