The fascinating world of Birds

Birds are truly beautiful creatures, they are also fascinating and all around us, roosting and nesting on our buildings and feeding in our gardens and refuse dumps, they are easy to find and fun to observe. Birds are probably the most beloved group of wild animals on the planet. Their ubiquitous presence, colorful form, intelligent actions and cheeky mannerisms endear them to us all and they are easy to love.

There are about 9 703 species of birds divided up into 23 orders, 142 families. Birds can be found on all major landmasses from the poles to the tropics as well as in or over all our seas and oceans and their accompanying islands. The total number of birds on the planet is very difficult to estimate because their populations fluctuate seasonally, but scientists have suggested that there may be between 100,000 and 200,000 million adult or near adult birds on the planet at any one time. Of these the most common or populous wild bird in the world is the Red-billed Quelea from south of the Sahara in Africa. These birds are so prolific that they are serious pests of grain and millions are killed at roost sites every year in a vain attempt to control their numbers.