Article no 3

Birds

Birds are species whose bodies are covered with feathers and they have
wings. Birds are warm-blooded animals. Most of the birds can fly. Birds are put in the
class aves. There are 10,000 species of birds worldwide. They are divided into 30
living orders. Birds produce their children by laying eggs. Scientists believes that
birds come from the age of dinosaurs about 145 million years ago. Archaeopteryx
lithographica was the first birdlike animal, which lived during Jurassic period.
There are small birds like Mellisuqa Helenae and large birds for example
Struthio Camelus. Weighing up to 12 kg, Wandering Albatross, Measuring from 8.3 ft
to 11.8 ft, it has the largest wingspan of any bird. The largest living bird, a member
of the Struthioniformes, is the ostrich (Struthio camelus), from the plains of Africa
and Arabia. A large male ostrich can reach a height of 2.8 m (9.2 ft) and weigh over
156 kg (344 lb). Birds that fly have normal size because larger birds need more
energy to fly. Extinct Diatrymia gigantean were 7 feet tall, they were flightless birds.
Birds have feathers that grow out of the skin. No other animals have this
quality. Feathers provide shelter against water and heat loss. They are light but very
strong. Feathers helps birds in flying by pushing against the air during flight.
Different species have different color feathers. The groups without wings are extinct
Moas and Elephant birds.
Special birds like corvids and parrots are known as intelligent birds. Many
species of birds migrates annualy. Birds live in almost every environment and every
place, from mountains to ground level. The most widespread specie is Barn
Owl(Tyto alba),which is found everywhere except Austrailia and Antarctica.
Birds does not give birth to young but they reproduce by laying eggs. Eggs
are adopted in a terrestrial environment, and have porous shell made of calcium
carbonate. They have beaks and they have no teeth. They swallow their food
without chewing.