| 4. Write a paragraph and describe your favourite bird(s). |
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| 4. Write a paragraph and describe your favourite bird(s). |
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The BullfinchThe Bullfinch is a beautiful bird who lives with us all the year. It has multicolored feathers and lives in places that have many threes. It prefers woods, parks or orchards. The mother lays four or five eggs. The bullfinch eats a lot of things: wild fruit and seeds. Its song is soft and pleasant. It soon gets accustomed to the life in a cage and it is very fond of those who take care of it. You can see and hear the chaffinch wherever there are trees. This is one of the best-known sing-birds. It is pretty with reddish-brown and white feathers. This bird often builds its nest in the same tree for some years. The chaffinch also has two broods a year. In spring and summer it feeds on insects while in autumn it begins to feed on seeds and grain. It is difficult to keep it in a cage. The chaffinch is a clever, grey, but quarrelsome bird.
The CrossbillThe crossbill is a gentle little bird that lives in pine forest it feeds on the seed of the pine and the fir. Its feathers are green, yellow and grey. It has a very strong beak, not like the beak of any birds. It ends in two sharp points that are crossed over each other, who help the bird crack the fir cones and get at the seeds. The bird makes its nest in trees, because it likes to climb quickly about the branches and often hangs upside down for some minutes. The nest is composed of pine, twigs with a lining of feathers, soft grass and fir needles. The nest is made in any season. There are three or four small greenish or greyish-white spotted eggs. A very long times the young birds need a lot of care and attention from their parents, because their beaks are not strong to open the cones to feed. After a while the parents help them, by giving them half-open cones.
The EagleThe eagle is a bold bird. Its feathers are mostly brown or grey. It has a large head, fierce eyes and heavy eye brows. The eagle hunts in the daytime. It catches the victim (lamb, fox) and it flies off to eat it quite alone. Sometimes it even attacks a man. It is almost impossible to find its nest. That is built upon rocks or on the top of the tallest tree in the forest.
The GoldfinchThe Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is one of our prettiest small birds. The front part of its head is red, the back is brown, the wings are yellow, the cheeks are white and the tail is black. Goldfinches like orchards and that why they build their nests in an apple-tree. The inside of the nest is covered with grass and feathers, and the outside is built of moss and other soft things. Toward winter the goldfinches get together in flocks, but they don't leave our country. These birds are very gentle and people can easily tame them. Their song is pleasant, loud, and gay.
The MagpieOne of the best-know bird-architect is the magpie that builds a complicate and beautiful nest. That is covered with branches and there is only a hole in the side to go in. No other birds could attack it because the nest offers perfect safety. Magpies have strong bills and beautiful tails. Their fathers are glossy and black. Some of them have yellow bills. They are bold and cunning hunters. They catch little animals, but if they cannot find them, they turn to vegetables, insects, and worms. Magpies can learn to pronounce some words and we understand why a person who speaks too much is called "a magpie".
The Peacock and the PeahenThe cock's cousin, Mr. Peacock, a bird with a kind heart, and the hen's cousin, Miss Peahen, a bird so merry and kind, decided to get married. Mr. Peacock, the bridegroom, thought to have the most beautiful clothes for his wedding, so that his dear bride might see how much he loved her. Miss Peahen thought to bake cakes for her guests, to bring in fruit from the garden, to sweep the house and make it bright and gay so that everybody might know how happy she were. Beside all this, the bride Miss Peahen thought to wear a beautiful dress for her wedding. The time for the wedding come hit the dress was not ready. Then there was the sound of music and laughter: the bridegroom, Mr. Peacock, very handsome in his new clothes, was coming with his friends to take the bride. But the bride was very said, she cried. She was still in her old brown dress. She told the peacock to go away because she wasn't a match for him any more. The Peacock loved the peahen very much and he married her at once because she was so merry and kind. That is why the Peahen never finished her wedding dress and the Peacock wears more beautiful clothes than his wife. My favorite bird is the penguin. Penguins live on islands near South America and Africa. They are not afraid of man. They make their nests on shores and they live in the water. They are wonderful swimmers and divers, but they cannot fly. On the land they often fall and stand up again with the flippers, which they have in place of wings. Penguins choose a large square on a rock, then collect a lot of stones. They divide the large square into smaller square, each of which has some nests. In the nest the mother penguin lays only one egg but there are such large number of penguins and on a large square as many a 100 eggs. Penguins are very kind to their young ones and feed them in a funny way. They open their mouth and the young bird pusher its head down the mother's or the father's throat. The young one eats ant of the parent bird's crop. The birds live on fish. Penguins are not seen in our zone, because they cannot live in a strange climate.
The RobinIt comes in my country early in spring. Its head is black and its breast is red. When it comes in spring, it sings a soft song and it builds a warm nest where it is going to lay from five to nine eggs. The Robin hops on the ground, picks up worms, caterpillars, and insects. Then it flies to the nest and feeds the young ones. When cherries are ripe they fly to the cherry-trees to get some fruit. The Robin is a songbird and there are lots of literary works about it.
The Sea-GullOne of the best known sea-birds is the sea-gull, a large and beautiful bird. Its body is white with light grey back and wings and yellow beaks. The sea-gull spend most of its time on the wings. It is an wonderful flier. It lives on fish, which it catches near the surface of the water. The sea-gull has its nest on rocks and on marshes. Thousands of gulls make their nests together.
The StarlingThe starling is a funny bird and a good mimic, black with some yellow spots; it has a straight, yellowish-brown bill and reddish-brown legs. The bird comes to our country in early spring and makes its nest in the hollows of some old trees, in rocks, old walls. Starlings eat worms, snails, caterpillars, and different kinds of grain, seeds and are very fond of cherries. The starlings like the company so they gather in great numbers and they chatter very much in the evening and in the morning. The starling easily becomes tame in a cage but of course it prefers liberty.
The StorkWith the change of the seasons the fly from one country to storks another, that is why you may find them almost all over the world. When the stork flies, stretches out it's legs and neck and it's becomes like an airplane. The storks are large birds white and black in colour. They make their nest on treetops or on the roofs of some country houses. A pair of storks gets to the some nest year after year. The nest is made of a pile of sticks and branches. The number of eggs generally is four. The storks prefer frogs, mice, snakes and insects. One of the oddest things about the stork is the strange noise, which it makes: a sharp sound.
The SwallowOne of the most beloved birds is the swallow. It is small, very delicate and its body is ending in a thin forked tail. Its feat hers makes it look as if wearing a white shirt and a black coat. It seems ready to go to a party. All swallow get their homes in a sandy bank, others build their nests in the inside of chimneys or under some roofs. They don't like autumn. They return happy in spring to find their nest, because their memory is perfect. People are happy to welcome the swallow again.
The SwanThe Danube Delta is also called the Birds Paradise because there are a lot of nice birds. We can find the tame swan among them. The young swans are grey but the grown up are as white as snow. They have graceful long necks, elegant feathers. They eat leaves and seeds. Their nests are hidden among rushes and their little ones can swim well from the very beginning. Swans are very gentle and wonderful birds. A long time ago the wagtail didn't have a tail. He hopped across the fields to his friend the Lark and flew over the wood to visit the Wren. The Wren doesn't have a tail now, but in those days he had a heavy tail twice as long as his body. One day, the Wagtail received an invitation to a party from the Lark. He became very sad, because he felt he wasn't very handsome without a tail. So he asked the Wren to give him his tail for a night. The Wren was glad to get rid of his heavy tail and gave it to the Wagtail. That night at the party the Wagtail was very handsome and proud of himself. And because the Wren has never asked it back, the Wagtail has now a tail and he wags it to make sure that he has still got it.
The WoodpeckerWe can meet a woodpecker in a tree. Her bill is straight. She eats insects, small worms and ants. She finds them on the tree trunks or on the ground. Her tongue is very long. She has two toes in front and two behind and they are very large and strong. Her tail is long. She makes a hole in a tree, which means a nest for it. I know some cartoons with a woodpecker. Her name is Woody.
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