Standing up to 5 feet high and weighing around 20 pounds with a wingspan of about 11 feet, this sub-Saharan African stork features a bald, rotting-looking head, a dangling pink wattle, long spindly legs, a white underbelly, and a black mantle of plumage that make it look like the Grim Reaper.Īppearance isn’t all that associates this bird with death. It looks downright scary which is one of the reasons it is often called the “ undertaker bird.” The marabou stork doesn’t just look weird.
Size: Height: 5 feet (1.52 m) Weight: 20 pounds (9 kg) Wingspan: 11 feet (3.35 m).Where they are found: Sub-Saharan Africa.Unique weird feature: Grim Reaper appearance.The wattle can extend up to 17 inches (45 cm) in length but is retracted during flight.įeeding on nuts, insects, and lizards in the wet lowland forests of Columbia and Ecuador, this unique bird species attracts a mate by putting on a male dance show in a lek where females visit to watch the show and pick which one they like the best.Īfter mating, each female goes to her nest and raises one chick as a single mom. It’s called an umbrellabird due to the large crest that hangs down over its beak.īut what really makes this strange black bird stand out is the long feathered wattle that hangs down from its chest. Size: Length: 20 inches (51 cm) Weight: 11 to 20 ounces (320 to 570 g) Wingspan: 26 to 28 inches ( 66 to 71 cm).Where they are found: Columbia and Ecuador.Unique weird feature: Long, feathered wattle.Yet another peculiar trait about this bird is that it only mates every other year because this monogamous species prefer to spoil its youngsters, taking the longest time to care for its young than any other bird species. Otherwise, this odd bird obtains its food by stealing eggs from other birds or robbing regurgitated food from other birds by latching onto their tails and shaking them until their supper comes up. This seabird also boasts the largest ratio of wing area-to-body-weight of other bird species, allowing it to soar continuously for long periods.Ĭoincidentally, magnificent frigatebirds cannot swim or take off easily, so they fly over the ocean waters and swoop down to snatch fish and squid that swim near the surface with their long, hooked bill. However, the gular pouch is not the bird’s only odd feature. This strange mating feature is what puts this fellow on the weirdest bird list.Īfter watching the below video, you may feel like you’ve seen something you shouldn’t have.Ī lot of animals have some pretty strange techniques for attracting a mate but the greater sage-grouse definitely stands out. Size: Length: 26 to 30 inches (66 to 76 cm ) Weight: 4 to 7 pounds (1.81 to 3.17 kg)īe thankful you were not born a female greater sage-grouse.Ĭan you imagine gathering every spring at a lek to pick your mate from among dozens of males who spend hours showing off by thrusting their bulging, yellow air sacs in and out while making gurgling, popping sounds?.Unique weird feature: Large, inflatable breast sacs.
One more weird fact: hoatzin chicks feature creepy claws on their wings that enable them to climb trees for safety. While hoatzins form monogamous pairs, several other individuals will chip in to help incubate and raise the chicks. The hoatzin feeds only on plant vegetation that ferments in its foregut which is what creates the bird’s stinky smell. Is it the fact that this bird enjoys eating monkeys for dinner, or is it his shaggy brown hairdo that makes him look like he’s been out partying way too much? When it comes to the Philippine eagle, it’s a toss-up about what makes it one of the weirdest birds. Unique weird feature: Spikey hair-do and eats monkeys.Here are 17 of the planet’s weirdest birds. Among the world’s ten thousand bird species, there are some with bizarre habits, odd diets, and downright scary features.
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