Grade 4 · Unit 2: Living things and environments

Amazing birds

Feathers, beaks and wings – birds are built for their lives.

The oriental magpie-robin (doyel) is the national bird of Bangladesh.

What makes a bird?

All birds have feathers, wings and a beak. They lay eggs with hard shells, and they are warm-blooded. Most birds can fly, but some, like ostriches and penguins, cannot.

Birds are the only animals with feathers. The doyel is black and white and is famous for its sweet song in the early morning.

Beaks for different foods

A bird’s beak is adapted to the food it eats. Kingfishers have long, sharp beaks for catching fish. Parrots have strong, curved beaks for cracking nuts. Eagles have hooked beaks for tearing meat. Ducks have flat beaks for sifting food from water.

A woodpecker has a strong, chisel-shaped beak to drill into bark, and a sunbird has a long, thin, curved beak to reach nectar deep inside flowers.

Feathers and flight

Feathers are light but strong. Fluffy feathers close to the body keep birds warm. Long flight feathers on the wings and tail help birds to fly and steer.

Birds keep their feathers clean and tidy by preening them with their beaks. Ducks spread oil on their feathers so water runs off.

Visitors from far away

Every winter, many birds migrate to Bangladesh from colder places in the north. They rest and feed in our haors, rivers and wetlands. In spring, they fly back thousands of kilometres to breed.

Ducks, geese and waders arrive in the haors of Sylhet and Sunamganj every winter. Counting them each year tells scientists whether the wetlands are healthy.

What I learnt