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  • The Vampire Finch Survives On Blood on Random Bird Facts That Are Straight Up Terrifying

    (#2) The Vampire Finch Survives On Blood

    There are a few birds out there that are somewhat carnivorous, but few are as creepy as the vampire finch. These small birds live in the Galápagos, and feed in large part on the blood of other animals, including threatened blue-footed boobies. They peck at other birds until they bleed, and then they drink the blood as it flows. Weirdly enough, the blue-footed boobies don't seem to mind much, though we're not sure why. Other similar finches prefer to pick parasites off of other animals for nutrients, but the vampire finch has evolved to pecking past just the skin.

    As an added creepy factor, it's also been shown that once a finch finds a victim they enjoy, they will actually return to the same animal multiple times to continue to feed. So, if a vampire finch decides you taste good, it'll be coming back for seconds.

  • Cassowaries Can Kill People on Random Bird Facts That Are Straight Up Terrifying

    (#3) Cassowaries Can Kill People

    There is often a comparison drawn between birds and dinosaurs, and perhaps no creature embodies a modern-day dinosaur better than a cassowary. These Australian birds are brightly colored and have bony-looking heads in addition to massive clawed feet. In some cases, a cassowary's kick has broken bones, killed dogs, or just ripped into human flesh. But in 1926, the unthinkable happened. Philip and Granville McLean, a pair of teenage brothers, came across a cassowary and their dog attacked it. Granville was gravely injured, and as Philip tried to run away he fell. The bird attacked him, severing an artery in his neck with its feet. The boy bled to death quickly. 

    Luckily, cassowaries are unlikely to attack you unless you mess with them. Research has shown that the vast majority of attacks were caused because humans provoked the birds, tried to hurt them, or offered them food. In other words, leave them alone, and they won't kick-stab you in the neck. 

  • Woodpeckers Have To Store Their Tongues In Their Necks on Random Bird Facts That Are Straight Up Terrifying

    (#16) Woodpeckers Have To Store Their Tongues In Their Necks

    Everyone knows that woodpeckers sport strong, long beaks that can peck right through tree bark. But these animals have yet another unusual feature: their tongues.

    Not only is a woodpecker's tongue often covered with a sticky saliva and barbs, but it is also incredibly long. Some birds can even extend their tongues four inches in length. Because of this unusual size, a woodpecker tongue needs special storage and does not just sit in the mouth, like they do on humans. Instead, the woodpecker tongues curl back into a special compartment in the back of the bird's head between the skull and the skin for storage. Basically, a woodpecker stores his tongue in the back of its neck!

  • Some Vultures Are Impervious To Anthrax on Random Bird Facts That Are Straight Up Terrifying

    (#15) Some Vultures Are Impervious To Anthrax

    You might just think of vultures as ugly, creepy birds but in reality... okay, they're still really creepy. But their creep factors mask some pretty amazing details. For one thing, they are incredibly resistant to most illnesses, and can eat carcasses infected with terrible diseases that would turn most other animals' stomachs. Some vultures can safely ingest cholera, salmonella, botulism, and even anthrax without getting sick.

    One reason they are able to do this has to do with the high level of strong acids in their stomachs. They have a stomach acid around zero pH, and this extreme acid level kills most parasites and bacteria before they are even able to get to a bird's intestines. Couple this with a great immune system and some very special genes, and you've got one strong, garbage disposal of a bird.

  • Shrikes Impale Their Prey With Thorns on Random Bird Facts That Are Straight Up Terrifying

    (#7) Shrikes Impale Their Prey With Thorns

    If you were to see a shrike while out and about, you might think they look pretty cute. However, what you are really seeing is a vicious and sadistic little bird. The shrike, upon killing its prey, traditionally uses its curved beak to strike a death blow. But even then the victim's torture is not at an end. After death, the bird takes the body, finds a thorny tree or even barbed wire, and impales its prey onto the spike. Occasionally it even does this while the victim is still alive. Bird watchers may find small lizards and rodents stuck on barbed wire fences or trees while searching for any of the 30 species of shrike.

    But why does the shrike do this? For one thing, the bird has sensitive feet, so it cannot hold its prey and sit on a branch at the same time. So the shrike uses said spikes to hold food still for eating and storage. However, shrikes also do this because female shrikes are attracted to all those dead bodies. The more dead bodies a male has on his turf, the more likely he is to get a female. They may even decorate the bodies of their prey with ribbons and shiny objects.

  • The Greater Honeyguide Is A Born Killing Machine on Random Bird Facts That Are Straight Up Terrifying

    (#1) The Greater Honeyguide Is A Born Killing Machine

    The cuckoo is strange and diabolical enough in that it actually lays its eggs in another bird's nest so that its chick will be fed by the other mother bird, growing bigger and faster while the other chicks in the nest slowly die. However, the greater honeyguide takes it a step further: its chick is born in another bird's nest just like the cuckoo, but the honeyguide has a much shorter game plan in mind. 

    These chicks are born with a specialized beak sporting spikes at the tip. When the baby honeyguide finds other babies in the nest, it goes about systematically and violently killing them with this specialized beak. It stabs, chews, shakes, and does not stop until the victim stops moving. It will kill all the other chicks in the nest within an hour. Later, the baby's hook simply falls off the beak, its purpose served. In short, this baby bird is adapted perfectly to kill other chicks.

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About This Tool

Under normal circumstances, most birds are harmless and gentle, such as swans, magpies, and ostriches. They are so cute that people can't help but want to touch them. However, many people overlook some important facts about birds. For example, owls are one of the most terrifying killers, they can turn their heads 270 degrees in any direction and eat the whole prey. Many birds in nature are highly dangerous. Once they are angered, the attack power of these birds is beyond our imagination.

The random tool introduced 18 terrifying facts about birds that most people never know. There are more than 5,000 bird species known in the world, but more than 10% of bird species are endangered. Humans should pay more attention to environmental protection and animal protection to maintain a good ecological balance.

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