What does flightless bird mean?
Definitions for flightless bird
flight·less bird
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word flightless bird.
Princeton's WordNet
ratite, ratite bird, flightless birdnoun
flightless birds having flat breastbones lacking a keel for attachment of flight muscles: ostriches; cassowaries; emus; moas; rheas; kiwis; elephant birds
Wikipedia
Flightless bird
Flightless birds are birds that through evolution lost the ability to fly. There are over 60 extant species, including the well known ratites (ostriches, emu, cassowaries, rheas, and kiwi) and penguins. The smallest flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island rail (length 12.5 cm, weight 34.7 g). The largest (both heaviest and tallest) flightless bird, which is also the largest living bird, is the ostrich (2.7 m, 156 kg). Many domesticated birds, such as the domestic chicken and domestic duck, have lost the ability to fly for extended periods, although their ancestral species, the red junglefowl and mallard, respectively, are capable of extended flight. A few particularly bred birds, such as the Broad Breasted White turkey, have become totally flightless as a result of selective breeding; the birds were bred to grow massive breast meat that weighs too much for the bird's wings to support in flight. Flightlessness has evolved in many different birds independently, demonstrating repeated convergent evolution. There were families of flightless birds, such as the now extinct Phorusrhacidae, that evolved to be powerful terrestrial predators. Taking this to a greater extreme, the terror birds (and their relatives the bathornithids), eogruids, geranoidids, gastornithiforms, and dromornithids (all extinct) all evolved similar body shapes – long legs, long necks and big heads – but none of them were closely related. Furthermore, they also share traits of being giant, flightless birds with vestigial wings, long legs, and long necks with some of the ratites, although they are not related.
ChatGPT
flightless bird
A flightless bird is a bird species that, through evolution, has lost its ability to fly. This happens as they adapt to their environment in different ways, such as running or swimming, which makes flying unnecessary for survival. Examples include penguins, ostriches, kiwis, and emus.
Wikidata
Flightless bird
Flightless birds are birds that lack the ability to fly. These species rely on running and/or swimming instead of flying, but evolved from flying ancestors. There are about forty species in existence today, the best known being the ostrich, emu, cassowary, rhea, kiwi, and penguin. Some birds evolved flightlessness in response to the release from predation, for example on oceanic islands, although this is likely not the case for the ratites, as evolutionary origins suggest a continental biogeographical providence. Two key differences between flying and flightless birds are the smaller wing bones of flightless birds and the absent keel on their breastbone. The keel anchors muscles needed for wing movement. Flightless birds also have more feathers than flying birds. New Zealand has more species of flightless birds than any other country. One reason is that until the arrival of humans roughly a thousand years ago, there were no large land predators in New Zealand; the main predators of flightless birds were larger birds. Some flightless varieties of island birds are closely related to flying varieties, implying flight is a significant biological cost.
Matched Categories
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of flightless bird in Chaldean Numerology is: 2
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of flightless bird in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6
Translations for flightless bird
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- flyveløs fuglDanish
- flugunfähiger VogelGerman
- πτηνό που δεν πετάειGreek
- nefluganta birdoEsperanto
- AVE no voladoraSpanish
- پرنده بی پروازPersian
- lentokyvytön lintuFinnish
- oiseau incapable de volerFrench
- éan gan eitiltIrish
- röpképtelen madárHungarian
- չթռչող թռչու� Armenian
- uccello incapace di volareItalian
- ציפור חסרת מעוףHebrew
- 飛べない鳥Japanese
- volans avisLatin
- niet-vliegende vogelDutch
- Fugl som ikke kan flyNorwegian
- Ptak nielotPolish
- pássaro que não voaPortuguese
- pasăre care nu zboarăRomanian
- нелетающих птицаRussian
- fågel som inte kan flygaSwedish
- பறக்காத பறவைTamil
- uçamayan kuşTurkish
- بے اڑان پرندہUrdu
- פליענדיק פויגלYiddish
- 不会飞的鸟Chinese
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"flightless bird." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/flightless+bird>.
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