What kinds of birds are there?
There are over 10000 different types of bird. Birds form a group of animals (scientists would say a class) called Aves, which is the Latin word for “bird”. This class is split into smaller groups, called Orders. Scientists are still debating on exactly what these groups should be, and exactly what birds are in each one. However, one common list is the following. • The Accipitriformes includes most birds of prey that hunt at day. That is, birds like ospreys, vultures and hawks are all in this order. Some scientists believe instead that all these birds should be counted as Falconiformes. There are about 220 species of Accipitriformes. • The Anseriformes include about 150 species (types) of birds. They have webbed feet, and are very happy in the water. They include – you guessed it – ducks! Also geese, swans and many other waterbirds. • There are nearly 450 different species of Apodiformes – these are fast-flying, small bird, like hummingbird and swifts. Apodiformes means “footless” – alt
