Birds that can't fly are just as strange as animals that can't walk or fish that can't swim. Why, then, do these creatures need wings if they cannot lift them into the air? Nevertheless, on our planet there are whole detachments of such creatures. Some live in the sultry African savannah, others live on the icy Antarctic shores, and still others live on the islands of New Zealand.
Foreword
If we compare all types of birds that exist on our planet, then flightless birds occupy an insignificant part compared to flyers. Why is that? The thing is that the ability to fly helps them survive in the wild. Wings not only save birds from but also make it possible to get their own food. So, in search of food, birds are able to travel great distances, and this is much more convenient than scouring the ground in search of food. In addition, flyers can build their nests to raise their offspring at a considerable height, so that a dangerous enemy cannot reach the chicks. It turns out that it is much easier for birds that can fly to survive in cruel world called "wildlife". This ability helped them become the second largest class of vertebrates. So, for example, scientists have 8500 various kinds birds, but there are only 4000 species of mammals. If feathered flight is like this important way to survive, why don't some of them have this skill? How did flightless birds adapt to survive? We will analyze examples below. Scientists believe that earlier these birds also knew how to fly, but in the course of evolution they lost this ability. Well, let's look at what such strange creatures are.
Flightless birds: list
Flightless 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, however certain types can survive in temperate and even tropical climates. Some representatives of penguins spend up to 75% of their lives in water. These flightless birds can stay underwater thanks to their heavy, hard bones, which act as ballast, much like a heavy belt for a diver. Penguin wings have evolved into fins. They help control movement in the aquatic environment at speeds up to 15 miles per hour. These birds have a streamlined body, paddle-shaped legs, an insulating layer of fat, and waterproof feathers. All these properties allow the penguin to feel comfortable even in ice water. To keep warm, they have very stiff and very densely spaced feathers that provide waterproofing. Another property that allows you to survive in wild nature, is the unique white and black coloration 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, annually up to 24 million of these creatures visit the coast of Antarctica.
ostriches
African ostriches are the largest birds on our planet. Their height can reach 2.7 meters, and weight - 160 kg. These flightless birds feed on grass, tree shoots and shrubs, do not disdain insects and small vertebrates. In nature, the creatures in question live in small groups - one male and several females. Ostriches have very sharp eyesight and excellent hearing. They are excellent runners. In case of danger, an ostrich can reach speeds of up to 70 km / h. In addition, he is an excellent fighter, his two-toed paws are a serious weapon. Judge for yourself: for one centimeter of the body with this bird, there is a force of 50 kg. In addition to high speed and excellent fighting qualities, the ostrich is distinguished by the ability to disguise itself well. In case of danger, it lies down and presses its neck and head to the ground, as a result it is difficult to distinguish it from an ordinary bush. As we see, this representative"non-flyers" perfectly adapted to survive in the wild.
Nandu-shaped
These flightless birds are common in South America: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay. They inhabit the pampas (open spaces, steppes), covered with herbs and shrubs. An adult individual reaches a length of 140 cm, its weight is 20-25 kg. In appearance and lifestyle, the nandu resembles an ostrich, but scientists believe that these are completely different species. In nature, these birds live in groups of up to 30 individuals. In case of danger, an adult rhea can reach speeds of up to 60 km / h. Among natural predators capable of preying on adults are jaguars and cougars. But the young are suffering from the attacks of wild dogs. In addition, armadillos love to destroy the nests of these birds.
cassowaries
These flightless birds have much in common with ostriches, but their main difference is their three-toed paw. They are found in Australia and New Guinea. There are only two families in this detachment: Emu and Cassowaries. The latter reach 170 cm in length, their weight is 80 kg. They are characterized by a laterally compressed beak and a horn-like "helmet" on the head. Unlike ostriches and rhea, cassowaries prefer to live in forest thickets. They feed on fallen trees and small animals. Otherwise, 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. During the day, kiwis hide in bushes and dense thickets of the forest, and at night they wander in search of food, which they find thanks to their well-developed sense of smell. They feed on worms and other invertebrates, which are pulled out of the damp soil. With the help of a long beak, these birds not only get food, but also make small depressions in the forest floor, in which they hide themselves.
Tristan Shepherd
It is the smallest flightless bird on Earth. Now this species preserved only on the island of Impenetrable (it is free from people and predators) of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago. Previously, these birds were found in abundance on all nearby islands, but the cats brought by the white man completely destroyed this species on them. Shepherd prefers open meadows and fern thickets. Feeds on moths earthworms, seeds and berries.
kakapo parrot
This bird is listed in the Red Book. She cannot fly, but she can glide from high ground to the ground. Despite the presence of full-fledged wings, the kakapo has weak muscles and heavy bones without air cavities. The bird is nocturnal and feeds on fern leaves, mosses, berries and mushrooms.
Extinct flightless birds
The most famous extinct “non-flyers” today are the wingless auk, and the first of them belonged to the Chistikov family. The length of her body was 70 cm. The wings were quite small, but well adapted for rowing under water. The bird was completely exterminated in the 19th century. Dodo, or Mauritian dodo, is an extinct flightless bird that inhabited the islands of Mauritius in 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 survive in the wild. The list of them, as you can see, is, in principle, quite diverse. Scientists believe that the first "non-flyers" appeared on the islands due to the fact that the food supply there was abundant, and there were no predators at all. Probably, this is precisely what explains the fact that individuals with both developed and underdeveloped wings, or even without them, survived equally under the mentioned conditions.
Grebes are waterfowl that look like ducks. They got such an unpleasant name for the disgusting taste of meat, but they were still hunted for valuable feathers. Not all grebes have forgotten how to fly, although they are extremely reluctant to do so. Most prefer to escape from danger by diving into the water.
Galapagos flightless cormorants are not the most numerous representatives of their family, only 1,500 individuals remain on their native islands. But they are champions in size, and they dive even better than other cormorants who have not forgotten how to flap their wings. Unfortunately, it is not difficult to catch them on land, which led to a decrease in the population.
Nandu - the largest birds South America, very similar to ostriches and emus, but not related to them. They run superbly, reaching speeds of up to 60 km / h, sometimes spreading their huge wings for balance. Nandu males are known for their unusual mating ritual - they mate with as many females as possible, then lay their eggs in a huge nest and hatch them personally.
Emus are the second largest birds on the planet after ostriches, living in the expanses of Australia. In addition to the obvious talents for running, they are able to fiercely defend themselves from enemies, kicking them and cutting them with their claws. There are cases when an emu kicked a man's bones and tore apart metal wire fences.
Cassowaries are brightly colored inhabitants of the tropics in New Guinea. You don’t run much in the jungle, so they mostly prefer to hide or fight. locals warn tourists to stay away from unusual birds - angry cassowaries can inflict deep wounds on people, and such attacks occur up to 200 times a year.
Tristan shepherds are the smallest flightless birds on Earth, settled on a volcanic island with speaking name Unapproachable. Because of the steep cliffs, it is almost impossible to land on the island from the sea, and therefore the tiny black birds inhabiting it are in relative safety.
Ostriches are the largest birds in the world, up to 270 cm high and weighing up to 160 kg, dissecting the African savannas at speeds up to 70 km/h. Contrary to the old myth, they do not hide their heads in the sand, although they can hide for a while, clinging to the ground. People actively breed ostriches because of the valuable skin, tasty meat and eggs.
Emperor penguins are exactly the kind of birds we usually think of when we think of penguins. Clumsy on land, completely devoid of the ability to fly, but excellent swimmers and diving to a depth of 560 meters. Unlike other species of penguins, they do not build nests, hatching eggs in a special leather "pocket".
Kakapos are unique parrots from New Zealand that have forgotten how to fly due to millions of years of safe isolation. They are active at night, for which they received their second name - “owl parrot”. They almost died out due to cats, dogs and rats brought to the islands by humans. Only a negligible number of individuals have survived - about 200, which are carefully protected by ecologists.
Kiwi is a living symbol of New Zealand, giving the name to the fruit of the same name. Their feathers are more like wool, and there is no tail at all. Despite their harmless appearance, the formidable kiwis are quite capable of defending themselves from predators using very strong legs with sharp claws. Because of human activity they have already begun to die out, but people caught themselves in time. Now the number of kiwi is growing again.
Unfortunately, due to human activities, many birds that have lost the ability to fly have become extinct. The entire population of dodos, for example, was eaten, because they forgot how not only to fly, but also to run. Some birds were destroyed by other animals, such as cats and rats, brought by people to places where such predators never existed. Those who have not lost mobility and aggressiveness, as a rule, are not threatened with extermination - just try to catch up with an ostrich on land or a penguin in the water. What kind of flightless birds can the planet boast today?
Birds that can't fly are just as strange as animals that can't walk or fish that can't swim. Why, then, do these creatures need wings if they cannot lift them into the air? Nevertheless, on our planet there are whole detachments of such creatures. Some live in the sultry African savannah, others live on the icy Antarctic shores, and still others live on the islands of New Zealand.
If we compare all types of birds that exist on our planet, then flightless birds occupy an insignificant part compared to flyers. Why is that? The thing is that the ability to fly helps them survive in the wild. Wings not only save birds from predatory animals, but also make it possible to get their own food. So, in search of food, birds are able to travel great distances, and this is much more convenient than scouring the ground in search of food. In addition, flyers can build their nests to raise their offspring at a considerable height, so that a dangerous enemy cannot reach the chicks. It turns out that it is much easier for birds that can fly to survive in a cruel world called "wildlife". This ability helped them become the second largest class of vertebrates. So, for example, scientists count 8500 different species of birds, but there are only 4000 species of mammals. If flying is such an important way for birds to survive, then why don't some of them have this skill? How did flightless birds adapt to survive? We will analyze examples below. Scientists believe that earlier these birds also knew how to fly, but in the course of evolution they lost this ability. Well, let's look at what such strange creatures are.
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 penguins spend up to 75% of their lives in water. These flightless birds can stay underwater thanks to their heavy, hard bones, which act as ballast, much like a heavy belt for a diver. Penguin wings have evolved into fins. They help control movement in the aquatic environment at speeds up to 15 miles per hour. These birds have a streamlined body, paddle-shaped legs, an insulating layer of fat, and waterproof feathers. All these properties allow the penguin to feel comfortable even in icy water. To keep warm, they have very stiff and very densely spaced feathers that provide waterproofing. Another property that allows survival in the wild is the unique white and 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, annually up to 24 million of these creatures visit the coast of Antarctica.
African ostriches are the largest birds on our planet. Their height can reach 2.7 meters, and weight - 160 kg. These flightless birds feed on grass, tree shoots and shrubs, do not disdain insects and small vertebrates. In nature, the creatures in question live in small groups - one male and several females. Ostriches have very sharp eyesight and excellent hearing. They are excellent runners. In case of danger, an ostrich can reach speeds of up to 70 km / h. In addition, he is an excellent fighter, his two-toed paws are a serious weapon. Judge for yourself: for one centimeter of the body when this bird kicks, there is a force of 50 kg. In addition to high speed and excellent fighting qualities, the ostrich is distinguished by the ability to disguise itself well. In case of danger, it lies down and presses its neck and head to the ground, as a result it is difficult to distinguish it from an ordinary bush. As you can see, this representative of the “non-flyers” has perfectly adapted to survive in the wild.
Which birds CANNOT fly July 2nd, 2016
What non-flying birds did I know about? Well, for example, Nanda, Emu, African ostrich, penguin - everyone knows them. A little more complicated: there is one that cannot fly either. I knew about her. Yes, of course - I knew about her too.
And now a few more birds that also cannot fly, but for me they have become news.
For example...
cormorant
This is the Galapagos flightless cormorant. A bird from the pelican order, cormorant family. The cormorant is the only bird in the family that has completely lost the ability to fly. As a result, he achieves large sizes, being largest view cormorants on earth. Due to their lack of flight ability, these birds are easy prey for introduced predators such as dogs, cats, rats and wild boars. Today there are only about 1600 individuals of this species.
Outwardly, cormorants resemble ducks, differ only in short, as if chopped off wings.
Since the flightless great cormorant cannot swim from the mainland to the islands (when fishing, it never swims more than 100 meters from the shore), the question arises: where could it come from? Darwin suggested that it descended from great cormorants that flew to the islands and gradually lost its ability to fly. We now understand that such changes occurred as a result of mutation or genetic copying error. This mutation could have been detrimental to birds, but was beneficial to the great cormorants that live on this particular island.3
This situation reminds us of the story of flightless beetles on windy islands. Such beetles are more likely to survive there, while flying beetles may be blown far beyond the islands. Or maybe it's just an example of diminishing influence natural selection- without the presence of predators on the mainland and with an abundance of food in the sea, the loss of the ability to fly is not as critical as the loss of sight of cave dwellers over generations.5 In any case, this is not an example of evolution; a mutation in the great cormorant that renders it unable to fly is an example of the loss of genetic information. "Evolution in action" requires changes that result in new genetic information.
And here is the Tristan Shepherd
In the southern part Atlantic Ocean on the impregnable island belonging to the Tristan da Cunha archipelago. with an area of just over 10 km, the smallest flightless bird lives - the Tristan shepherd. This species usually weighs about 30 grams and has a length of 17 cm. Here, on Inaccessible, the bird is not at all threatened by predators.
Tristan shepherds are distributed throughout the island, but prefer to live in small groups in open pastures and hide in fern bushes. During the breeding season, from October to January, you can see the nest of the Tristan shepherd. It is carefully constructed from plants and hidden under a wicker canopy. And in order to get through the dense vegetation to their nests, small birds make original grassy tunnels up to 50 cm long. Tristan shepherds feed on insects, but they will not refuse berries or seeds either.
Previously, flightless birds even smaller than the Tristan shepherd lived on Earth. So, Stephen's bushwren lived on Stevens Island. Their habitat was also free from predators until the lighthouse keeper's cat appeared there and killed the whole species.
Ecologists fear that the Tristan shepherd boy may also have enemies who will exterminate his small population. But today these birds are only threatened by periodic flooding of their nests.
Kakapo
This large bird- kakapo, or owl parrot, (Strigops habroptilus) is the only parrot that has forgotten how to fly in the process of evolution. It lives only in the southwestern part South Island(New Zealand), where it hides in the dense thickets of the forest. It is there, under the roots of trees, that this parrot makes a hole for itself. He spends the whole day in it and only after sunset does he leave there to go in search of food - plants, seeds and berries.
Before the discovery of the South Island by European settlers, the owl parrot had no natural enemies. And since the bird had no need to escape from anyone, it simply lost the ability to fly. Today, kakapo can only plan from a small height (20-25 meters).
At the same time, owl parrots lived next door to the Maori, the indigenous inhabitants of the islands of New Zealand, who hunted them, but caught only as many birds as they could eat. Then the kakapo was a fairly numerous species, but the Maori began to cut down areas of the forest in order to grow sweet potatoes "kumara", yams and taro (the tubers of this tropical plant are eaten) on the vacant land. Thus, they unwittingly deprived the parrots of their habitat.
The number of the owl parrot gradually decreased, but the birds were in critical danger with the arrival of European settlers, who brought with them cats, dogs, ermines and rats. Adult kakapo managed to escape from new predators, but they were unable to save their eggs and chicks. As a result, by the 1950s, only 30 owl parrots remained on the island.
From that moment on, the hunting of kakapo and their export from New Zealand was completely banned. Scientists placed some individuals in nature reserves and began to collect their eggs to protect them from predators. In specially designated rooms, kakapo eggs were placed under hens, who hatched them as if they were their own. Today, a unique bird is listed in the Red Book. Its number has ceased to decrease and even began to gradually increase.
Although I still remembered him. Here is more about this parrot -
