Bird Parts
No point learning “parts of a bird”? On the one hand, you are right, on a rare occasion will you talk about birds (if you are not a bird watcher), but some of these words have an additional meaning which you can come across anywhere and anytime.
BEAK or BILL
– the hard pointed or curved outer part of a bird’s mouth.
BEAK can be used to refer to someone’s nose in a humorous way (esp. if it’s large or pointed). Be careful with such comments!
The symbol of peace is a dove with a branch in its BEAK.
The pigeon has something in its BEAK.
PLUMAGE
– the feathers covering a bird’s body. This word is easy to memorize for Spanish and French speakers, as FEATHER is “pluma” and “plume”, respectively. But mind its pronunciation, it’s /ˈpluːmɪdʒ/. What is more, it’s uncountable.
This bird has beautiful blank-and-orange PLUMAGE.
QUILL
Surely, you know what FEATHER means. What about QUILL?
QUILL (or quill feather) is a large feather from the wing or tail of a bird. QUILL is used to talk about a pen made from a quill feather.
He used to write with a QUILL.
What about you? Have you ever written with a quill? I haven’t…
