Bird Watching Is Like Watching For  Little Friends At A Feeder!

Many people find bird watching to be a fun activity to do all year round. It's a very enjoyable activity.

Bird Watching: The Flight, How do birds fly?

Flying can only be achieved by certain things. These things are the airfoil, an aerodynamic figure, lift, and air pressure.

The first thing that is needed to fly is airfoil. Airfoil is the shape of a bird’s wing. 

All flying creatures are aerodynamic. An object is aerodynamic when it has no or very little drag. This makes it easier for the object to soar through the air.

Lift is the force that causes a bird and other flying creatures to get into the air. The air is pushed over the airfoil and thus lifts the object into the air.

Air pressure is also necessary for flight. Air pressure is the flow of air over and under the wing. There is more pressure on the bottom of the wing, causing the animal to go farther and farther into the air.

Flight is a very distinct ability for flying creatures.

Bird Watching: The Features Of A Bird

Have you ever noticed all the amazing features of a bird? They really are beautiful!

Many birds are identified by their field marks. Field marks are special colors and shapes located on a bird’s body. There are many field marks on the wings of a bird.

Another thing that is unique about birds is that birds have feathers. Other flying creatures have wings, but none of them have feathers.

Most birds also have a syrinx. A syrinx is a bird’s voice box. The more muscles a syrinx has the more noises a bird can make.

Birds also have the instinct to fly south for the winter and north for the summer. When the birds use this instinct we say they are “migrating”. We often see birds migrating in late fall and early spring.

Birds are created in a very wonderful way.

Bird Watching: Feathers

As I've mentioned before, feathers are what makes a bird different than any other creature.

There are a few different parts of a feather. The parts are called:

• the quill,
  
• the shaft,
  
• the barbs, and
  
• the barbules.
  

The quill is the part that sticks out of the rest of the feather. This is the part that used to be used as the tip of a pen. The shaft is the part that runs up the feathers. The barbs are connected to the shaft. The barbules come out of the barbs. The barbules hook into each other and make the feather very compact.

There are five different types of feathers. They are:

• the contour feathers,
  
• the down feathers,
  
• semi plumes,
  
• filum plumes,  and
  
• the bristles.

The contour feathers are the feathers used to fly.The contour feathers have all the parts listed above.

The down feathers are close to a bird's skin and are nice and fluffy. They keep the birds warm. They are the feathers that are stuffed into pillows. Down feathers only have a quill and barbs.

Semi plumes are very much like the down feathers. They are bigger though.

Filum plumes are feathers that look very much like hairs. They are very small. They also have all of the parts.

The bristles are feathers that are like cat whiskers or eyelashes. They are located next to the bird's eyes. They are used like whiskers.

There are also three types of pigments that produce different colors. They are:

• Carotenoids- oranges, reds, pinks, and yellows
• Porphyrins- reds and greens
• Melanins- browns and blacks

Now you see feathers are very important things for birds. They not only make a bird look good but also keep them “toasty-oasty-oasty-oasty warm”.

Thank you for reading!

Many people find bird watching to be a fun activity that they enjoy year round. I love watching birds and have begun my life list-a list of every bird I have identified.

Some birds seem to be very busy and pressed for time. Others seem relaxed and carefree. All bird species are different in their own way. I hope you find them just as amusing as I do.

-Teen A