Bird Facts

Birds are all around us and, as part of nature bring all of their colors and sounds to us each day. There are many different types of birds, in all shapes, sizes and colors. Some birds fly, but others don’t have the ability and must walk on the ground like all of us.

Bird Facts for Kids:

There are around 10,000 species of birds all over the world.
Birds like to eat insects, seeds, plants and sometimes even small animals.
They have been around for millions of years.
Birds have hollow bones which helps them to fly.
The smallest bird egg in the world belongs to the hummingbird.
Most birds do not have bladders instead of storing urine they produce the white pasty substance that we are all used to seeing.
The Kiwi is the only wingless bird and you can find this in New Zealand.
Some bird species like blackbirds are very intelligent and have been known to create tools to help them forage for food and learn.
The hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world it is just 2 inches in length.
Birds are believed to be a descendant of the theropod dinosaur. And believe it or not, the average chicken is thought to be the closest thing to a living relative of the Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur.
Birds are quite smart. Some breeds have developed the ability to use tools. They are usually used for rooting out insects or other types of food.
While most birds live alone, there are some that live in pairs that are kept as pets. It’s believed that parakeets, doves and lovebirds like living with a partner so that they will have a companion.
The sizes of birds are so drastic from the smallest pea-sized hummingbird to the ostrich, which is the biggest bird. Ostrich eggs can be the size of a cantaloupe.
The eyes in our head take up about five percent of the space in the head area. A bird’s eyes take up about fifty percent. If we had eyes in our heads that could be compared to a birds, they would have to be baseball sized.
The penguin is unique in the bird world in a number of ways: they are the only bird that walks upright but they also are the only bird that can’t fly in the air but does have the ability to swim.

You may have seen an owl turn its head, but did you know they can turn their head all the way around (360 degrees)? This is useful for them because they can’t move their eyes.

If you listen to chickens in a chicken yard you will hear a lot of sounds. They can communicate by using over two hundred different noises.
In the bird world, it is the males that have the colorful feathers and many in the tropical continents have grown extra features and plumes. Their colors are used to attract the female, who usually have more neutral and less noticeable colors. The female colors are so that they can be hidden while they are in the nests, raising their young. Females pick their mate based on the amount of color he has. Some male birds in tropic areas combine their colors with fancy dances.
The goose was the first bird that humans ever domesticated for their personal use.

Some birds eat as much as twice their own weight each day. They eat more than the average cat or human baby.

Kiwi birds cannot see. Since they are blind they must use their sense of smell to hunt. They are an endangered breed of bird that lives in New Zealand.
The Araucana and Ameraucana breed of chickens can lay blue or green eggs. Chickens that have red ear lobes lay brown eggs. There is a genetic link between the red ear lobes and the egg color.
Groups of birds are called by different names. If you see larks, they are called a ‘peep’, however a bunch of geese are referred to as a ‘gaggle’. Ravens that are in a group are called a ‘murder’ and owls in a group are called a ‘parliament’.

Mockingbirds are known for imitating sounds. They imitate many of the birds in their area but they can also imitate other sounds such as the meowing of a cat or a door that squeaks.