Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Bird Image Species Family Maximum height Details Rüppell's vulture: Gyps rueppellii: Accipitridae: 11,300 metres (37,100 feet). [1] [2]Vultures use their excellent eyesight to scan the landscape below from a relatively static aerial position.
Birds (flying, soaring) – Most of the approximately 10,000 living species can fly (flightless birds are the exception). Bird flight is one of the most studied forms of aerial locomotion in animals. See List of soaring birds for birds that can soar as well as fly. Townsends's big-eared bat, (Corynorhinus townsendii) displaying the "hand wing"
Great albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds, with wingspans reaching up to 2.5–3.5 metres (8.2–11.5 ft) and bodies over 1 metre (3.3 ft) in length. [3] The albatrosses are usually regarded as falling into four genera, but disagreement exists over the number of species.
Many birds actively defend a territory from others of the same species during the breeding season; maintenance of territories protects the food source for their chicks. Species that are unable to defend feeding territories, such as seabirds and swifts, often breed in colonies instead; this is thought to offer protection from predators. Colonial ...
The flight of some species is characterised by a distinctive "flicking" action quite different from swallows. Swifts range in size from the pygmy swiftlet ( Collocalia troglodytes ), which weighs 5.4 g and measures 9 cm (3.5 in) long, to the purple needletail ( Hirundapus celebensis ), which weighs 184 g (6.5 oz) and measures 25 cm (9.8 in) long.
Africa has most species, and is believed to be where the family originated. This is supported by the fact that the related ground rollers are found on Madagascar . [ 14 ] The European roller is completely migratory , breeding in Europe and wintering in Africa, and the dollarbird also leaves much of its breeding range in winter.
Bird flight is the primary mode of locomotion used by most bird species in which birds take off and fly. Flight assists birds with feeding, breeding , avoiding predators , and migrating . Bird flight includes multiple types of motion, including hovering, taking off, and landing, involving many complex movements.
Birds have wings whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species ...