I happened upon these photos today of birds of prey. They struck me as good examples of the ratio of bird "body" to bird "wings". It helps explain how the birds are so lightweight. In addition to lots of feathers, the birds have hollow bones and some of their organs shrink when they don't need them (reproductive organs). A Barn Owl, shown in the last pic, is about the size and weight of a mini Nerf football. The Osprey (first pic) is the size and weight of a full size Nerf football. The eagle in the middle can grow up to 15 pounds with a wing span of 6 feet.
I share this info because I had expected the birds to weigh more. When I picked up my first bird last weekend, I was so surprised at how little it weighed, at just 600 grams.
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