• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Animals / Can All Birds Fly?

Can All Birds Fly?

February 28, 2020 by Karen Hill

The ostrich and the penguin are two familiar birds that cannot fly, but
they’re not the only two.

The emu and the cassowary, two large birds that live in Australia, and a South American bird called the rhea, are also flightless. And so is a smaller bird, the kiwi, that is found in New Zealand.

Were these birds always flightless? . . . No. All flightless birds are descended from flying ancestors. Over the course of thousands of years, these birds gradually grew larger and their legs became stronger to support their weight.

Eventually, the birds were too heavy to fly, and their wings grew smaller and weaker. All flightless birds still have wings, but they are useless for flying. The penguin, for example, uses its wings to paddle its way through the water.

Flightless land birds escape their enemies by running and are quite fast. The ostrich, for example, the fastest-running bird on earth, can run at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour!

Related Facts

  • Why Do Geese Fly In a V Formation When They Fly South In the Winter and How Is It More Efficient?
  • Why Does the Paradox of Zeno of Elea Say That an Object In Motion Is Also Stationary and What Does It Mean?
  • Why Do Flying Fish Fly and Do Flying Fish Fly To Help Them Find Food, Escape Predators, or Because They Can?
  • How do Emperor Penguins stay warm in Antarctica when it’s so cold?
  • Does an Ostrich Really Hide Its Head in the Sand?
  • Which Explorers First Explored the Continents of the World?

Filed Under: Animals

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Have Any Creatures Been on Earth for More Than 300 Million Years?
Next Post: Can a Baby Bird Breathe Inside Its Egg? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy