Why Do Flightless Birds Go Extinct So Often?

Flightless birds tend to disappear soon after human settlements arrive. Some species have been hunted to extinction, while others have had their habitats destroyed.

When you think of birds, you probably peg them as masters of flight, but when we rewind to the age when dinosaurs went extinct, the birds that existed back then didn’t soar quite so high. Instead, they kept their heads down, grazing and running free on the land.

Grounded birds were not as rare as they appear to be today. In fact, flightless owls, ibis, woodpeckers, finches and many more were a common part of the landscape. They were well and truly alive, but are now sadly gone. There was one bird that outlived them all. True to its name, the elephant bird, weighing in at about 270 kilograms, was the heaviest bird known to science.

It’s surprising to think that size and strength wasn’t enough to keep these flightless birds alive. From large behemoths like elephant birds to small, odd-looking birds like dodos, they all faced the same unfortunate end.

Although natural events like infamous ice ages and volcanic outbursts cannot be entirely ruled out, it seems like more than a coincidence that these species disappeared shortly after humans encroached on their homes. It’s very likely that our ancestors exterminated them, either to fill their bellies, clothe their bodies or decorate their homes.

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In the case of birds, it definitely can. Research suggests that flightless birds, or ratites, having lost their ability to fly, have been and remain more prone to going extinct than volant (flying) birds.

Humans are likely to blame for the long list of 581 bird species that have vanished over the past 126,000 years. Of these, 166 possessed wings that were too weak to fly. Ratites were widespread, so if their numbers weren’t decimated by humans, we’d still share this world with more than 150 flightless bird groups. Unfortunately, as it stands, only 60 of these species remain, including ostriches, rheas, kiwis and emus.

Will Present-day Ratites Face The Same Fate As Their Ancestors?

Time seems to be catching up to flightless birds, namely penguins, rheas, ostriches and cassowaries. In addition to those that have already gone extinct, more than 50% of surviving ratites have been listed as threatened or vulnerable, and about 20% face the threat of endangerment. Thus, 80% of the flightless birds still alive today face an uncertain future. Humans could seek redemption by using conservative measures to save the dwindling populations of flightless birds, but that requires will that we often lack.

A Final Word

It’s ironic that the evolution of flightlessness, which developed in response to an environment without predators, became the very reason these birds were so easily targeted.

Flightless birds, in particular, are more vulnerable to extinction, as they lack an essential defense to escape predators. Especially for those thriving endemically on remote islands, extinction seemed like a distant threat. Little did they know that foreigners like humans, rats and pigs would rapidly lead to their absolute destruction.