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9 Amazing Facts About Birds

Some interesting and amazing facts about birds
Bird is one of the six basic groups of animals. Birds, which are known for their ability to fly, are unmatched in their command of the skies. They glide long distances over open ocean, hover being motionless in the air, and capture their prey with absolute accuracy. But not all birds are so acrobatic. Some species such as kiwi and penguin, lost their ability to fly long back in order to adapt to lifestyles of land and water.

Here are some of amazing facts about birds

FACT: Ostrich is largest of all birds
Ostrich is a flightless bird and has a great body, long neck, long legs and a small head. Although they are not able to fly, they are outstanding runners who can run at the speeds of up to 50 mph for almost 30 minutes. Adult ostrich weighs between 220 and 350 pounds and measure between 7 and 9 1/4 feet tall.

FACT: Birds do not have teeth.
Instead, they have a bill made of keratin protein. Bird bills come in various shapes and sizes and are tailored to the special diet of each species. Herons, for example, has a bill that is sharp and pointy which allows them to catch fish. Finch, on the other hand, has a short and conical bill suitable for cracking open seeds.

FACT: Most of the birds make seasonal migrations
Many birds prefer higher latitudes to breed during the summer and spring. So during the fall and winter they migrate to lower latitudes. Many species follow the same route every year when migrating. These routes are called migration flyways.

FACT: All birds lay eggs.
Eggs vary in color and size depending on the species. Although there are different colors of eggs, only two pigments contribute to the color of the shell. One pigment is derived from bile and other from hemoglobin. Nest is a place where most of the species lay their eggs. Nests vary in construction, shape and size.

FACT: Birds are not the only animals that can fly.
One among interesting facts about birds is that the flight characteristics are not limited to birds. Bats, mammals, fly with great agility and insects, which are arthropods, fluttered in the air a few million years before birds took wing.

FACTS: Feathers are unique to birds.
Feathers are unique to birds, which simply mean that if an animal has feathers then it's a bird. Feathers serve the bird in multiple ways, but the most important is the role feather plays in enabling the bird to fly. Besides helping in flying, feathers also provide protection from several harmful elements. They also provide insulation and waterproofing to the birds.

FACT: Archaeopteryx lithographica is the earliest bird known to mankind that existed about 200 million years ago.
Archaeopteryx had mixed characteristics of reptiles and birds. It had wings and feathers, but instead of bills it had reptilian snout. This bird had no keel bone which is an important feature for the flight, so researchers are not sure if was able to fly or if it just rolled. A total of ten specimens of Archaeopteryx fossils have been found over the years. All fossils were found in the sediment of limestone near Solnhofen, Germany.

FACT: There are 9865 species of birds alive today.
From 9865 species of birds, 1227 species are considered as endangered, 838 are near endangered, 7735 are considered to be of little concern, and 65 species lack data to determine the status. 133 species of birds are known to have become extinct since 1500. There are also four species classified as extinct in the wild. The last surviving members of the species survive only in captivity.

FACT: Birds are divided into 30 groups.
Although there are various ways to classify birds, experts have divided them into subgroups; there are 30 groups of birds that are recognized.

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