Top Ten Flightless Birds You Won’t Believe Exist.

Unarguably, Flight is the first attribute you think of when the word bird is mentioned next to you.
The notion of flight is confidently connected to Birds. With their ability to easily and quickly escape
from dangers and troubles, they are often referred to as symbols of freedom.

There are over 10000 known species of birds in the universe today recognised with their undoubted
ability to fly. For donkey years, many have wished they were like a hawk soaring high above the sky.
A lot of inventions, which we see around us, moving metres above the land are based on the
blueprint of birds.

It is therefore strange to learn about the existence of birds with wings and feathers without the
ability to fly.

10 Weka

Often mistaken for Kiwi by tourists, Weka is a massive flightless bird native to New Zealand. They
are often considered as the closest relatives and like descendants from flight ancestors, the banded
rails and are 3-6 times bigger.

Weka are hen-sized omnivorous animals that feed on a variety of fruits, lizards, small mammals, rats,
birds etc. This makes them ecological friendly and pest controllers.

9. Kiwi

Apteryx, which means wingless in Latin, is the scientific name for Kiwi. Kiwi are nocturnal birds
similar to other birds endemic to New Zealand. They are sometimes referred to as an honorary
mammal because their features eg hair like feathers, nostrils on the end of its beak, and a massive
egg, are similar to that of a mammal.

This helps suit a ground-based lifestyle. They are members of the ratites, an ancient group of
flightless birds. Ostrich, Emu are also members of this group. Kiwi are omnivores, meaning they eat
almost everything they come across.

8. Cassowary

Yes, Cassowary can kill you. With slashing blows of its feet, as the long dagger-like nail situated in its
three toes, the nicknamed “Murderbird” can inflict serious and fatal injury to human.

Cassowary are the largest vertebrae native to Australian rainforest. After ostrich, it is the world
heaviest bird and is second to Ostrich and Emu in terms of height.

They are frugivores I.e survive on fruits and also eat their own droppings.

They are very good jumpers. Believe me, you don’t want to mess with them.

7. Emu
The Dromaiidae class of the family ratite has only one living member: the Emu. This flightless bird is
endemic to Australia. They are the second largest bird on this planet, can grow up to 1.9m and
normally weigh around 35kg.

Although they are flightless birds, they can cover at least 50km/hr. A pace Usain bolt won’t dare to
keep. Unfortunately, they can’t walk backwards.

They survive mainly on plants and insects like grasshoppers, cockroaches and beetles. Mr Emu i.e
the male Emu is in charge of the egg during the incubation period and sits on the eggs for roughly
eight weeks.

6. Kakapo

This bird cannot be found anywhere else except in New Zealand. There were only 147 known Kakapo
in the entire planet in August 2018, according to the New Zealand Department of Conservation. It is
the only flightless parrot bird in the world. Rather than flapping, the wings are for support and
balance.

They are nocturnal birds. They spend the day roosting in trees or on the ground, and only come out
at night. They are found in coastal areas, forests, scrublands, are herbivores- eat plants seeds and
fruits and are prey to eagles.

5. Takahe.

Believed to have gone extinct in the late 1880s, Takahe was rediscovered in 1948 in several remote
valleys on the South Island. The last surviving wild population of the bird was discovered by Geoffrey
Orbell, an Invercargill physician, and his team high in the tussock grasslands of the remote
Murchison Mountains, above Lake Te Anau, Fiordland.

It’s a bright blue and coppery-green species with a big red bill and a red frontal shield that protrudes
from the forehead.

Takahe in Fiordland eat the leaf bases of tussock grasses. Takahe are primarily found in grasslands,
Murchison Mountains, Fiordland, and Gouland, Kahurangi National park and seek refuge in shrubs.

4. Guam rail are fast moving birds endemic to United States territory of Guam. The birds are medium
sized rail with elongated body and laterally compressed especially in the breast and neck areas.
They are approximately 11 inches but the male are often distinguished with their greater size.

The Guam rail is an omnivorous bird. It feeds on geckos fields, slugs, insects, vegetable matter,
flowers seeds, etc.

They attain sexual maturity at about 5 months and have a life expectancy on 9.5 years for males and
5.7 years for females

3.Titicaca Grebe
Known as “short winged Grebe” Titicaca is found mainly in Lake Titicaca in southern Peru and
western Bolivia.

This bird spends most of its time submerged in water in search of fish. Although it is flightless like
other grebes, Titicaca is an excellent diver.

This species lives in a habitat mosaic of submerged vegetation in shallow waters on a high altitude
lake and its surrounding water bodies. They are specialists, eating only one genus of killifish,
Orestias, for 95 percent of their diet.

2. Ostrich

This flightless bird is the largest bird on planet earth. Their wings are mainly for cooling and balance.
Unlike other birds, ostrich possesses three separate stomachs and secrete urine entirely from its
faeces. They can sprint 70km/hr with their two legs and two toes. They are omnivorous animals and
survive in grassland and Savannah. With their necks accounting for nearly half of their length,
Ostriches can reach heights of nine feet.

In addition to this, the eggs of ostrich are the largest of any kind and can survive for two weeks
without water. Strange right?

Although males and females work together to rear chicks, when the eggs hatch after 35 to 45 days of
incubation, the male typically defends the hatchlings and teaches them to feed.

Long, thick eyelashes, one of an ostrich’s most recognisable features, are actually an adaptation to
the dangers of sandstorms. They are now limited to sub Saharan Africa woodlands and Africa plains.

1. Penguin

Without penguins, this list would be incomplete. Unlike all other flightless birds, penguins are built
for swimming and diving. They are found exclusively in the southern hemisphere except for the
Galapagos species situated north of the equator.

They feed mainly on fish and other sea life found underwater. While all other birds have wings,
penguins have flippers. They are adapted to the cold and spend half their time in water. They are
found mostly in Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, and South Africa .

Even though these eight birds can’t fly, you should probably be envious of them nonetheless. It’s
not easy to survive while being deprived of the greatest body feature others wished they had. The
ability to soar the sky.