Bird A warm- blooded vertebrate that has a body covering of feathers

Feather A light body part that is found on a birds skin Gold Finch

Traits of Birds 1 Warm-Blooded Cardinal

Traits of Birds 2 Vertebrate Has a Backbone

Traits of Birds 3 Feathers Contour- large, strong, smooth, help in flight Down – small, fluffy, helps keep birds warm

Traits of Birds 4 Two legs Two wings

Traits of Birds 5 Bones are very light and filled with air

Traits of Birds 6 Hatch from eggs

Traits of Birds 7 Breathe with lungs

How Birds Produce Their Young

Eggs are Fertilized Before they are Laid

Nests are Built for the Eggs 1

Birds Lay Eggs Many s i z e s and Colors Colors Eggshell is hard and breakable

Birds sit on their eggs to keep them warm A warbler on her nest

EggsEggs hatch

Babies are Weak, Helpless, Cannot See Have few feathers

Both parents feed babies

Nesting Mallards usually nest on the ground, often in dense undergrowth beside lakes and streams. They will also nest in holes in trees, sometimes well above ground level. Between March and May the female lays between eight and fourteen eggs in a nest of grass, and sedge lined with fine down.

Reed warblers The male and female are almost identical, and their nests are usually suspended between reed stems.

The baby owls, called owlets, are grey downy creatures with big round faces and dark eyes like those of their parents Tawny owls

Nests are Built for the Eggs West African Weaver Nest Entrance tunnel frustrates predatory snakes trying to get to the nest chamber at the top 1

The song thrush, one of a number of cup-nest builders, uses mud as an integral part of the nest structure. One of the characteristic features of this nest is that mud forms not only an important structural component but the inner lining of the nest as well. Song Thrush Nest

Baltimore Oriole Nest Like many birds, the Baltimore oriole uses the materials it finds closest at hand to build its saclike nest. The nest pictured here is made mostly of cattle hair and string, commonplace items on the farmland it frequents

large and distinctive egg incubating mound Brush Turkey

The female does most of the incubation, while the male brings in the food. Their two to four eggs hatch usually in May, when the male will usually pass prey to the female who then feeds the young at the nest.

The fastest running bird is the ostrich, but it cannot fly. The ostrich is also the fastest two-legged runner of all the animals on Earth. The ostrich is the largest bird.

The male of the eastern race of the Downy Woodpecker Eastern female

Flamingos

These lovely birds are fond of cliffs and boulder-strewn islands with grassy slopes, and in the western coasts of Wales they are a common and delightful sight for summer hikers along the coastal paths. Their distinctive parrot-like beaks make them very easy to identify.

Ostrich

Robin