Birds are marvellous creatures. They inspire us with the beauty of their plumage, song and behaviours. They are found all over the planet, the north and south poles, even the oceans. It is believed that there are around 18,000 species of birds in the world.
There is such diversity of birds that I thought that we’d look at what makes a bird a bird.
Could it be wings?
Well, all birds have wings, so we’re half right. But many other creatures have wings too such as insects and bats.
How about laying eggs?
Yes all birds lay eggs, but so do snakes and frogs and fish. So laying eggs does not make a bird a bird.
Flying?
Butterflies!?
Then it must be their beaks?
All birds have beaks and they vary to suit the type of diet that each bird species eats, but squid and octopuses have beaks too.
Feathers?
Yes that’s it! All birds have feathers. That’s how we can tell if a creature is a bird!
One more thing…birds don’t have teeth!
Bird Books
Meet the most heroic chickens around. The chickens of the Greenstalk family farm are always on hand to set the world to rights. Thankfully so, as the family get into a few tight binds over the course of the week. A watch dropped down a well, homework destroyed and a cow stuck up a tree. What would the Greenstalks do without their trusty chickens?
Written in a fun, but minimal style, this book will have your young ones screaming “Chickens to the rescue!” The illustrations are quirky and delightful, with fine attention to detail. Children will love examining each page to see what the individual chickens are doing to save the day.
A delightful follow up to the ever popular Edward the Emu.
Edwina has laid ten eggs and heads off out of the zoo to find a job, leaving Edward to stay on the nest. She catches the bus all over town, from job to job, but she cannot find the right job for her. That is until she is waiting on tables and a customer orders eggs!
‘Taxi!’ she cried, ‘take me home, make it fast,
I know what the right job for me is – at last!’
Edwina soon realises that there is no place she’d rather be than with Edward and their family.
This is a book that we can all relate to. Jonathan, Grandma and Grandpa are all just trying to go about their normal lives, when they get swooped by the local magpie. The great thing about this story is that it explains that the magpie is swooping because it is spring and she has eggs in her nest.
The next time Jonathan passed the tree, the magpie swooped again.
Swish! Swoosh! Clack!
And Jonathan ran.
“Don’t come near my eggs,” the magpie was trying to say.
An absolute classic by the prolific Pamela Allen, this is a wonderful book. It is beautifully illustrated and the text is simple, but effective. I love it.
Bird Craft
What you’ll need:
Coloured cardboard
Black cardboard
Pop sticks
Textas
Hole punch
String
Glue
To make:
Measure out a rough pentagon shape on your coloured cardboard. Use the pop sticks as a guide to the size. Cut out the pentagon. Punch a hole at the top point of the pentagon. Glue two pop sticks to the top to make the roof and another at the bottom. Cut a circle out of your black cardboard and glue it to the birdhouse.
Draw and colour a bird and glue it to the birdhouse (feathers or sparkles could be fun at this point). Decorate the birdhouse anyway you like. Cut down a pop stick to make a name plate. Write your child’s name on it and glue it to the birdhouse.
Finally thread some string through the hole at the top and there you have it, a gorgeous birdhouse.
