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LiveScience
LiveScience
Clarissa Brincat

Why don't all birds fly?

A photo of a penguin gliding through the air as it swims.

Birds are often associated with flight, but not all of them take to the skies. Around 60 species — fewer than 1% of all bird species — are flightless, including ostriches, penguins and kiwis. These birds evolved from flying ancestors but lost their ability to fly, instead adapting to life on land or in the water.

But why did they give up flight? Why don't all birds fly?

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