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The University of Alaska stretches over 4 time zones.
Facts in category: Animals
| The bird with the longest bill to body size is the Sword-billed Hummingbird Ensifera ensifera that lives in the high Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia. Its bill is 10.2 cm long, four times longer than the bird's body, not counting the tail. |
| Ostriches Struthio camelus have the longest legs. Their legs can be up to 1.3 m long. |
| A number of swifts have the shortest legs. Their family name Apodidae means 'lacking legs'. |
| Jacanas (Jacanidae family) have the longest toes relative to body length. Some of the larger Jacanas can have 'toespans' of at least 15 cm. |
| The Phoenix Fowl has the longest feathers. The upper tail can grow for six years and one measured 10.6 m. The Phoenix Fowl has been bred as an ornamental bird in Japan since the mid 17th century and is a breed of the Red Jungle Fowl Gallus gallus. |
| The longest feathers of a wild bird relative to body size, are the central tail feathers of the male Ribbon-tailed Bird of Paradise Asptrapia mayeri. It lives in the mountain rainforest of New Guinea. |
| The most feathers ever counted on one bird was 25 216 on the Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus. 80 per cent of feathers were on the bird's head. |
| The Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus is the fastest bird and fastest of any kind of animal. It can reach speeds of at least 200 km when diving for prey in the air. |
| Hummingbirds have the fastest wingbeat. The Horned Sungem Heliactin cornuta, in tropical South America beats its wings at 90 beats per second. |
| Hummingbirds, Family Trochilidae have been recorded in experiments, hovering for 50 minutes. |
| Relative to body size the Long Rufous Humingbird Selasphorus rufus makes the longest migration. It measures 10 cm and flies from as far north as Alaska to Mexico and back again - 10 000 km. |
| The highest recorded altitude for any bird was 11 277 m for a Ruppell's Griffon Vulture Gyps Rueppellii. It flew into a plane. |
| The largest bird egg is from the Ostrich Sturthio camelus. The egg measures 15 - 20 cm long, 10 - 15 cm in diameter and weighs 1 - 1.78 kg. |
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