Desert Birds

An example of an insect hunting bird is the pale crag martin (Hirundo obsoleta) that survives well in the desert. When the wind blows insects are blown against brush and rocks and this bird is able to live from the insects. The pale crag martin is able to live in a very dry area because of this hunting technique. It has such a powerful bill that allows it to steer gracefully around rocks when flying in strong winds. This bill also allows it to glide very smoothly over rocks. It is a member of the swallow family but varies from others as it has very strong territorial instincts.

The sand martin (Riparia riparia) has a swallow like appearance with brown back and white underparts. It catches mosquitoes and flies mostly especially on pools of water. The house martin has a short forked tail, no long streamers, and steely blue upper parts. The barn swallow has a deep forked tail, rust underparts, and blue on the top of the chest and head. The barn swallow has excellent aerial maneuvering ability. It is able to catch insects on the way due to the ability to make sharp turns at high speeds. Swallow will fly very early in the morning and late in the afternoon to void the heat of the desert during the hottest hours. These birds can all live in an area and are not competitive even though their food habits are alike. The swallows have many problems due to strong winds as they do not have excellent maneuvers in the air. The house martin does not like to be near water. There are many birds such as these that can survive in the desert and they belong to the Hirundinidae as they are birds that capture insects while flying. Some birds of this group will just catch their insects on the ground or in bushes. The lark will swoop down to grab insects in the sand with the curved bill with side movements.

There are many birds in the desert that have drab, inconspicuous plumage with perhaps one dominating color. These are able to blend in with the area to avoid predators from seeing them. From a distance the prey will not see them due to their ability to blend with the surrounding area. The sandy color is most dominant among birds of the desert. This sandy color is believed to be from the hot and dry climate of the desert that has an influence on the pigmentation of the birds. In the desert there is a great need to conceal as there is not an abundance of growth. The wings provide a signal to others in their territory as an outline. There are various signaling devices that birds that an insect hunter possessess. There are ostriches that have no flight that have adapted to the desert heat. These birds and others such as they have to rely on their feet to hunt and to get around the area.

Some birds in the desert are incapable of flight and have to rely on their legs for movement. These include the bustards, coursers and roadrunners among others. The cream-coloured courser (Cursorius cursor) is of the class Aves, order Charadriformes and family of Glareolidae. The feet and plumage are sandy-brown. The bill is curved and sharply points. There are two curved, parallel stripes, one black and the other white that will extend from the outer edge of the eye to the neck. The Houbara Bustard (Chlarmydotis undulata) is of the class Aves, order Gruiformes and family of Otididae. It has plumage in the upper part of orange with waves and brown streaks. The wings are fairly straight and long with a well-developed tail. They have a very long neck with long black and white feathers, belly of white and throat is gray.

The roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) lives in the desert of the North American southwest and is a large, black-and-white ground bird with a head crest, long white-tipped tail and an oversized bill. The class of the roadrunner is Aves, order is Cuculiformes and family is Cuculidae. Their plumage has white wavy markings, long tail to fourteen inches and crest have black patches with orange and blue feathers on top of the head. Their wings are short and rounded with a white crescent. This bird cannot stay in the air long so walks fast and runs up to l7 miles per hour. The legs are long and stout with the feet being very powerful. This bird is around the size of a chicken. It will eat small mammals and birds, lizards, snakes and insects and plant material. There is a nasal gland that will eliminate salt and will reabsorb water from the feces before excreting. The tail acts as a rudder when running then it is able to sharply flick the feathers sideways to change direction quickly or to stop. It will hunt all animals in the desert especially snakes or other reptiles. This bird will chase the prey until it is tired then use his bill to deliver blows to kill. He is able to swallow prey whole, if not he will put them in his bill and slowly eat them till finished. During the breeding season he will feed a female to get her attention then will dance for her while she begs for food then will breed with her. He helps the female build the nest and will incubate the baby birds along with the female as his body temperature remains normal. The roadrunner does not have much activity during the hottest part of the day.

The North American poorwill (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii) is of the family Caprimulgidae will fall into a state of semi-torpor during the hot summers in the desert but will hibernate during the cold winter. This enables it to survive extreme desert conditions. It only needs nine grams of fats to hibernate more than one hundred days. There are also desert hummingbirds that are habitual night sleepers. The poorwill thrives in the desert as it has a very low rate of metabolism. Some birds will not survive in the desert but the poorwill does. At nightfall the poorwill hunts for insects with the bill stretched to full capacity during flight to form a cone. The bill has forward pointing bristles that enable him to capture insects at a low altitude and to swoop onto the ground for insects that fall from the air.

There are birds in the desert who are seed eaters such as the desert sparrow (Passer simplex) and the (Passer ammodendri) along with larks. These birds are able to fly long distances without rest. Sometimes they fly in strong winds and extreme conditions for a long time just to find their seeds.

The sand-grouse is another bird that has adapted to desert conditions. These include the pin-tailed, imperial and pallas's plus the tibetan sand-grouses. They are of the class Aves, order of Columbiformes and family of Pteroclidae. They can survive on polluted unsanitary and dirty water. These birds can fly long distances for food and water. These birds are well adapted to high desert temperatures. The sand-grouse is able to drink without lifting the head above the surface of the water. Their breast feathers will absorb water thus they can bring the water back to the nest to the young.

In North America in the desert regions there are birds of prey such as the elf owl (Micratherne whitneyi) and the red-tailed buzzard (Buteo jamaicensis). These will build a huge nest in the saguaro cactus. The lanner falcon (Falco biarmicus) will also endure the heat and drought of the desert. These birds can fly with rapid wing-beats like ducks to form a sort of locomotion. They will feed mostly on small birds on the wing.

There are many other birds that live in the desert than the ones mentioned in this article. Many migratory birds just spend part of the year in the desert. Other birds remain in the desert year around.