{"id":38255,"date":"2024-05-16T15:08:11","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T13:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/34054a2f-f150-472b-b653-c79044c18d0c"},"modified":"2024-05-16T15:35:49","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T13:35:49","slug":"10-flightless-birds-meet-some-curious-and-often-strange-land-based-avian-wonders","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/10-flightless-birds-meet-some-curious-and-often-strange-land-based-avian-wonders\/","title":{"rendered":"10 flightless birds: Meet some curious – and often strange – land-based avian wonders"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are some birds that can’t take to the sky, despite having wings. Discover 10 curious and wonderful birds that have lost the ability to fly <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 16 May 2024 at 13:08 PM<\/p>

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Wings do not guarantee flight.<\/strong> You may think that the ability to fly might be one of the most envied and useful aspects of being a bird. However, there are numerous bird species which, through evolution, have lost their ability to fly<\/a> over time. <\/strong><\/p>

This has happened in different bird groups independently, meaning that flightlessness is agood example of convergent evolution<\/a>. This is when distantly related organisms evolve thesame or similar traits in response to similar pressures and needs. <\/p>

How do birds fly?<\/a><\/li>
How high do birds fly?<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
But why might flightlessness be useful? In some cases, it is because flight simply isn’t needed, due to a lack of predators for example, and so it is more beneficial to direct resources into other abilities. <\/p>
Birds on an island in the Indian Ocean evolved flightlessness twice<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
This is why flightless birds are often found on isolated islands. In other instances, flight apparatus might even be a hindrance, making it more difficult to dive deep into the water for instance.<\/p>
Giving up on flying also allows birds to become much larger and heavier – it\u2019s no coincidence that the world\u2019s largest bird<\/a>, the common ostrich, is flightless. Read on to learn all about 10 of our favourite flightless birds.<\/p>
10 flightless birds<\/h2>
Inaccessible Island rail (Laterallus rogersi<\/em>)<\/h3>Image credit: Brian Gratwicke, CC BY 2.0 https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>
This curiously named species is the world\u2019s smallest flightless bird. Endemic to a South Atlanticisland with the very on-the-nose name of Inaccessible Island, this tiny brown bird only reaches amaximum length of 15.5cm and a maximum weight of 49g. <\/p>
One big mystery about this species is how they got to the remote island in the first place. It was initially thought that they had always been flightless, and so scientists theorised that they must have walked over now long-submerged land bridges. <\/p>
However, with a greater understanding of plate tectonics, alongside genetic evidence, the truth of their past has recently been revealed. Genome sequencing has suggested their closest living relative is a flighted bird (the Dot-winged crake), meaning that the common ancestor of these two had the ability to fly, and the ancestors of Inaccessible Island rail likely simply flew to their island home.<\/p>
Common Ostrich (Struthio camelus<\/em>)<\/h3>Kakapo (Strigops habroptila<\/em>)<\/h3>Getty video<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The next on our list is perhaps one of the strangest birds that exists<\/a>. Not only is it the world\u2019sonly flightless parrot<\/a>, but it is fat and bright green, often moves around by jogging, is nocturnal,and is also very friendly to humans! <\/p>
Unfortunately, these bizarre New Zealand natives are critically endangered. It is thought that the arrival of predatory cats and rats (brought by European colonisers) was responsible for the sharpest declines, and by the mid-1900s kakapos teetered on the very edge of extinction with only a few individuals left. Recent intensive conservation efforts<\/a> have brought them back from the brink, however. As of 2023, there are now 247 individuals surviving.<\/p>
Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri<\/em>)<\/h3>Perhaps the best-known examples of flightless birds are penguins. Penguins<\/a>‘ wings havebecome supremely adapted for swimming rather than flying. The emperor penguin<\/a> is the largestof all penguin species, standing at a stately 120cm tall on average. <\/p>
They are only found in Antarctica, living in vast colonies of up to around 20,000 pairs on the sea ice. This social living is one of the ways they keep from freezing once the brutal Antarctic winter descends. To stave off the cold males (who are left caring for their chicks whilst their mates are feeding at sea), huddletogether in tight-knit groups, shuffling so that everyone gets a turn in the insulated middle of the huddle.<\/p>
Why are there no penguins in the Arctic?<\/a><\/li>
How can penguins dive so deep?<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
Kiwi (Apteryx genus)<\/h2>
$\"Kiwi$ <\/figure>
This bizarre and beloved bird is the national animal of Aotearoa New Zealand. I know what youmay be thinking – which came first, the fruit or the bird? Well, the furry fruit was actually namedafter the bird and not the other way around! <\/p>
The name Kiwi is thought to have come from the M\u0101ori language and is derived from the call that they make. Kiwis are very unusual birds. Not only are they flightless but they also have quite a few almost mammalian traits. Instead of being hollow like most birds, their bones are heavy and marrow-filled. They are also born fully feathered and independent, and their shaggy plumage is almost hair-like. <\/p>
They have a highly developed sense of smell and are the only birds to have nostrils at the end of their beak.<\/p>
Takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri<\/em>)<\/h3> $\"Takahe\"$ <\/figure>
Another flightless New Zealand bird is the colourful Takahe. These stout birds are the largestliving rail species, weighing up to 3.8 kg (a far cry from the diminutive Inaccessible Island rail).Takahe are somewhat of a conservation miracle, having been thought extinct for nearly 50years and then famously rediscovered in an isolated valley in 1948. <\/p>
Back from the dead: meet 10 animals once presumed extinct<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
Their decline was due to extensive hunting by the native M\u0101ori people, but also competition and predation from non-native mammals introduced by European settlers. Today they are extensively protected and managed and their population is around 500 individuals and growing yearly.<\/p>
Darwin’s rhea (Rhea pennata<\/em>)<\/h3> $\"\"$
Darwin’s Rhea, Lesser Rhea (Rhea pennata) (Rhea pennata)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
In the same group as ostriches (ratites), Darwin\u2019s rhea are similarly long-necked and long-legged. They are however considerably smaller, standing only about 3 feet tall. They aprodigious runners, reaching top speeds of 37 mph as they dash across their South Americangrassland home. <\/p>
The name, quite predictably, is after the famous naturalist, who is said to have eaten one during his voyage to Patagonia! Halfway through the meal he realised this was a species he had been searching for and was able to put together a nearly complete specimen from the remains to bring home.<\/p>
Fuegian steamer duck (Tachyeres pteneres<\/em>)<\/h3> $\"Fuegian$
Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Something you might not expect to see on a list of flightless birds is a duck! One of only a fewflightless duck species (including 3 of the 4 steamer duck species) the Fugeian steamer duckinhabits rocky coastlines and islands in Chile. <\/p>
These handsome but hulking ducks are particularly aggressive and are known to kill other, even much bigger, bird species for no apparent reason. They use their tough spurred wings to deal deadly blows to those unfortunate enough to stray into their territory during mating season.<\/p>
Flightless cormorant (Nannopterum harrisi<\/em>)<\/h3>