Flying on a wing and a prayer

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 04/26/2006 10:51 AM

Imagine making out in thin air, or only twice a year, or being so small that an insect could kill you. These are some things that our fine-feathered friends live with.

* A bird requires more food in proportion to its size than a baby or a cat.

* Many species of bird copulate in the air. In general, a couple will fly to a very high altitude, and then drop. During their descent, the birds mate.

* Hens need about 24 to 26 hours to produce one egg. Thirty minutes later they start the process all over again.

* Swans are the only birds with penises.

* Hummingbirds are the smallest birds -- so tiny that one of their enemies is an insect, the praying mantis.

* The hummingbirds is the only bird that can hover and fly straight up, down or backwards.

* The hummingbird, the loon, the swift, the kingfisher and the grebe cannot walk.

* Mockingbirds can imitate any sound from a squeaking door to a cat meowing.

* A woodpecker can peck 20 times a second.

* The average adult male ostrich, the largest living bird, weighs up to 155 kilos.

* Emus cannot walk backwards.

* The turkey was named for what was wrongly thought to be its country of origin.

* Farm raised turkeys cannot fly. Wild turkeys can fly for short distances at up to 90 kph. Wild turkeys are also fast on the ground, running at speeds of up to 40 kph.

* Owls have eyeballs that are tubular in shape, because of this, they cannot move their eyes.

* A pigeon's bones weigh less than its feathers.

* Parrots, most famous of all talking birds, rarely acquire a vocabulary of more than 20 words.

* Pet parrots can eat virtually any common ""people-food"" except for chocolate and avocados. Both of these are highly toxic to the parrot and can be fatal.

* Lovebirds are small parakeets who live in pairs. Male and female lovebirds look alike, but most other male birds have brighter colors than the females.

* A flamingo can eat only when its head is upside down.

* New Zealand's kiwi cannot fly. It lives in a hole in the ground, is almost blind, and lays only one egg per year. Despite this, it has survived for more than 70 million years.

* A penguin only has sex twice a year.

* A father Emperor penguin withstands the Antarctic cold for 60 days or more to protect his eggs, which he keeps on his feet, covered with a feathered flap. During this entire time he doesn't eat a thing. Most father penguins lose about 25 pounds while they wait for their babies to hatch. Afterward, they feed the chicks a special liquid from their throats. When the mother penguins return to care for the young, the fathers go to sea to eat and rest.

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