Exotic Birds....2

The Lear's Macaw (Anodorhynchus leari), also known as the Indigo Macaw, is a large, all blue Brazilian parrot that is a member of a large group of Neotropical parrots known as macaws. It was first described by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1856. The Lear's Macaw is 70–75 cm. (28–30 in.) long and weighs around 950 g. (2.1 lb.). It is metallic blue with a faint, often barely visible tinge of green, and a yellow patch of skin at the base of the heavy, black bill. This macaw is rare with a highly restricted range.

Stork-billed Kingfishers eat mainly fish, using their large heavy bills effectively to catch and kill their prey. From their perch, usually about 2-4 m. above the water, they will plunge into the water. They also eat crabs, insects, frogs, mice, lizards, and birds, along with their eggs. Prey is brought back and whacked senseless against the perch.

They usually hunt near freshwater and along coasts and mangroves, particularly in habitats with suitable perches. Unlike the Collared, Stork-billed Kingfishers are rarely found near urban areas. 

Peacocks are large, colorful pheasants (typically blue and green) known for their iridescent tails. These tail feathers, or coverts, spread out in a distinctive train that is more than 60 percent of the bird's total body length and boast colorful "eye" markings of blue, gold, red, and other hues. The large train is used in mating rituals and courtship displays. It can be arched into a magnificent fan that reaches across the bird's back and touches the ground on either side. Females are believed to choose their mates according to the size, color, and quality of these outrageous feather trains.

The male Northern Cardinal may be responsible for getting more people to open up a field guide than any other bird. They're a perfect combination of familiarity, conspicuousness, and style: a shade of red you can't take your eyes off. Even the brown females sport a sharp crest and warm red accents. Cardinals don't migrate and they don't molt into a dull plumage, so they're still breathtaking in winter's snowy backyards. In summer, their sweet whistles are one of the first sounds of the morning. 

The California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is a New World vulture, and the largest North American land bird. This condor inhabits northern Arizona and southern Utah (including the Grand Canyon area and Zion National Park), the coastal mountains of central and southern California, and northern Baja California. Although other fossil members are known, it is the only surviving member of the genus Gymnogyps. 

The Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum) is a bird in the crane family Gruidae. It inhabits the dry African savannah south of the Sahara, although it nests in somewhat wetter habitats. They can also be found in marshes, cultivated areas and grassy flatlands near rivers and lakes from eastern Uganda and Kenya to South Africa. This animal does not migrate. There are two subspecies. The East African B. r. gibbericeps (Crested Crane) can be found from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo through Uganda, where it is the national bird, and from Kenya to eastern South Africa. It has a larger area of bare red facial skin above the white patch than the smaller nominate species, B. r. regulorum (South African Crowned Crane), which breeds from Angola down to South Africa.