A pigeon behind the window, seagull on the shore, gorgeous crow in the park, nightingale song in crisp morning. These amazing birds are constantly influencing our lives. There are over 10,000 bird species worldwide. They possess the superpower we all wish we could have – the ability of flying. People were always interested in birds and wrote papers for sale, encyclopedias and researches on them. We read a lot of these works and want to present 18 facts about birds for you.
1. Flamingos can only eat when their heads are upside down.
2. Birds were originally descended from reptiles
Archaeopteryx, the oldest known bird, lived around 147 million years ago. This bird was very different from today’s birds because it had a long bony tail and teeth.
3. The UK’s most beloved wild bird, the robin, was voted.
4. Ostrich is the largest living bird and can grow up to 2.7m in height with a wingspan up to 2m. This is quite impressive considering it can’t fly. The Ostrich also lays the most large bird eggs at 1.5 kilograms, which is no surprise.
5. Hummingbirds are the smallest living birds in the world. The Bee Hummingbird is the smallest, measuring just 5.5 cm long and weighing only 1.9 grams. It also lays the most tiny eggs, which are about the size of a pea.
6. A chicken with red ears will produce brown eggs. A chicken with white ears will produce white eggs.
7. Beats per minute
A bird’s heart beats up to 400 times per minute when it is resting, and up to 1000 per minute when it is flying.
8. Hooded Pitohui, Papua (New Guinea), is the only known poisonous bird. Its skin and feathers are contaminated with the poison.
9. The radios of world wars were broadcast by pigeons
The man-made communication systems were unreliable and simple, so it was up to the humble pigeons to carry thousands of messages to the front lines. There were more than 300,000 pigeons used in both World Wars. 32 were awarded The Dickin Medal – an animal world’s Victoria Cross.
10. Penguins can leap as high as 6 feet.
11. The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest bird on Earth. It can reach a maximum recorded airspeed of 389 km/h (242 miles) when it dives for food. Common Swift is the fastest bird in level flight with a speed of 169 km/h (105 MPH).
12. Flying while asleep
The albatross can even sleep while it flys. The albatross apparently doeszes when it cruises at 25 mph.
13. The African Gray Parrot is the most vocal bird in the world. A single parrot can speak over 800 words. The majority of parrot species can only learn 50 words.
14. A Madagascar Pochard duck is the rarest bird in all of the world. Only 25 remain wild. The domestic chicken is the most common.
15. Owls can’t move their eyes
Their eyeballs are tubular and they can rotate their heads 270 degrees, which is more than any other animal. The Owl can achieve 360 degree vision by rotating its head 270deg.
16. Puffins can fly underwater.
17. Hammer time
A woodpecker can pick twenty times per second.
18. Quack quack!
The quack of a duck doesn’t echo anywhere and nobody knows why.
