On the South American continent, there is a very mysterious animal waiting for us to visit. It is a goose duck, but its body and physique are very different; the beak of the bird is like a chicken, the head is hard horned, and it is born with a big voice - it is the only bird, and the horned duck nicknamed "fencing aristocrat" and "noisy fanatic" is given the nickname.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="2" > horned duck| bird unique gear! The fencing aristocrats of South America</h1>
Author/Zhang Taolahan
In the steaming, rain-covered land of South America, there is a very mysterious animal waiting for us to visit.
As a goose or duck, it has a very different body and physique; its beak is like a chicken, its head is stiff and horned, like a large-billed trout fishing in the deep sea, and its appearance is extremely strange.
It loves to swim, but it is covered with feathers, light and good at flying, and its bones are the most powerful among birds! It has a high talent for language, not only has created a set of "bird language", but also has a big voice, and its sound is clearly audible three kilometers apart.
It is the only bird in South America, nicknamed "Fencing Nobleman" and "Hustle Fanatic" horned duck.
Figure 1: The horned duck spreads its wings
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="8" > kill four birds with one stone, life is worry-free</h1>
Horned duck is endemic to South America, the eponymous species of the genus Indycatidae, whose scientific name is Anhima cornuta, was personally named by Sir Carl Linnaeus, the "father of taxonomy".
Although it is a resident bird, it has a wide range of activities, widely distributed in the north-central region of the South American continent, and its habitat covers Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay and Venezuela, and it can be seen even in the Caribbean countries or even the United States and Mexico.
They habitually inhabit tropical rainforests, swamps, river valleys and plain grasslands, and generally do not inhabit more than 800 meters above sea level, which is typical of the "live higher and show you high" family.
Figure 2: Horned ducks inhabiting the rainforest
Figure 3: Horned ducks that climb to the treetops to avoid danger
Living in the river is the living criterion that they have followed from generation to generation; the abundant water and grass, the fruits, the shade of trees, and the abundance of insects are the purpose of their nesting and settling down.
As long as the living guidelines and land selection purposes are strictly implemented, the horned ducks can solve the important problems of bird life such as eating, housing, safety and breeding at one time, which can be described as "killing four birds with one stone, and being full of life". The wisdom of life handed down by the ancestors is really admirable.
Figure 4: I really admire it
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="17" > bird's beak is like a chicken, degenerate webbing</h1>
The horns are called ducks, the horns are called ducks, and although this name looks intimidating, it is really confusing to read and twist.
But in terms of full biometrics, this translation is simply amazing--horn, referring to the hard horn on the head of the horn called the duck; the call, referring to their loud voice through the clouds. Let's say the same thing next.
Fig. 5: They have dense white spots on their shoulders and thoraxes
Horned ducks are large birds with a body length of about 90 cm and a weight of about 3 kg as adults, with a wingspan of up to 1.8m. They are covered with black feathers and have white spots on their shoulders and chests, which are as beautiful as the white stars on the curtain of the night.
Incidentally, they have a very magical sharp point at the joints of their wings, like the ancient ornithischians, but they turned the small hands of the bird pterosaurs into two small bone spurs of external protrusions. Anatomically speaking, the horned duck still retains its original original atmosphere, which also makes its appearance a little more legendary.
Fig. 6: Wings are very wide when spreading their wings (look at the magical small spikes)
Their tiny S-shaped necks are bent over the body, and the thorax and tail are very wide apart, which contrasts with the small and thin head, which makes the body more massive.
They have white villi on their abdomen, their legs are not long or short, their bones are well-defined, their feet are four toes, each toe is slender, and their swimming webs have degenerated, and they have only half-webs (or invisible) between their two or three toes.
The semi-degenerate webbing, coupled with the sharp and prominent beak of the bird like a chicken's beak, makes the horned duck have few remaining attributes, but more like a chicken of no distinction.
Figure 7: The strange-looking horned duck, look out for the slender toes
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="28" > bird unique gear, fencing aristocratic white-knife warfare</h1>
The most noteworthy thing is naturally the horned duck's first nickname, "Fencing Noble". You see, at the forehead of their heads (that is, the crown), there is a surprisingly hard horn rod, about 10 cm long, white as ivory, in the shape of a fishing rod, naturally bending downwards, and hanging on top of their heads.
The rods were made of calcified bulges that protruded from the ground above their heads like a terrible thin antenna, as if they were about to be broken at any moment, making people worry just by looking at them.
Fig. 8/8-1: Striking top bone rod
In fact, this bone rod is a wonderful symbol of the horned duck's unique South American heaven and earth aura, the essence of the sun and the moon - in the whole world, there is only one bird called the horned duck, and there is such a strange thing on its head.
Because of the growth of a few things that no one else has, the horned duck has transformed into a unique bird elite, after all, things are rare and expensive.
So what is the purpose of this bone rod? Well, academic research has found that the tip of the bone rod is rounded and does not have a puncture function, and should only have a pounding function.
Therefore, everyone speculates that this white bone rod should be a big "weapon" used by the horned duck when it has a "weapon fight" with the same kind of territory!
You also know that as an elite bird, the horned duck is very different from those ordinary birds in terms of its honor and taste. Even the weapons used in the battle for territory, the forehead, even the weapons used in the competition, must be used elegantly and noblely, and they must be used differently.
Figure 9: The noble among the birds, flying must be beautiful
Figure 10: Practice with me, one two one two, kick legs
What ostriches jump up and kick each other's feet, what spear falcons fly up and peck at each other--although they are fierce and vicious, they will not stop until they kill each other. But if they fight like them, they will definitely be chaotic, feathered, and there is no beauty at all, which is completely inconsistent with the noble temperament of the horned duck.
The battle of the horned ducks focuses on the civilization competition, point to point, the battle is not necessarily fierce, not necessarily wonderful, not necessarily jumping up and down, flexible and agile, but we must respect the opponent and respect for wude.
Analogously, their competitions resemble our human fencing competitions. That move is full of posture, the fight is not as good as the accurate, the fast is not as good as the good, often the two sides face each other for a long time, before the sword is played. And is there any better sword than the 10cm ivory white bone rod born on the top of their heads?
Figure 11: Without further ado, let's try our swords
But seeing the two birds fighting each other, you come and go, do not give in to each other, the sword and light sword shadow, the bone rod roars in the air, the body shape is uncertain, the pace is endless, one is energetic, the forward is eager to fight, and the other is extremely cautious and flashing. You look at that move and style, and you see the master's style; you see this advance and retreat, and the victory or defeat is in an instant.
But in fact, their stalemate battle is incredibly slow, enough for us to make a good cup of coffee, put the sugar cube and stir it well, drink slowly and watch slowly.
Figure 12: As for how to fight, please make up for it
In other words, when the horned ducks divide the victory and defeat, the winners are arrogant and the losers cry, as if a tragicomedy of laughter and tears is staged, and then the two sides demarcate the boundaries and leave their own - after all, for the horned ducks, the game is always first, and friendship can only be second.
It is worth mentioning that whether it is due to the fencing competition or the inconvenience of daily life, the bone rod of the horned duck will always be broken one day. But they never worry, because the bone rod, like shark teeth, will grow again in a very short time, and the newborn bone rod will become stronger.
Figure 13: After running away, I will be stronger in the future
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="49" > noisy maniacs, bird talk is its own set</h1>
As we all know, the nobility should be gentle, polite and quiet, and calm no matter what the situation. But this point, however, can not restrain the horn called the duck.
Another great feature of horned ducks, as their other nickname, "Hustle Maniacs," put it, is that they spew out a huge chirping sound that they are frantically output anytime, anywhere, all the time.
Figure 14: You stupid child, come with me
This sound, according to the audio recording, can be divided into two main types, combined with its behavior judgment, each shows the corresponding semantics. That is to say, the horned duck has created a set of "bird language" system with specific meanings, how powerful the law, and listen to me.
Their first call, the phonetic transcription of "quuk-quoo", pronounced "quick-empty", usually occurs when a horned duck sees a predator or suspected predator. You know, in the dialect of the three provinces of Yunnan- Guichuan in China, the word "ke" means "go", and "fast ke-empty" can also be understood as "dangerous and dangerous, fly quickly to the air to avoid!" " means.
Sometimes, when they see their favorite insect, they will shout loudly with joy, and the cry is also "quuk-quoo". In this situation, the original meaning of the cry remains the same (go to the air), and the interpretation becomes "Fly into the air and take down this little guy in one fell swoop!" ”。
Figure 15: Rush, go eat fast, eat fast
The second type of call, the phonetic transcription text is "Yoik-Yoik", pronounced "Yoik-Yoik", which generally occurs in the case of horned ducks meeting each other and competing for territory.
Or take the meaning of the previous "gram", so to understand it, the first half of the "youke", this is to meet the old acquaintance, meaning "Hey, hello, the sky is so good, you walk leisurely and play ~". The second half of "Youke", that is, the guy who is fighting for territory and wants to fight, so it means "Yo, good guy!" You are really fat, dare to go around my turf, show your weapons, let's see the real chapter on the sword! ”。
If all the birds in the world have one stone in their language talent, then the parrot will have a fight, and all the birds in the past and the present will have another fight, and the remaining eight buckets will all belong to the horns and ducks!
Such a language talent, it can really be described as Dr. Bird Inqui, and Mu Xiufeng is indestructible.
Figure 16: The wood is wrong, and I am only tall and eight buckets, and I am blind to the world
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="62" > rainforest grassland, breeding huge populations</h1>
In addition to having extraordinary voice empathy, horned ducks also have developed chirping functions. Their voices are loud, and when they are gathered in groups, they are loud and noisy, and even if they are three kilometers away from the source, they can clearly hear and hear the aftersound.
It is conceivable that with such a group of "self-propelled loudspeakers" as neighbors, the animal perches of the grassland rainforest community have long been overwhelmed and miserable.
Figure 17: Incidentally, the horned duck chicks are very cute
But this land of South America, which is rich in life and has thousands of species, has always adhered to the attitude of fraternity and peace of the bowl of water, that is, it will not reject any creature that inhabits it, nor will it love only one kind of creature alone.
So even though the horned ducks are noisy all day long, causing other animals to talk and complain, they still maintain a large population and are even rated as non-endangered species by the IUCN 3.1 Red List.
Figure 18: The hand-drawn horn on a popular science book is called a duck
As we all know, the South American continent has abundant rainfall throughout the year, the sky temperature is moist and humid, and the temperature difference is not large, and the average normal temperature can be maintained above 20 ° C.
This means that the fat aquatic grass and trees are everywhere, the fat and sticky insects are vigorously growing, and the southwest wind is coming all day long, which is pleasant and gentle, comfortable and pleasant. (Aquatic roots and fat insects are all things that horned ducks love to eat.) ）
It is such superior climatic conditions, coupled with a worry-free ecological environment, which finally gave birth to a duck that loves to fly and bark, and is unusual.
You see today, the horned ducks are still free to soar under the blue sky of South America, and at night, they will also follow the twinkling streams and rivers, holding their heads high, noisy and noisy.
Figure 19: The cycle of the sun and the moon is endless, and the experience and knowledge are passed on from generation to generation
Figure 20: Without saying anything, I'm going to accompany my wife, bye
*Some of the pictures in this article are for illustrative purposes only and are not all Anhima cornuta.
All the pictures in this article are from the Internet If the rights of the owner are infringed, I apologize and will be deleted quickly
Original author of this article / Zhang Taolahan 丨 Writing is not easy Unauthorized reprinting is prohibited
©2021 Zhang TaoLahan, All Rights Reserve