The singing bird
The singing bird: a free printable coloring page, from age 2. Beak wide open, eyes closed, two spread wings and a long fanned tail.
- Recommended age
- Ages 2 and up · 10 to 15 minutes
- Theme
- Animals
- Season
- Spring
Beak open, wings spread
The bird is singing, and it shows: the beak is wide open, its inside entirely blacked in, and the eyes are closed in two arcs. The wings spread on either side of the body, each made of rows of interlocking feathers — the long ones at the wingtip, the shorter ones near the body. The tail goes off to the left in a fan, three long well-separated feathers. On the crown, a few feathers stand up. The breast is edged with a saw-toothed line. At the bottom, two slim legs ending in claws.
Why a bird sings
A bird does not sing for pleasure: it is saying it is there, defending its corner of the garden, calling. That is why it is heard mostly early in the morning, in spring, and far less in winter. The link is quickly made between the song heard through the window and the bird on the branch. The one in the drawing, with its round silhouette, its short beak and the feathers ruffled on its crown, looks like a sparrow or a robin, two birds you meet everywhere.
A very big body, two wings, and feathers
The bird’s body is one large surface taking up the middle of the page, and the two spread wings are two more: three gestures, and the bird is colored. That is what puts this sheet within reach of the youngest, despite its worked look. The feathers are separated by fine lines meeting at a point — about fifteen per wing — and following them one by one means holding the pencil close to the lead and turning the sheet. You can stop at the three large shapes, or go all the way.
The white around, a place for the branch
The bird floats in the middle of the sheet: there is a wide white band above it and another below. Suggest your child draw a branch under the feet themselves, then a few leaves, before starting to color. The sheet becomes theirs. For colors, one simple rule helps a great deal: one shade for the back and wings, a lighter one for the belly. That is how nearly all birds are made, and it saves the page where every feather goes off in a different direction.
A word for the grown-up: open the window for a minute before the pencils come out, and listen together. If a bird is singing, your child colors with an idea in mind; if not, ask them to imitate the song they imagine for this one.
Coloring pages that go with this one
More pages from the same theme, age or season — the ones you print right after.
