Flightless bird 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 (ostrich, emu, cassowary, rhea 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). Ostriches are farmed for their decorative feathers, meat and their skins, which are used to make leather. Many domesticated birds, such as the domestic chicken and domestic duck, have lost
Birds of the Amazon birds that breed in the northern and southern hemisphere but migrate to the Amazon rainforest for food and shelter that are not available at their breeding places during cold months. Migrating birds greatly rely on rainforests for food, rest and recovery after their dangerous migration during which they can lose 30% of their body weight. Since the 1970s, cattle pasture has been the leading cause of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Land is often cleared for investment purposes due to pastureland prices exceeding forest land prices. In this case, large amounts of forest are torn down and replaced with savanna