Approximately ten thousand bird species share the world with humans.
While birds are known for their ability to fly, not all birds fly. Penguins, Ostrich, Rhea, Kiwi and a few duck and grebe species are among the world's flightless birds.
Everyone knows that the male African Ostrich is the worlds largest bird. But did you know that they have recorded to stand 9 feet tall and weigh 345 lbs! These fat daddy's are also the fastest land bird and can run at speeds up to 40 MPH.
An ostrich's eye is larger than its brain?
An ostrich egg needs to be boiled for 2 hours to get a hard-boiled egg.
The wandering albatross has the largest wingspan of any living bird. One very old male specimen had a span of 11 feet and 11 inches
The Sooty Tern remains continually aloft for 3 to 10 years as a sub adult before returning to land to breed? IT NEVER LANDS during this time! It eats, drinks, and even sleeps on the wing.
The arctic tern possibly holds the title as longest migrator, flying (round trip) 18,600 miles between the arctic and Antarctica.
The Royal Albatross' eggs take 79 days to hatch.
The now-extinct elephant bird of Madagascar laid an egg that weighed 27 pounds.
Precocial birds like chickens, ostriches, ducks, and seagulls hatch ready to move around. They come from eggs with bigger yolks than altricial birds like owls, woodpeckers, and most small songbirds that need a lot of care from parents in order to survive.
The adult male "bee Hummingbird" of Cuba is only 2.24 inches long. That's WITH the bill and tail! They only weigh 0.056 ounces.
Hummingbirds eat about every ten minutes, slurping down twice their body weight in nectar every day.
There is a poisonous bird from New Guinea called the Pitohui? The Pitohui contains a toxic alkaloid similar to that of the poison arrow frog on its feathers and skin.It is the only example known of a poisonous bird.
The title for the highest speed for which any bird has been reliably clocked goes to the Peregrine Falcon. In a 45 degree dive during a territorial display one bird was recorded at 217 MPH!
The fastest wing-beat belongs the Sun Gem, a Hummingbird found in South America, is 90 beats per second. PER SECOND!
The greatest age for which a bird has been reliably recorded is 80 years old in the case of a Sulfur- Crested Cockatoo. "Cocky" lived and died at the London Zoo.
Highest Flying Bird.....A Ruppell's vulture collided with a commercial aircraft over the Ivory Coast at an altitude of 37,000 feet! The plane was damaged but managed to land safely. The vulture didn't make it. Feather remains were used to make a positive ID.
A mallard collided with a jet over Nevada at 21,000 feet. The jet crashed killing all aboard.
Migrating ducks and geese often fly in V-shape formations. Each bird flies in the upwash of its neighbor's beating wings and this extra bit of supporting wind increases lift, thereby saving energy.
The largest chicken ever was a White Sully named "Big Snow." This rooster tipped the scales at 23 lbs and 3 0z!
The longest flight ever by a chicken was 630 feet and 2 inches?
Best Egg Layer.....Chicken # 2988 laid 371 eggs in 364 days at the University of Missouri in an official test. In 1971, a hen at Hainsworth Poultry Farm in NY laid an egg that contained 9 yolks!
The largest chicken egg was laid by a Black Minorca in England. The 5 yolk egg weighed nearly 12 ounces. It was 12 1\4 inches around the long axis and 9 inches around the short axis.
he heaviest chicken egg was laid by a White Leghorn in NJ. The double yolk and double shell egg weighed 16 ounces.
Air sacs may make up 1/5 of the body volume of a bird.
A bird's normal body temperature is usually 7-8 degrees hotter than a human's. Up to three-quarters of the air a bird breathes is used just for cooling down since they are unable to sweat.
The homing pigeon, Cher Ami, lost an eye and a leg while carrying a message in World War I. Cher Ami won the Distinguished Service Cross. Its leg was replaced with a wooden leg.
A bird's heart beats 400 times per minute while resting and up to 1000 beats per minute while flying.
All birds molt and regrow their feathers.
Seven different states, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia, designate the Cardinal as their state bird, making it the most popular state bird.
The world's only wingless bird is the kiwi of New Zealand.