Birds

Endangered

Spheniscidae

With sophisticated modes of speech, extraordinary displays of parental devotion and an uncanny ability to power nap, the penguin is one our most cherished but endangered birds – and full of surprises. 

Endangered

Psittaciformes

Parrots are loud, raucous birds, famous for their bright colourful plumage, fierce intelligence, and ability to mimic human speech. Parrots are extremely social animals and live surprisingly long lives for their size. Some even use tools to prise open nuts and display intelligence comparable to chimpanzees.

Vulnerable

Trochilidae

With some measuring as small as a human thumb, these lightning-fast birds are named after the “humming” sound their wings make as they beat at over 3,000 times a minute. Hummingbirds can fly forwards and backwards, and even hover in mid-air like tiny helicopters. These miniscule birds have such high metabolisms that to survive they must consume a colossal volume of nectar, equivalent in human terms to around 300 pounds in weight of hamburgers a day.

Endangered

Diomedeidae

Albatrosses are faithful birds, returning to the same remote outcrop year after year to breed with the same partner. These behemoths of the bird world use their long wingspan to glide on the ocean winds, travelling thousands of miles without ever seeing land. In fact, albatrosses can fly nearly 5 million miles – 10 times to the moon and back – during their lifetime. However, the numbers of these long-lived creatures are rapidly dwindling due to fishing practices and climate change.

Least Concern

Cygnus

In popular culture, swans are renowned for their beauty, grace and loyalty. But they are also highly territorial, and rather noisy. These large waterfowl are found in wetlands across all continents except Antarctica.