MORE record-setting birds!
Which bird has got what it takes to be a record-holder?
In our previous article, we learnt that The Guinness Book of World Records started all because of a dispute about birds. (And a fortune made from selling pints of Guinness, I suppose!) Let’s learn more about some cool, record-setting birds today!
The smelliest bird in the world, which has a stomach like a cow’s!
Have you ever woken yourself up by letting out a fart so horrible it just snapped you out of your reverie?
No?
… Me neither… of course…
But I’m sure any hypothetical fart-so-bad-it-woke-me-up cannot compare to the smell the Hoatzin bird emits.
According to the Guinness World Records, the Hoatzin - a tropical bird found in the swamps, mangroves, and rainforests of the Amazon and Orinoco basins in South America - is the smelliest bird in the world!
That’s because Hoatzin digests their food the same way cows, goats and sheep do. These animals are called ruminants and have a specialised ‘gut compartment’ that is filled with helpful bacteria that help them digest their food.
Thankfully, they are the only bird in the world that digests food in this manner. If any other birds did the same, we’d probably be living in Stinktown.
Just like cows, a Hoatzin’s diet consists almost entirely of plant matter. For the Hoatzin, it’s tough leaves, which need to be broken down with the help of bacterial fermentation. Foul-smelling bacterial vapors exhaled by the Hoatzin are apparently what gave this species it’s nickname: “stinkbird.”
Many of the same bacteria strains found in a Hoatzin’s gut compartment are also found within the stomachs of cows. I guess that could be why cow farts are so lethal - in fact, the methane produced is also said to contribute greatly to climate change.
But this unique digestion process isn’t the most efficient. In fact, in cows, the entire digestion process takes them anywhere from one to three days to fully digest their meal. And For Hoatzins, the digestion process takes up to 45 hours.
So these birds apparently spend about 80% of their time lounging around just digesting their food. They often aren’t able to fly at all, when they are full of fermenting leaves!
I’m not one to judge, but what a horrible way to live! Stay in a food coma all day and then fart all night? Yeesh!
The most promiscuous bird in the world
The sexilicious Saltmarsh Sparrows proudly holds this world-record!
During each nesting period, up to 95% of females will mate with more than one male - and the eggs in her nest will reflect this, with many of her chicks having mixed parentage. One in three Saltmarsh Sparrow nests had a different father for every chick. Every single chick!
The Saltmarsh Sparrow’s breeding strategy is described by scientists as “obligate, promiscuous, and bond-free relationship between males and females.” That means both sexes copulate with multiple individuals, without a lasting relationship.
Of course, we’re not here to slut-shame: it turns out this unusual behaviour could be a survival mechanism due to constant coastal flooding. Because these sparrows nest amongst the saltmarshes (hence their name) they are vulnerable to frequent high tides, which can cause a high level of nest loss.
These birds must constantly mate and lay eggs to ensure the survival of their species. They don’t care who they mate with - as long as he’s got a pulse and he’s around, they’re good to go!
The most loyal bird in the world
There are many species of birds that mate for life.
The world of wildlife behaviors is incredibly varied, with all manner of sexual practice on display. Mammals (which includes us humans!) are not particularly monogamous. Of all the mammal species in the world, only about 5% of them are monogamous. For birds specifically, the World Wildlife Foundation found that around 90% of species choose monogamy as their reproductive strategy. This is a huge number compared to mammals!
Monogamous relationships benefit parents when it’s harder to raise kids alone. For examples, penguins living in freezing conditions would never be able to raise kids by themselves. So penguins are one bird species that have evolved to co-parent, and only raise one single egg and chick at a time.
For today’s article, I chose the swan as the most loyal bird in the world.
Swans are considered a symbol of love – their necks even form a heart-shape when two swans meet! During courtship, swans curve their necks towards one another, lift their wings, and bow to each other.
Once bonded, the pair generally stays together for life, and if a mate is lost the surviving swan goes through a grieving process that humans could recognise.
But, once its grieving is complete the swan may find another mate or join a flock! Sometimes, though, they do choose to live out the rest of its days alone.
I hope you enjoyed learning about all the different types of birds in the world, and the amazing records they’ve set. I’d love to do more articles like these, so if you have any requests, please leave them in a comment below!