Birds Facts for Kids
Feathered facts about birds from around the world
Research on an African grey parrot named Alex showed he could understand the concept of zero — only humans and great apes had demonstrated this before.
Birds have four types of colour receptors (humans have three), allowing many species to see ultraviolet light invisible to humans.
Despite popular belief, pelicans do not carry food in their pouches — the pouch is used only as a scoop to catch fish, which are then swallowed immediately.
A woodpecker's tongue can be up to 4 inches long and wraps around the back of its skull — this also helps act as a shock absorber when drumming.
Male magnificent frigatebirds inflate a bright red throat pouch the size of a balloon during breeding season to attract females.
Birds have a unique respiratory system with air sacs that allow air to flow in one direction through the lungs, extracting far more oxygen than mammals can.
Scientists believe feathers first evolved not for flight but for insulation — keeping early bird ancestors warm before they took to the air.
The bearded vulture (lammergeier) soars over mountains and drops large bones from heights of up to 260 feet to shatter them and eat the marrow inside.
The sword-billed hummingbird has a beak longer than its entire body — the only bird where this is true — evolved to feed on specific deep tropical flowers.
Emperor penguins survive temperatures of minus 60°C using four layers of scale-like feathers, a thick fat layer, and countercurrent heat exchange in their flippers.