Birds Facts for Kids
Feathered facts about birds from around the world
Atlantic puffins dig burrows to nest in and return to the same burrow year after year — sometimes for 20 years or more.
Rooks nest in large communal treetop colonies called rookeries and are known in British countryside folklore for their loud, raucous springtime activity.
Shoebill storks greet each other with an unusual bowing display and make a loud bill-clattering sound when meeting at the nest.
The pink pigeon of Mauritius came within a few birds of extinction — a dedicated conservation project brought it back from fewer than 10 birds in the wild.
The great grey owl can hear a vole moving under more than 2 feet of compacted snow, then plunge through it to make a catch.
The long-tailed tit builds a tiny dome-shaped nest using cobwebs, lichen, and feathers — the nest can expand as the chicks grow because of the stretchy cobwebs.
The red crossbill has a unique crossed beak specially shaped to lever apart the scales of pine cones to reach the seeds inside.
The Spix's macaw — the inspiration for the bird in the movie Rio — became extinct in the wild in 2000, though captive breeding efforts continue.
Emperor penguin chicks walk to the sea and swim for the first time completely alone — their parents leave before they are fully fledged.
The common nighthawk rests by sitting lengthwise along a branch rather than across it, which helps camouflage it as part of the tree.