The Tiniest Bird In The World

The tiniest bird in the world is called a Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae). It´s body is about the size of a ... that’s right, large bee. That converts to something like 1.8 grams and a little over 5 centimeters long. The male is known to be smaller than the female of the species. The Bee Hummingbird can be found in Cuba and Isla de la Juventude.

Bee Hummingbirds are very rapid and strong fliers; they can easily be mistaken by an insect. When flying, the wings of the Bee Hummingbird beat about 80 times per second, and during the courtship displays up to 200 times per second. They have the fewest feathers of all birds, which are round about 1.000 feathers. Other species of birds can have up to 25.000 feathers. The diet of the Bee Hummingbird consists mainly of nectar and an occasional spider or insect. In the space of one day, the Bee Hummingbird is capable of visiting up to 1500 flowers. These miniature creatures consume half their body mass and drink 8 times their body mass in water on a daily basis. Now that´s what I call eating and drinking!!!!
Bee Hummingbirds are solitary birds; they only accept each other’s company during the breeding phase. During the rest of the time, they are aggressively territorial; they protect their territories even against much bigger birds. The nest of the Bee Hummingbird is the tiniest of all birds, which is only about 3cm in diameter. The nest usually hosts two tiny eggs at a time which are smaller than two coffee beans. Bee Hummingbird eggs are also known as the world´s smallest bird eggs.

Once, the Bee Hummingbird used to be relatively common, but due to habitat destruction resulting from logging and clearing for farming, it is now amongst the numerous types of Hummingbirds that are classified on the endangered species list. But even today as these fascinating and beautiful creatures are protected, its numbers are, with great sadness, still decreasing.

Source: Wikipedia

The World´s Rarest And Strangest Parrot

The Kakapo is currently known as the world’s rarest and strangest parrot due to its unusual habits. Kakapo are the only parrots that are flightless and mostly active at night, as well as the heaviest, sometimes reaching up to 4kg in weight at maturity. Their courtship is known as “lekking”, where the males gather together to compete and to call the females with a loud and out of the ordinary booming noise. This boom can be heard from 1 to 5 km away, and attracts the females from across the land. Female Kakapo can lay up to three eggs per breeding cycle. After mating the female assumes full liability for nest building, incubation (approximately 30 days), and raising the chicks once they have hatched. It takes about 10 to 12 weeks of age before the chicks are able to depart from their nest.

These unusual birds are endemic throughout the rainforests and grasslands of New Zealand. The Kakapo is strictly vegetarian, eating native plants such as fruit, seeds, leaf buds, green shoots, pollen, and even moss and fungi. Their lifespan can reach up to 60 years, now that’s what I call a mighty age for a bird! Kakapo are solitary birds, they maintain large territories and if another Kakapo happens to intrude, the resident kakapo emits a type of “skraarking” noise in order for it to leave. Although the Kakapo cannot fly; they are good climbers and use their wings as a sort of parachute when they jump from trees as well as for balance and support when they walk and run. Kakapo have the smallest wing size of any other parrot; their feathers are very soft and moss-green in color, with some black on their back and yellow green feathers on their belly, which blends well with native vegetation. Their pronounced claws are particularly useful for climbing.

Before the arrival of humans, many Kakapos used to wonder throughout the three main islands of New Zealand, but now there are fewer than 100 of them. The Kakapo has been classified as a critically endangered species. They are threatened due to predatory animals such as cats, dog’s, stoats, and so on that settlers brought along with them to New Zealand. Unfortunately, they were also hunted for food and eaten by the settlers. Habitat loss was also another problem. The name of this extraordinary creature is derived from the Maori language, which means "night parrot".

Source: Wikipedia

Creature With Three Eyes

Tuatara are unusual reptiles that live in the waters around New Zealand and can be found nowhere else in the world. Scientists call this species a sphenodon. The Tuatara, closely relative to lizards and snakes, are the most primitive of reptiles. The color of the Tuatara ranges from olive green to brown. The male Tuatara is bigger than the female and has a more prominent crest of spines along its back which he can fan out to attract females or when fighting with other males. These creatures have many interesting features, such as the pattern of their teeth. They have lower teeth that fit into a "channel" between two rows of upper teeth this is quite unique among all living species. Another interesting feature is that they have no eardrum or ear-hole, but they can hear through a middle ear cavity which is filled with loose tissue.

The most unusual feature about these creatures is that they have three eyes. They have two normal eyes and a third eye located at the top centre of the skull, which is covered with opaque scales and pigment. It is only visible in hatchlings, which have a translucent patch. Scientist’s don´t understand it´s function very well but they believe that it may help the Tuatara determine light and dark cycles. This eye is known as a parietal eye. It’s possible that the third eye of the Tuatara was inherited from ancestors that lived 200 million years ago, so the Tuatara is really a living fossil.

The Tuatara has been classified as an endangered species since 1895. These creatures, like many other New Zealand native animals, are threatened by habitat loss and the introduction of Polynesian Rat. Tuatara are amazing creatures, if we protect them they will survive and not become extinct. The name of this extraordinary creature is derived from the Maori language, which means "spiny back".