Friday, December 02, 2005
Bird Facts
Bird Records Taken from The Bird Almanac
by David M. Bird, PhD
Have started taking an active interest in birds ever since I moved into my recent house in Gurgaon, where you get to see an amazing batch of avian species; crows and house sparrows being least common around here! So these are just a few amazing birds points I wanted to share:
1) heaviest and tallest bird: ostrich at maximum 156 kg (345 lb) and 2.7 m (9 ft)
2) heaviest flying birth: great bustard at maximum 21 kg (46.3 lb)
3) largest extinct bird: Dromornis stirtoni of Australia at 454 kg (1,000 lb) and 3 m (10 ft)
4) tallest extinct bird: giant moa of New Zealand at 3.7 m (12 ft)
5) greatest wingspan: wandering albatross at up to 3.63 m (11 ft 11 in)
6) greatest wingspan of landbirds: Andean condor and marabou stork tied at 3.2 m (10.5 ft)
7) smallest bird: bee hummingbird at 5.7 cm (2.24 in) and 1.6 g (0.056 oz)
8) smallest flightless bird: inaccessible island rail at 12.5 cm (5 in) and 34.7 g (1.2 oz)
9) longest legs: ostrich longest legs relative to body length: black-winged stilt at 23 cm (9 in), or 60% of its height
10) absolute shortest legs: virtually non-existent in swifts (Apodidae)
11) longest toes relative to body length: northern jacana at 10 cm (4 in)
12) longest bill relative to body length: swordtailed hummingbird at 10.5 cm (4.13 in)
13) absolute longest bill: Australian pelican at 47 cm (18.5 in)
14) fastest-moving bird: diving peregrine falcon at 188 km/h (117 mph)
15) fastest flapping flight: white-throated needle-tailed swift at 170 km/h (106 mph)
16) fastest level-flight. red-breasted merganser at 161 km/h (100 mph)
17) absolute shortest bill: glossy swiftlet at just a few mm
18) largest and fleshiest tongue: flamingo
19) longest tongue relative to body size: wryneck at two-thirds of its body length excluding the tail
20) smallest hearts relative to body size: Central and South American tinamous at 1.6-3. 1 % of body weight
21) longest feathers: onagadori, a domestic strain of red jungle fowl, at 10.59 m (34.75 ft)
22) longest tailfeathers: crested argus pheasant at 173 cm (5.7 ft)
23) longest tail coverts: Indian and green peafowl at 160 cm (5.24 ft)
24) widest tail feathers: crested argus pheasant at 13 cm (5.1 in)
25) longest tail feathers relative to body length: fork-tailed flycatcher at 27 cm (10.75 in)
26) longest primary feathers relative to body length: permant-winged nightjar at 60 cm (2 fit)
27) shortest tails: virtually non-existent in kiwis, emus, rheas, cassowaries
28) greatest number of feathers: whistling swan at 25,216
29) lowest number of feathers: ruby-throated hummingbird at 940
30) most secondary flight feathers: wandering and royal albatrosses with 40 secondaries and 11 primaries on each wing
31) largest eyeball: ostrich with a diameter of 5 cm (2 in)
32) fastest-moving racing pigeon: 177 km/h (110 mph)
33) slowest-flying bird: American woodcock at 8 km/h (5 mph)
34) fastest wingbeat: hummingbirds, e.g., amethyst woodstar and horned sungem, at 90/sec
35) slowest wingbeat: vultures at 1/sec
36) longest soaring bird: albatrosses and condors
37) smallest soaring bird: swift
38) highest flying bird: Ruppell's griffon vulture at 11,274 in (7 mi)
39) most aerial bird: sooty terns at 3 to 10 years without landing
40) most aerial landbird: common swift at 3 years without landing
41) longest two-way migration: Arctic tern at 40,200 km (25,000 miles)
42) longest migration (assuming a coastal route): common tern at 26,000 km ( 16,210 miles) in January 1997
43) most aquatic bird: penguins with 75% of their lives spend in the sea
44) keenest sense of smell: kiwis
45) keenest sense of hearing: barn owl
46) keenest eyesight: diurnal raptors with 1 million cones per sq. mm in the retinal fovea
47) best light-gathering capacity at night: owls, e.g., tawny owl
48) greatest G-force (acceleration due to gravity): beak of red-headed woodpecker hitting bark at 20.9 km/h (13 mph)
49) highest daily frequency of pecking: 12,000 times by black woodpecker
50) most intelligent bird: African gray parrot, crows, "bait-fishing" green and striated herons
51) most talkative bird: African gray parrot with a vocabulary of 800 words
52) birds that use echolocation: cave swiftlets and oilbirds
53) largest recorded nesting bird colony: 136 million passenger pigeon nesting in an area in Wisconsin covering 1,942 sq km (750 sq mi)
54) most abundant bird: red-billed quelea at up to 10 billion
55) fastest running bird: ostrich at 97.5 km/h (60 mph)
56) fastest running flying bird: greater roadrunner at 42 km/h (26 mph)
57) fastest underwater swimming bird: gentoo penguin at 36 km/h (22.3 mph)
58) deepest dive for non-flying bird: emperor penguin at 540 m (1,772 ft)
59) deepest dive for a flying bird: thick-billed murre at 2 10 m (689 ft)
60) deepest dive for a flying bird under 210 g: Peruvian diving petrel at 83 m (272 ft)
61) longest submerged: emperor penguin at 18 minutes
62) greatest weight-carrying capacity: bald eagle lifting a 6.8 kg (15 lb) mule deer
63) greatest hibernator: poorwill with body temperature lowered to 18-20 degrees C (64.4-68 degrees F)
64) greatest bird mimic: marsh warbler with up to 84 songs
65) most songs Sung per unit time. 22,197 in 10 hours by a red-eyed vireo
66) coldest temperature regularly endured by a bird: average temperatures of -45.6 degrees C (-50 degrees F) for emperor penguins
67) coldest temperature endured by a bird: -62.5 degrees C (-80.5 degrees F) by snowy owl
68) coldest temperature of land where a bird has been recorded: -89.6 degrees C (-129 degrees F) in Vostok, Russia for south polar skua
69) warmest temperature regularly endured by a bird: larks and wheatears at 44-45 degrees C (111-113 degrees F)
70) lowest altitude for nesting: little green beeeater at 400 m (1,307 ft) below sea-level in the Dead Sea
71) longest fasting period: 134 days for incubating male emperor penguins
72) most northerly nesting bird: ivory gull at edge of pack ice in Arctic Circle
73) largest ground nest: dusky scrubfowl nest at 11 m (36 ft) wide and 4.9 m (16 ft) high with over 2,700 kg (300 tons) of forest floor litter
74) largest tree nest: bald eagle in Florida at 6.1 m (20 ft) deep, 2.9 m (9.5 ft) wide, and weighing 2,722 kg (almost 3 tons)
75) largest social nest: African social weavers with a 100-chamber nest structure 8.2 m (27 ft) in length and 1.8 m (6 ft) high
76) largest roofed nest: hamerkop at 2 m (6.5 ft) wide and 2 m (6.5 ft) deep
77) longest nest burrow: rhinoceros auklet at 8 m (26 ft)
78) highest tree nest: marbled murrelet at 45 m (148 ft)
79) smallest nest: Cuban bee and Vervain hummingbirds at 1.98 cm (0.78 in) in breadth and 1.98 - 3.0 cm (0.78 - 1.2 in) deep
80) foulest smelling nest: Eurasian hoopoe
81) greatest number of sperm storage tubules: turkey at 20,000
82) greatest longevity of sperm inside a female: turkey at 42 days
83) largest egg: ostrich measuring 17.8 by 14 cm (7 by 4.5 in)
84) largest egg laid by a passerine: 5 7 g (2 oz) by Australian lyrebirds
85) largest egg laid relative to body weight: little spotted kiwi at 26%
86) smallest egg laid relative to body weight: ostrich egg at 1.5%
87) smallest egg: West Indian vervain humming bird at 10 mm (0.39 in) in length and 0.375 g (0.0132 oz)
87) largest collection of bird skins: British Museum of Natural History with 1.25 million
88) most valuable bird: 8 billion domestic chickens produce 562 billion eggs annually
89) most valuable nest: gray-rumped swiftlet for bird's nest soup
90) roundest eggs: owls, tinamous
91) longest interval between eggs laid: maleo at 1012 day intervals
92) largest clutch laid by a nidicolous species: 19 eggs laid by a European blue tit
93) largest clutch laid by a nidifugous species: 28 by a bobwhite quail
94) largest average clutch size: 15-19 by a gray partridge
95) smallest clutch size: 1 egg laid every 2 years by albatrosses
96) greatest number of eggs laid consecutively: 146 by a mallard
97) longest uninterrupted incubation period: emperor penguin at 64-67 days
98) longest interrupted incubation period: wandering albatross and brown kiwi at 85 days
99) longest incubation period by a passerine species: 50 days for Australian lyrebird
100) shortest incubation period: 11 days by small passerines
101) longest fledging period of flying birds: wandering albatross at 278 days
102) greatest number of broods raised in one year: 21 by zebra finch
pair
103) fastest to breeding maturity: common quail at 5 weeks
104) slowest to breeding maturity: royal and wandering albatrosses at 6-10 years
105) longest-lived wild bird: royal albatross at over 58 years
106) longest-lived captive bird: sulfur-crested cockatoo at over 80 years
107) largest domesticated bird: ostrich
108) earliest domesticated bird: jungle fowl at 3200 BC
109) heaviest domestic turkey: 37 kg (81 lb)
110) country with the most endangered birds: Indonesia with 126 (Brazil second with 121)
122) country with the highest percentage of its bird species endangered: New Zealand with 30%
123) country with the most introduced species: United States (Hawaii) with 68
124) most recent species of bird to be declared extinct: flightless Atitlan grebe of Guatemala in 1984
125) rarest bird in the world: ivory-billed woodpecker, Jerdon's courser
126) highest price paid for a bird book: $3.96 million (U.S.) for a set of John James Audubon's The Birds of America in 1989
127) highest price paid for a mounted bird: 9,000 British pounds for an extinct great auk by the Natural History Museum of Iceland on 1971
128) highest price paid for a live bird. 41,000 British pounds for a racing pigeon named Peter Pau in 1986
129) highest price paid for a caged bird. 5,000 British pounds for a hyacinth macaw
130) highest price paid for an eggs: 1,000 British pounds for an egg of extinct Aepyornis maximus
by David M. Bird, PhD
Have started taking an active interest in birds ever since I moved into my recent house in Gurgaon, where you get to see an amazing batch of avian species; crows and house sparrows being least common around here! So these are just a few amazing birds points I wanted to share:
1) heaviest and tallest bird: ostrich at maximum 156 kg (345 lb) and 2.7 m (9 ft)
2) heaviest flying birth: great bustard at maximum 21 kg (46.3 lb)
3) largest extinct bird: Dromornis stirtoni of Australia at 454 kg (1,000 lb) and 3 m (10 ft)
4) tallest extinct bird: giant moa of New Zealand at 3.7 m (12 ft)
5) greatest wingspan: wandering albatross at up to 3.63 m (11 ft 11 in)
6) greatest wingspan of landbirds: Andean condor and marabou stork tied at 3.2 m (10.5 ft)
7) smallest bird: bee hummingbird at 5.7 cm (2.24 in) and 1.6 g (0.056 oz)
8) smallest flightless bird: inaccessible island rail at 12.5 cm (5 in) and 34.7 g (1.2 oz)
9) longest legs: ostrich longest legs relative to body length: black-winged stilt at 23 cm (9 in), or 60% of its height
10) absolute shortest legs: virtually non-existent in swifts (Apodidae)
11) longest toes relative to body length: northern jacana at 10 cm (4 in)
12) longest bill relative to body length: swordtailed hummingbird at 10.5 cm (4.13 in)
13) absolute longest bill: Australian pelican at 47 cm (18.5 in)
14) fastest-moving bird: diving peregrine falcon at 188 km/h (117 mph)
15) fastest flapping flight: white-throated needle-tailed swift at 170 km/h (106 mph)
16) fastest level-flight. red-breasted merganser at 161 km/h (100 mph)
17) absolute shortest bill: glossy swiftlet at just a few mm
18) largest and fleshiest tongue: flamingo
19) longest tongue relative to body size: wryneck at two-thirds of its body length excluding the tail
20) smallest hearts relative to body size: Central and South American tinamous at 1.6-3. 1 % of body weight
21) longest feathers: onagadori, a domestic strain of red jungle fowl, at 10.59 m (34.75 ft)
22) longest tailfeathers: crested argus pheasant at 173 cm (5.7 ft)
23) longest tail coverts: Indian and green peafowl at 160 cm (5.24 ft)
24) widest tail feathers: crested argus pheasant at 13 cm (5.1 in)
25) longest tail feathers relative to body length: fork-tailed flycatcher at 27 cm (10.75 in)
26) longest primary feathers relative to body length: permant-winged nightjar at 60 cm (2 fit)
27) shortest tails: virtually non-existent in kiwis, emus, rheas, cassowaries
28) greatest number of feathers: whistling swan at 25,216
29) lowest number of feathers: ruby-throated hummingbird at 940
30) most secondary flight feathers: wandering and royal albatrosses with 40 secondaries and 11 primaries on each wing
31) largest eyeball: ostrich with a diameter of 5 cm (2 in)
32) fastest-moving racing pigeon: 177 km/h (110 mph)
33) slowest-flying bird: American woodcock at 8 km/h (5 mph)
34) fastest wingbeat: hummingbirds, e.g., amethyst woodstar and horned sungem, at 90/sec
35) slowest wingbeat: vultures at 1/sec
36) longest soaring bird: albatrosses and condors
37) smallest soaring bird: swift
38) highest flying bird: Ruppell's griffon vulture at 11,274 in (7 mi)
39) most aerial bird: sooty terns at 3 to 10 years without landing
40) most aerial landbird: common swift at 3 years without landing
41) longest two-way migration: Arctic tern at 40,200 km (25,000 miles)
42) longest migration (assuming a coastal route): common tern at 26,000 km ( 16,210 miles) in January 1997
43) most aquatic bird: penguins with 75% of their lives spend in the sea
44) keenest sense of smell: kiwis
45) keenest sense of hearing: barn owl
46) keenest eyesight: diurnal raptors with 1 million cones per sq. mm in the retinal fovea
47) best light-gathering capacity at night: owls, e.g., tawny owl
48) greatest G-force (acceleration due to gravity): beak of red-headed woodpecker hitting bark at 20.9 km/h (13 mph)
49) highest daily frequency of pecking: 12,000 times by black woodpecker
50) most intelligent bird: African gray parrot, crows, "bait-fishing" green and striated herons
51) most talkative bird: African gray parrot with a vocabulary of 800 words
52) birds that use echolocation: cave swiftlets and oilbirds
53) largest recorded nesting bird colony: 136 million passenger pigeon nesting in an area in Wisconsin covering 1,942 sq km (750 sq mi)
54) most abundant bird: red-billed quelea at up to 10 billion
55) fastest running bird: ostrich at 97.5 km/h (60 mph)
56) fastest running flying bird: greater roadrunner at 42 km/h (26 mph)
57) fastest underwater swimming bird: gentoo penguin at 36 km/h (22.3 mph)
58) deepest dive for non-flying bird: emperor penguin at 540 m (1,772 ft)
59) deepest dive for a flying bird: thick-billed murre at 2 10 m (689 ft)
60) deepest dive for a flying bird under 210 g: Peruvian diving petrel at 83 m (272 ft)
61) longest submerged: emperor penguin at 18 minutes
62) greatest weight-carrying capacity: bald eagle lifting a 6.8 kg (15 lb) mule deer
63) greatest hibernator: poorwill with body temperature lowered to 18-20 degrees C (64.4-68 degrees F)
64) greatest bird mimic: marsh warbler with up to 84 songs
65) most songs Sung per unit time. 22,197 in 10 hours by a red-eyed vireo
66) coldest temperature regularly endured by a bird: average temperatures of -45.6 degrees C (-50 degrees F) for emperor penguins
67) coldest temperature endured by a bird: -62.5 degrees C (-80.5 degrees F) by snowy owl
68) coldest temperature of land where a bird has been recorded: -89.6 degrees C (-129 degrees F) in Vostok, Russia for south polar skua
69) warmest temperature regularly endured by a bird: larks and wheatears at 44-45 degrees C (111-113 degrees F)
70) lowest altitude for nesting: little green beeeater at 400 m (1,307 ft) below sea-level in the Dead Sea
71) longest fasting period: 134 days for incubating male emperor penguins
72) most northerly nesting bird: ivory gull at edge of pack ice in Arctic Circle
73) largest ground nest: dusky scrubfowl nest at 11 m (36 ft) wide and 4.9 m (16 ft) high with over 2,700 kg (300 tons) of forest floor litter
74) largest tree nest: bald eagle in Florida at 6.1 m (20 ft) deep, 2.9 m (9.5 ft) wide, and weighing 2,722 kg (almost 3 tons)
75) largest social nest: African social weavers with a 100-chamber nest structure 8.2 m (27 ft) in length and 1.8 m (6 ft) high
76) largest roofed nest: hamerkop at 2 m (6.5 ft) wide and 2 m (6.5 ft) deep
77) longest nest burrow: rhinoceros auklet at 8 m (26 ft)
78) highest tree nest: marbled murrelet at 45 m (148 ft)
79) smallest nest: Cuban bee and Vervain hummingbirds at 1.98 cm (0.78 in) in breadth and 1.98 - 3.0 cm (0.78 - 1.2 in) deep
80) foulest smelling nest: Eurasian hoopoe
81) greatest number of sperm storage tubules: turkey at 20,000
82) greatest longevity of sperm inside a female: turkey at 42 days
83) largest egg: ostrich measuring 17.8 by 14 cm (7 by 4.5 in)
84) largest egg laid by a passerine: 5 7 g (2 oz) by Australian lyrebirds
85) largest egg laid relative to body weight: little spotted kiwi at 26%
86) smallest egg laid relative to body weight: ostrich egg at 1.5%
87) smallest egg: West Indian vervain humming bird at 10 mm (0.39 in) in length and 0.375 g (0.0132 oz)
87) largest collection of bird skins: British Museum of Natural History with 1.25 million
88) most valuable bird: 8 billion domestic chickens produce 562 billion eggs annually
89) most valuable nest: gray-rumped swiftlet for bird's nest soup
90) roundest eggs: owls, tinamous
91) longest interval between eggs laid: maleo at 1012 day intervals
92) largest clutch laid by a nidicolous species: 19 eggs laid by a European blue tit
93) largest clutch laid by a nidifugous species: 28 by a bobwhite quail
94) largest average clutch size: 15-19 by a gray partridge
95) smallest clutch size: 1 egg laid every 2 years by albatrosses
96) greatest number of eggs laid consecutively: 146 by a mallard
97) longest uninterrupted incubation period: emperor penguin at 64-67 days
98) longest interrupted incubation period: wandering albatross and brown kiwi at 85 days
99) longest incubation period by a passerine species: 50 days for Australian lyrebird
100) shortest incubation period: 11 days by small passerines
101) longest fledging period of flying birds: wandering albatross at 278 days
102) greatest number of broods raised in one year: 21 by zebra finch
pair
103) fastest to breeding maturity: common quail at 5 weeks
104) slowest to breeding maturity: royal and wandering albatrosses at 6-10 years
105) longest-lived wild bird: royal albatross at over 58 years
106) longest-lived captive bird: sulfur-crested cockatoo at over 80 years
107) largest domesticated bird: ostrich
108) earliest domesticated bird: jungle fowl at 3200 BC
109) heaviest domestic turkey: 37 kg (81 lb)
110) country with the most endangered birds: Indonesia with 126 (Brazil second with 121)
122) country with the highest percentage of its bird species endangered: New Zealand with 30%
123) country with the most introduced species: United States (Hawaii) with 68
124) most recent species of bird to be declared extinct: flightless Atitlan grebe of Guatemala in 1984
125) rarest bird in the world: ivory-billed woodpecker, Jerdon's courser
126) highest price paid for a bird book: $3.96 million (U.S.) for a set of John James Audubon's The Birds of America in 1989
127) highest price paid for a mounted bird: 9,000 British pounds for an extinct great auk by the Natural History Museum of Iceland on 1971
128) highest price paid for a live bird. 41,000 British pounds for a racing pigeon named Peter Pau in 1986
129) highest price paid for a caged bird. 5,000 British pounds for a hyacinth macaw
130) highest price paid for an eggs: 1,000 British pounds for an egg of extinct Aepyornis maximus
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