Ostrich |
1.
Best
Talker
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African Grey Parrot
The Guinness Book of
World Records lists the best talking parrot or parrot like bird as an African
Grey named Prudle.
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2.
Bossiest
Bird
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The kea (Nestor
notabilis) from New Zealand (The only bird known to have a society in which
the higher status individuals force others to work for them).
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3.
Fastest
flying bird
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White throated spine
tail swift (170 kmph). Found in Russia & Himalayas.
Peregrine falcon
(Falco peregrinus): Reaches speed of at least 124 mph and possibly as much as
168 mph when swooping from great heights.
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4.
Fastest
running bird (Fastest land bird)
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Ostrich (45 mph)
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5.
Fastest
swimming (among animals)
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Penguine. Fastest
swimming penguin: Gentoo (36 km/hr) - Antarctic Islands
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6.
Fastest
Wing beat
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The horned sungem (Heliactin cornuta), a hummingbird from
South America, beats its wings up and down 90 times a second.
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7.
Heaviest
Bird ever alive
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Elephant Bird. (The
flightless bird. 10 or 11 feet tall, weight up to 1100 pounds).
The home of the
Elephant Bird was the island of Madagascar, off the eastern coast of Africa.
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8.
Heaviest
Birds of Prey
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Andean condors
(Vultur gryphus). Males weigh 20-27 pounds and have a wingspan of at least 10
feet.
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9.
Heaviest
Flying Birds
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The Kori Bustard or
paauw (Ardeotis Kori) of northeast and southern Africa and the great bustard
(Otis tarda) of Europe and Asia weigh about 40-42 pounds.
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10.
Heaviest
Parrot
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Flightless Kakapo
around 7lbs in weight; New Zealand.
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11.
Highest
flying bird
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Geese (those in the
Himalayas in Asia fly at height of over 29,000 feet above the earth).
A Ruppell’s vulture (Gyps rueppellii) collided with a
commercial aircraft over Abidjan, Ivory Coast, at an altitude of 37,000 feet
in November 1973.
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12.
Highest
G-Force Borne
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Red-headed
woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus). Its beak hits the bark of a tree
with an impact of velocity of 13 mph.
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13.
Large
Flocks
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Flamingoes. Of the
four species, the lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) of eastern and
southern Africa has been seen in flocks of several million birds,
particularly in the Great Lakes of eastern Africa.
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14.
Largest
bird
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Largest flightless
bird: Ostrich (Struthio camelus) in Africa and Arabia - 8 ft.
Weight 156.5 kg. Eggs up to 20 cm long.
Largest flying bird: Andean condor
(Wingspan of up to 102 feet). Seen in Andes mountains in South America.
Biggest Seabird: The Northern Royal
Albatross (Diomedea epomophora sanfordi) with a wing span 3 m, flight speed
up to 115 km/h. 80% of life spent at sea.
Biggest Cockatoo: Sub-species
Proboscigar Aterimus Goliath. The weight of the female Palm Cockatoo is
between 500-950 g, and the males weigh between 540-1100 g. Both females and
males height range from 49-68 cm. The wings are about 35.1 cm, the tail about
23.8 cm, the bill about 9.1 cm, and the tarsus about 3.5 cm.
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15.
Largest
Carnivorous Bird
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Titanis walleri (the
last known member of the family Phorusrhacidae). It had a height of 3 m.
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16.
Largest
egg
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Egg of Ostrich
(Africa)- 175 mm in diameter
The extinct giant
elephant bird (Aephornis maximus) laid 1 foot long eggs
The ostrich egg is
6-8 inches long. 4-6 inches in diameter and weighs 2 lb. 3 oz. - 3 lb.14 oz.
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17.
Largest
eye ball
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Ostrich (5 cm
across)
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18.
Largest
Eyes (among land animals)
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Ostrich. Each eye
can be up to 2 inches in diameter.
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19.
Largest
Field of Vision
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The eyes of the
woodcock are set so far back in its head that it has a 360 degree field of
vision, enabling it see all round and even over the top of its head
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20.
Largest
Nest
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The incubation
mounds built by the Mallee fowl (Leipoa ocellata) of Australia are up to 15
feet tall and 35 feet wide. A nest site is estimated to weigh 330 tons.
A 9 ft. 6 in. Wide
20 foot deep nest was built by a pair of bald eagles (Haliaeetus
leucocephalus), and possibly by their successors, close to St Petersburg,
Florida. When examined in 1963, the nest was estimated to weigh in excess of
2.2 tons.
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21.
Largest
Nest
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Bald eagles. One was
2.9 m wide and 6 m deep.
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22.
Largest
Prey
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A 15 pound male red howler monkey killed by a harpy
eagle (Harpia harpyja) in Manu National Park, Peru in 1990. The harpy
eagle is considered the world’s most powerful bird of prey, although it
weighs only 20 pounds.
An incredible video of a Golden Eagle taking a small
Mountain sheep or goat and carrying it off to its nest.
The largest documented prey taken by a Philippine
eagle is a 14 kg (30.8 lbs) Philippine deer Cervus at a nest studied by
Kennedy in 1985. Also on records; a mature female monkey taken and carrying
it in one foot in Cagayan; and a large python.
The African crowned eagle is Africa's most
powerful and ferocious eagle in terms of the weight and nature of prey taken.
Mammalian prey, especially duikers, may weigh up to 34 kg and still be preyed
on by these eagles.
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23.
Largest
sea bird
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Albatross
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24.
Largest
Wingspan
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Wandering albatross
(Diomedea exulans) found in Southern Oceans. Average length (male) - 3.15 m.
Largest ever recorded - 3.6 m.
Largest Ever
Wingspan:
The South American
teratoron (Argentavis magnificens), which existed 6-8 million years ago, had
an estimated wingspan of 25 feet.
Parrot with largest
Wingspan:
Hyacinth Macaw,
around 1100 mm - Brazil [contributed by Harold Armitage, Wild Macaws Wild
Macaws] The Hyacinth macaw is the most majestic of all parrots.
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25.
Lightest
flying bird
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Bee Humming bird
(5.7 cm; 1.6 9m)
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26.
Longest
beak
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Australian pelican
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27.
Longest
Bills
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The bill of the
Australian pelican (Pelicanus conspicillatus) is 13-18.5 inches long. The
longest beak in relation to body length is that of the sword- billed
hummingbird ( Ensifera ) of the Andes. At 4 inches, the beak is longer than
the bird’s body (excluding the tail).
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28.
Longest
Fast
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The male emperor
penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) spends several months without feeding on the
frozen wastes of the Antarctic sea ice.
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29.
Longest
feather
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Tail feather (6
feet) of Argus pheasant (male) in Asia.
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30.
Longest
Feathers
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The phoenix fowl or
Yokohama chicken (a strain of the red junglefowl Gallus is bred in Japan for
ornamental purposes. A rooster with a 34 ft. 9.5 in. Tail covert was reported
in 1972.
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31.
Longest
Flight
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A common tern
(Sterna hirundo) that was banded in June 1996 in Finland was recaptured alive
16,250 miles away at Rotamah Island, Victoria, Australia in January 1997. It
had traveled at a rate of 125 miles a day.
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32.
Longest
migratory bird
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Arctic tern. May
cover 40,000 km a year migrating from Arctic to Antarctic and back.
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33.
Longest
Stride
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The stride of an
ostrich may exceed 23 feet in length when the bird is sprinting.
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34.
Most
Abundant Bird
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The red- billed
quelea (Quelea quelea) of Africa has an estimated adult breeding population
of 1.5 billion.
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35.
Most
Airborne Bird
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The sooty tern
(Sterna fuscata) leaves its nesting grounds as a youngster and remains aloft
for 3-10 years, settling on water from time to time. It returns to land to
breed as an adult.
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36.
Most
Food Consumed
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Hummingbirds (family
Trochilidon)- require at least half their own body weight in food (mainly
nectar and tiny insects) every single day. With the possible exception of
shrews, they have the highest metabolic rate of any known animal.
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37.
Rarest
Bird
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Mauritius Kestrel
(found in Mauritius). About 5 are thought to remain.
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38.
Rarest
Bird
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Po'ouli (pronounced
"poh-oh-U-lee")- Hawaiian honeycreeper. At last count, the known
po'ouli population was six.
Rarest Parrot
Spix's Macaw
(Northeastern Brazil)
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39.
Second
largest bird
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Emu- Ratitate
(Australia)
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40.
Sharpest
day vision (among animals)
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Eagle
The peregrine falcon
(Falco peregrinus) is believed to be able to spot a pigeon from a distance of
more than 5 miles under ideal conditions.
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41.
Sharpest
night vision (among animals)
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Owl
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42.
Slowest
Wing beat
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Several species of
the New World vulture (family Cathartidea): averaged one per second.
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43.
Slowest-Flying
Birds
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The American
woodcock (Scolopax minor) and the Eurasian woodcock (S. Rusticola) have both
been timed lying at 5 mph without stalling during courtship displays.
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44.
Smallest
bird
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Helena's Humming
bird-Calypte helenae), (Cuba) Average length (male) 5.8 cm
(head and body 1.5 cm). Weight 2 g. Egg 1.14 cm long |
45.
Smallest
Bird of Prey
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The black-legged
falconet
(Micrphierax
fringlius ) of southeast Asia and the white-fronted or Bornean falconet ( M.
latifrons ) of northwestern Borneo.
Both have average
length: 5.5-6 inches, including a 2 inch tail, and weigh approximately 1.25
ounces.
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46.
Smallest
egg
|
Vervain hummingbird
(Mellisuga minima) eggs less than 39/100 inch long. They weighed 0.365 g.
(0.0128 oz.) And 0.375 g (0.0132 oz.)
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47.
Smallest
Indian bird
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Sun bird
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48.
Smallest
Indian water bird
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Podicipes
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49.
Smallest
Nests
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The vervian
hummingbird (Mellisuga minima) builds a nest about half the size of a walnut
shell. The deeper but narrower nest of the bee hummingbird (M. Helenae) is
thimble sized.
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50.
Smallest
Parrot
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The Pygmy parrots of
Papua and nearby islands. Genus Micropsitta. 3" long (8cm).
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51.
Smelliest
Bird
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The South American
hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) or ("stinking pheasant") has an odor
similar to cow manure.
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52.
Strangest
Diet
|
An ostrich living at
the London Zoo, England was found to have swallowed an alarm clock, a roll of
film, a handkerchief, a 3-foot long piece of rope, a cycle valve, a pencil,
three gloves, a collar stud, a Belgian franc, four halfpennies and two farthings.
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53.
Tallest
Flying Birds crane
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The largest cranes
(family Gruidae) - almost 6 ft. 6 in. tall.
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Owl |
Australian pelican |