Birds Facts for Kids
Feathered facts about birds from around the world
Owls have special feathers with soft edges that let them fly almost silently so prey cannot hear them coming.
The barn owl has the best hearing of any animal ever tested — it can catch mice in total darkness using sound alone.
Parrots can mimic human speech because they have a special part of the brain dedicated to vocal learning.
African grey parrots are considered among the most intelligent birds — some can understand over 100 words.
Many parrot species form lifelong pair bonds, staying with the same partner for their entire lives.
Macaws are the largest and most colourful parrots, and their bright feathers help them blend into rainforest flowers.
The dodo bird went extinct in the late 1600s after sailors arrived on the island of Mauritius and hunted them.
The passenger pigeon was once the most common bird in North America, but the last one died in a zoo in 1914.
The Arctic tern has the longest migration of any animal, flying from the Arctic to Antarctica and back each year — about 44,000 miles.
Many migrating birds can sense the Earth's magnetic field and use it like an internal compass to navigate.