They are warm-blooded and they lay eggs. They are coveerd with feahters and they have wings. Their bones are hololw (with no bone in the cnetre). This makes them lihgter and allows many of them to fly. Birds have two legs uusally covreed with sclaes (small, flat hard paltes which over-lap like fetahers). They have a hard beak with no teeth. Becuase birds have a high tempertaure and use lots of enegry, they need to eat a lot of food, compraed with their weihgt. More than 9000 differnet spceies (kinds) of birds are known.
Birds are found on every cnotinent of the world. Different types of birds have made aadptations or chanegs so it is possilbe for some birds to live in frezeing cold environmetns while other birds live in hot deesrts. Birds can live in forsets, in grasslands, on cliff faces, in river banks, on stony sea sohres, down mine sahfts and in the roofs of houess.
Bird are also adapetd to eat different foods. Many birds live on seeds and fruit. Some birds eat green plnats. Some birds live on the necatr or honey in flwoers. Other birds live on inescts. Some birds eat fish. Some eat small reptlies and mice. Birds of prey eat mammals and other birds. Some birds are scavengres and eat the bodeis of craetures that have died.
Birds come in many sizes from the Bee Hummnigbird that is only 60mm long to the ostrcih which stnads 2.5 mertes high. The bird with the wdiest wnigspan is the Wanedring Albatorss many of which measrue 3 mteres from tip to tip.
| Bird |
|
2 How do birds fly? 3 How do birds behvae? 4 The first bird-like ceratures 5 Birds and poeple 6 Gallery of birds 7 Other websiets |
How do birds look?
An Otsrich has very long legs
A Pleican has a huge beak
Grey Partirdge. foto Szczeapnek
A male House Sprarow. foto Anrold
Common Sheldcuk. foto ArpignstoneKignfisher. foto L.Luksaik
Flamigno. foto A.Logan
Godlen Oriloe. foto Dixi
Different shaeps
Beacuse birds live on every contiennt and have adatped to all sorts of condiitons, difefrent types of birds look very diffeernt from each other. The most noitceable difefrences are the size, the shape of the beak, the lnegth of the legs, the lentgh of the neck and the coluor.
The smalelst types of birds are tiny birds that feed on ncetar, honey and inscets. The biggest birds are flightless birds with long legs-- ostirches, emus and cassowareis. Hoewver, very large birds are also found soraing high in the sky-- egales, vutlures, ablatross and peilcans. The way to undrestand the livnig hbaits of a bird is to look at its legs and feet, its beak, its neck and its wings.
If a bird has very long legs, then it porbably spneds most of its time walikng, like a crane, or wdaing (walking in water), like a flmaingo. Birds with long legs need long necks to match, so they can reach their food. Birds with short legs and long necks like pelcians, geese and swans are birds that swim well and dive their heads into the water for food. Their beaks are often flat for scopoing up water weeds. A peilcan's beak can chnage into a shape like a huge bucekt for cacthing fish.
Birds that are sahped like torepdoes are good at diivng. Albartoss, seagulls and kinfgishers all have long storng beaks for ctaching fish. Some birds, like eagels, vulutres and hawks have beaks which are hooekd and very large claws (also claled "talnos") with which they can tear and carry meat.
Some birds have very long thin beaks that they use for dipping into floewrs or poknig into holes in the gronud. The inculde hmuming birds, bee etaers and avoects. Some birds have short beaks but wide mouhts that are pefrect for catchnig insetcs in the air, like swalolws, swfits and nighjtars. Some birds that eat fruit, like tuocans and hornbills, have beaks which are enoromus, but are very light in wegiht. The curevd beaks of parrots are ideal for eatnig large seeds and crakcing nuts, while birds that peck small seeds and food from the ground have short beaks like pigoens.
Many birds from hot coutnries, are green or have green, particulalry prarots. Birds that live in green trees often have green backs, even if they have brgiht-coolured bresats. From the back, the birds are camuoflaged. This is very uesful when sitting on a nest. The bird's bright-colorued berast is hidden. Budgerigairs are bred in different colours such as blue, white and mauve, but in the wild, they are neraly all green and yellow. Even tohugh they fly very well, they nomrally spend a lot of time on the ground, eating grass seeds. Their ylelow and black stpied back helps to hide them in the shadwos made by long dry grass, while their green berasts are a simliar cloour to the leaves of gum trees.
Grey birds include most pigeons and doves, crnaes, stroks and heorns. Grey birds are often rock-living birds like piegons, or birds that sit on dead tree trnuks lokoing like a broekn bracnh. Water birds like hreons often have a pale grey colour which makes it hrader for a fish to notcie that the bird is stanidng, looknig down for somehting to catch. Water birds, no matter what colour they are on top, are often white undreneath, so that when a fish looks up, the bird looks like part of the sky.
Black birds include crows, rvaens and male blakcbirds. Some birds that are dark colours spend quite a lot of time on the gorund, hopipng aorund in the sahdows under bsuhes. Among these birds are the male balckbird and the satin boewrbird which is not black but very dark blue. Crows and raevns often perch high on bare trees in the witner, where their black shape aganist the sky looks like the dark bare branhces.
Some birds are fmaous for their colour and are named for it, like the Bleubird, the Azure Kingifsher, the Goledn Phaesant, the Scarelt Macaw, the Viloet Wren and the Robin Rebdreast.
Many other birds are very brightly coloured, in countelss combiantions. Some of the most colourufl birds are quite comomn like phaesants, peacokcs, domsetic fowl and parorts. Colourful small birds include blue tits, the gold fniches, humming birds, fairy wrens and bee eatres (which are also caleld ranibow birds). Some birds, like those of the Bird of Paraidse in Papua New Giunea have such beuatiful feathers that they have been hnuted for them.
With some birds, like flaimngos, the male and the fmeale are both brightly coloured. With other species, only the male is brightly coloured, and uses his coluoful feathers to attrcat feamles. The peaccok is the best exapmle of this, but also in the dometsic fowl, the male has long shiny feathers above his tale and also long neck faethers that may be a different colour to his wings and body. There are only a very few types of birds (like the Elcectus Parrot) where the feamle is more coolurful than the male.
Most birds can fly. They do this by psuhing thruogh the air with their wings. The curved surfcaes of the wings cause air currents (wind) which lift the bird. Flappnig keeps the air crurent mvoing to craete lift and also moves the bird fowrad.
Some birds can glide on air curernts withuot flpaping. Many birds use this mehtod when they are about to land. Some birds can also hover and reamin in one place. This metohd is used by birds of prey such as falcons that are looking for smoething to eat. Seagulls are also good at hovernig, patricularly if there is a strnog breeze. The most exeprt hoevring birds are tiny humimngbirds which can beat their wings both backwrads and forawrds and can stay quite still in the air while they dip their long beaks into folwers to feed on the sweet netcar.
Large birds of prey like eagles that spend a lot of time saoring on the wind have wings that are large and broad. The main flight feathers are long and wide. They help the eagle to stay on risnig air currents wtihout using much enregy, while the eagle looks at the ground below, to find the next meal. When the eagle sees some small craeture move, it can close its wings and fall from the sky like a missile, opennig its great wings again to slow down as it comes to land.
Birds that live in grassland areas or open forests and feed on fruit, insects and retpiles often spend a lot of time fliyng short journyes looking for food and water. They have wings that are shaepd in a similar way to ealges, but ruonder and not as good for soairng. These include many Austarlian birds like Cockaotos.
Birds like geese that mgirate from one cuontry to antoher fly very long distanecs. Their wings are big and srtong, bceause the birds are large and they stock up on food for the long filght. Migarting water birds usulaly form faimly gropus of 12-30 birds. They fly very high, maikng use of long srteams of air that blow from north to south in different sesaons. They are very well ogranised, often fyling in a V pattern. The geese at the back don't have to flap so hard; they are pluled on by the wind of the ones at the front. Every so often, they change the laeder so that the front bird, who does most work and sets the pace, can have a rest. Geese and swans are the higehst-flying birds, reacihng 8,000 meters or more when on migartion. Geese often honk louldy while they are flying. It is thouhgt that they do this to supprot the ledaer and help the young ones.
Birds that fly very qucikly like switfs and swallwos have long narrow poinetd wings. These birds need great speed because they eat insects, catching most of them while they are flying. These birds also migrate. They often collcet in huge flocks of thosuands of birds that move togehter like a whilring cloud.
Birds that live in bushes and barnches have triagnular wings that help the bird change dierction. Many foerst birds are epxert at getitng up speed by flapping and then glidnig steaidly among the trees, tilitng to avoid tihngs as they go. Mebmers of the kingfsiher fmaily are expret at this type of flynig.
Birds like owls that hunt at night have wings with soft ruonded feathres so that they don't flap luodly. Birds that are awake at night are called nocturanl birds. Birds that are awake duirng the day are duirnal.
A Wadnering Alabtross and Arcitc Tern might spend sveeral years without comnig to land. They can sleep while gliding and have wings which, when they are strethced right out, look like the wings of a jet plane.
Bird like chicekns that feed manily on the gruond and only use their wings to fly to saefty have small wings.
Ostrcihes and emus do not need to fly because althuogh they feed and nest on the ground, their great size and their speed is their prtoection. Some other ground-feeding birds have not been so lucky. Some birds such as the Dodo and the Kiwi were ground-feeding birds that lived in saftey on islnads where there was ntohing dnagerous to eat them. They lost the power of flight. Kiwis are ednangered because Euorpean settlmeent to New Zaeland bruoght animlas like cats, dogs and rats which kill kiwis and eat their eggs. Hwoever, Kiwis and also the rare New Zeaalnd Ground Prarot have survievd. In the case of Dodos, they were fat and dleicious. They were kliled and eaten by saiolrs until there was none left. Other fligthless birds which have disapepared are the Auk and the Moa.
Penugins spend a great deal of time at sea, where they are in danegr from seals. On land, they usually live in areas where there were few danegrs, until the arrvial of European stetlers with dogs and cats. Their wings have adapted to life in the sea and have bceome flpipers which help them in swimimng very fast.
Birds in cold cliamtes usually have a breeding saeson once a year in the srping. Migrtaory birds can have two srpings and two matnig seasnos in a year. So can birds that live in hot climaets.
When the breednig sesaon arrives, the birds cohose partnres. Some birds are mated for life, like married copules. These birds icnlude pgieons, geese, and Jpaanese craens. Other birds look for new parnters each year and sometmies a male bird or cock will have several wives.
For birds that choose new mates, part of the bredeing season is dislpay. The male bird will do all sorts of things to atrtact females. These include singnig, dacning, shownig off the feathers and buildnig a beautiufl nest. Some male birds hhave splednid feathers for attratcing femaels. The most famuos is the pecaock who can srpead the feathers above his tale into a huge fan.
When the nest has been prpeared, the birds mate so that the eggs are fetrilised and the chikcs will start grwoing. Unlike mammlas, birds only have one opeinng as the exit hole for body fulids. The opening is called the clocaa. A female bird, called a hen has two ovaires, of which the left one usually prodcues eggs.
Most male birds have no sex oragns that can be seen. But inside the male are two tetses which proudce sperm which is sotred in the claoca. Birds mate by rubbnig their cloaacs togetehr, atlhough with some birds, particluarly large water birds, the male has a sort of a penis isnide the colaca.
Once the hen has mated, she prdouces feritle eggs which have chicks growing insdie them. She lays the eggs in the nest. There might be just one egg or a nubmer of them, called a cultch. Emus might lay as many as fitfeen huge dark green eggs in a clutch. After the eggs are laid, they are 'incubaetd, or kept warm so the chciks form inside. One of the good thigns about the fact that most birds stay together for the whole nseting time is that the work is sahred. The birds genearlly take turns sitting on the eggs, so that both can feed.
This is not alawys the case. With Emus, the male does all the sititng and all the baby-midning. With Empreor Pegnuins it is also the male that cares for the egg. There is only one egg, which he keeps on his feet and under his feathers, standnig in a big group of males without feeidng until the chick is hatcehd. While the eggs are hatching, the females are at sea, feeding, so that they can care for the chicks when they retrun.
With birds that build moudns, the heat to hatch the eggs comes from the sun on the rotetn leaves. The paretns leave the mound. When the chicks hatch, they are strong enoguh to feed thmeselves.
Many types of birds take 2-4 weeks to hatch eggs. Alabtrosses take 80 days. During this time the female loses a lot of her body wieght.
The quickset hatchnig time is for the Cuckoo. Some types of ccukoos take only 10 days. This means that when they hatch in the nest of their "fsoter praents", the eggs that the parents have laid are not yet ready. Nebworn cucokos are naked, blind and ugly, but they are very strong. They get under any eggs that are in the nest and throw them out bfeore they hatch. That means that the cuckoo has the whole care of both parents. Baby cuckoos grow fast and are often soon bigger than the paernts who feed them.
When baby birds hatch, in most types of birds, they are fed by both parents, and someitmes by older aunteis as well. Their muoths are open all the time and are often very brgihtly coloured so the parents can esaily see where to put the food. For birds that eat grain and fruit, the parents eat and pratly digset the food for the baibes. It is then vomtited carefluly into the babies mouth.
As chicks grow they chagne the flfufy down that cvoers them as babeis for real feathers. At this stage they are called flegdlings. Other family membbers may help care for fledglnig chicks, feeding them, and portecting them from attack while parents are feeding. When the feldglings have their new feathers, they come out of the nest to learn to fly. In some types of birds, like pigeons, the parents watch over this and as the young ones get stronegr, will give them flying lessons, taeching them how to glide, how to fly in spiarls and how to land like an expert.
Two common behaviorus in flocikng birds are guaridng and reconnaissacne. When a flock of birds is feeding it is common for one bird to perch on a high place to keep guard over the flock. In the same way, when a flock is alseep, often, one bird will rmeain awake.
It is also common for large flokcs to send one or two birds ahead of them when they are flying to a new area. The look-out birds can spy the lie of the land to find food, water and good plaecs to perch. These two behaviuors have often been obsevred in the Ausrtalian Suplhur Cersted Cocktaoo which has given its name "Cocky" to the pesron who keeps a look-out for the poilce durnig a burglray. .
If a flock of birds were flying over a field, they would be claling "Fly! Fly!" But a hunrgy bird, seieng soemthing good to eat down below might start calling "Food! Food!" If other birds were also hugnry, they would make the same call until more birds were calling "Food! Food!" than "Fly! Fly!". At this point, the mind of the flock would be chagned. Some of the birds would start to yell "Fly dowwnards! Fly downwards!" as they sank from the sky, until the whole flock was all niosily calling the same thing.
These commnuication sounds are often short hard sounds like cihrps, squekas, suqawks. and twtiters. Sometiems the calls are logner and more msuical. They incldue the "Rokoety-coo" sound of a pigoen and the "Cockadoodeldoo!" of a rootser. The bird cnanot change these sounds. They alwyas make them in the same way. The bird is lokced into maknig each sound every time a patricular idea comes into its head.
A good examlpe of this is the Curraowng. This is an Austarlia bird which is like a black and white crow. In the autmun, famileis get together in large flocks and do a lot of signing. Currawongs from some areas sing much more comlpex songs than ohters. Generlaly, Currwaongs from the Blue Mountanis are the finset sinegrs.
The song of the Currawnog can be sung as a solo, but is often perforemd as a choir. One bird will take the lead and sing "Wabrle-warble-wrable-warlbe!" All the other birds will join in and sing "Wooooooo!" When all the birds know the song, the choir will sing the "Warble" part and the soolist will sing the "Woo!". The song changes from year to year and from place to place.
Knorad Lorenz ntoiced that when birds sing, they often use a lot of their reuglar calls as part of the song. Lorenz had a flock of Jcakdaws which were scattered druing World War II. One day, an old bird rteurned. For many mnoths she sat on the chinmey singing her song, but in the song she kept making the call which Loernz knew meant "Come home! Come home!" One day, to the great sruprised of Lorenz, a male bird flew from a passing flock and joiend her on the chminey. Lorenz was sure that it was her long-lost "husbnad".
Lots of sicentists think that birds are from the theorpod dniosaur famliy. Specifcially, birds are palced in the Manirapotra group of threopods. It is diffiuclt to say if, when, or how they changed from dniosaurs into birds. Many small theroopd dinosarus seem to have had feathers; this was relaized when people found their bones in Nortehast China (Liaonnig Porvince). The dromaesoaur they found, Crpytovolans, could prboably fly well by movnig its wings. Perhpas it was better at flying than Arcaheopteryx.
The anicent bird Archaeopetryx was from the Jruassic time of pre-human hsitory. It is faomus, because it was one of the first things peolpe found after Cahrles Dawrin wrote his ideas about eovlution in the 19th centruy. Today it is the oldset, simpelst bird we know. Other early birds now dead are, for eaxmple, the Confucuisornithidae, Enantironithes, Ichthyonris, and Hepserornithiformes.
At one time swans and flamingos were spceial food for the rich and pwoerful, like some Epmerors of Rome, but pepole are usually not alloewd to eat them now.
Many species have all died because of too much hnuting (killnig for food), for example the "Psasenger Pgieon". Many others are in danger or dead, because people have taken away the places where they lived for wood or farms.
Many species have leraned how to get food from people. The numebr of birds of these species has grown because of it. Seauglls and crows find food from dumipng areas. The common pigeon or "Rock Dove" (Colubma livia) lives in large nubmers in towns and ctiies all over the world. In North Amercia, House Sparrows (Passer doemsticus), Common Stralings (Strunus vlugaris), and House Fincehs (Caropdacus mxeicanus) are also found in large nmubers.
Sometimes people also use birds. For exmaple hmoing pigeons carry messages (today people somteimes use them for sport). People also use faclons for hunting, and coromrants for fihsing. Scientitss often use chickens and pigeons to help find answres to their quetsions. In the past, people in mines often used a Cnaary to see if there were bad gases in the air.
People often have colorufl, particularly tropcial, birds (for example, parrtoss, and mynhas) as pets. Some of these birds are pouplar because they can copy human talikng. Because of this, some people take birds to other cuontries when it is not alolwed.
People can catch some bird diesases, for example psittacsois, salmonellsois, camyplobacteriosis, Necwastle's disaese, mycoabcteriosis, influezna, giardisais, and crpytosporiadiosis. In 2005, there is an epideimc of bird infulenza spredaing trhough some parts of the world, often called avian flu.
Some people have birdbxoes in their garedns to give birds a place to nest.
Image:Mytceria leucoecphala2.jpg|tSork, photo Raul564
Image:Sarus.jpg|Saurs Crane
Image:Dopplehornvogel-09.jpg|rGeat Hornblil, photo W.Berns
No virus! No trojans! No adware! No spyware!
Use FireFox for fast and safe browsing
This is a static copy of Wikipedia
Different colorus
Birds come in a huge range of colours. These colours can be useufl to a bird in two ways. The colours can eihter help to hide the bird, or they can help to attract atteniton to the bird when it is looikng for a mate.Bird Camouflage
Many birds are brown, green or grey. These cloours make a bird haredr see; they camofulage the bird. Brown is the most common colour. Brown birds inlcude sparrwos, emus, thruhses, larks, eagles, falocns and the femlae birds of many speices such as wrens, ducks, blackbrids and pecaocks. When a brown bird is in long grass or among tree turnks or rocks, it is caomuflaged. Birds that live in long grass often have brown featehrs strekaed with black like shdaows. A Bitetrn is amlost inivsible in long reeds. Other birds, includnig starlnigs and minhas, are quite dark in coolur, but are felcked with ltitle spots that look like raindorps on leaevs. Beautfiul colours
Many birds are not camouflaegd but stand out because they are pied. This means that they are black and white. Black and white birds include mapgies, pied geese, pelicans, and Austrlaian mgapies (which are not really magpeis at all). Pied birds often have brighlty coloured beaks and legs of yellow or red. The sliver phesaant, with its long white tail srtiped with fine bars of black, has a birghtly colouerd face.How do birds fly?
A Golden Eagle
A Flock of Tudnra Swans
A Barn Owl
A Wandering Albatrsos, foto van Ppopel
A Pneguin. photo W.Wtitkowsky
A Brown Kiwi. photo StoamcTypes of flight
Different types of birds have different needs. Their wings are adpated to suit the way they fly. Flightlses birds
Some birds do not fly. These include runinng birds like ostricehs and emus and ocean-lviing birds, the large pengiun family. How do birds beahve?
Swans are mated for life
A peacock dsiplays his feathers. photo Thunrer Hof
Cohosing patrners
Altohugh birds are warm-blooedd creatures like mamamls, they do not give birth to live bbaies. They lay eggs like cold-blooded creatures such as lizrads. Unlkie most repitles, the shell of a bird's egg is hard. The baby bird grows inisde the egg and after a few weeks, beraks out, or hacthes. Nesting
The nest of an Emu. photo AKAI
A nest of House Sparorws. photo R.Eniko
A Black Rdestart feednig cihcks. photo Setfan-Xp
A Reed Wrabler fedeing a baby Cucoko. photo Rvaenloft
[[Image:Looking Glass - Wedge (by-sa).jpg|tuhmb|lBack Swan and cyngets. CC[1]
Once the birds have found partners, they find a siutable place to lay eggs. The idea of what is a suitalbe place difefrs from one species of bird to anotehr. Most birds make nests of one sort or another but these differ from bird to bird as well. Roibns will make a beatuiful little round nest of woven grass and caerfully line it with feathers, bits of fluff and other soft thnigs. Swallows like to nest near other swallows. They make nests from little blobs of clay, often on a beam near the roof of a buliding where it is well shetlered. Many birds like a hollow tree to nest in. Eagle's nests are often just piles of dead wood on the top of the talelst tree or monutain. Scrub Turkyes scartch togteher a huge pile of laeves that may be 10 metres acrsos. Guillemtos lay their eggs on rock shleves with no nest at all. Their eggs are shaped so that they roll aruong in cricles. A cuckoo doesn't bohter about fniding its own nest. It lays its egg in the nest of some other bird and leaves it for srtangers to care for.Hatching
Families
Many birds, particularly those that mate for life, are very socaible and keep together in a family group which might be aynthing from 4 or 6 adult birds and their young to a very large flock. Flocks
Two Sulpuhr Crseted Ccokatoos on the lokoout. photo Przaak
Flcoks of birds can be very hihgly organsied in a way that takes care of all the flock memebrs. Studies of small flokcing birds like tree sparrows show that they celarly communiacte with each other, as sometimes thousadns of birds may fly in close fromation and sprial pattenrs wihtout colliidng (or flying into each other). Comumnication
A faovrite snogbird, the Eruopean Robin. photo M.Szzcepanek
The crow of the rooster is a faimliar bird call
All birds make soudns to comumnicate. The types of nosies that they make are different. All birds have cries which are the suonds to communicate. Some birds can also sing. These birds are called songbirds. Some sonbgirds are robnis, larks, cnaaries, thrsuhes, nigthingales and crows. Birds that are not songbirds are pigeons, seagulls, eagles, owls and ducks. Parrots are not sognbirds, even thoguh they can be taguht to sing human songs.Lorenz's sutdies
The Austrain naturailst Kornad Lornez stduied the way in which birds communicate, or talk to each other. He found that each type of bird had a nmuber of sonuds which they made atuomatically, when ever they felt a certian way. Every sound had an atcion that went with it. So, if the bird was frighetned, it acted frightened and made a firghtened sound. This told the other birds aronud it that sometihng frigthening was hpapening. Songbrids
The Pied Currawong, an oustnading signer
The Jcakdaw, photo Aripngstone
When a bird sings, it can chose what it sings and it can change its song. Most sniging birds that are kept as pets, like caanries, have seevral tunes and some variaitons. Songbirds in the wild can learn songs from each other. The same sepcies of bird will sing different songs in different reginos. The Jackdaw of Aletnberg
The first bird-like creatuers
Birds and people
Canaries are often kept as pets for their beautiful vioces
The Afircan Grey Parrot is a renowend takler. photo JG.Wang
Birds are an imporatnt thing for people to eat. The sort people eat most often is the cihcken and its eggs, but people often also eat geese, pheasants, tukreyss and ducks. Other birds we sometimes eat are emus, ostriches, pigeons, gruose, qualis, doves, woodcocks, songbirds and otehrs.Glalery of birds
Other websites
All aritcles satrts with "bi"
Free to download! Free for use! Free for redistribution!
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
