Have you ever wondered how big birds live on our planet? Now in the world there are from 9,300 to 10,070 species of birds. We will consider only a few, especially large individuals, among this huge variety of birds.
The world of birds is amazing and multifaceted. Their diversity in nature can amaze even the most sophisticated naturalist. Most birds can fly, but there are individuals that, like humans, only move on the ground. There are birds of prey and harmless decorative and domestic. In addition, birds are one of the oldest vertebrates on the globe, which immediately stands out in a separate group, the main feature of which is a cover of feathers.
Opening the pages of the chronology of evolution, we see that the first representative of birds appears on earth in the Mesozoic era, about 155 million years ago.
Archeopteryx - so the scientists called the first of the birds on Earth. Today, man actively intervenes in the natural processes of natural selection and the measured course of evolution, introducing new species of poultry and not only.
The biggest birds:
Archeopteryx
Let us take a brief look at history, and even if this species can no longer be found in nature, the archeopteryx froze in stone to tell Humanity about itself.
No more crows, Archeopteryx became the first representative of birds on Earth. Before the findings of fossils, scientists could only approximately model the oldest birds. The main finds of the remains of Archeopteryx are found only in southern Germany. In 1861, the oldest bird received its scientific name - "archeo" - ancient, "pteryx" - wing.
But its size was not so impressive: Archeopteryx had a weight of up to 1 kg and a body length of about half a meter.
12
Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri)
The largest member of the penguin family. The growth of some individuals can reach 122 centimeters, and weight - from 40 to 45 kg.
Emperor penguins live on the ice around Antarctica, moreover, of all species of birds, they come farthest to the south. But from places of constant habitat from the ice of the Antarctic they move to the mainland to continue the genus.
Penguins of this species have a strong sense of self-preservation. In severe frosts they stray into groups. The temperature in the middle of the group with a 20-degree frost can reach up to +35 degrees Celsius. Naturally, in the center of the circle are the emperor penguin's chicks.
11
Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus)
Steller's sea eagle is the largest predator that nests in the Northern Hemisphere. The wingspan of some individuals reaches 2.5 meters, and growth - 105–110 cm with these parameters, the weight of the bird is quite small, only 8–9 kg.
Steller's sea eagle is not only one of the largest birds, but also the most intelligent bird on the planet. Surprisingly, adults remember all their chicks and plan a hunt. The weight of the bird does not allow it to stay in the air for a long time, an active flight is 30–35 minutes per day. In addition, the eagle is also a patriot. Wintering on the Japanese islands, he always returns to his homeland, on the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk, the shores of Sakhalin and Kamchatka, to produce and grow offspring.
10
Bustard (Otis tarda)
The bustard is rightfully considered to be a heavyweight among flying birds. The weight of this bird reaches 20 kg, and its height is 110 cm. The nesting place of this bird is the deserts and semi-deserts of the continent of Eurasia: from Spain to the steppes of Mongolia.
Bustard has learned to skillfully control air flow for a flight, which is quite difficult with such a weight. Watching the bustard take off, we can draw an analogy with the takeoff of a heavy airliner. Before taking off, this species of birds makes a big run.
For bosom courtship, the male bustards chose a certain period of the day. Usually at 8 o’clock in the morning or in the evening, from 4 to 5, and never in the afternoon. After breeding, males do not take part in the life of the chicks. All worries, figuratively speaking, fall on the wings of females.
9
Gray Crane (Grus communis)
The gray crane is the second largest bird in the crane family. One of the tallest birds, height - 180-190 cm, and the wingspan in flight is almost 2 m.
The beloved hero of Russian fairy tales The Gray Crane is also one of the most ancient birds, science records their appearance at the end of the dinosaur era, about 70 million years ago.
The gray crane, despite its aristocratic appearance, is unpretentious and spread throughout the planet. It can be found in many places of our land, except for Antarctica and South America.
The bird found an interesting way to escape from predators. Before boarding eggs, the female is smeared in swamp silt and mud, which makes it less noticeable during the period of motionless hatching of offspring.
The gray crane can be chosen as a symbol of marital fidelity. Birds are monogamous and retain a pair throughout their lives.
8
Curly Pelican (Pelecanus crispus)
The bird that nests in Russia, the Balkans, and Asian countries is one of the rarest species of a large pelican family.
The growth of some individuals reaches 180 cm, and the weight is 20 kilograms, and this with a one and a half meter beak. The beak is truly a distinctive feature of the pelican. With a beak, the Curly Pelican hunts fish.
Despite the fact that this bird spends most of its life on the water, the Curly Pelican is completely unable to dive. For this reason, it preys mainly in shallow water.
A curly pelican is a character of fairy tales and myths of many peoples of the world, and among Muslims it is considered a sacred bird.
7
Stork (Ciconia)
In Europe, there are two types of storks: black and white, which belong to the genus of the ankle. Indeed, if you look at the stork, there is no plumage on the legs.
The height of an adult stork is 110–125 cm, and the wingspan is 1.5–2 meters. A large bird feeds on frogs, fish, and insects.
Interestingly, the young stork is easy to make manual. In general, storks trust a person, settling on the roofs of houses and outbuildings. In Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, people intentionally stuff wooden wheels on poles so that storks make a nest.
The white stork has become a symbol of modern Belarus. In antiquity and the Middle Ages in Western Europe and Greece, the stork was presented as a very caring bird. There are descriptions of young storks who feed their parents, unable to move independently. In Russia, the legend was fixed that it was storks that brought children to young families.
6
Black Vulture (Aegypius monachus)
One of the largest flying birds on the planet. Because of the color of the feathers, and they are black and brown, the vulture got its nickname. The wingspan of an adult reaches 2.5 m, and the growth of 120-135 cm.
The bird nests in the mountainous regions of three continents: Southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.
Vulture belongs to the group of carrion predators. The visual acuity of this bird is striking; it can look at its prey from a height of 3 km.
They don’t know the measures in food. They eat up to the dump that for some time after the "feast" they cannot take off. The black vulture, as a large representative of birds of prey, builds huge nests on the tops of large trees. Nests can be up to 3 meters in diameter and 1 meter in height. Large sizes protected the bird; in nature, the vulture has no enemies.
5
Swan (Cygnus)
One of the most beautiful birds on Earth. No wonder in ancient Greece and the first civilizations of the East, swans were called "brilliant", "sparkling". In this etymology, its name with a Russian tint “white”, “pure” has survived to this day.
On the globe distributed 7 species of swan. The largest of them, with a wingspan of 2.4 meters and weighing 11–12 kg, is the Mute Swan. Perhaps the most unusual is the Black Swan.
The swan has well-developed muscles, which allows birds to fly thousands of kilometers. There is evidence of pilots who saw a swan at an altitude of 8,200 meters above sea level. Most likely, the bird is driven to such a height by the desire not to collide with hurricane winds.
The image of the swan is most often used in literature, painting and cinema. Scientists have found that swans, like cranes, are monogamous in family life.
4
Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus)
The meeting of the European with this bird occurred back in 1553. European naturalists immediately noted that the bird nests high in the mountains, almost 7000 meters above sea level.
Life in the mountains predetermined the lifestyle of the Andean condor. Taking off from the mountains, the condor soars high in the sky, looking out for the victim. Wings, whose span reaches 2.7–3.2 meters, are located in the horizontal plane. Weak chest muscles do not allow frequent flapping of wings in active flight, so the neck is soaring in air currents.
It feeds, like most birds of the vulture family, carrion. In search of food, the Andean condor sometimes travels up to 200 km.
The most ancient peoples of South America deified Condor. Archaeologists found cave paintings high in the mountains, and they date back to 3–2 millennium BC. The Mochik Indians considered this bird a sacred bird and apologized to Condor for having to kill birds during the hunt so as not to die of starvation.
The condor is depicted on the arms of many countries of the South American continent: Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia. TheBiggest already mentioned condors in its article about endangered animals. Unfortunately, their population has declined significantly over the past half century.
3
Albatross (Diomedea)
The largest representative of the genus of seabirds. In the 90s of the twentieth century, scientists identified two groups of albatrosses - Amsterdam and wandering, Galapagos.
Of these groups, the largest is the royal albatross (Diomedea epomophora). Its wingspan reaches 3.7 meters, and adult birds weigh an average of 11 kg.
Birds do not linger in one place for a long time, and wander over the Southern seas of the globe. On the whole route on remote islands. Albatross builds nests - peculiar navigational milestones.
The Royal Albatross chooses only New Zealand as a nesting site. Large colonies of these birds can be seen on the island of Otago.
An interesting fact is that with age, the plumage of albatrosses does not darken, but rather brightens. On this basis, you can easily determine the age of the bird. Sailors avoid meeting with Albatross, believing that he is a harbinger of the storm. In this role, Albatross also entered into sea and pirate legends and myths.
2
Cassowary (Casuarius)
"Horned head" - the natives of New Guinea and Australia called this bird, "cassowary" in Papuan.
Cassowary is the second largest among flightless birds. Adults can reach a height of 1.5-1.8 cm. There have been cases when birds were found 2 meters high and weighing more than 60 kg.
One drawback, namely, Cazoire’s inability to fly, is more than compensated by the ability to reach speeds of up to 50 km per hour. This feature helps her avoid meeting a person. Cassowaries lead a very secretive life, hiding deep in the forest, and hide long before the appearance of man.
History knows cases of attack of this bird on a person, but basically it was self-defense or protection of the territory where the cassowary chicks were.
The nutritional diet of poultry consists mainly of fruits. But Casuar does not disdain with small animals: frogs, snakes. This type of bird swallows small stones, which in the stomach perform the function of grinding food.
There is a very interesting article on thebiggest.ru about flightless birds. It is highly recommended to look!
1
Ostrich (Struthio camelus)
The first place in the nomination "the largest bird in the world" is Ostrich.
Scientists in the twentieth century isolated ostrich from other similar species of birds (emu, nandu), and today the African ostrich is the largest bird belonging to one species.
Upon meeting, the ostrich is striking in its large size. The growth of an adult bird is 1.8-2.2 meters, weight up to 60 kg. But zoologists know individuals in 131 kg. With such power, the size of an ostrich’s brain is with a walnut.
Unique features of the structure of ostriches include the even distribution of feathers over the body of the bird and two-toed paws, which have powerful muscles. Ostrich is a champion in speed of movement, developing a speed of 70 km per hour. And they are very dangerous. You can learn more about this in our article on Australia's most dangerous animals.
Ostriches are polygamous birds. The male surrounds himself with many females, but, interestingly, the males hatch eggs. The female at this time is nearby and is watching. The male is also engaged in further education of the younger generation. The fathers care about the chicks. They selflessly protect them from predators, and in the conditions of African heat, spread their wings, in the shade of which the chicks hide.
Ostriches can be called omnivores, but plant foods predominate in the diet, less commonly small amphibians and insects.
A common stereotype is that ostriches hide their heads in the sand. But not a single similar case has been recorded. In case of danger, ostriches are protected by their paws and with the help of a powerful beak.
🦉
Conclusion
Most of the birds presented in the article are listed in the Red Book. At the level of individual states in whose territory rare birds nest, a number of laws have been adopted to protect, protect, support and increase population growth. Many of them were on the verge of extinction in the late XIX - XX centuries.
Hunting for meat, feathers, simply total destruction could permanently delete these birds from nature.
Today, Mankind has finally realized the need to protect and preserve all the inhabitants of the earth. Modern man, acting on nature, at the same time learns to live in harmony with neighbors - birds and animals.
Article author: Valery Skiba