•Fastest-moving bird: Peregrine Falcon diving at 200 mph (320 km/h)
•Slowest-flying bird: American Woodcock at 5 mph (8 km/h)
•Longest-submerged bird: Emperor Penguin at 18 minutes
•Greatest weight-carrying capacity: Pallas's Fish Eagle lifting a 13-lb (5.9-kg) carp -- 160% of body weight
•Slowest wingbeat: vultures at 1/sec
•Coldest temperature endured: -80.5 degrees F (-62.5 degress C) by Snowy Owls
•Keenest sense of hearing: Barn Owl
•Smallest bird: Bee Hummingbird at 2.24 in (5.7 cm), 0.056 oz (1.6 g)
•Largest egg: Ostrich measuring 7 by 4.5 in (17.8 by 14 cm)
•Smallest clutch size: 1 egg laid every 2 years by albatrosses
•Greatest wingspan: Wandering Albatross at up to 11 ft 11 in (3.63 m)
•Longest tail feathers: Crested Argus Pheasant at 5.7 ft (173 cm)
•Greatest number feathers: Tundra Swan at 25,216
•Lowest number feathers: Ruby-throated Hummingbird at 940
•The history of African Grey parrots kept as pets dates back over 4,000 years. Some Egyptian hieroglyphics clearly depict pet parrot[verification needed]. The ancient Greeks also valued parrots as pets. This custom was later adopted by wealthy Roman families who often kept parrots in ornate cages, and parrots were prized for their ability to talk. King Henry VIII of England also had an African Grey parrot. Portuguese sailors kept them as companions on their long sea voyages.
•An albatross can sleep while it flies. It apparently dozes while cruising at 25 mph.
•An electric eel can produce a shock of up to 650 volts.
•Ostriches stick their heads in the sand to look for water.
•Only male turkeys (Toms) gobble, females make a clicking noise.
•Turkeys will peck to death members of the flock that are physically inferior or different.
•Unlike humans, canaries can regenerate their brain cells.
•Over 1000 birds a year die from smashing into windows.
•A hummingbird’s heart beats 1,260 times per minute.
•Flamingos lay their eggs on top of volcano-shaped nests made of mud.
•Penguins can jump as high as 6 feet in the air.
•California condors can fly 10 miles without flapping their wings.
•The ostrich yolk is the largest single cell in the world.
•In Miami, Florida, roosting vultures have taken to snatching poodles from rooftop patios.
•Bird droppings are the chief export of Nauru, an island nation in the western Pacific.
•The waste produced by one chicken in its lifetime can supply enough electricity to run a 100 watt bulb for five hours.
•An eagle can kill a young deer and fly away with it.
•The pouch under a pelican’s bill holds up to 25 pounds of fish and water.
•Birds have a homing ability that uses its biological clock, the angle of the sun, and the Earth's magnetic field.
•Doves are known as the 'birds of peace'.
•Like members of the parrot family, doves and pigeons have something called a 'true crop'. This means that they have the ability to produce a thick substance known as 'crop milk', which they regurgitate for their young. Doves and pigeons are exceptional parents
•Woodpeckers: There are 6 families of birds in the Piciformes order. The jacamars live in the tropical forests of America. Barbets live in the tropical forests of both eastern and western hemispheres. Toucans are found in Central and South America. The honey guides are found in Africa, south Asia and Malaysia. Woodpeckers are found world wide, but only in certain areas. They don't occur is north and south polar regions beyond the tree line, nor are they found in New Guinea, New Zealand, Australia and most of Oceana. There are about 200 species of woodpecker, ranging from the tiny tropical piculets to the big imperial woodpecker.
•SENSES of sight, smell, and hearing are remarkably acute in birds. This is especially true of sight. Some have three eyelids, the third of which is called the nictitating membrane, enabling them to look directly at the sun. Eagles, Hawks, and Owls are thus provided. The eyes of the Eagles and Hawks are provided also with a ring of bony plates, by means of which the eye adjusts itself like a telescope, taking in both near and far objects.
•There are no true species of flightless birds in North America. The African Ostrich, the Australian emu, cassowaries and kiwis and the South American rheas are all 'ratite' birds, meaning they lack a breast bone. Other species are known to be flightless (penguins, for example), but they are not classified as ratites.
•Birds build there nests everywhere from directly on the ground to the tops of trees. The Belted Kingfisher builds its nest in the bank of a river or a creek, digging it 4 ft. deep into the bank. Grebes build a floating nest on water. Understanding that birds place their nests everywhere is an important concept for protecting birds during the nesting season.
•Most birds in North America lay eggs and raise chicks in the spring and summer (March-July). During this time, they need plenty of safe habitat, insects for their chicks to eat, and protection from cats, humans, other predators.
•Not all birds build their own nests! Some birds put their eggs in the nests of other birds. Birds that do this are called brood parasites. This can be bad for the birds whose nest gets an extra egg because the parents have to raise an extra chick and often the extra chick ends up competing for food with the other chicks in the nest. The Brown-headed Cowbird and some cuckoo's are brood parasites.
•The largest bird in the world is the Ostrich, native to Africa. It weighs up to 300 lbs.
•The bird with the largest wingspan is the Wandering Albatross with a wingspan of 11 ft. 10 inches. Next in line are the Marabou Stork with 11 ft. 6 inches, the Condor with 9 ft. and the Mute Swan with 8ft wing spans.
•The smallest bird in the world is the Cuban Bee hummingbird, also known as the Helena's hummingbird. It measures 2 � inches in length from bill tip to tail.
•The largest egg laid is by the Ostrich measuring 6-8 inches long and the smallest egg laid is from the bee hummingbird, which is under 1 inch long.
•The largest bird in North America is the Trumpeter Swan, averaging about 28 pounds. However the Whooping Crane is the tallest standing almost five feet. The Heloise's hummingbird is the smallest bird measuring 2 � inches in length from bill tip to tail. The Peregrine falcon is the fastest bird in the world flying at speeds up to 220 mph. However, some species of swifts have been documented to fly at speeds close to 200 mph.
•Birds, except nocturnal species, have no external ear, but hear well.
•The young of nest building birds when born are blind, naked, and unable to walk. In the Hen, the Partridge, and the Ducks, the young are able to walk, swim, or pick up food, as soon as they break the shell. When moulting, at the close of the breeding season, Quails usually shed in pairs. The male generally assumes a duller hued coat than the female.
•With most birds of prey the female is the larger.
•Bird’s songs are composed of love-notes and pleasure-notes. We speak of the scream of birds, their chirp, expressions of joy or fear, as in the human voice.
•Parakeets and budgies, cockatiels and conures, macaws, cockatoos and amazons... you just can't help being intrigued by parrots.
•The parrot order name is Psittaciformes. There are 315 species of parrot in the world, but only two species have occurred in North America. One is the thick-billed parrot of Mexico, which is now rare. The other was the Carolina parakeet, which is now extinct. The other parrot species that live in the western hemisphere are found in the Amazon Basin. In the eastern hemisphere, parrots are found in the Australia, East Indies, Pacific Islands and Africa. Parrots are forest birds. They eat seeds, nuts, fruits and berries, and a few eat insects and nectar. They have very thick bills and fleshy little tongues which allow them to crack and eat hard-shelled nuts.
•Parrots hold their food in one foot while they are eating, and can be right-handed or left-handed. Right-footed and left-footed?
•Parrots live in flocks when they're not nesting. The flocks get very noisy and parrots are well-known for their squawking and screaming. Some parrots are very good at mimicking sounds and can learn to imitate our speech as well as the calls of other birds and animals.
•Parrot sizes range from the pygmy parrot of New Guinea at 8.4 cm (3.3 in) to the hyacinth macaw of South America at 100 cm (39.4 in).
•Because parrots were captured excessively for the pet trade, many of them were seriously threatened with endangerment and extinction. It is no longer legal to trade in endangered species, and the interests of parrots are being protected world-wide.
•Their songs can be set to music. See S. P. Cheney’s “Wood Notes Wild,” in which the songs of many of our common birds are thus reproduced. The odd and peculiar actions of birds, their dances, struts, and posturings are all expressions of their emotions.
•The nesting habits of birds are varied. Gulls drop eggs on bare ground or rocks; the Baltimore Oriole and Tailor bird construct hanging nests of elaborate workmanship; the Woodpecker hews out a deep nest in a rotten limb; the Kingfisher digs one out of a sandy bank, while the Cuckoo takes possession of the nest of some other bird. Most birds select nesting places away from other species, but Swallows, English Sparrows, Grackles, and Crows live in communities.
•There are between seven and eight thousand species of living birds. A few species have become extinct, specimens of which it is the intention of BIRDS to present in future numbers.
•Canaries were first bred in captivity in the 1600s. They were brought over by Spanish sailors to Europe. Monks started breeding them and only sold the males (which sing). This kept the birds in short supply and drove the price up. Eventually Italians obtained hens and were able to breed the birds themselves. This made them very popular and resulted in many breeds arising and the birds being bred all over Europe.
Miner's canaries were used as an early form of warning system for the detection of poisonous but odorless carbon monoxide in mines. Three or more canaries (or other small birds with high metabolism) were taken down new shafts, and if one or more exhibited abnormal behavior, the parties determined that the shaft was unsafe.
Canaries have been extensively used in research to study neurogenesis, or the birth of new neurons in the adult brain, and also for basic research in order to understand how songbirds encode and produce song.
•Budgerigars: The first reports of small, bright green parakeets received in Europe came from Captain James Cook who discovered Australia in 1770. Travelers on expeditions into the interior of Australia saw numerous flocks of the small green parakeets.
However, it was not until 70 years later that John Gould, the eminent explorer and naturalist brought the first Budgerigars back to England in 1840. These live examples of the budgerigar created quite a stir at the time. Shortly afterwards, a number of budgerigars arrived in America.
The first color variant-a yellow budgerigar with red eyes-was bred in 1870 in Belgium. This caused a sensation, but the Lutino (yellow) mutation did not survive, as there was no knowledge of genetics among breeders.
