Birds are vertebrate animals adapted for flight. Many also can run, jump, swim, and dive. Some, like penguins, have lost the ability to fly but have kept their wings. Birds are found all over the world and in all habitats. The largest is the 30-foot-long [9 m] ostrich. The smallest is a two-inch-long [2 cm] hummingbird.
Adjective Words to Describe Birds
Following are common adjectives to describe birds and their sounds in writing:
| Great | Live | Sea |
| Beautiful | Tame | Startled |
| Colored | Innumerable | Sacred |
| Speaking | Male | Silly |
| Poor | Noble | Migratory |
| White | Brown | Frightened |
| Black | Snow | Divine |
| Strange | Happy | Solitary |
| Dead | Flying | Melodious |
| Fine | Sky | Primitive |
| Earliest | Warbling | Petted |
| Red | American | Wandering |
| Certain | Commonest | Dicky |
| Aquatic | Brilliant | Humming |
| Canary | Unclean | Fierce |
| Blue | Wise | Female |
| Rare | Tiny | Gayer |
| Winged | Wounded | Unknown |
| Powerful | Passing | Noisy |
| Mere | Mocking | Indian |
| Evil | Chirping | True |
| Stray | Wretched | Little |
| Stuffed | Royal | Tropical |
Everything about a bird’s shape demonstrates its ability to fly. Wings, for example, are designed to build heights. The leading edge is thicker than the back edge, and is covered with small feathers to the point. The wings of an airplane are imitated behind the wings of birds.
The bones and muscles of the wings are also very special. The main, humorous bone, resembling the upper arm of a mammal, has nothing but strength. It also communicates with the bird’s air system, which in turn communicates with its lungs. The muscles of the powerful plane of the shoulder attach to the keel, a special bone wall that runs down the center of the broad sternum, or chest bone. Tail feathers are used for steering.
Birds have a unique digestive system that allows them to eat when they can—usually on the fly—and digest later. They use their beaks to grab and swallow food. Even the way a bird reproduces is related to flight. Instead of carrying the extra weight of developing young inside their bodies, they lay eggs and incubate them in a nest.
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