Flightless bird that require a significant amount of overall metabolic energy, ratites decrease their basal metabolic rate and conserve energy. A study looking at the basal rates of birds found a significant correlation between low basal rate and pectoral muscle mass in kiwis. On the contrary, flightless penguins exude an intermediate basal rate. This is likely because penguins have well-developed pectoral muscles for hunting and diving in the water. For ground feeding birds, a cursorial lifestyle is more economical and allows for easier access to dietary requirements. Flying birds have different wing and feather structures that make flying easier, while flightless birds'
Flightless cormorant within the species range, and the prevention of fishing with nets in the bird's foraging range. Flightless cormorant The flightless cormorant ("Phalacrocorax harrisi"), also known as the Galapagos cormorant, is a cormorant native to the Galapagos Islands, and an example of the highly unusual fauna there. It is unique in that it is the only cormorant that has lost the ability to fly. Once it was placed in its own genus, "Nannopterum" or "Compsohalieus", although current taxonomy places it in the genus with most of the other cormorants, "Phalacrocorax". Like all cormorants, this bird has webbed feet and powerful legs