These bird facts are sure to leave you scratching your head in wonder.  Birds are amazing animals and here are some fascinating facts about them.

I find all different kinds of animals fascinating.  But, birds will always hold a special place for me because they were my gateway animal.  Once I really started learning about birds I became more intrigued with the natural world.  If you are not already totally passionate about nature, I hope birds will be your gateway animal.

7 Bird Facts

Birds can see both straight ahead and sideways at the same time.  It is true birds can focus straight ahead with both eyes at once.  At the same time they can look to their side and only focus with one eye.  Read all about this weird vision here.

The longest migrating bird in the Rocky Mountains is the Swanson’s Hawk.  This raptor travels nearly 6,000 miles one way and takes about two months to accomplish.  Read about these other long distance Rocky Mountain migrators.

Cormorants bones are heavy and not hollow like most birds.  Most birds’ bones are hollow to allow them to fly through the air. Cormorants dive under water to catch fish, so having heavy bones enables them to swim underwater well.  Unfortunately, that means they are not the most agile flyers.  If you see a cormorant flying it looks like it has to work hard to stay in the air.

Some birds feathers weigh more than their bones. For example the giant Frigatebird has heavier feathers than its skeleton.

Birds can fall asleep in usual places, such as standing on a branch of floating on water.  Ducks and geese in fact often sleep floating in water.  They prefer it because they can sense movement in the water, which will wake them up in case a predator is approaching.

Birds can sleep while they are flying!  Yes, scientists recently discovered that birds really can sleep while mid-flight.  Some birds, like the frigate bird fly for days or weeks without stopping.  They are able to do this because they sleep.  They are able to shut down one or both sides of their brain to sleep while airborne.  Usually, they just shut down one side while the other is alert.  But, they can take a power nap in which both sides rest for short periods of time.

Hummingbirds are very lightweight – in fact most hummingbirds weigh less than a US nickel.  The average hummingbird weighs less than 4 grams, less than a nickel at 5 grams.  Read these other hummingbird facts.