Birds

There are about 9,500 bird species. Scientists divide them into two main groups, non-perching birds and perching birds.

There are about twenty-six groups of non-perching birds, also called non-passerine birds. This represents less than half of all bird species. Non-perching birds include flightless birds, birds of prey, flamingos, seabirds, parrots, pigeons, herons and hummingbirds.

Perching birds, also called passerine birds contain about 5,300 species. Perching birds have a special type of foot that allows them to grip tightly onto branches. Birds in this group include thrushes, finches, crows and starlings.