List of flightless birds of the planet. Large and small, extinct and existing

While working on the project "Secrets of Birds", we decided to find out if all birds fly and why some of the representatives of birds have lost the ability to fly. After watching this presentation, you can get acquainted with flightless birds and find out why they cannot fly.

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Project: “Do all birds fly? Why can't some birds fly? Head: primary school teacher MBOU - Poluzhskaya school Pinchukova Elena Fedorovna. Performers: 3rd grade students

Flightless birds do not have a keel, an outgrowth on the sternum to which powerful muscles are attached that are responsible for flight. All flightless birds have either a very small keel or none at all. For this reason, their wings are weak, and the birds are not capable of flight.

Ostriches are the largest birds living on Earth today. Some of them reach a height of 2.7 meters. Ostriches live in the open plains of Africa. Ostriches feed on seeds, fruits, as well as lizards and insects. Ostriches cannot fly, but they can run fast. At short distances, they can reach speeds of up to 70 km / h.

Emus are large flightless birds living in Australia, they reach a height of 2 m. These birds feed on seeds, fruits and insects.

So why don't ostriches fly? And here's why! They are too big, a bird can fly if its mass does not exceed 20 kg, and ostriches weigh 120 kg.

It is interesting! One ostrich egg is equal to 40 chicken eggs and can support the weight of a person.

Penguins are flightless birds. There are 18 different types of penguins. They live only on the coasts of the seas of the Southern Hemisphere - on islands off the coast of Australia, in New Zealand, in South Africa and in southern South America. Penguins are excellent swimmers, they can move through the water at a speed of 30 km/h. Those penguins that live among the snow and ice do not make nests.

The emperor penguin is the largest of the penguins. His height is about 1.2 meters, and his weight is about 75 kg. When the female lays an egg, the male protects it from contact with ice by placing it on his own webbed feet. When the chick hatches, the male, having eaten nothing for two months of incubation, goes in search of food, while the female stays with the chick to feed and protect him.

The jumping penguin is named so due to the fact that it jumps very dexterously from stone to stone. Its most noticeable difference is a long crest on its head. Newly hatched jumping penguin chicks are covered in soft down. They are helpless, and parents have to feed and protect them for several weeks.

The donkey penguin makes a sound similar to the cry of a donkey. It is also known as the black-footed penguin.

King penguins live in Antarctica. They can slide on their belly on ice at high speed to get away from enemies.

Why don't penguins fly? Penguins used to fly, but more often hiding from enemies, hiding under water, and gradually their wings lost their feathers and turned into fins.

But that's not all that these birds can surprise us with. We eat three times a day, and penguins may not eat for up to three months. A person cannot live without air, and penguins can not breathe for almost 18 minutes. How interesting!

Kakapo, or owl parrot, is the only parrot that has forgotten how to fly. He lives only in New Zealand, he had no enemies around him and he did not need to hide or fly away. Kakapo lives in burrows. He spends the whole day in them and only after sunset he leaves from there to go in search of food - plants, seeds and berries.

The little Kiwi bird also lives in New Zealand and is protected by the state. She has no wings at all.

Kiwi is a small and shy nocturnal bird. The kiwi has an excellent sense of smell, and the nostrils are located at the end of its long beak. Kiwis stick their beaks into the ground to find food.

The Tristan shepherd, living on the island of Unapproachable, is the smallest flightless bird in the world. It is only 17 cm long and weighs less than 30 g.

So, let's conclude: there are flightless birds on earth. But why don't they fly? 1. Have a large size and body weight. 2. Due to predators, birds swam more than they flew. 3. There were no predators and there was no need for birds to fly.

There are birds that can fly, and there are those that cannot fly. And this fact does not prevent them from living in peace and even enjoying life. Some of them have wings and feathers, it would seem, what else is missing for flight?

There are only two reasons why birds cannot fly. One of them is the small bones of the wings and the absence of a keel, and the second is the heavy weight of the bird.

We suggest you look at our list of birds that cannot fly at all.

#1

ostriches

In the photo: African ostrich

ostriches from Africa. It is the largest of the non-flying birds. The main features of ostriches are large size, speed and muscle strength. ostriches have a full set of wings with plumage. True, the structure of ostrich feathers is considered primitive, and the plumage itself is rather loose.

Wingspan ostrich about 2 meters, but this is not enough to lift a body weighing from 63 to 145 kilograms into the air. The wings of an ostrich end in two claws (or spurs).

And although ostriches They can't fly, but they are excellent runners. Ostriches can reach speeds of up to 70 km/h. They lay eggs about 5 centimeters in diameter and weighing up to 1.4 kilograms.

#2

Emu

Pictured: Emu

Emu is a large bird that lives in australia. The emu is slightly smaller than the ostrich and quite similar in structure to it. In height, the emu reaches 1.9 meters, and its weight is up to 55 kg.

Emu also, like an ostrich, it runs quite fast, reaching speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour.

Emu have small underdeveloped wings, the length of which does not exceed 20 centimeters. Each wing ends with a small claw. Emu has very powerful strong legs with sharp claws for protection from predators.

#3

Cassowaries

In the photo: Cassowary

Cassowaries live in tropical forests New Guinea and on nearby islands of australia. These are large birds, 1.5 - 1.8 meters high and weighing about 60 kilograms. Cassowaries are the second largest birds in the world, second only to ostriches.

Kazaurs, as well as ostriches and emus, run very fast. They are able to run through the forest at speeds up to 50 kilometers per hour. They are also good swimmers.

At cassowaries There is a soft and flexible plumage. Their wings are quite primitive, rudimentary, reaching a length of no more than 20 centimeters.

hallmark of all cassowaries is a small outgrowth on the head called a helmet.

Cassowaries rather secretive birds, live in the depths of forests. During the day they rest, and in the mornings and evenings during twilight they get their own food. Other than humans, the cassowary has no natural enemies.

Cassowaries they shy away from people, but if they are disturbed, they will actively defend themselves. The cassowary has very powerful legs with which it attacks at the same time. In addition, on each leg, the cassowary has a claw-dagger up to 12 centimeters long, with which it can kill with one blow. That is why cassowary blows can bring a person severe injuries incompatible with life. But it doesn't happen often.

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 are the largest birds in 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 happen up to 200 times a year.

Tristan shepherds are the smallest flightless birds on Earth, settled on a volcanic island with the speaking name Impregnable. 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 their 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. Due to human activity, they have already begun to die out, but people realized it 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. For those who have not lost their mobility and aggressiveness, extermination, as a rule, does not threaten - 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?

What birds don't fly? This question was asked by my niece and I gladly began to remember them and tell her about them:

penguins that live at the pole. They only swim and walk.

ostriches. Their destiny is to run fast and jump as much as possible.

cassowary. With a weight like that of this bird, you can't fly.

Penguins and ostriches cannot fly at all. Given the large weight and small size of the wings of penguins, this is not even surprising. Chickens can't fly. But they do not know how to fly, if by this we mean moving through the air over relatively long distances. But the same chicken can fly up to the pole.

Can't fly yet

• kakapo parrot,
• kiwi,
• cassowaries.

• Many extinct ones, such as do-do birds, because they could not fly away from people and were eaten, only remained:

  Penguins who fled to Antarctica

  Kiwi - which are few left

  Ostriches that run fast and are large birds themselves are powerful to give unarmed cradles for surrender

  Well, and chickens that can almost fly, but they are not badly fed here either.

  As far as I know, penguins cannot fly, since the ratio of the wing and body weight is not proportional. But they are excellent at swimming, unlike other birds.

  Hens and roosters also cannot fly. They can fly, but at 5-10 meters. My personal opinion is that they do not know how to fly because they were domesticated and over time they no longer needed to fly away.

  There are several kinds of birds on the globe that cannot fly at all, but in their other qualities they surpass themselves.

  Whom the first can be remembered is the Ostrich. In the African desert steppes, this bird, jumping up, can accelerate its speed of 60-70 km / h. With such a speed they overtake a flying bird.

  Reminds me of the penguin bird. With their small wings, they do not fly, but they are excellent swimmers and dive in the expanses of the ocean.

  

  You can remember a small bird Kiwi. She also cannot fly. Kiwi is a good night hunter.

  

  penguins ..... these cute birds do not fly, probably their tummy bothers them)

• can't fly

  Come to mind - ostrich, bustard,

  the rooster, strictly speaking, also cannot travel long distances, like real bird-pilots

Ostriches, but they run well. Penguins, however, can swim. It turns out if the animal cannot fly (although it is classified as a bird), but it can do something else. This something (running, swimming) is also beneficial and helps them in their existence.

In general, there are many birds that do not fly.

But in life quite often there are:

ostriches - they are in every zoo and it is interesting for children to watch how fast they run

Penguins - they mostly live near the water. They swim and walk well. They don't really go fast.

Evolution treated some birds cruelly. When they had no enemies, they forgot how to fly. Everyone knows penguins, ostriches, Kiwis. New Zealand night parrot Kakapo, Takahe, Kagu, considered extinct, are also New Zealand birds. And the famous Dodo bird was completely exterminated by people, cats and dogs 400 years ago, when they were brought to the islands of the Indian Ocean. The Dodo bird (Dodo) Lewis Carroll described in his Alice.



In the first place, the answerers always put the penguin, as well as the ostrich. Entire groups of birds have forgotten how to fly, thanks to evolution, but unfortunately it did not save the birds from extinction, did not endow them with protective properties from predators, including humans. There lived a bird like dodo-Auritian dodo (on the islands of the Indian Ocean), but man brought dogs and cats to the island and the bird became an easy prey for them.

Birds do not fly like this:

• penguins
• ostriches(with such a body weight, what kind of wings and muscles are needed?)
• rhea(the same as an ostrich with a large weight, in order to fly, the body weight should not be more than 20 kilograms)
• cassowary, weighing up to 90 kilograms



I know for sure that such birds as penguins and ostriches cannot fly (they themselves are large, but their wings are small). Still, in my opinion, chickens do not fly (although they can do a little), rhea, some types of parrots, kiwi, cassowaries.

How strange that nature sometimes plays such a strange trick on some birds. As soon as we pronounce the word bird, our subconscious already has the idea that they were created only for flight, but alas, this is not given to some birds at all. Maybe nature itself is to blame for this, or maybe humanity incorrectly classifies PENGUINS and OSTRICHES as birds, but nothing can be done, we will assume that birds; OSTRICHES and PENGUINS do not fly.

Chickens, geese, turkeys don't fly. They would have flown away long ago, so as not to get into the soup of the owners! But seriously, chickens are not heavenly birds, they are more adapted to fast running. Geese and turkeys, so that they do not fly, people clip their wings, as a result of which the birds do not fly up.