Why do birds fly
From wikiWHYfiles
[edit] Introductory Note
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[edit] Reason
Birds learn how to fly much like a human toddler learns to walk - a combination of instinct and practice. Not all birds are instinctive flyers, however. Flightless birds such as penguins and ostriches no longer have the instinct to imitate their flying cousins. Newborns of bird species which do fly, such as pigeons or hummingbirds, have an innate sense that flying is a natural act. Compare this to an human baby who instinctively understands that standing upright is a natural goal to achieve.Most birds cannot fly until their muscle structure has had time to develop. In the meantime, the nest becomes their entire world. Baby birds are not responsible for food gathering or protection of the nest, so they generally develop a psychological dependence which must be overcome. Parent birds begin to teach their fledglings the importance of flying by remaining a short distance away from the nest during feeding. If the young birds are to survive, they must step away from the nest.|
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- Heaviest - The extinct Dromornis stirtoni from Australia, also known as the Thunder Bird. This flightless giant lived between 8-6 million years ago and stood nearly 3m/10ft tall, weighing in at a massive 500kg/1100lb. Around same height as the Giant Moa of New Zealand (below), this huge bird weighed about twice as much.
- Tallest - Dinornis, the extinct Moas from the North and South Island of New Zealand were the tallest of the flightless birds in this Genera. Dinornis giganteus lived on the North Island of New Zealand and D. robustis on the South Island. They ranged in height to over 3m/10ft (with some statistics indicating up to 4m/13ft) and weighed about 250kg/550 lbs. By studying the cross-sections of fossils, scientists found that Moas took more than 10 years to reach adult size, in contrast to our modern birds, including ostriches, that tend to reach full size within a year.
- Longest Wingspan - Another extinct bird, this time from South 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.
- Smallest - It is generally agreed that this record is held by the Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helanae) from Cuba. This tiny bird is 5.7cm/2.25in and weighs less than 1/10 of an ounce. Shortest wings and body length are not really appropriate measurements because they are disproportionately affected by whether or not the bird is flightless and/or it's beak length. Another major contender for smallest bird is the Little Woodstar from South America. Both these tiny miracles of life fly very competently. The smallest flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island Rail (Atlantisia rogersi). Reaching a mere 12.5cm/5in in length and weighing 35g/1.45oz. This little beauty can only be found in the southern Atlantic Tristan da Cunha Islands.
- Bird Feathers - It must be a tedious job, but there are people who've taken the time to count the feathers on different species of birds. Who has the fewest feathers? That distinction goes to the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) with 940. And the bird with the most ... the Swan with about 20,000.
- How Long Do Birds Live? - Survival is tough business if you are a bird. Life brings many challenges from natural and man-made dangers. Unfortunately, banding studies show that most birds die in their first year of life. But here are some record lifespans: Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 23.25 years, Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 23.5 years, Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 18.33 years, Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 15.75 years and Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 15.75 years.
- Fastest - This record goes to the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) whose diving speeds have been clocked at 200 mph! This is pretty fast in anyone's book ... but remarkable when compared to the slow speed of a Hummingbird at 27mph. But doesn't that 27mph seem fast as the buzz by you on their way to the next flower or hummingbird feeder?
- Highest Flyer - While most birds fly a few hundred feet off the ground, migrating birds fly much higher to take advantage of favorable winds. While geese will fly over Mt. Everest at 29,000ft and South American condors (Vultur gryphus) range up to 20,000ft, the high flying record must go to the unfortunate vulture that collided with a jetliner over West Africa at a whopping 37,000ft!
- Migration - There is no doubt that birds are the most mobile creatures on earth. Many migrate from the northern to southern hemisphere each year. Most notable are the seabirds that spend long periods of time at sea, perhaps years, without landing and traveling from one side of the world to the other. But the Artic Tern (Sterna paradisea) is a real champ, migrating from far northern regions to the coast of Antartica each year, a 22,000 mile round trip.
