Birds in your Backyard

by Ryan Freckleton

There are so many different kinds of birds in the world. You can see them flying in the sky and sometimes swimming in the water. Birds have soft feathers, beaks, eyes, wings, and feet. Here are some birds from my backyard. Each type of bird has a different name.

This is a Mourning Dove.
It eats seeds and grains.
It makes its nest out of twigs.
You can find the Mourning Dove’s nest on the ground or in trees.

This is a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
It eats nectar, sap and small insects.
It makes its nest out of lichens, plant down, and spider silk.
Their nest is the size of large spool of thread. The Hummingbird’s small eggs are the same size as jellybeans.

This is a Blue Jay.
It eats insects, eggs, seeds, fruit, and sometimes small animals.
The Jay makes her nest with twigs, roots, bark, grass, leaves, feathers, and mud.
You can find the Blue Jay’s cup-shaped nest in the fork of a big tree.

This is a Robin.
This bird eats fruit, earthworms, insects and snails.
Robins build their nests with twigs, mud, grass and fur.
They live in nests in trees around houses.

This is a Western Scrub Jay.
They eat acorns, pinon nuts, fruit, seeds, eggs and small animals.
Their nest is cone shaped. It is made from twigs, moss, grass, and hair.
This bird usually nests in pine or oak trees in a wood.

Look for birds in your backyard or at a park or at a pond and see how many different types you can find. Do they swim, do they fly? What type of beak do they have? What color are they? How long are there wings, and legs? How big are they?