Life By the Water

All around the world there are many different bird species. Among them are waterbirds or aquatic birds and they are very interesting. These birds are commonly found in shallow waters both fresh and saltwater habitats.

African Jacanas

These birds are distinctive with chestnut upper parts, black wingtips, sky blue bills, and very long toes at the end of their hind legs. African jacanas are among the most majestic water birds. They forage on the lilies on the surface of the water and other aquatic vegetation with their long legs and elongated toes. They are social birds found in groups. Their habitats are in the tropical zones in sub-Saharan Africa.

American Dippers

These birds are also referred to as water ouzels. They are stocky birds with dark grey bodies, brownish heds, and white feathers on their eyelids. American dippers are the only truly aquatic songbirds in America. They catch food underwater in flowing streams by swimming and walking on the stream bottoms. These birds also live by rushing streams in the high mountains and mainly inhabit the mountainous regions of Central America and western North America from Panama to Alaska.

Baillon's Crakes

Baillon's crakes are also known as Marsh crakes. These are small water birds named after French naturalist Louis Antoine Francois Baillon. These majestic birds are widely distributed across Europe, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent Africa Australia, and Southeast Asia. Baillon's crakes have short straight yellowish bills, reddish eyes, long legs, and greenish tones. They are found in a wide variety of habitats such as freshwater lakes, saline wetlands, coastal marshes, swamps, flooded meadows, flooded agricultural fields, fish farms with vegetation, and sewage ponds. These birds dine on small fish, aquatic insects, as well as seeds and berries.

Black-Legged Kittywakes

These are majestic seabirds native to the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. Most commonly they can be found across all the northern coast of the Atlantic. These are medium-sized birds with white heads, gray wings, yellow pointed bills, and jet black feet. Black-legged kittywakes have pleasant melodious voices and live in all coastal areas, sea, and even ice-filled waters. These are social birds and form large colonies on cliffs along the coastline. They enjoy fish and invertebrates.

Crab Plovers

Crab Plovers are peculiar wading birds found commonly across tidal mudflats around shores, coastlines, and Islands of the Indian Ocean. These birds have white heads, black plummage, and black feathers, and long necks and strong black bills. They feed mainly on crabs and other small animals such as crustaceans, small mollusks, marine worms, and inter-tidal invertebrates.

Eurasian Spoonbills

Eurasian spoonbills are a distinctive bird species with large white bodies, yellowish breast patches, black wingtips and long spoon-shaped bills. Eurasian spoonbills are widely spread across the world ranging from Europe to Northwest Africa, The Red Sea, India, and China.These are migratory birds wintering in Europe and Asia. They are commonly found near lakes, ponds, rivers, deltas, canals, and marshes with overgrown shrubbery. These birds dine on fish, amphibians, and invertebrates.

Ferruginous Ducks

These ducks are medium-sized and come from the Eurosiberia region. Ferruginous Ducks are found across Europe, parts of Asia, and North Africa. Their range spans wetland habitats, including freshwater lakes and slow-moving rivers.They are also known as ferruginous pochard, common white-eye, and white-eyed pochard. They are rusty brown with contrasting white triangular patches under their tails. These ducks have long gray bills. Ferruginous ducks are shy and often stay hidden in reeds. In the open water they keep in flocks. They are omnivorous, feeding on aquatic insects, mollusks, and plant material like seeds and algae.

Flamingos

Flamingos are among the most distinctive wading birds with long necks. They are widely distributed throughout America including the Caribbean and also Africa, Asia, and Europe. These birds are native to tropical and sub-tropical areas. There are six different species of flamingos with the greater flamingos being the most widespread. These are graceful birds with bright pink feathers, stilt-like legs, and long S-shaped necks. They feed on shrimp and snails and build their nests along the water base.

Glossy Ibis

Glossy ibis are the most prevalent ibis species, breeding in warm regions of Asia, Europe Australia, the Caribbean and Atlantic regions of America. These birds are the smallest of all the ibis species in Australia. They appear dark at a distance, but their feathers take an iridescent shine up close. These are waterbirds that thrive in freshwater or brackish wetlands surrounded by vegetation like reeds, papyrus, and rushes. They have dark, long gray colored bills, which are slightly curved downward.The primary diet of Glossy Ibisis includes aquatic beetles, dragonflies, damselflies, grasshoppers, crickets, flies, and caddisflies, however, it is variable according to the season.

Graylag Geese

Graylag geese are a large goose speices and can fly with a speed of 4.3 mph. It is the only wild Goose species that can be seen throughout the year in the United States. During their breeding season, these birds can be seen in different parts of the world including Iceland, Finland, Baltic coasts, North Sea, northern regions of Europe in the north and central Eastern Europe, western Russia and the Black Sea in the south. They have grayish-brown plumage along with darker heads and pale bellies, covered in black spots. The pale outer edges of their feathers pattern their plummages. The upper flanks of these birds are bordered with white. The dark flight feathers form a great contrast with the light colored coverts. Juvenile Greylag Geese do not have spots on their bellies. They primarily feeds on oats, barley, root crops, peas, lentils, wheat, buckwheat, grasses, seeds, and cereal grains.

Great Commorants

Great commorants are heavy seabirds with long, thick necks, blocky heads, heavy hooked bills, and broad wings, They are also known a black shags in New Zealand and widely spread across the Northern Hemisphere. These birds have long tails and yellow throat patches. They are silent birds found mainly on freshwater lakes, estuaries, the sea, and rivers. They dine on fish, crustaceans, amphibians, and at times small birds.

Kingfishers

These birds are among the most beautiful on Earth. They are medium-sized aquatic birds known for their impressive water dives. Kingfishers have bright colors with short tails, large heads, and orange-blue plummage. Their habitats can be found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, near rivers and lakes. These birds dine on a wide variety of prey such as fish, small intertebrates, and many more.

Large-Billed Terns

These birds can be seen in the regions of South America. They enjoy being near rivers and freshwater lakes. They have short tails and long yellow bills. There are over 40 species of terns that can be found worldwide, inhabiting coastal areas, wetlands, and inland waterways. Terns have a unique and specialized diet consisting primarily of small fish, crustaceans, and other marine life.

Mandarin Ducks

Mandarin ducks are among the colorful birds withgreenish-black foreheads along with purple crests near the back of the head. The native range of this species spans from southeastern Russia through eastern China and into North Korea, South Korea, and Japan. These ducks breed in China, Japan, and Siberia. They spend their winters in southern China and Japan. This duck species lives in riparian habitats alongside rivers and streams. Their aquatic ecosystems must have forest or woodland very close because they only nest in tree cavities.The diet of the bird species includes seeds, acorns, small fruit, insects, snails, and small fish.

Swans

Swans are the largest living species and among the largest flying birds. They are lovely aquatic birds known for their long graceful necks and are also known to be one of the friendliest animals in the world. Another good trait is that they are among the calmet animals in the world. Though similar in looks female swans are referred to as pens and male swans as cobs. They enjoy feeding on aquatic plants. These birds are social and commonly found in groups making a variety of sounds to communicate.