Birds are beautiful animals that can fly. Their body is divided into three parts: – head, Trunk and a tail. They have two pairs of limbs – the legs and the wings. Birds have legs, but no hands. Their wings are covered with feathers. Many birds can fly with the help of their wings. The Mouth of bird is called a beak. But they don’t have teeth. But birds itself distinguish with each other. Following are the features that distinguish birds from other animals and themselves too.
All birds have bodies covered with feathers. Each bird has different kinds of feathers that help it do different things.
There are three kinds of feathers..
Flight feathers – Flight feathers help birds to fly. They are found on the wings and the tail.
Body feathers – Body feathers are colored feathers, which cover the body of the bird.
Down feathers – Down feathers are soft and fluffy feathers found close to the body of a bird. They help birds to keep their bodies warm.
Bird use their beaks to catch and eat food. Different birds have beaks with different shapes which helps them eat different kinds of food.
| Bird | Beak | Purpose of the beak |
|---|---|---|
| Eagle | It has strong, sharp and hooked beak | This shape helps eagle to catch animals as it flies. |
| Parrot | It has sharp and curved beak | This shape helps crack nuts and seeds and to tear fruits. |
| Duck | It has flat and broad beak | This shape helps to catch fish and worms in the water. |
| Sparrow | It has small pointed beak | This shape helps to catch fish and worms in the water. |
| Hummingbird | It has straw-like long and slender beak. | This shape helps it to suck nectar from flowers. |
All birds have two feet and four toes. The feet and claws help the bird walk, wade through water and catch food. Different birds have different kinds of feet to help them live in their surroundings or gather food.
| Bird | Types of feet | Purpose of the feet |
|---|---|---|
| Woodpecker | It has two toes in front and two at the back. It has long curved claws. | This shape helps them climb and hold on the trees. |
| Duck | It has three toes that are webbed together. It has a little toe at the back. | This shape helps them swim as they use their feet to push against the water and move forward. |
| Vulture | It has four toes with sharp claws. | The claws help to catch small animals. |
| Sparrow | It has three toes at the front and one at the back. | This helps the sparrow hold on the branches tightly. |
| Crane | It has long legs and four toes are spread. | This helps them to walk near the banks of the river and lakes to eat fish. |
Most birds build nests to lay eggs and protect their babies. They use grass, straws, twigs, and leaves to build their nest. They use their beaks to build nests. For example, Tailorbird uses its beak to stitch leaves to build the nest. Different birds build different kinds of nests. Many birds build their nests in trees, but there are some birds like a peacock and a duck who build their nests on the ground.
Only Cuckoos do not build nests. They lay eggs in the nest of a crow.