Listening to the sound of birds singing in the stillness of quiet morning, catching sight of bottle-green colored breasts as the green-breasted pitta hide in the forest canopies, the gentleness of a Grey-crowned cranes, exasperation of crows and starlings as they descend on forest floor, sight of beautiful pink flamingos around salt Lakes, colonies of the red-billed Quelea descending on a garden as a cloud and interesting sight of vultures savaging on carcasses. There are many bird antics to behold.
With between 10,000 and 10,700 bird species in the whole World, lives of bird enthusiasts are repeatedly moved by these brightly feathered beauties. They are surprisingly the only beings with magic that all other animals wish to have-the capability to fly. Following are the unique facts about birds that you didn’t know;
- Ostrich is the largest living flightless bird in the world with standing height of over 2.7 meters and wingspan of about 2 meters. Given their huge body size, it is not surprising these they lay the biggest bird eggs weighing up to 1.5 kilograms. Another fact you might not know about the Ostrich is that it is the only bird that has a urinary bladder and eye larger than its brain.
- Known to be the world’s smallest bird, a bee hummingbird bird weighs an average of 1.95 grams and stretches for only about 5.5 centimeters long. Given its small size, it also lays the smallest eggs that are as small as the size of peas.
- The Hooded pitohui in New Guinea are the only toxic (poisonous) birds in the whole World with their feathers and skin containing one of the most effective known toxins known to science.
- Peregrine falcons are the fastest living creatures on Earth with a speed of 242 miles per hour when hunt diving.
- The African Grey parrot is the World’s most talkative bird with the ability of saying more than 800 words while other parrots can talk only about 50 words.
- Penguins are the only birds that can swim although not able to fly. Interestingly, these creatures are also the only bird species that can walk upright. Another unknown fact about penguins is that they always incubate their egg by balancing it on their feet and covering them with the bottom of their bellies. Much as they accept same sex commitments, gay penguin partners are also common within colonies.
- Did you know that the duck’s eggshell is porous and can make it possible for the growing duckling to breath? Studies by the Indiana State University also show that these birds on the edge of a raft of ducks can sleep with one eye open while the ones in the middle of the raft comfortably sleep with both eyes closed.
- A group of owls is known as a “parliament” and group of crows is a “murder”. Another riveting fact about owls is that they cannot move their tubular eyeballs but can instead rotate their head for 270 degrees, farther than any living creature.
- Albatross can sleep during flight. These large seabirds can doze while cruising at over 25 miles per hour.
- The Madagascar Pochard is the rarest bird in the whole World, as there are only 25 left in the wild. The commonest birds are the domestic chicken.
Best Time for bird watching.
The perfect month of the year and time when different bird species are most active depends on the species you are trying to see. However, early mornings as the birds begin foraging for breakfast as well as the evenings as they are filling their bellies are the best times for birding expeditions.
