Amazing Bird Facts You Didn't Know

they say birds of the closest living ancestors to the extinct dinosaurs for millions of years ago being such a living a relic of the past they have a whole plethora strange qualities that seem almost alien when compared to our mammalian characteristics we have collected these strange and fantastic pieces of trivia in our list of the most amazing bird facts you didn't know 

 21 Woodpeckers Hard Cords 
woodpeckers are interesting creatures they use their beaks to bore holes in the trees to eat insects but they will also bore holes into things and store acorns in them they'll dig   thousands of holes  into a single tree or even a fence  post  telephone pole  or a building they're also  known to create a granary tree where they'll  store of two fifty thousand acorns in a single tree each in its very own  whole.

 20  Penguins  Camouflage 
penguins have camouflage you might think that the distinctive black and white patterning of the penguins would make them stick out like a sort thumb while   this may be true on land their black suit white chest pattern make them hard to spot and the dark waters well their  white chest blend  with the light blue water that has like glittering through it especially while moving they look more like a shadow  or a trick of the light than a big black and white bird they don't really need to be to concerned about being spotted on land as they generally face  predators in most of their natural habitats

19 Hoatzin Chicks  Have Claws
 boats and  chicks are born with claws these strange-looking birds are known as Hoatzin birds also know as stink birds because of their unique stench there are known for taking a cue from our dinosaur ancestors in our born with claws on the end of their wings these baby claws  also help chicks hide from predators it lets them pull their bodies  across land and up trees as well as a last-ditch  self-defense effort if they are caught by a  predator Haute's  and chicks even learned to jump from their nest in the water that the nest is built  above  in order to get safe .

 18 Bugies Cantagious Yawns
but G  Z ons  are contagious the  common parakeet  known as a budgie actually have a contagious young yes it's  normal for humans to yawn when we see other human yawn  and even mammals like dogs and chimps can catch each other's yawns as well but buddies are the first non mammals species observed exhibiting the same yawning behavior some scientists believe it is a show of empathy the same as how we show empathy while others say that it is a sign of group alertness and communication evidence that they are paying attention to each other in case they need to flee  or something 

17  Ostriches Are  Huge 
the largest living bird species  in the world is none other than the ostrich the average weight of a male ostrich is  over 340 pounds and they are 9.2  feet in height they're  also known for having the largest eyes of any animal that lives on  land  not just birds the size of their huge eyeballs is only dwarfed by the giant behemoths of the sea for reference the size of their eyeballs  are comparable so that of a  billiard ball it's even larger than their brain

 16 Birds Use Ant Therapy 
over 200 kinds of birds are  known to partake in something called anting a behavior where the bird will rub  ants on their body or sit in a big swarm  of ants and family insects onto  themselves some  believe that the liquid secreted  by the ants while they do this help to kill bacteria fungus an mites that birds   might have on their bodies while   believe that they use the insect to boost the natural premuim oil on their body either way it seems to be a form of self -care or preventative measure that the birds take parted

 15 Ravens Mimic Speech 
it's pretty much impossible for a wild raven and to pick up human speech but after extended amounts of exposure like in captivity  ravens will  easily began to mimic  human speech some  even say that ravens are better than parrots when it comes to be mimicking  human noises they can even impersonate non-human sounds like car  engine revving or toilet flushing  why do they do this well in the  wild ravens will actually imitate the noises of other predators such as wolves and foxes in order to lead  them to carcasses that the raven can't open on their own it's a sort of  symbiotic relationship 

14  Penguin Eggs 
 during antarctica's  for month long winter emperor penguins will keep their precios eggs safe and warm in the snow not only do penguins lay their eggs much earlier than most birds in the world they have to work hard to protect it all winter to make sure it  survives male penguin hid their eggs and or a skin flap between their feet incubating it at 100 degrees fahrenheit  or 38 degrees celsius while the cold  temperatures of the antarctic winter fall below  negative 30 degrees fahrenheit 

13 Owls Eat Their Prey Whole
Owls are single handedly one of the scariest birds of prey out there. Why? Well besides the fact that they can turn their head 270 degrees in either direction, they’re masters at hunting for small animals in pitch black night, and their general appearance- they will also swallow their meals whole. Prey like insects and mice will get gulped down in one swallow. That’s why owls will regurgitate pellets full of things they couldn’t digest like tiny bones and fur. Yeah, it’s pretty horrifying. At least they don’t swallow rabbits and racoons whole. No, instead they rip those larger prey animals into tiny bits before they chow down. 

12 Ducks Sleep with One Eye Open
Ducks aren’t exactly apex predators, which is probably why they have to sleep with one eye open. No, they literally do that. When they’re sleeping or napping in groups they’ll circle up and create a sort of perimeter with their own bodies and all the ducks on the outside will keep one eye open so that they can see any predators who might try to attack them. It makes so much sense for animals to sleep with one eye open it almost makes you wonder why we humans don’t do it.

11 Birds don't pee
birds don't process their waste  the same way as we do they convert nitrogenous waste as uric acid that crystallizes into a past that iconic white goop you know as bird poop this is a combination of our equivalent of fecal matter and urine well it actually costs the bird more calories to turn their waste into paste it saves on water and weight which is obviously more flight effcient for them 

10 Bird Numbers
there are currently over 9.500 known species of bird in the world  and these are spread into 30 different categories by scientists birds are also some of the most widespread species in the world they can be found pretty much everywhere on the globe in all kinds of different climates surprisingly 2/3 of all the birds in the world make their home in tropical rainforests 
9 Ancient Pigeons Delivered Olympic Results
it's believed that the homing pigeon was actually the first bird to ever be domesticated evidently they were  used more than a 2000 years to deliver mail and messages pigeons delivered official mail as recently as world war II and as far back as the ancient Olympics homing pigeons were used to send out the results of the Olympics all those centuries ago during world war two they were even used to send out important tactical messages one pigeon was even awarded a medal of bravery for its efforts 

8  Parrots Have a Pervasive Vocabulary 
while most parrots only learn around 50 words which is impressive is itself some African Grey parrots have been known to learn hundreds there once lived a bird named Einstein a brilliant african Grey parrot at the Knoxville zoo in Tennessee who has been recorded speaking more than 200 words in his lifetime 

7 Nests Are A Delicacy 
if there's anything that makes birds distinct from other animals it's their tendency to build and construct elaborate nests for whole plethora of reasons certain species of swiftlets build nests entirely with their saliva creating the styrofoam like nests made from their heart and saliva these saliva  nests are considered a delicacy in China and are a special ingredient in bird's nest soup you might be shocked that this cocoon of hardened saliva is actually  one of the most expensive ingredients in the world bird's nest soup is a dish that is only ordered by or served to those considered highof status you might  be shocked then the bird's nest soup has virtually zero nutritional value and that most of the flavor  in the dish doesn't come from swiftlet  nest but from chicken  broth .

6 Bashan Thrushers Fart To Hunt 
fashion thrush is used farting to hunt the Bashan thrush is diet consists mainly  of worms that's not so unique pretty much every bird eats worms what makes the Bashan thrush different is that it uses its part to scatter leaves  and litter on the ground this movement prompts  worms  to move around and expose themselves to the thrush which can then easily pick  away at its dinner that might be the most useful fart and all of animal kind 

5 Hibernating Bird
when we think of hibernation we mainly think of mammals like bears or frogs that swim to the bottom of a pond and freeze for the winter most birds will usually fly around the world to their ideal climate  zone in order  to stay alive and find food not the common poor Wilbert though this bird goes to sleep  the poor will can slow its metabolism down just like a bear the bird will wedge itself deep in a crevasse on the desert floor and  wait out the cold winter weather and wait out the cold winter weather  when the insects is feeds on are  nowhere to be found 

4 Kiwis Arw Part Mammal 
do you know about the kiwi it's basically the mascot of New Zealand and is known  for its strange unburden qualify and bound  having a body temperature similar to that of a mammal its muscular  legs heavy bones and almost hair like feathers they even have nostrils at the end of their nose instead of the base of their beak like normal birds these strange qualities are why scientists call the Kiwi an honorary mammal 

3 Hummingbirds And Nickels
hummingbirds weigh less than nickel it's no secret that the diminutive hummingbird is one of the lightest birds in the world but just how light are they , well the average hummingbird weighs around four grams while the smallest of the smallest th bee hmmingbird is closer to 1.6 grams  that makes the average  hummingbird lighter than a nickel which is about 5grams and the bee hummingbird weighs less than a penny what about the biggest hummingbird well the giant hummingbird can weigh up  to 24 grams which is uncharacteristically  heavy for a hummingbird but it still weighs less than a few coins jangling around in your pocket 

2 Bird Strike
a bird strike also known as a bird aircraft strike hazard bash for short is when bird collides with the man-made aircraft . you might think that if a single bird collides with the commercial airplane it's no big deal but it's actually a huge threat to flight safety it could even cause fatalities birds can cause dents in the hole  holes that mess with air pressurization or even get sucked into turbines and ruin the aircraft 

1 Vulture Obsessed  With Beauty 
meet the lammer guy AKA the bearded vulture this bird of prey is obviously known for its striking beauty and for feeding on the marrow of bones that is shatters by dropping them from really high heights it's bone only diet isn't  the only distinct feature it's obsessed  with its own appearance the lamberg ire will roll around in iron rich  mud and red tinged leaves to give itself red highlights that used to scare off foes