44 Fun Facts about Birds - mental_floss List Show Ep. 440

A weekly show where knowledge junkies get their fix of trivia-tastic information. This week, Mike shares some bizarre facts about birds!

Subscribe for new episodes of mental_floss every Wednesday!

----

----

[nikkyjay]

the fact that the Cassowary is considered the most dangeous bird is hilarious. Come to Australia, even our birds are dangerous. it's fun here

[The.Talent]

As an Australian, I am very glad you pronounced emu correctly. I have heard so many foreigners pronounce it as ee-moo, not eem-you.

But just because nobody is perfect, the kookaburra is actually pronounced cook-a-burra not kook-a-burra.

I like lots of birds, but have a favourite bird sound. It's the eastern whipbird. It's the coolest sound when bushwalking through a rainforest.

[NerdfightingMom]

Shout out to bird nerds and their life lists!

[HarryMudd]

Did you know that when you hear an eagle cry in movies or in tv-shows, the sound is that of a red-tailed hawk? 😊

[busydadliving]

I always get happy when I see Mike here.

[Goblin_Mom]

those gentoo penguins really are a step-up from the gen 1s

[pun-isher]

Don't make a big bird of prey sick.
'Cause that would be ill eagle.

[agnesstrzykowska]

Crow is an interesting bird. Recently I've been feeding a couple of crows hanging around my house. After a few days they started coming to me on my way to work or they follow me walking my dogs, they also brought some of their friends. Now I have about 12 of befriended crows landing in front of me any time I leave the house and marching along me waiting for some snacks I bring for them. Wild birds, go figure!😀

[OreoVII]

I would say that's more like "spreading fire" or "using fire", not "starting fire".

[Lucas_S]

I like crows, ravens, magpies and similar birds, but jackdaws are probably my favourite. They can be incredibly smart!

[elvisg]

Humming birds, they're amazingly beautiful little birds.

[TheRonster]

but what is the average airspeed velocity of the unladen swallow?

[MsJoyaVerde]

I can't believe the "great emu war" didn't make the list.

[andrewlaqui]

Is anyone else massively disappointed when these lists videos aren't done by John?

[tamaraf]

Favorite bird - Opus from Bloom County!

[SuperAngryPacman]

I don't think I've ever heard an American say "kookaburra" before. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was weird.

[seatbelttruck]

I remember hearing what sounded like a hawk in my neighborhood when I was little, and being confused because it wasn't really a good habitat for a hawk (small city/large town block without a lot of open space nearby) and it's a pretty big bird to hear and not occasionally see. I wonder if it was actually a jay. We don't have blue-jays. Can Steller's Jays do the same thing?

Wait... what's the point of eating something if it comes out intact on the other end? Or can snails just handle being partially digested. If so, snails are a lot more awesome than we give them credit for.

[reynaerica]

Birds hate purple koolaid. Fantastic work here. Very informative!!

[Hoshimaru]

Don’t forget the fact that the Red Tailed Hawk is commonly used as the default sound for a Bald Eagle. Real eagles sound like squeaky toys.
Kookaburras are also carnivorous and are the largest members of the kingfisher family. There’s a petting zoo of sorts near me that has 2 kookaburras and they feed them thawed dead mice.

[literaryfirearms]

I'm glad Fletchinder's Pokedex information was based on real world bird behavior. Super interesting!