Flightless birds. List of non-flying birds

Birds that do not know how to fly are treated as strangely as animals that do not know how to walk, or fish that do not know how to swim. Why, then, do we need wings for these creatures, if they can not lift them into the air? Nevertheless, on our planet there are entire groups of such creatures. Some live in the hot African savanna, others live on the icy Antarctic shores, and others live on the islands of New Zealand.

Foreword

If we compare all the species of birds that exist on our planet, the flightless birds occupy an insignificant part in comparison with the flyers. Why is that? The thing is that the ability to fly helps them survive in the wildlife world. Wings not only save birds from predatory animals, but also provide an opportunity to obtain food for themselves. So, in search of food, birds can overcome huge distances, and this is much more convenient than scouring in search of food on the ground. In addition, flyers can build their nests to rear their offspring at a considerable height, so that a dangerous enemy can not reach the chicks. It turns out that birds who can fly, it is much easier to survive in a cruel world called "wild nature". This ability helped them become the second largest class of vertebrates. For example, scientists have 8,500 different species of birds, but only 4000 species of mammals. If flying for birds is such an important way to survive, why some of them do not have this skill? How did the flying birds adapt to survive? Examples we will discuss below. Scientists believe that earlier these birds also could fly, but in the course of evolution they lost this ability. Well, let's look at what such strange creatures are.

Non-flying birds: list

1. Penguin-like. These creatures spend most of their life in the water. As a result of evolution, their wings have changed and resemble fins, thanks to which they have become excellent swimmers.
2. Astute. The ostrich is the largest flightless bird. He is too heavy for flying. To lift such a mass in the air, huge wings are required, accordingly, and the musculature of the wing should become even more massive and stronger.
3. Nandoo-shaped. The ratio of the bearing surface of the wing and the size of the body in these birds is such that even intense flapping of the wings will not lift the bird into the air.
4. Casuaro-like. Often, this unit is combined with ostriches. It includes two families: the Emu and the Casuar.
5. Kiwifruit. Kiwi are non-flying rattlebirds. Their mass is 3-3.5 kg, and the length is 50-80 cm. The body of this creation covers the hairy feathers.
6. Tristan shepherdess. Refers to the group of Zhuravleobraznyh. This is the smallest representative of flightless birds. Its dimensions are 13-15 cm, and the mass is only 37-40 g. This species lives on one of the islands of Tristan da Cunha.
7. Parrot Kakapo. Another name is the owl parrot. This fairly large and rare representative species is found in moist forests on the South Island of New Zealand.

Non-flying birds: penguins

These creatures are excellent swimmers and divers. They are found only in the southern hemisphere of our planet. Most of them live in Antarctica, but some species can survive in temperate and even tropical climates. Some representatives of penguin-like animals spend up to 75% of their life in water. These flightless birds can remain under water thanks to heavy and hard bones that serve as a ballast, like a heavy belt for a diver. The wings of the penguins evolved into the fins. They help to control the movement in the water environment at speeds up to 15 mph. These birds have a streamlined body, a paddle-shaped foot shape, an insulating layer of fat, and waterproof feathers. All these properties allow the penguin to feel comfortable even in icy water. To maintain heat, they have very rigid and very tightly placed feathers, providing waterproofing. Another property that allows to survive in the wild is the unique white-black coloring of the birds in question. It makes the penguin invisible to predators both from below and from above. These birds live in colonies, reaching the number of several thousand individuals. Penguins are the most numerous representatives of "non-flyers". So, every year the coast of Antarctica is visited by up to 24 million of these creatures.

Stricate

African ostriches are the biggest birds of our planet. Their growth can reach 2.7 meters, and weight - 160 kg. These flightless birds eat grass, shoots of trees and shrubs, do not disdain insects and small vertebrates. In nature, the creatures under consideration live in small groups - one male and several females. Ostriches have very sharp eyesight and excellent hearing. They are great runners. In case of danger, the ostrich can reach speeds of up to 70 km / h. In addition, he is an excellent fighter, his two-fingered paws are a serious weapon. Judge for yourself: one centimeter of the body when you kick this bird with a force of 50 kg. In addition to high speed and excellent fighting qualities, the ostrich is distinguished by the ability to mask well. In case of danger, he lies down and presses his neck and head to the ground, as a result of which it is difficult to distinguish from ordinary shrubbery. As you can see, this representative of "non-flyers" has perfectly adapted to survive in the wild.

Nandoo-shaped

These flightless birds are common in South America: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay. People inhabit pampas (open spaces, steppes), covered with grasses and shrubs. The adult reaches a length of 140 cm, its weight is 20-25 kg. Appearance and way of life nandu resembles an ostrich, but scientists believe that these are completely different species. In nature, these birds live in groups that reach 30 individuals. In case of danger, an adult nandu can reach speeds of up to 60 km / h. Among natural predators that can hunt for adults are jaguars and pumas. But young animals suffer from attacks of wild dogs. In addition, the battleships like to destroy the nests of these birds.

Casuariformes

These flightless birds have much in common with ostriches, but their main difference is the three-toed paw. They are found in Australia and New Guinea. In this detachment there are only two families: Emu and Kazuarov. The latter reach 170 cm in length, their weight is 80 kg. They are characterized by a beak that is compressed laterally and a horny "helmet" on the head. Unlike ostriches and nandu, cassowaries prefer to live in forest thickets. They feed on the fallen fruits of trees and small animals. In the rest the representatives of this detachment are similar to their close relatives - ostriches.

Kiwifruit

Representatives of this species are nocturnal, live in the dense forests of New Zealand. In the daytime, kiwis hide in bushes and thick thickets of the forest, and at night roam in search of food, which is found thanks to a well-developed sense of smell. They feed on worms and other invertebrates, which are pulled out of moist soil. With the help of a long beak, these birds not only produce food, but also make small depressions in the forest litter, in which they hide themselves.

Tristan Shepherd

This is the smallest flying bird on Earth. Now this species has been preserved only on the Island of the Unstopular (it is free from humans and predators) of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago. Previously, these birds were abundant in all the nearby islands, but the cats imported by the white man completely destroyed the given species. The shepherd prefers open meadows and fern thickets. It feeds on moths, earthworms, seeds and berries.

Parrot kakapo

This bird is listed in the Red Book. She can not fly, but she can plan from the hill to the ground. Despite the presence of full wings, kakapo has weak muscles and heavy bones without air cavities. The bird is nocturnal, but feeds on fern leaves, mosses, berries and mushrooms.

Extinct non-flying birds

The most famous to date extinct "non-flyers" are the wingless rake and the dodo bird. The first of them belonged to the Chistikov family. The length of her body was 70 cm. The wings were rather small, but well adapted to rowing under water. The bird was completely exterminated in the 19th century. Dodo, or the Mauritian dodo, is an extinct flightless bird that inhabited the islands of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. It was completely exterminated by a white man and imported cats during the expansion of these lands.

Conclusion

So we looked at how flightless birds adapted to the survival in the wild . The list of them, as you can judge, in principle, is quite diverse. Scientists believe that the first "non-flying" appeared on the islands due to the fact that the fodder base there was abundant, besides there were no predators completely. Probably, this is precisely what explains the fact that in the above conditions, both the developed and the undeveloped wings survived equally, or even without them.