Little Known Facts About Birds - 1

Ostrich

The ostrich, a bird of Africa and South western Asia, cannot fly, but runs swiftly  It can grow up to 2.7 metres tall. It has a long neck, long legs and the biggest eyeballs that are 5 centimetres across. It lays the largest eggs that weigh 1.4 kg.

Humming bird

The humming bird is a very small bird with a long, thin bill, which it uses to suck nectar from flowers. It is the only bird flying backwards and sideways. Its wings move very fast, with a humming sound. It can stay fluttering in the air near one place. The bee Humming bird is the smallest among birds and weighs only 1.6 gm s. Humming birds lay the smallest eggs. They always lay 2 eggs at a time, each the size of a person's small fingernail.

Tern bird

The tern, a sea-bird with webbed feet, slender body, straight bill, and forked tail, makes the longest migration each year. The bird flies 3200 - 4000 kilometres from the Arctic to the Antarctic region.

The Owl, a bird with a large head, a short, hooked beak, and sharp claws, has the best night vision. Most owls fly at night, hunting small animals.

The Flamingo, a tropical bird has a very long neck and legs, and pink or red feathers and the largest tongue.

The Australian pelican, a large water bird with webbed feet, has a beak that is up to 47 centimetres long.

The birds with the longest wingspan are the Marabou storks with a wingspan of 2.4 - 4 metres and the Wandering albatross with a wingspan of up to 3.8 - 4 metres.

The Swift, a small, fast bird that catches insects in the air and the Humming bird have the shortest legs.

The Sword - billed humming bird that lives in the Andes mountain range of South America, has a beak longer than its body. It uses this beak to suck nectar from the long, tube-like 'datura' flower.