Eight interesting facts about birds:

• The most yolks ever found in a single chicken's egg is nine.
• The now-extinct elephant bird of Madagascar laid an egg that weighed 27 pounds.
• A bird's heart beats 400 times per minute while resting and up to 1000 beats per minute while flying.
• The world's only wingless bird is the kiwi of New Zealand.
• The homing pigeon, Cher Ami, lost an eye and a leg while carrying a message in World War I. Cher Ami won the Distinguished Service Cross. Its leg was replaced with a wooden leg.
• The only known poisonous bird in the world is the hooded pitohui of Papua, New Guinea. The poison is found in its skin and feathers.
• Migrating ducks and geese often fly in V-shape formations. Each bird flies in the upwash of its neighbor's beating wings and this extra bit of supporting wind increases lift, thereby saving energy.