Facts about birds
- Birds are social animals that communicate with each other through visual and audible signals, and perform social actions in some cases: communal nesting, communal hunting or protection from predators. - Birds inhabit all ecosystems of the globe, including Antarctica. - As of early 2017, science knows of 10,672 species of birds alive today. This makes them the most diverse group of animals.
– The science that deals with the study of birds is called ornithology.
- The smallest bird species in the world is considered to be the hummingbird bee, whose body length does not exceed 5.7 centimetres.
- Hummingbirds are the only birds in the world that can fly backwards.
– The largest bird is the African ostrich, which is 2.7 metres high and its body weight is up to 156 kilograms.
- The greatest wingspan of any bird alive today is that of the wandering albatross, up to 3.25 metres.
- Owls cannot move their eyes - instead they can turn their heads to 270° without hurting themselves.
– The only bird with nostrils at the end of its beak is the kiwi. This arrangement helps them sniff out food on the ground. They often snort to clean the nostrils of accumulated dust and soil.
- The most chatty bird is considered to be the jaco (grey parrot). On average it can memorize more than 1,500 words.
- In the old days, the miners used to take a cage with a canary into a mine and watch the bird while they worked. If it suddenly started showing signs of restlessness or fell down, people would rush out of the mine. The fact is that canaries are very sensitive to gases, and die from even the slightest admixture of it in the air.
– The throat sacs of pelicans hold up to 5 litres of water.
- Due to the high muscular energy required for flight, the birds' metabolic rate is extremely high and food requirements are high. Its daily norm is 12-28 % of the total body weight.
- Birds do not have sweat glands. Body cooling is achieved by a highly developed respiratory system.
- The bird with the largest number of feathers is the tundra swan (Bewick's swan). Their number reaches 25,000.
- Feathers require a lot of care, and birds spend about 9% of their time cleaning them every day. Birds take care of them with their beak. Only one bird can't do this - the hummingbird mecca has such a long beak that it has to clean its feathers with its paw instead of its beak.
– Flamingos choose their mate for life.
– Flamingos, storks and other long-legged birds stand on one leg to minimise heat loss in the wind. Because of their uncovered feathers, the heat loss is quite great, so the birds try to keep their feet alternately in the warmth of their plumage.