2. INTRODUCTION
BEAKS AND THEIR DIFFERENT TYPES
FEET AND CLAWS
3. Birds live at different places according to
their needs and body features.
They have wings and most of them can
fly.
They have light hollow bones and strong
muscles.
All the birds have two feet and a beak.
Their feet have claws.
4. Birds do not have any teeth, Therefore,
beak is used to tear, bite, chisel or crush the
food.
The shape of the beak is according to the
food habit of the bird.
Some birds use their beaks to fight with the
enemy or catch the prey or use it for
preening their feathers.
5.
6. Birds like sparrow and pigeon have short and hard
beak. They use it for crushing seeds and grains to make
it soft before eating.
Sparrow Pigeon
8. Some birds like eagle and vulture eat flesh.
Such birds have strong, hard and curved
beak for tearing the flesh.
Eagle
Vulture
9. Birds like wood pecker have strong, long
and straight beak to peck at the wood and
eat insects present in the wood.
10. Some birds like sunbird and hooper have
long and slender beak. Sunbird sucks nectar
from flowers while hooper takes out insects
and worms from the holes in the ground.
Sunbird Hooper
11. The duck has a flat and broad beak which
has small holes on both sides.
Its beak pushes out mud and water from
the holes leaving the food behind.
It can sift food from mud and water.
12. A Swallow has a small and broad beak. It
catches flies while flying. The beak is sticky
from inside.
13. Claws of birds are shaped to suit their
perching and food habits.
Claws can be used for climbing,
protecting, holding food, swimming and
perching.
14. Eagle, vulture and hawk have strong and
sharp claws to firmly hold the prey while
flying.
Eagle Hawk Vulture
15. Sparrows have long and slender claws with
three toes in front and one at the back.
They are used to firmly hold a branch or a
wire.
16. Ducks and penguins have webbed feet to
swim.
They are good swimmers but they walk
slowly.
17. Crane and jacana have long legs and wide
spreading toes. These help them to walk in
shallow water or mud. They can walk in
the mud without getting their body wet.
18. Some birds like hen have strong feet with
three toes in front and one at the back.
Each toe has a sharp claw to scratch the
ground in search of seeds and insects
present in the soil.
19. Birds like wood pecker and parrot have two
toes pointing upwards and two downwards.
These birds can cling to the trees to catch
the insects and hold the fruits.
