Mar 18, 2025 · Bird, any of the more than 10,400 living species unique in having feathers, the major characteristic that distinguishes them from other animals. They are warm-blooded vertebrates more related to reptiles than mammals.

bird, Any of the warm-blooded, beaked vertebrates of the class Aves, including more than 9,600 living species. A covering of feathers distinguishes birds from all other animals. Birds have a four-chambered heart (like mammals), forelimbs modified into wings, and keen vision, and their eggs have calcium-rich eggshells. Their sense of smell is ...

From pigeons in big cities to penguins in Antarctica, all birds have similar features. They all have wings, though they cannot all fly. All birds also have feathers. In fact, birds are the only living animals that have feathers. Birds have fascinated people …

Mar 18, 2025 · 66 species in 6 families worldwide, including cormorants, boobies, gannets, tropic birds, and frigate birds. Water birds with all 4 toes webbed; bill hooked or straight and sharply pointed; length 48–188 cm (19–74 inches).

Parrot, term applied to a large group of gaudy, raucous birds of the family Psittacidae. They have been kept as cage birds since ancient times, and they have always been popular because they are amusing, intelligent, and often affectionate.

Mar 18, 2025 · Bird - Muscles, Organs, Flight: Birds have a complete separation between pulmonary and systemic circulation, hearts that are large for their body weight, lungs connected to nonvascular air sacs, and a digestive system adapted to …

Mar 18, 2025 · Bird - Flight, Feathers, Migration: Birds fly by flapping their wings, steering mainly with their tails. Flightless birds like penguins and ratites evolved to completely lose the power of flight. Terrestrial birds tend to walk, and arboreal songbirds usually hop from branch to branch.

Apr 7, 2025 · flamingo, (order Phoenicopteriformes), any of six species of tall, pink wading birds with thick downturned bills. Flamingos have slender legs, long, graceful necks, large wings, and short tails. They range from about 90 to 150 cm (3 to 5 feet) tall.

For centuries people have wistfully watched birds take wing and felt a bit jealous. But what about birds that don’t fly? You’d think they’d hold a grudge against their freewheeling cousins, but these guys are just as awesome in their own right.

Falcon, any of nearly 60 species of hawks of the family Falconidae (order Falconiformes), diurnal birds of prey characterized by long, pointed wings and swift, powerful flight. The name is applied in a restricted sense, as true falcons, to the genus Falco, which numbers more than 35 species.