The Heaviest Flying Bird

8/4/2022 9:02:00 AM
Image: animalia.bio

Do you know?

  • A Great bustard in flight often is named “flying fortress” because of being the world’s heaviest flying bird. 
  • These birds have one of the greatest differences in size between the sexes. For this reason, males and females live in separate groups for almost the whole year, except during the mating season. 

Let's explore more about this animal!

Let's learn some new words before you read the passage:

Listen and complete the passage.

silent hatch glide raise
approximately rodents bark wingspan


Some heavy birds, like the ostrich and emu, have lost the ability to fly. The heaviest flying bird is the great bustard. The male of this species can weigh up to forty-six pounds, about the same as a bulldog, while the lighter female can weigh up to eleven pounds. Great bustards live in much of Asia, Eastern Europe and parts of Northern Africa. Some people in these areas even bustards on farms. Great bustards eat a lot of plants and especially prefer vegetables, such as kale and cabbages. They will also eat many kinds of insects, as well as spiders, frogs, and small , such as voles.

Great bustards are able to fly because they have strong wings that they must flap all the time. Unlike lighter birds, they do not through the air and, in fact, would fall like stones if they tried. The male bustard has a  of up to seven feet. Bustards are good runners, too. The main predator of great bustards is the fox, but the bustard can escape it by flying or running because it is faster than a fox. Great bustards are usually , but they can  at other males during fights.

The female lays two or three eggs that in a few weeks. A chick weighs about as much as a lemon or an orange when born and can fly by the time it is three months old. It stays with the mother for about a year and lives for  ten to fifteen years.

Read and answer the following questions.

The Heaviest Flying Bird

The male great bustard is much heavier than the female one. Image: worldbirds.com

Some heavy birds, like the ostrich and emu, have lost the ability to fly. The heaviest flying bird is the great bustard. The male of this species can weigh up to forty-six pounds, about the same as a bulldog, while the lighter female can weigh up to eleven pounds. Great bustards live in much of Asia, Eastern Europe and parts of Northern Africa. Some people in these areas even raise bustards on farms. Great bustards eat a lot of plants and especially prefer vegetables, such as kale and cabbages. They will also eat many kinds of insects, as well as spiders, frogs, and small rodents, such as voles.

Great bustards are able to fly because they have strong wings that they must flap all the time. Unlike lighter birds, they do not glide through the air and, in fact, would fall like stones if they tried. The male bustard has a wingspan of up to seven feet. Bustards are good runners, too. The main predator of great bustards is the fox, but the bustard can escape it by flying or running because it is faster than a fox. Great bustards are usually silent, but they can bark at other males during fights.

The female lays two or three eggs that hatch in a few weeks. A chick weighs about as much as a lemon or an orange when born and can fly by the time it is three months old. It stays with the mother for about a year and lives for approximately ten to fifteen years.

Source: Daily Warm-ups - Nonfiction Reading Grade 6

What can you infer from the first paragraph about great bustards?

  • They are considered omnivores.
  • Of all the birds on Earth, they are the heaviest.
  • They only fly at low altitudes.
  • Eastern Europe is their main natural habitat.

What do you NOT know from the passage?

  • The lifespan of the great bustard
  • The reason why the great bustard can fly
  • The mating season of the great bustard
  • The weight of the great bustard

The author uses the phrase in fact in the second paragraph for what purpose? 

  • to indicate the contrasts he realizes between different birds
  • to surprise the readers by interesting facts about the great bustard
  • to emphasize the difference between the great bustard and other birds
  • to support the information that he has stated before

The great bustard can run away from its main predator _____.

  • thanks to its mobility
  • because it lives in single sex flocks
  • thanks to its speed
  • because it is much larger in size

Presumably, this passage comes from a _____.

  • poster of a zoo
  • scientific thesis
  • blog about rodents
  • biology textbook

Build your vocabulary by learning these intensive phrases/idioms

You're just _____ your mother - headstrong and impetuous!

  • the same as
  • similar with
  • looked alike
  • identical as

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first one, using the word in a bracket. You must use between THREE and FIVE words, including the word given. Do not change the word given.

Students gain independence and confidence to try new things during college. (WINGS)

=> Studying at university helps students .

Choose the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined words.

A: "We're down by six points with only two minutes remaining. There's no way we can win now!"

B: "Hey, it ain't over till the fat lady sings!"

  • Time flies when you're having fun
  • Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched
  • A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
  • Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

A: "Why do you think Donald is dishonest?"

B: "All his friends are dishonest. _____."

  • Birds of a feather flock together
  • Every cloud has a silver lining
  • Calamity is man’s true touchstone
  • Two can play that game