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Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs (often simply birdsong ) are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding , songs (relatively complex vocalizations) are distinguished by function from calls (relatively simple vocalizations).
A small, freely-moving projection on the anterior edge of the wing of modern birds (and a few non-avian dinosaurs)—a bird's "thumb"—the word is Latin and means 'winglet'; it is the diminutive of ala, meaning 'wing'. Alula typically bear three to five small flight feathers, with the exact number depending on the species.
The ibis (/ ˈ aɪ b ɪ s /) (collective plural ibises; [1] classical plurals ibides [2] [3] and ibes [3]) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. [4] "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word for this group of birds.
The use of bird skins to document species has been a standard part of systematic ornithology. Bird skins are prepared by retaining the key bones of the wings, legs, and skull along with the skin and feathers. In the past, they were treated with arsenic to prevent fungal and insect (mostly dermestid) attack.
The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), is a small passerine bird which is best known for its powerful and beautiful song.It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. [2]
In this list of birds by common name 11,278 extant and recently extinct (since 1500) bird species are recognised. [1] Species marked with a "†" are extinct. Contents
Huginn and Muninn sit on Odin's shoulders in this illustration from an 18th-century Icelandic manuscript.. In Abrahamic and European mythology, medieval literature and occultism, the language of the birds is postulated as a mystical, perfect divine language, Adamic language, Enochian, angelic language or a mythical or magical language used by birds to communicate with the initiated.
Calls were given with the bird's head and neck stretched outward and its bill pointing 30 to 45 degrees from the vertical. [25] Most references describe huia calls as heard in the early morning; one records it as the first bird to sing in the dawn chorus , and captive birds were known to "wake the household". [ 19 ]