10 Interesting Facts about Birds

1. The oldest bird was known as an Archaeopteryx and lived about 150 million years ago. It was the size of a raven, was covered with feathers, and had wings.

2. A bird's normal body temperature is usually 7-8 degrees hotter than a human's. Up to three-quarters of the air a bird breathes is used just for cooling down since they are unable to sweat.

3.Penguins, ostriches, and dodo birds are all birds that do not fly.

4. Hummingbirds eat about every ten minutes, slurping down twice their body weight in nectar every day.

5.Falcons can swoop at over 200 mph.

6.The most yolks ever found in a single chicken's egg is nine.

7.  The world's only wingless bird is the kiwi of New Zealand.

8.The homing pigeon, Cher Ami, lost an eye and a leg while carrying a message in World War I. Cher Ami won the Distinguished Service Cross. Its leg was replaced with a wooden leg.

9.The only known poisonous bird in the world is the hooded pitohui of Papua, New Guinea. The poison is found in its skin and feathers.

10. The Royal Albatross' eggs take 79 days to hatch.

Source for Facts : Rupp, R. Everything You Never Learned About Birds. Storey Communications, Inc. Pownal, Vermont; 1995.