Sunday, November 16, 2008

The Largest Birds


There are 3 possible ways of measuring largest in birds; heaviest, tallest and or longest wingspan, however, whatever way you choose, the records are all held by extinct species. The heaviest bird ever was probably the extinct Dromornis stirtoni from Australia. This flightless giant lived between 1 and 15 million years ago and probably stood nearly 3m/10ft tall and weighed in at a massive 500kg/1100lb. The tallest bird ever was, as far as we know, Dinornus maximus, a Giant Moa from New Zealand. This giant though only half as heavy as the Australian Dromornis stood an incredible 3.7m/12.1ft tall. Another extinct bird, this time from S. America, has the record for largest flying bird and longest wingspan. The Giant Teratorn (Argentavis magnificens) had a wingspan of at least 6M/19.5ft and could possibly have been as large as 7.5m/25ft.

As with insects, spiders, lizards and amphibians, living species are all smaller than their extinct ancestors. However they are still pretty impressive.


The largest living bird is without doubt the Ostrich (Struthio camelus). This ever popular bird stands a magnificent 2.74m (9ft) high and can weigh as much as 160kg (353lb).

The heaviest flying bird is the Kori Bustard of Africa (Ardeotis kori), a number of specimens have been scientifically recorded weighing 19kg (42lb) and heavier specimens have been reported but not confirmed. Close runner-ups are the Eurasian Bustard (Otis tarda) and the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) both of which have been recorded at 18kg or (40lb).

The title of 'Bird with the Longest Wings' also has several close contenders with the Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) with a well recorded wingspan of 3m (10ft) and the Maribou Stork (Leptoptilus crumeniferous) with a know wing span 2.87 m (9ft6ins) and an unconfirmed report of a specimen with a 4.06 m (13ft 4ins) are undoubtedly the longest winged birds on land. However real record holders are birds that live at sea. The Royal Albatross Diomedea epomophora has been regularly recorded with a wingspan of 3.5 m (11ft 6ins). However the Wandering Albatross, (Diomedia exulans) which has a similar average wingspan holds the scientific record for wing length. A male caught and measured by the Antarctic research ship USNS Eltanin in the Tasman sea in 1965 had a wingspan of 3.63m (11 ft 11 ins) and so holds the crown for having the longest officially recorded wings in a living bird. However, as with all these records, there are other unconfirmed reports of even larger specimens.

The Smallest Birds


The smallest bird in the world is generally agreed to be the Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) from Cuba which weighs a mere 1.6g or 0.056oz. Shortest wings and body length are not really appropriate measurements because they are disproportionately affected by whether or not the bird is flightless or not and its beak length respectively. Another major contender for smallest bird is the Little Woodstar (Acestrura bombus) from S. America. Both these tiny miracles of life fly very competently. The smallest flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island Rail (Altantisia rogersi). Reaching a mere 12.5cm/5inches in length and weighing 35g/1.45oz this little beauty can only be found in the southern Atlantic Tristan da Cunha Islands

Interesting Facts about birds

The oldest bird was known as an Archaeopteryx and lived about 150 million years ago. It was the size of a raven, was covered with feathers, and had wings.

The most yolks ever found in a single chicken's egg is nine.

An ostrich egg needs to be boiled for 2 hours to get a hard-boiled egg.

The Royal Albatross' eggs take 79 days to hatch.

The egg of the hummingbird is the world's smallest bird's egg; the egg of the ostrich, the world's largest.

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.

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.

A bird's heart beats 400 times per minute while resting and up to 1000 beats per minute while flying.

The world's only wingless bird is the kiwi of New Zealand.

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.

Pigeons can reach speeds up to 100 mph.

Swifts, doves, falcons, and sandpipers can approach 200 mph.

Penguins, ostriches, and dodo birds are all birds that do not fly.

Hummingbirds eat about every ten minutes, slurping down twice their body weight in nectar every day.

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.

The only known poisonous bird in the world is the hooded pitohui of Papua, New Guinea. The poison is found in its skin and feathers.
The American turkey vulture helps human engineers detect cracked or broken underground fuel pipes. The leaking fuel smells like vulture food (they eat carrion), and the clustered birds show repair people where the lines need fixing.

Birds Nests and Eggs


Largest Egg - living = Ostrich
Largest Egg - ever = Elephant Bird Aepyornis maximus From Madagascar 39cm/15.4in long = 12 litres/2.6 gallons, 220 chicken eggs
Smallest Egg - living = Vervain Humming bird Mellisuga minima = the size of pea
Largest individual nest = Mallee Fowl Australia Leipoa ocellata builds a mound 5 m (16.5ft) high and 11 metres (36ft) wide.
Smallest nest - many seabirds do not make a nest at all, nest on ground or in case of fairy tern on a branch of a tree otherwise the award goes to the hummingbirds for their thimble sized (1cm squared) nests.