What are flightless birds?
Q: What are flightless birds?
A: Flightless birds are birds which cannot fly and rely on their ability to run or swim.
Q: How many species of flightless birds exist today?
A: There are about 60 species of flightless birds living today.
Q: What is the smallest flightless bird?
A: The smallest flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island Rail, which has a length of 12.5 cm and a weight of 34.7 g.
Q: What is the largest living flightless bird?
A: The largest living flightless bird is the Ostrich, which can reach 2.7 m in height and 156 kg in weight.
Q: Why do some island-dwelling varieties of birds remain flightless?
A: Some island-dwelling varieties of birds remain flightless because there is selection against flying when it isn't necessary for survival; having wings and being able to fly comes with a biological cost that these kinds of birds don't need to pay if they stay grounded.
Q: Are there any other extinct families related to modern day's flightless birds?
A: Yes, there were other families of extinct, but related,flightless birds such as the Phorusrhacidae that evolved to be very powerful terrestrial predators.
Q: How are ostriches used by humans today?
A: Ostriches are raised for meat and for their skins, which are used to make leather.
