All About Birds Pg 4
Flightless Birds
Although it's true that all birds have feathers and
wings, that doesn't necessarily mean they can all fly.
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penguin swimming
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A penguin spends as much as 75% of it's life at
sea. It doesn't use it's wings to fly -- it uses them to swim.
Its streamlined body and strong wings allow it to swim
as fast as 15 miles per hour after fish, krill, squid and
crustaceans.
Check out our KidZone
Penguins section for more fun facts, photos and
activities about penguins.
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Puffins CAN fly, but they tend not
to. Like the penguin, it uses its wings to move through the water
catching fish and other small sea creatures by diving. Puffins
spend a few months each year living on an island. The rest of the
time they live in the northern seas. Puffins only
go to the island when it is time to have babies. When the baby
hatches and reaches about 6 weeks old, the parents return to the sea,
stranding it on the island. All by itself, the chick learns to swim
and catch fish to eat. |
puffin
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The largest living bird is the ostrich which can be as
big as 8 feet tall and 330 pounds. The ostrich relies on its speed,
size and strong kick rather than flight for safety. An ostrich can
kill a person with one kick and can run up to 40 miles per hour.
Ostriches live in flocks in dry parts of Africa.
Flocks can have as many as 600 birds in them.
Ostriches are vegetarian and spend much of their time
searching out water.
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| The emus of Australia are the second largest
bird. They can grow to 6 feet tall and weigh 100 pounds. Emus
are also fast runners.
They live in smaller flocks on the dry plains and
deserts in Australia. They feed on leaves, grass, and insects.
Father emus are the caregivers -- they build the nests,
incubate the eggs and raise the babies until they are able to take care of
themselves. |
Australian emu
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The New Zealand Kiwi has nothing to do with
kiwifruit. It lives in moist forests and uses its long, bendable
bill to poke around the ground in search of worms.
Unlike many of the other flightless birds, the kiwi is
not very large. It's only about a foot and a half long. To
avoid predators, the kiwi hides during the day and comes out at night to
search for food.
The kiwi has fine feathers that make it look almost
furry. It has no tail feathers and its wings are so small they're
typically not very easy to see.
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The Rhea of South America, the Kakapo of New Zealand and the Cassowary of Australia and
New Guinea are also flightless birds. A number of extinct birds were also
flightless, including the Dodo of Mauritius and the Moa and Dinornis of New
Zealand.
Scientific information:
- Penguins
make up the scientific "order" Sphenisciformes.
- Puffins belong to the scientific order Alcidae.
- Ostriches make up the scientific order Struthioniformes.
- Cassowaries and Emus make up the scientific
order Casuariiformes.
- Kiwis make up the scientific order Apterygidae.
- Rheas makes up the scientific order Rheiformes.
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BIRDS
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