![]() ![]() However, birds tend to be lightweights because they have evolved numerous anatomical tricks to reduce weight, so that flight is both possible and efficient. The biggest animals also tend to weigh the most. The most unambiguous measurement is weight. When we talk about superlatives of animal size, just saying ‘big’ is a bit vague. And we can look to the not-too-distance past to find even larger avian titans. Mammal megafauna tends to get much of our attention these days, but we still have some impressively large birds that can make us ooh and aah. These new, big birds could assume roles once filled only by large dinosaurs.Ĭountless bird species, big and small, have come and gone over the millennia. Over millions of years of evolution, birds of some lineages forsook the sky, trading the ability to fly for a massive body size. Once the larger dinosaurs were removed from the picture, birds (as well as mammals ) began to take advantage of ecological niches left vacant across the planet. In the evolution of flight in birds, a small body size was advantageous since lighter animals have an easier time resisting the pull of Earth’s gravity. Back then, birds were mostly of the small-bodied variety. We know that birds are actually a specialized group of dinosaurs that survived the great extinction 65 million years ago. From tiny hummingbirds to hefty ostriches, body size in birds spans a wide range. Our feathered friends display a dazzling assortment of plumage colors and patterns and come in all shapes and sizes. There are about 10,000 species of birds on Earth.
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