TYPES OF BIRDS

TYPES OF BIRDS

PERCHING BIRDS

· Perching birds, or songbirds, are the most common birds on Earth.

· They are called by this name because they often nest/live on trees and their toes are specially adapted to perch on tree branches.

· Songbirds have very little feeling in their feet because their feet have very few nerves and blood vessels. This adaptation allows songbirds to land on cold perches such as wires when the weather is frosty.

· Examples: Sparrow, Crow, Parrot, Pigeon, Canary etc

                                 

          Canary                              Finch                               Swallow                      Bowerbird

 

WADING BIRDS

·       They are water birds but don’t swim.

·       Wading Birds with long legs that wades in water in search of food.

·     They prefer shallow water to wade.

·  Legs: All wading birds have long, thin legs and long wide-spread toes. This helps the birds keep their balance in wet areas where water currents may be present or muddy ground is unstable, and longer legs help them forage in deeper waters.

·  Bill/Beak: Many wading birds have long bills/beaks to attack and kill the food they eat.

·   Examples: Heron, Cranes, Egrets, Flamingos, Herons, Ibises, Rails, Spoonbills, Storks, sandpiper.

· Each type of wading bird has a bill that is tailored to its habitat and prey: Herons have spear-like beaks to grab and stab fish, while cranes and ibises have long beaks that can dig around in the soil and forage in the grass. 

                Heron                      Sandpiper                   Egret               Spoonbill

 

CLIMBING BIRDS

· These birds climb the trees for food and nesting.

· This includes woodpeckers, nuthatches, and brown creepers.

· Woodpeckers have bodies that are designed to climb up a tree and hammer into it. Their feet have two toes pointing forward and two pointing backward.

                             

                                Macaw                                              Woodpecker

 

 FLESH EATING BIRDS/RAPTORS

· Raptors are birds of prey, like eagles, owls, Osprey, hawks and falcons. Their toes are sharp, powerful claws called talons and they use them for catching food.

· Raptors usually have three talons pointing forward and one talon pointing backward.

·  Owls can rotate one of their forward-pointing toes to the back, making their toe arrangement more like the woodpecker’s.

       

  Eagle                             Owl                     Osprey                      Falcon

 

SWIMMING BIRDS

· Swimming birds swim through water for food.

· Ducks, geese, and swans all have webbed feet. The webs push more water than just a bird foot with spread-out toes would push. (Imagine, It would be so hard to swim with your fingers spread apart, it would take lot of energy.)

·  The primary use for webbed feet is paddling through water.                                  

Duck                                                Swan