All About Birds
What's a bird?
Do you know what makes a bird different from other animals?
Blue Jay - bird
Karner Blue Butterfly - insect
Is it the pretty colors?
No -- other animals, like fish and insects,
come in all sorts of beautiful colors too.
toucan - bird
platypus - mammal
Is it the bill or beak?
No -- other animals, like the duck billed
platypus (a mammal), have bills too.
crocodile egg
Is it the eggs?
No -- other animals, like fish, amphibians,
reptiles, insects and even some mammals, hatch from eggs as well.
bald eagle - bird
dragonfly - insect
Is it the wings?
No -- other animals, like insects and some
mammals, have wings.
Then what is it!?
peacock - bird
Feathers!
All birds have feathers and birds are the only
animals that do!
Feathers do many jobs for birds. Soft down keeps them warm, wing feathers
allow flight and tail feathers are used for steering.
The color of the feathers can be used to hide the bird or to help the bird
find a boyfriend or a girlfriend!
Scientific information:
Birds are a scientific "class". The scientific name for the
class is Aves.
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CLASSES
BIRDS PAGE 2 >
