The cockatiel (/ˌkɒkəˈtiːl/;[2] Nymphicus hollandicus), also known as the weero/weiro[3][4] or quarrion,[5][6] is a medium-sized[7] parrot that is a member of its own branch of the cockatoo family endemic to Australia. They are prized as household exotic bird[8] pets and companion parrots throughout the world and are relatively easy to breed compared to other parrots. As a caged bird, cockatiels are second in popularity only to the budgerigar.

A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors).[2] Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and South America  and consist of seven identified species, all belonging to the Cathartidae family.[2][3] A particular characteristic of many vultures is a bald, unfeathered head. This bare skin is thought to keep the head clean when feeding, and also plays an important role in thermoregulation.

Cranes are a type of large bird with long legs and necks in the biological family Gruidae of the order Gruiformes. The family has 15 species placed in four genera which are Antigone, Balearica, Leucogeranus, and Grus.[1] They are large birds with long necks and legs, a tapering form, and long secondary feathers on the wing that project over the tail. Most species have muted gray or white plumages, marked with black, and red bare patches on the face, but the crowned cranes of the genus Balearica have vibrantly-coloured wings and golden "crowns" of feathers. Cranes fly with their necks extended outwards instead of bent into an S-shape and their long legs outstretched.

Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae (/sfɪˈnɪsɪdiː, -daɪ/) of the order Sphenisciformes  (/sfɪˈnɪsəfɔːrmiːz/).[4] They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapted for life in the ocean water, penguins have countershaded  dark and white plumage and flippers for swimming. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid and other forms of sea life  which they catch with their bills and swallow whole while swimming. A penguin has a spiny tongue and powerful jaws to grip slippery prey

Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genera,[1] they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Central  and South America.[2] As of 2024, 21 hummingbird species are listed as endangered or critically endangered, with numerous species declining in population.[3]

Hornbills are birds found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia  of the family Bucerotidae. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a horny casque on the upper mandible. Hornbills have a two-lobed kidney. They are the only birds in which the first and second neck vertebrae (the atlas and axis  respectively) are fused together; this probably provides a more stable platform for carrying the bill.[1] The family is omnivorous, feeding on fruit and small animals. They are monogamous breeders nesting in natural cavities in trees and sometimes cliffs. A number of mainly insular  species of hornbill with small ranges are threatened with extinction, mainly in Southeast Asia.

Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. They are absent from the North Atlantic, although fossil  remains of short-tailed albatross show they once lived there up to the Pleistocene,[2] and occasional vagrants  are found. Great albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds, with wingspans reaching up to 2.5–3.5 metres (8.2–11.5 ft) and bodies over 1 metre (3.3 ft) in length.[3] The albatrosses are usually regarded as falling into four genera, but disagreement exists over the number of species.

Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae  (/kjuːˈkjuːlɪdiː/ kew-KEW-lih-dee) family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes  (/kjuːˈkjuːlɪfɔːrmiːz/ kew-KEW-lih-for-meez).[1][2][3] The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families, the Centropodidae and Crotophagidae, respectively. The cuckoo order Cuculiformes is one of three that make up the Otidimorphae, the other two being the turacos and the bustards. The family Cuculidae contains 150 species, which are divided into 33 genera.

The oilbird (Steatornis caripensis), locally known as the guácharo, is a bird species found in the northern areas of South America including the Caribbean  island of Trinidad. It is the only species in the genus Steatornis, the family Steatornithidae, and the order Steatornithiformes. Nesting in colonies in caves, oilbirds are nocturnal feeders on the fruits of the oil palm and tropical laurels. They are the only nocturnal  flying fruit-eating birds in the world (the kākāpō, also nocturnal, is flightless). They forage at night, with specially adapted eyesight. However, they navigate by echolocation in the same way as bats, one of the few birds to do so. They produce a high-pitched clicking sound of around 2 kHz that is audible to humans.

The emu (/ˈiːmjuː/; Dromaius novaehollandiae) is a species of flightless bird endemic to Australia, where it is the tallest native bird. It is the only extant member of the genus Dromaius and the third-tallest living bird after its African ratite relatives, the common ostrich and Somali ostrich. The emu's native ranges cover most of the Australian mainland. The Tasmanian, Kangaroo Island and King Island subspecies became extinct after the European settlement of Australia in 1788.