We see birds daily in our life. The crow, the sparrow, then hen and the eagle are common birds. It is interesting to watch birds and their habits.

All birds have wings. They use their wings to fly. The wings are like a pair of arms. All birds have feather also. There are feathers on the body, wings and tails of a bird, these feathers are of different shapes and sizes. They are like the clothes of a bird. They help it to keep warm.

The body feathers are very soft. They give birds their sleek appearance. The wing and tail feathers are quite hard. They are used for flight. The tail helps in steering. It acts as a brake also.

Birds keep their feather clean and neat. They do it by combing. They comb their feather with their bill. Have not you seen it?

All birds do not look the same. They differ in many ways. They are of different colors and sizes. Some birds are very beautiful; others are not so beautiful. Some have long legs; others have short legs. Their feet also have different shapes and sizes.

Some birds have straight bills; others have curved bills. A curved bill is called a beak. Bills and beaks are of many different shapes and sizes.

Al birds have wings, but not all birds can fly. Some birds can not fly at all. Kiwis, penguins and ostriches can not fly.

All birds lay eggs. Large birds live long. They lay only one egg at a time. Small birds have a short life. They lay many eggs at a time. Do you know the egg of a kiwi is about 450 grams in weight?

The ostrich is the largest bird. It can weight more than 150 kilograms. The hummingbird is the smallest bird. It very little, weights less than 2 grams.

Rheas are large birds which in South America. They cannot fly. It is the male rheas, which sit on their eggs till they hatch. They look after their big babies for up to five months.

Female emperor penguins lay an egg at the start of winter. For the next 64 cold, dark days and nights, the male hatches this egg by standing still and balancing it on his feet.

Be kind to birds. They are our friends. Do not kill them.

a) Do not throw stones at them.

b) Do not put them in cages.

c) And do not climb to steal their eggs.

d) Grow more trees where birds can live and sing.

A bird table attracts lots of birds. Try making one for yourself. The tray should be about 2 meters from the ground. It will prevent cats from leaping onto it. Put the bird table a window so you can watch it from inside.

Collect feathers in parks and gardens. Look at hem carefully to see how they are made. Fix your feathers in a note book and label them with them names of birds.