Birds are some of the planet’s most imagination-captivating creatures, able to travel immense distances around the globe with the power of flight. While mankind has made significant advances in the field of aerodynamics over the years, replicating the exact mechanics of avian flight has proven to be one of the more difficult challenges for scientists and engineers to overcome. But however short we may fall in matching birds’ power of flight, we’re still ages ahead of these five flightless birds, who will never know the feeling of soaring through the clouds.
1. Penguin
Perhaps the most well-known flightless birds, the wings of penguins have evolved over time into flippers, making them highly adept oceanic predators. Despite many depictions of the penguin as an arctic dweller, most species of penguins live in temperate zones of the Southern Hemisphere, with one species, the Galapagos penguin, living near the equator.
2. Cassowary
Closely related to emus and ostriches, the cassowary is a tropical bird that resides primarily in Australia, New Guinea, and surrounding islands. The most notable feature of the cassowary is the large, rounded horn-like crest on its head, the purpose of which is the subject of debate among scientists.
3. Flightless Cormorant
The flightless cormorant is native to the Galapagos Islands, and is the only member of the cormorant family to have lost its ability to fly. Like the penguin, it is highly adapted to water and dives for its prey using its powerful legs and webbed feet to seek out fish, eels, and even octopus from the ocean floor. The flightless cormorant is one of the world’s rarest birds.
4. Kiwi
The wings of the kiwi are so small that they are nearly invisible under its coat of fuzzy feathers, and like cassowaries, emus, and ostriches, have no sternum keel to which wing muscles are anchored to in other birds. This extraordinary flightless bird has the ability to lay an egg weighing up to 2 lbs, which can be more than two-thirds of its own body weight!
5. Steamer Duck
The steamer duck hails from South America, and all but one species within this family are incapable of flight. Their name comes from the use of their wings along with their feet to rapidly swim through the water, resembling something of a paddle steamer when in motion.
Related articles: 5 North American Birds of Prey, 5 Best Places for Bird Watching in North America, 3 Best Places for Birdwatching in the Southern US
Featured Image from Derek Oyen/Unsplash
