Bird Facts and Information for Children

Birds are warm-blooded animals in the family of wild birds. They have wings, feathers and a beak. They have no teeth and a skeleton in which most of its bones are joined together.  Many birds have the ability to fly and need to eat a vast amount of food so they have the energy to take flight.

Moving

• The fastest moving bird is the ostrich, but it doesn’t fly. One of the fastest flight birds is the Peregrin Flacon, which has speed up to 90 miles per hour.


• Some birds have the ability to swim while others cannot fly. 

Feathers

• Feathers are mainly used for flying but can also be used to keep them warm and are used for mating displays. 


• Male birds seem to be more attracted to female birds that have brightly colored feathers.  


• One of the brightest-colored birds is the Peacock, while the Peahen is the dullest-colored bird being a dull brown.

Eating Habits

• Birds today do not have teeth as the birds did centuries ago. They do have a tongue, however. 


• Many birds are considered insectivores, meaning they eat bugs. Some birds eat meat, while some eat plants and others eat fruit.  


• Birds have very good eyesight so they use them to locate food and they use their beaks and claws to grab it.

Nesting and Hatching

• Birds lay their hard-shelled eggs in nests. 


• Depending on the species, the incubation time will greatly vary. For example, the Ostrich incubation time is 42-50 days, while the Parakeet has an incubation period of 27-28 days. 

Migration

• Birds migrate to warmer climates when it starts to get cold in their area.  


• Then relocate back to their point of origin when the weather warms back up again.

Classification

• Today, there are around 9,000 various species of birds that are divided into 24 orders and 146 families.