‘Akepa is an agile and small forest bird from Hawaii which is famous for its active foraging at branch tips. The natural habitats are the highland and ancient rainforests of Hawaii and their surviving population live only on the island of Hawaii above 4000′ elevation. ‘Akapi has normally a rounded head, black eyes, and black wings and tail. Adult males sport one of the most brilliant orange colors found in any bird, a plumage which takes four years to develop. Females are greenish gray on back, lighter grey on front, with varying amounts of yellow and sometimes pale orange on the breast and belly. Juveniles appear similar to females, though are generally duller in color. All ‘Akepa birds have an unusual cross-bill. When closed, the upper bill tip slightly overlaps the lower bill tip to one side (this cannot be seen in the field). When opening the bill, as in prying open leaf buds to extract small caterpillars, the bills swing dramatically sideways, and this is easily seen in the hand. ‘Akepas is mainly feed themselves on ‘Ohi’a -lehua trees and Koa trees and their bill is specialized for opening ‘Ohi’a-lehua leaf buds in search of small caterpillars. These birds have a breeding season in spring.

‘Akepa – An agile forest bird from Hawaii – Image by HarmonyonPlanetEarth – flickr

The population of ‘Akepa, an agile forest bird from Hawaii is at high risk and highly endangered and according to a rough estimate, about 14,000 Hawai’i ‘Akepa remained in the lovely planet. The diseases like avian malaria and avian pox have played a role in killing off populations of ‘Akepa. The introduction of the alien birds and ectoparasites in the native homeland of ‘Akepa is also a major threat as ‘Akepa and other native species have shown signs of starvation and runty nestlings, as well as declining population during this time. Although the largest populations of ‘Akepa live within protected lands, large trees appear to be falling faster than they are replaced. Scientifically, ‘Akepa is known as Loxops coccineus.

The Regent Bowerbird is endemic to Australia where it is found in the south-eastern Queensland and nthe orth-eastern New South Wales, on the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range. The natural habitat of this fanstastic Australian bird is forests, particularly rainforest and densely treed gullies. The Regent Bowerbird is scientifically known as Sericulus chrysocephalus which is actually a medium-sized, up to 25 cm long, sexually dimorphic bowerbird. The male Regent Bowerbird bird is black with a golden orange-yellow crown, mantle and black-tipped wing feathers. It has yellow bill, black feet and yellow iris. The female Regent Bowerbirdis a brown bird with whitish or fawn markings, grey bill, black feet and crown.

Regent Bowerbird – An Australian endemic – Image by WarblerLady – flickr

The male Regent Bowerbird, in common with all male bowerbirds, builds and maintains a bower at which it mates with several females. The male does not participate in nest building nor feeding the young. The bower is a small open ‘avenue type’, which means it is not attached at the top. It consists of twigs and is 15 cm – 20 cm long and 30 cm high. The actual nest, constructed by the female, is a shallow saucer of twigs and leaves, lined with leaves. It is often placed in a clump of mistletoe or a thin fork. The nest of this fantastic Australian bird may be well away from the male’s bower. Only the female incubates and cares for the young.

The Black-naped Fruit Dove is an adorable bird of Indonesia from the Columbidae family which is scientifically known as Ptilinopus melanospilus. The Black-naped Fruit Dove is a medium-sized, up to 24 cm long, green pigeon with yellowish bill and iris. The male has a pale grey head with black nape, yellow throat, and golden yellow and pink undertail coverts. The female and the young have an entirely green plumages. The population of the Black-naped Fruit Dove is widely distributed in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. In Indonesia, it is found in Jave, Lesser Sunda Islands and Sulawesi, where it inhabits the lowland and hill forests. The diet consists mainly of various fruits, figs and berries. The female usually lays one single white egg. The Black-naped Fruit Dove is an adorable bird of Indonesia evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

The Black-naped Fruit Dove of Indonesia and Malaysia – Image by coracii

The Orange Fruit Dove like the Golden Fruit Dove is also endemic of the Fiji islands which inhabits in the subtropical and tropical moist lowland forests and it is a lovely terrestrial bird from the Columbidae family. The scientific name of the Orange Fruit Dove is Ptilinopus luteovirens and it is closely related to the Golden Fruit Dove and both of these species are allopatric, meaning they do not share the same habitat in any location. One of the most colorful doves, the male has a golden olive head and elongated bright orange “hair-like” body feathers.

Orange Fruit Dove is closely related to the Golden Fruit Dove – Fiji Endemic

The golden-olive remiges are typically covered by the long orange wing coverts when perched. The legs, bill and orbital skin are bluish-green and the iris is whitish. The female Orange Fruit Dove is a dark green bird with blackish tail and orange-yellow undertail coverts. The youngs of this lovely bird of Fiji resembles female.

Copper-rumped Hummingbird is a small but very graceful bird who lives in the forests of Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago. Copper-rumped Hummingbirds are normally found near gardens and the floral cultivation because they depend upon the nectar taken from the flowers and the insects revolving around the flowers.

Copper-rumped Hummingbird – Image © Dave Irving ( flickr )

The Copper-rumped Hummingbird is a 8.6 cm long graceful bird which weighs 4.7 g. The bill of this small hummingbird is fairly long, straight and mostly black with some pink on the lower mandible. The adult Copper-rumped Hummingbird has copper-green upper parts, becoming copper-bronze on the rump. The head and underparts of Copper-rumped Hummingbird are bright green, the thighs are white and the tail and legs are black. The sexes are similar.

A stunning capture of the Copper-rumped Hummingbird – Image © Dave Irving ( flickr )

The female Copper-rumped Hummingbird lays its eggs in a small cup shaped nest on a low branch, or sometimes wires or clotheslines. The incubation period is about 16–17 days, along with fledging another 19-23, and there may be up to three broods in a season. The Copper-rumped Hummingbird which is a small but very graceful bird is the predominant species of hummingbird in the Trinidad and Tobago.