Southern Cassowary
The southern cassowary is a large flightless bird that lives in the rainforests, mangroves and grasslands of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Northern Australia. They have black plumage with a shaggy fur-like appearance and robust, grey legs and feet. The southern cassowary has a distinctive brown casque on top of their head, a brown-black curved beak, a royal blue throat and a pale blue crown. The back of its neck is orange and it has two red wattles hanging down from its throat.
Indian Peafowl
Colloquially known as the peacock, the Indian peafowl (or Pavo cristatus) is a large bird native to Southern Asia but which humans have introduced worldwide. The males – peacocks – are famous for their bright blue shiny feathers and extremely large ornamental tail, which they fan out to show off the size and distinctive appearance of their eye-spotted feathers. This is designed both to impress females and intimidate other males. Female peafowl – peahens – look very different to their male counterparts, sporting brown feathers, a flash of blue on the back of their necks, and no tail fan.
Greater Flamingo
The greater flamingo (or Phoenicopterus roseus) is a large species of migratory bird that is widespread across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. It lives on the mudflats and coastal lagoons of temperate and warm environments, and is a filter feeder which uses its beak to stir up mud and filter out algae, invertebrates and seeds. Male and female flamingos look the same with pale-pink to orange-pink feathers, pink legs, a pink beak with a black tip, and often brighter pink patches on their wings.
Common Ostrich
The common ostrich (or Struthio camelus) is the largest known bird species in the world. Males have black body feathers and white feathers on their wing-tips and tails, while females have grey-brown body feathers. On both sexes, the head, neck and legs are pink to white in colour, and there is some variation in appearance depending on the bird’s original location in Africa. The males have an average height of 2.1 to 2.8m, whereas females are smaller, measuring between 1.7 and 2.0m.