A creature that is usually able to fly is called a bird. Birds are covered with feathers and have two wings.
Birds can include:
- Chicken: a domestic bird that is kept for its meat or eggs. The adult male chicken is called cock (US rooster). The female chicken is hen. The baby chicken is chick.
- Turkey: a large domestic bird that is kept for its meat, eaten at Thanksgiving.
- Goose: a water bird like a duck. The male goose is called gander.
- Duck: a bird with webbed feet that lives near water. The male duck is called drake.
- Pheasant: a large bird that has a long tail.
- Eagle: a strong bird of prey that has a hooked beak and keen eyesight.
- Hawk: a medium-sized bird of prey that catches small animals for food.
- Crow: a black bird that has an unpleasant cry.
- Owl: a bird with round eyes, which hunts its prey in darkness using strategy.
- Pigeon (dove): a grey or white bird that lives in cities. The white dove is used as a symbol of love and peace.
A French word
A Germanic word
- Sparrow: a small brown-grey bird, that is especially common in cities.
- Hummingbird: a small bird that creates humming noise by beating wings.
- Canary: a small pet bird that has yellow plumage.
- Parrot: a tropical pet bird that has the ability to imitate human voice.
- Swallow: a small bird that has pointed wings and a tail with two points.
- Ostrich: a large flightless bird with long neck and long legs, which lives in Africa.
- Penguin: a black and white flightless bird that lives in Antarctica. Penguin uses its wings for swimming.
- Peacock: a large colorful pheasant that can spread out tail feathers like a fan. The female of peacock is called peahen.
- Flamingo: a tall, pink bird that has a long, curved neck and long legs.
- Gull (seagull): black and white bird that lives near the sea.
- Swan: a snowy white bird with a long thin neck, that is close relative to the geese.
- Heron: a tall bird with a long neck and long legs that is typically seen near water. Heron is an expert fisher.
- Woodpecker: a bird that has a sharp and strong beak to dig holes in trees.
Main parts of birds
- Beak (also bill): the pointed or curved part of a bird’s mouth which is used for eating or killing prey.
- Feather: one of the plumage that covers most parts of the body of birds.
- Plumage: the layer of feathers.
- Talon: a sharp nail on the feet of the birds that is used to catch food.
- Wing: one of the parts of a bird that is used for flying.
Groups of birds
- Brood: a group of young birds
- Clutch: a group of eggs in a single nest
- Colony: a group of penguins/gulls
- Flight: a group of birds that are flying together; a flight of doves/pigeons/swallows etc.
- Flock: a group of the same birds; a flock of parrots/pigeons/ etc.
- Gaggle: a group of geese on land or water
- Skein: a group of geese in flight
- Wedge: a group of geese in V formation