As nature is beautiful, the species inside is more beautiful. There are thousands of birds, animals, and insects which are beautiful and has always helped in maintaining the changes in the climate. Today due to the urbanisation there are many species that are on a decline, especially birds. Once upon time there were many birds that used to come to our farms and house, but today due to habitat loss and deforestation many birds species have been lost. We all have seen that parrot and some other birds were kept in cage and showcased in homes. Among such species there is one bird which is considered to be most expensive bird and changes its colour. Yes, Surakav is considered as the most expensive bird.
Surakav is very different from other birds. This beautiful bird of nature is native to North America. It is popularly known as the ‘Colour Changing Bird’. Its colour seems to change with each passing moment. That is why it is worth Rs. 25 lakh. It is known as one of the most beautiful creatures in the world. Anna’s Hummingbird is 9.9 to 10.9 cm
Surakav belongs to the family of Humming Birds. This bird is the only North American hummingbird with a red head. The colour of the feathers changes according to the movement of its head. Different colours appear on the bird through the movement of the head.
It is named after the Duchess of Rivoli, Anna Massena.
Until the early 20th century, Anna’s hummingbird was found only in Southern California and Northern Baja California. It was mostly because there was large scale transplantation of exotic ornamental plants all through the Pacific coast and inland deserts.
Another study says that Its name comes from producing humming sound which comes from their beating wings that flaps at very high frequency. They flutter in the air with very rapid flapping rate of around 12 beats per second for giant species while to an extent 80 beats per second the smaller species
Its colour variation is visible when viewed from different angles. The fact is that the colour of the feathers seems to change. This is due to the Karatin layers on top of the feathers of this bird. These are shiny and thin.
When sunlight hits these layers, some rays pass through the wings and some are reflected back. When this process occurs in several layers, some colours appear more intense and others are interrupted. This seems the bird’s feathers change colour when viewed. In the absence of sunlight, the bird is brown and gray.
With more than 340Hummingbirds species found only in America, it is the only bird which can fly backwards as well as upside down and only bird capable of hovering for long time because their wings move in shape of eight pattern. They have no sense of smell but very good hearing and eyesight. They can see some more colours than human can see because their eyes can process ultraviolet light. They have set of third eyelids like many other animals, called “Nictitating Membrane”. These third eyelids help humming bird to protect their eyes when they fly very quickly through the air.
Hummingbirds have a very large brain of 4.2% of its total weight which is the greatest of any other birds and thus have very good memory. In their mega brain, they store important information. It was studied that the hummingbird can remember every flower that they have seen including on the migration route. Humming birds have very high metabolism. Thus, they are always hungry and require food of around half of their body weight.
Average lifespan of humming bird is three to five years but some live beyond as the oldest recorded individual humming bird lived for 12 years while in captivity they have recorded to live up to 14 years.
Males are more beautiful than females. They feed on nectar from flowers. It has the ability to shake the body up to 55 times a second. Surakav uses this ability to fly in the rain and shake off mud from the body. It is also one of the most popularly searched birds on the internet.