Aves - The Birds
 Birds have backbones and feathers. Like mammals, birds are warm-blooded, or endothermic. They can live in warm and cold climates. Most birds fly, but there are some species, like the penguins, that swim. Others, like the ostrich, are ground-dwelling. Birds have bills and no teeth, and they lay eggs. They have four parts to their bodies: a head, a neck, a torso, and a tail. They have light, hollow bones that make flight easier, and they have two legs and two wings. There are 29 orders of birds and about 9,600 species. Scientists believe that birds are descended from dinosaurs!
There are two subclasses of birds: Archaeornithes and Neornithes. Archaeornithes are, or were, primitive birds from the Jurassic or early Cretaceous periods. The Neornithes subclass includes all of the birds alive today.
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 Learn more about birds that are found in New Hampshire. Some of these birds are year-round residents, some are summer or winter visitors, and some stop in New Hampshire during migration. >> Click Here |
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