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The osprey and owls are the only raptors whose outer toe is reversible, allowing them to grasp their prey with two toes in front and two behind. This is particularly helpful when they grab slippery fish. [26] The osprey is 0.9–2.1 kg (2.0–4.6 lb) in weight and 50–66 cm (20–26 in) in length with a 127–180 cm (50–71 in) wingspan.
Rank Image Ave Scientific Name Maximum wingspans [m (ft)] 1: Snowy albatross: Diomedea exulans: 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in) 2: Great white pelican: Pelecanus onocrotalus
The eye of a bird is larger compared to the size of the animal than for any other group of animals, although much of it is concealed in its skull. The ostrich has the largest eye of any land vertebrate, with an axial length of 50 mm (2.0 in), twice that of the human eye. [1] Bird eye size is broadly related to body mass.
That osprey fought back. Nature is red of tooth and claw, as the old saying goes. But also, it is red of beak, as the skillful predatory instincts of so many bird species prove.
The osprey is usually placed in a separate family (Pandionidae), as is the secretary bird (Sagittariidae), and the New World vultures are also usually now regarded as a separate family or order. Karyotype data [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] indicate the accipitrids analysed are indeed a distinct monophyletic group.
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Birds figure throughout human culture. About 120 to 130 species have become extinct due to human activity since the 17th century, and hundreds more before then. Human activity threatens about 1,200 bird species with extinction, though efforts are underway to protect them. Recreational birdwatching is an important part of the ecotourism industry.
His comparison of the skeleton of humans and birds is considered as a landmark in comparative anatomy. [28] Volcher Coiter (1534–1576), a Dutch anatomist, made detailed studies of the internal structures of birds and produced a classification of birds, De Differentiis Avium (around 1572), that was based on structure and habits. [29]