Facts and Fun about Science and Social Studies topics compiled by Drew Dell.

Bird Facts

  Some robins are year-round residents to Kansas while some migrate through the state.    
  There are 23 species of blackbirds found in North America, 13 are regularly found in Kansas.  
  The most common hawk,the Red-tailed Hawk is found in Kansas.  
  Pelicans can have a wingspan of up to 9 feet and weigh up to 17 pounds.  
  U.S. agriculture loses about $100 million due to birds each year.  
  Blackbirds and starlings  feed on grain, traveling up to 30 miles from their roost in search of food each day.  
  All owls have large eyes so the entire head of an owl can swivel as the it looks around or behind itself.  
  The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service says whooping cranes were probably always rare, with an estimated population of 500 to 700 whooping cranes in 1870.  Today, there are 411 whooping cranes in North America, including 266 birds found in the wild.  
  In August there are more birds per square foot outdoors than at any other time of the year in North America.  
  Adult cedar waxwings feed on small fruit and berries, but feed their nestlings only insects.  
  87% of all the individual birds in North America are blackbirds, grackles, starlings and cowbirds.  
  Most incubating birds have a ‘brood patch’, this is where the feathers have been shed to allow warmth to pass directly from the bird to the eggs.  
 


Bird Fun              ?Bird Trivia
 

  

Facts were collected from the following pages:  http://www.cyberspaceag.com/farmanimals/wildlife/birdtrivia1.htm, and  http://www.meckbirds.org/justforfun/trivia.htm