Peafowl

Peafowl are two Asiatic species of flying birds in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae, best known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, [1] and the offspring peachicks. The adult female peafowl is grey and/or brown. Peachicks can be between yellow and a tawny colour with darker brown patches. The term also embraces the Congo Peafowl, which is placed in a separate genusAfropavo. The species are: Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus, a resident breeder in South Asia. The peacock is designated as the national bird of India and the provincial bird of Punjab. Green Peafowl, Pavo muticus. Breeds from Burma east to Java. The IUCN lists the Green Peafowl as vulnerable to extinction due to hunting and a reduction in extent and quality of habitat. Congo Peafowl Afropavo congensis.

Behaviour
Peafowl are forest birds that nest on the ground but roost in trees. They are terrestrial feeders. Both species of peafowl are believed to be polygamous. However, it has been suggested that peahens entering a green peacock's territory are really his own juvenile or sub-adult young (K. B. Woods in lit. 2000) and that green peafowl are really monogamous in the wild. The peacock flares out his feathers when he is trying to get the peahen's attention. During the mating season they will often emit a very loud high-pitched cry. They also travel in hunting packs between ten and ninety. [edit]Diet Peafowl are omnivorous and eat most plant parts, flower petals, seed heads, insects and other arthropods, reptiles, and amphibians. In common with other members of the Galliformes, males possess metatarsal spurs or "thorns" used primarily during intraspecific fights.

Cuckoo
The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos (familyMusophagidae, sometimes treated as a separate order, Musophagiformes). Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute. The cuckoo family, in addition to those species named as such, also includes the roadrunners, koels,malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families, the Centropodidae and Crotophagidae respectively.

The cuckoos are generally medium sized slender birds. The majority are arboreal, with a sizeable minority that are terrestrial. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority of species being tropical. Some species are migratory. The cuckoos feed on insects, insect larvae and a variety of other animals, as well as fruit. Many species are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species, but the majority of species raise their own young.

Behaviour
The cuckoos are for the most part solitary birds that seldom occur in pairs or groups. The biggest exception to this are the anis of the Americas which have evolved cooperative breeding and other social behaviours. For the most part the cuckoos are also diurnal as opposed to nocturnal, but many species will call at night (see below). The cuckoos are also generally a shy and retiring family, more often heard than seen. The exception to this are again the anis, which are often extremely confiding towards humans and other species.

Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third [1] genusMammuthus extinct. Three living species of elephant are recognized: the African bush elephant, the African forest [2] elephant and the Indian or Asian elephant; although some [3] group the two African species into one and some researchers also postulate the existence of a fourth species in West [4] Africa. All other species and genera of Elephantidae are extinct. Most have been extinct since the last ice age, although dwarf forms of mammoths might have survived as late [5] as 2,000 BCE. Elephants and other Elephantidae were once classified with other thick-skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata. Elephants are the largest living land animals on Earth [6] today. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the [7] longest of any land animal. At birth, an elephant calf typically [7] weighs 105 kilograms (230 lb). They typically live for 50 to 70 years, but the oldest recorded elephant lived for [8] 82 years. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot [9][10] in Angola in 1974. This male weighed about 10,900 kg (24,000 lb) with a shoulder height of 3.96 [11] metres (13.0 ft). The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric [12] species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch. Elephants are a symbol of wisdom in Asian cultures and are famed for their memory and intelligence; their intelligence level is thought to be comparable to that [13][14][15][16] [17][18] of dolphins and primates. Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which

passeth all others in wit and mind." [20] meaning "ivory" or "elephant".

[19]

The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek ,

[21]

Healthy adult elephants have no natural predators, although lions may take calves or weak [22][23] individuals. They are, however, threatened by human intrusion and poaching.

Tiger
The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to 3.3 metres (11 ft) and weighing up to 306 kg (670 lb). They are the third largest land carnivore (behind only the Polar bear and the Brown bear). Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddishorange fur with lighter underparts. They have exceptionally stout teeth, and their canines are the longest among living felids with a crown height of as [4] much as 74.5 mm (2.93 in) or even 90 mm (3.5 in). In zoos, tigers have lived for 20 to 26 years, which also [5] seems to be their longevity in the wild. They are territorial and generally solitary but social animals, often requiring large contiguous areas of habitat that support their prey requirements. This, coupled with the fact that they are indigenous to some of the more densely populated places on Earth, has caused significant conflicts with humans. Tigers once ranged widely across Asia, from Turkey in the west to the eastern coast of Russia. Over the past 100 years, they have lost 93% of their historic range, and have been extirpated from southwest and central Asia, from the islands of Java and Bali, and from large areas of Southeast and Eastern Asia. Today, they range from the Siberian taiga to open grasslands and tropical mangrove swamps. The remaining six tiger subspecies have been classified as endangered by IUCN. The global population in the wild is estimated to number between 3,062 to 3,948 individuals, with most remaining populations occurring in small pockets that are isolated from each other. Major reasons for population decline include habitat destruction, habitat [1] fragmentation and poaching. The extent of area occupied by tigers is estimated at less than 2 [6] 1,184,911 km (457,497 sq mi), a 41% decline from the area estimated in the mid-1990s. Tigers are among the most recognisable and popular of the world's charismatic megafauna. They have featured prominently in ancient mythology and folklore, and continue to be depicted in modern films and literature. Tigers appear on many flags, coats of arms, and as mascots for sporting [7] [8] teams. The Bengal tiger is thenational animal of Bangladesh and India.