Current Affairs 3rd Class

Category : 3rd Class

Birds

1. Birds are the most beautiful animals on earth. Most of them can fly.

2. The body of a bird is made of a strong framework of bones. These bones are hollow and filled with air. Its body is light but strong. It is boat-shaped and so it is able to fly in the air easily.

3. A bird has wings in place of arms. These wings have feathers which help it to fly.

4. Birds have strong muscles which move the wings up and down. These muscles attach the wings to the breast bone and are called flight muscles.

5. A bird's body is covered with feathers. Some of the feathers cover the body and keep it warm. These feathers are called down feathers.

6. The feathers attached to the wings and tail-bone, help the bird to fly. These feathers are called the flight feathers.

7. The tail of a bird acts like the rudder of a boat. It is made up of feathers and helps the bird to change its direction during flight.

8. When a bird wants to fly, it flaps its wings and goes up gradually into the air. When the bird flaps its wings, the air under the wings pushes the bird up. When it reaches high in the air, it does not need to flap its wings any more.

9. Bird's flight consists of two main movements. They are upstroke and down stroke. When the wings move upwards, the movement of the wings is called upstroke movement. When the wings move downwards, the movement of the wings is called down stroke movement. The tail feathers are used to steer, brake and change the direction.

10. Birds fly to different extent. Some birds like pigeon and crow fly over long distances. In the olden days, pigeons were used to carry letters from one place to another.

11. Birds like cock and hen fly only short distances. They usually walk.

12. Some birds like eagle, vulture and kite fly at great heights. They have sharp eyes to locate their prey on the ground.

13. Some birds like sparrow fly at low heights.

14. Some birds like Kiwi, Ostrich and Penguin do not fly at all. They move on the ground with the help of their legs. Such birds are called flightless birds.

15. Some kind of birds live in water. They have oil glands which keep their feathers waterproof.

16. This oil does not let their feathers get wet or damaged by water. They have webbed feet to swim in the water. Ducks, swans, gulls, pelicans and cranes are some examples of water birds.