Nicole Shea - Creepy Birds

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Shea, Nicole, 1976-Creepy birds / Nicole Shea.

p. cm. (Nature's creepiest creatures) Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-4339-6487-9 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-1-4339-6488-6 (6-pack)

ISBN 978-1-4339-6485-5 (library binding)

1. BirdsJuvenile literature. I. Title.

QL676.2.S375 2012

598dc23

2011026010

First Edition

Published in 2012 by

Gareth Stevens Publishing

111 East 14th Street, Suite 349 New York, NY 10003

Copyright 2012 Gareth Stevens Publishing

Designer: Haley W. Harasymiw Editor: Kristen Rajczak

Photo credits: All photos Shutterstock.com.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.

Printed in the United States of America

CPSIA compliance information: Batch #CW12GS: For further information contact Gareth Stevens, New York, New York at 1-800-542-2595.

Words in the glossary appear in bold type the first time they are used in the text.

Birds are amazing animals, but there are many youwouldnt want to keep in a cage! These birds look reallycreepy and have some strange habits.

Many birds fl y to get around. However, some dont fl yat all! They swim or just run to get where they want to go.While birds often like to eat seeds, bugs, and fish, someeat meals that might seem gross. Birds may eat poisonousfrogs and snakes. Some eat dead animals!

Birds are found in the hottest jungles and the coldestplaces on Earth. Many migrate when the seasons change.Amazingly, birds make these trips without maps. They knowwhere to go by instinct. Birds also use the sun, stars, largelandmarks, Earths magnetic field, and even smell to findtheir way.

Brown pelicans migrate north during thesummer. They fly from their homes near thecoasts of the southern United States andMexico to as far north as Washington State.

Birds build nests to keep their eggs safe from weatherand predators. Depending on the bird, the nest might bea small pile of sand, a bunch of twigs in a tree, or a giantmound of dirt.

The southern yellow-billed hornbill has one of theweirdestand safestnests. The male hornbill brings mudto the female, who seals herself inside a tree trunk. Hepasses her food through a small opening. When the chickshatch, she breaks the mud wall.

People leave food such as seeds and bread out forbirds. Some birds, though, eat much stranger stuff!

Vultures are large birds that eat dead animals. Theywait for sick, weak animals to die before they dive in.An easy way to recognize a vulture is by its bald head.People find it ugly, but this bald head is actually veryuseful. Vultures want to keep rottingmeat from getting stuck in theirfeathers. It would makethem sick.

When other animals settle in for the night, many birds,like owls, become active. Owls are great hunters that eatsmall animals, bugs, fish, and sometimes other birds. Sinceowls have soft feathers, they can approach prey silently.They quickly kill prey with the help of their sharp talonsand bill.

Owls have huge eyes so they can see in the dark.However, they cant move their eyes. To make up for this,owls can turn their heads almost completely around. Thiscan look pretty creepy!

Feathers help birds fl y or swim. How birds look canbe useful in other ways, too. Male frigatebirds puff up toimpress possible mates. They have a bright red throatpouch that blows up like a balloon!

One bird doesnt look very creepy, but uses anothersense in an unusual way. The hoatzin smells terrible!Scientists think the smell comes from the waythe birds bodies break down the leavesthey eat. However, the stink keepspredators away!

Crows are some of the smartest animals in the world.They use pieces of grass or twigs as tools to reach food.

Can you recognize individual crows? They might alllook similar to you. However, crows have a creepy ability topick a persons face out of a crowd. Sometimes, when youhear them cawing to each other, theyre warning eachother about a bad person whohas been mean to them.