5 Birds That Are The Largest Members Of Their Families

you don't exactly have to be David Attenborough to understand that the largest Birds on this planet are the ostriches the largest land animals on this planet are the African elephants and the largest animal on this planet is the blue whale these animals quite rightly get a lot of attention because they are very large and interesting creatures I think there are some other Giants that deserve some attention too some animals aren't necessarily Giants in the conventional sense but they are giants of Their Own World in this series I will be focusing on animals that are the largest members of their family and in today's video I will be focusing on birds today there are over 200 families of bird and in this video I will be focusing on just a few as I will be going through five birds that are the largest of their kind the first bird family I will be focusing on is full of relatively large birds and this family is the stork family stalks are large wading birds with very long legs and very long necks they usually have very long Stout bills and they look very similar in appearance to the herons and ibis's today there are 19 extant species of stalk and these species are split into six Genera some of the more striking members of the stork family are the saddle build stork and the painted stalk but generally stalks aren't known for being pretty birds as there are so many stalk species they come in many different shapes and sizes and each species can have a different diet most stalks eat frogs fish and insects but some of the largest species are known to eat birds and small mammals stalks have a nearly Cosmopolitan distribution but they are absent from the poles most of North America and large parts of Australia the vast majority of stalks are found in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa and this includes the largest species of them all the three largest stalks are all members of the same genus and the largest of these three is the Marabou stalk this stalk is native to sub-Saharan Africa and it breeds in both wet and arid habitats I think it's safe to say that the Marabou stalk is not the prettiest of birds but it's mostly bold head gives us a clue as to what it eats unlike some of the smaller stalks that feed on mostly aquatic prey the Marabou stalk mostly feeds on carrion and scraps it can often be seen at carcasses with vultures and hyenas and they'll eat anything from flamingos to dead elephants although this bird's diet and appearance may make it seem quite Sinister it does play an important role in the African ecosystem by removing carcasses and rotting material these stalks help to stop the spread of certain diseases so even though these birds aren't going to win any beauty contests they are still very important and they are also very large the Marabou stalk can measure 1.5 meters in height and can weigh a whopping nine kilograms despite this weight they are still able to fly because of their massive wingspan and although it's rumored that this wingspan can be up to 4 meters the maximum recorded length is around 3.2 meters so it turns out that the Marabou stalk is not only a giant among store but it's a giant in the overall Bird world the next bird family we will be taking a look at are the Kingfishers Kingfishers are generally small to medium-sized Birds and the majority of these species are brightly colored they have a Cosmopolitan distribution with the majority of species being found in the tropical regions of Africa Asia and Australia they can be found in quite a few habitats across their range from Deep forests to calm ponds and large rivers the Kingfisher family is a lot larger than the stork family and there are currently 116 species that are divided into three subfamilies and 19 Genera one sub-family mostly contains small river-loving species another include slightly larger Kingfishers such as the pied Kingfisher and the last sub-family is the largest and also contains the largest Kingfisher in the world as the Kingfisher family is so large there are so many different fascinating members one is completely extinct in the wild but still exists in captivity some of course are extremely vibrant and some are very large the largest Kingfisher in Africa is the giant Kingfisher but even this species is outdone by a bird that's not always known as a kingfisher kookaburras are tree Kingfishers and there are five species that can be found across Australia and neighboring countries the largest of these species is the Laughing Kookaburra and this kookaburra is also one of the loudest it has a very distinctive laugh and this laugh is often used as a stock sound effect in situations that involve a jungle setting oh as the Laughing Kookaburra is the largest Kingfisher it does feed on relatively large prey it feeds on a vast array of animals and this includes small mammals other birds and venomous snakes this meaty diet helps them Reach such an impressive size as they can weigh up to 470 grams and they have a length of around 48 centimeters with a wingspan of around 70 centimeters this size truly makes them the king of Kingfishers and they have quite a big personality to match the next bird family that we will be focusing on are the night jars night jars are mostly nocturnal birds and they're characterized by their long Wings short legs and short bills strangely they are sometimes referred to as goat suckers and this is due down to the ancient folk tale that they sucked milk from goats in some areas they are also referred to as bug eaters and this is more accurate as the majority of night jar species feed on a wide variety of insects night jars are found all around the world with the exception of Antarctica and certain Island groups such as the Seychelles as night jars are nocturnal they're often viewed as very mysterious birds and across the three sub-families there are some interesting designs there are the strange feathers of the standard winged night jar and the interesting Tufts on the great eared night jar strangely this species is also one of the largest night jars in the world and it is the largest based on some metrics the battle for the title of largest night jar is between two species the next Tinder Nighthawk and the gray tiered night jar this bird is the largest species in terms of length but the nakanda Nighthawk is heavier this species is found in quite a few countries across South America and tends to inhabit flooded grasslands unlike some of the other night jar species it is most active during the day and mostly feed some flying insects as we've already covered it is heavier than its rival at 190 grams but it is slightly shorter with a maximum length of around 35 centimeters I would love to tell you its wingspan but there were simply no measurements that I could find but it's thought to have a much larger wingspan than its rival so even though it may not look like most other night jars it is the largest and it is an expert insect Hunter the next family of birds we will be taking a look at are the loons or the divers loons are a group of mostly aquatic birds and they're found across much of North America and Northern Eurasia all living species of loon are members of the same genus and there are five species in this genus Bloons really are expert swimmers and they can dive up to 60 meters below the water's surface to be able to reach these depths they have to be very dense birds and they also have a few other interesting adaptations to help them swim more efficiently their legs are at the rear of their body and this makes them extremely clumsy on land instead of walking they have to hop with their bellies on the ground and this means that they're very vulnerable to Predators when they're on land the most well-known species of loon is the common loon but the largest is its close relative the yellow build loon the yellow build loon is an Arctic species and breeds primarily along the coasts of the Arctic Ocean this species is a specialist fish eater and Dives in pursuit of its prey which is caught underwater it does look very similar in appearance to the common loon but as you might be able to guess by its name it has a brightly colored bill as well as being a very striking bird the yellow build loon is also a very large bird as it can weigh in with a maximum weight of around 6.5 kilograms and it has a length of around 1 meter with a wingspan of around 1.6 This truly makes it a giant among the divers and it's a very impressive aquatic predator the final family of birds we will be taking a look at are the woodpeckers woodpeckers are a group of colorful fascinating birds and they're found all over the world with the exception of the polar regions Australia New Guinea New Zealand and Madagascar most species are found in forest or Woodland habitats yet there are some species that are found in treeless environments some specialize in Rocky Hillside habitats and others prefer deserts members of this family are known for their characteristic behavior and they have a few important adaptations that enable them to do this their brains are surrounded by a thick plate-like spongy bone and this bone helps to absorb the pressure and allows them to carry on pecking there are quite a few reasons why woodpeckers peck it would as they use woodpecking as a form of communication and they also Peck Woods to create nests and to catch their prey they peck holes in wood to get to Insects within and to catch these insects they have an extremely long sticky tongue this tongue curls around the back of their head and they can shoot it out at will although some woodpecker species can be very aggressive they do also help many other bird species to survive when a woodpecker abandons its nest these nests become available for other birds such as owls and cavity nesting Ducks because they help other birds out in this way they are known as a keystone species and unfortunately many woodpeckers around the world are disappearing famously the ivory-billed woodpecker is thought to be extinct and so is the largest woodpecker in the world the Imperial woodpecker is a species endemic to Mexico but it's currently listed as critically endangered possibly extinct historically it's always been a rare species and the population never numbered more than 8 000 individuals it's thought that their Extinction was due down to Habitat destruction and fragmentation but hunting also played a massive part their body parts were eaten and they were also used in traditional medicine but some were shot due to logging interests it really is a shame that we've potentially lost this species due down to very selfish reasons and if this bird is still out there it is a giant it's thought to have a maximum weight of around 550 grams and it was thought to have a length of around 60 centimeters and a wingspan of 76 centimeters I really do hope this giant woodpecker is still out there but unfortunately there hasn't been a sighting in decades if you have any other animals that you want me to include in a video such as this then let me know down in the comments below but thank you for watching I hope you enjoyed if you liked it please leave a like And subscribe if you want to see more videos like these but until next time goodbye [Music]

Channel: Tsuki

Views: 54,150

Keywords: birds, beautiful birds, tsuki, giant birds, large birds, education, educational, documentary, animal, animals, wildlife, ecosystem, kingfishers, nightjars, woodpeckers, storks, loons, animals of their kind, bird, biggest of their kind, biggest animals of their kind, largest animals in the world, in the world, weird birds, rarest birds, types of birds, birds that are the largest members of their family, birds that are the largest members of their families, birds that are the largest of their kind

Id: xFrRz06VDNI

Length: 11min 8sec (668 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 05 2023