Page 63 - Volt Elevate The World Around Us Book 4

Animals Help Each Other

Like us, animals also help each other in several ways.

y Birds called cattle egrets sit on the back of cows and buffaloes and eat the insects
and worms present on their bodies. This makes the body of the animals clean and
the egret gets its food.

y Water dikkops eat insects that bother crocodiles.

y Plover birds eat the decaying meat from between the teeth of crocodiles. This helps
plovers to get food and the crocodiles’ teeth get cleaned.

y Animals are often seen playing with each other. Dogs and puppies play with cows,
and provide companionship.

Birds

Birds are some of the most beautiful and colourful animals we see around us. They have
two legs with claws which they use to perch on branches, scratch the ground and hold

their food.

Special Features of Birds

Birds have many special features that help them to fly.
beak head
y They have wings with feathers attached to them. eye

y Their bodies are boat-shaped (streamlined) which wing

help them to cut through the air easily. body feather
tail
y Their bones are light and strong. They are hollow and feet
filled with air. This keeps the body light and helps the body parts of a bird
birds to fly easily.

y Their wings are attached to strong muscles called flight muscles. They help the wings

to move up and down.

Although all birds have feathers and wings, they fly different distances and at different
heights.

Eagles and vultures can fly very high in the sky. Birds like sparrows and bulbuls fly at low
heights. Hens and peacocks fly very short distances whereas swallows and cranes can fly

very long distances. Some birds like ostrich, penguin, kiwi and emu cannot fly because
they have weak flight muscles and heavy bodies.

53