NCERT Class 3 English Unit 2 Poem: Bird Talk

Understanding the Poem "Bird Talk"

The poem "Bird Talk" is a beautifully imagined conversation that helps children look at the world from an animal's perspective. The poet, Aileen Fisher, introduces us to two birds—Robin and Jay—who are chatting away while sitting in a green garden. To these little feathered friends, human beings seem like very funny and unusual creatures!

The birds are amused by the fact that humans grow so differently from them. We do not have wings, we cannot fly, and we don't eat tiny insects like beetles. By contrasting the lives of birds and humans, the poem playfully teaches us about diversity in nature and shows that everyone is unique and wonderful in their own way.

Vocabulary Builder: New Words from the Poem

Beetles

Insects with hard, shiny wing covers. (Example: The little bird searched the grass for tiny green beetles.)

Feathers

The soft, light, colourful structures that cover a bird's body and help them fly. (Example: The bluebird left a beautiful feather on the ground.)

Wires

Thin metal lines used to carry electricity or telephone signals, on which birds often perch. (Example: I saw three sparrows sitting in a line on the electric wire.)

Funny

Something that makes you smile, laugh, or feel amused. (Example: The clown wore a funny big red nose.)

Stanza-by-Stanza Meaning

1. Stanza 1: The Garden Chat — "Think," said the robin, "Think," said the jay, sitting in the garden, talking one day. Here, the two bird friends start their conversation while relaxing on a quiet afternoon.
2. Stanza 2: How Humans Grow — "Think about people, the way they grow: they don't have feathers, at all, you know!" The birds point out how strange it is that humans grow up without a single feather on their bodies.
3. Stanza 3: Strange Human Habits — "They don't eat beetles, they don't grow wings, they don't like sitting on wires and things." The birds find it odd that humans don't eat crunchy insects, don't have wings, and never sit comfortably on telephone wires or tree branches.
4. Stanza 4: Humans are Funny! — "Aren't people funny to be that way?" The poem concludes with Robin and Jay laughing together, agreeing that humans are indeed very funny and peculiar creatures.

Exam Tip: Identifying Rhyming Words

In your Class 3 English exams, a very common question is to find rhyming words from the poem. Rhyming words are words that end with the same sound when spoken aloud.

• Robin & Jay's Rhyming Pairs:
• jay rhymes with day
• grow rhymes with know
• wings rhymes with things
• way rhymes with jay

Tip: When looking for a rhyming word, always read the words out loud to check if their ending sounds match, even if their spellings are slightly different!

Practice Questions with Solutions

• Q: Name the two birds mentioned in the poem.
  A: Step 1: Read the very first stanza of the poem where the characters are introduced.
  Step 2: Identify the names of the birds sitting in the garden.
  Final answer: The two birds in the poem are Robin and Jay.

• Q: What are the three things that people cannot do, according to the birds?
  A: Step 1: Look at stanzas 2 and 3 of the poem to find what humans lack or cannot do.
  Step 2: Note down the three key points: feathers, eating beetles, and sitting on wires.
  Final answer: According to the birds, people cannot: 1. Grow feathers on their bodies, 2. Eat insects like beetles, and 3. Sit on wires and branches.

• Q: Why do the birds think that people are funny?
  A: Step 1: Think about how birds live compared to how humans live.
  Step 2: Understand that because humans do not have wings, do not fly, and live very differently, the birds find our lifestyle strange and amusing.
  Final answer: The birds think people are funny because humans grow up without feathers, do not fly, and have completely different habits than birds.

• Q: Write the rhyming words from the poem for: 1. Jay, 2. Grow, 3. Things.
  A: Step 1: Recall the words that sound similar from the poem's lines.
  Step 2: Match the ending sounds of the words.
  Final answer:

  1. Jay - Day / Way
  2. Grow - Know
  3. Things - Wings

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