A/N: This story is informative about birds. Please R&R, but no flames.
Birds and Nature
Now, look around you. What do you see? If you outside, you'll see all of Mother Nature's hard work. Plants, birds, maybe even a lake or a pond. If you love the sound that that makes, the colorful picture, read on. If you don't, well, still read on and maybe you'll learn to love it.
Birds are part of beautiful nature. These beautiful creatures were born around 150 million years ago. The warblers are warm blooded vertebrates. They have exceptionally keen eyes, but very delicate sense of tasting and hearing. Some birds leave their nests once they're 3 weeks old, they're keen eyes must help them a lot, then. After birds leave their enst they can go anywhere they want in the world, for birds can be found on all major land masses. Becasue of some of these things, birds are probably the most beloved group of wild animals on the planet.
Not only are birds beloved, they're also lovely. An interesting fact that you'll probably be surprised about is that the Male birds have brighter plumage than females. That means that the males have brighter and prettier colors than the female. Whether you have a male or a female bird, they're feathers do the same thing. Two of those things are that the color of their feathers can help them camoflouge. They can also keep a bird warm. The bird's wing feathers help it fly and its tail feathers help it steer. One thing that makes a bird special is that it's the only animal that has feathers. Another thing that makes a bird special is that instead of having arms, it has wings!
Using their wings, birds migrate south every winter. THe bird's seasonal migration is greater and more striking than any other animal. As food supply fails near winter, the birds all fly south. As many as 2-5 billion birds fly south every winter.
A bird's diet is small and different. It eats insects such as flies and mosquitoes. The birds also eat weed seeds. The carnivorous birds, such as hawks, eagles, falcons, vultures, and owls, eat meat. They are also called the birds of prey.
Birds are animals of the sort who lay eggs, not live babies. A male wren will build many nests for the female who will pick which nest she wants to lay her eggs in. Did you know that?
The most common bird is the Red-birded Quela. Some birds, like the Sudanese Red Seas Cliff Swallow and The Orange-Necked Partridge, have been rare for a long time. Other birds, such as Spix's Macaw, are believed to be extinct in the wild, but there are still some being held in captivity.
Now that I've told you aobut birds in general, I want to tell you about a couple of birds in specific. The first bird I'm going to tell you about is the Hummingbird. The Hummingbird migrates to Central and South America in the winter and lives in North America in the summer. A Hummingbird's wings can beat up to 1000 beats per minute, which is 16 beats per second! Isn't that a lot?
Next, I'm going to tell you about the Peregrine falcon. This falcon may be the fastest bird on earth. It can fly up to 180 miles per hour! That's fast.
I also want to tell you about the Arctic tern. The tern flies 10000 miles every spring and fall! It roves over more of the planet than any other creature. The Arctic Tern is also the longest distance migrant. Because of this, it enjoys daylight more than any other creature.
Up next, the Blue Jay! This blue bird is common on the Eastern U.S. and Canada. It has blue and white plumage with a gray belly and chin. THe Blue Jay is one foot long, including it's tail.
Fifthly, I want to tell you about Hawks. Hawks have an eyesight 8 times as sharp as our own. For food, hawks capture living animals and kill them instantly.
Now, if you haven't yet heard a weird name in your life, you will soon. I'll soon be telling you of the Lammergeir. I told you it's weird. This weird-named bird eats dead animals. It is also on of the largest vultures in the Mountain region. The birds wing span is between 9 and and 10 feet. It has dark wings with white streaks.
Next in line is the Eagle. Eagles have white head feathers. They eat rabbits, squirrels, young deer, and lamb.
THere are many different kinds of birds, some you have learned about, many, MANY you haven't. Just to give you a feeling of how many birds you don't know about, I'll tell you a fact. There are over 9000 different species of birds on this planet. I told you you didn't know about many birds.