Cue Card # 63: Your favourite bird

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card # 63

Describe your favourite bird.

You should say:

• what it is
• what it looks like
• why it is special

and explain why this is your favourite bird.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Model Answer:

I am fond of birds because they do a terrific job of “beautifying” the nature around us. I also like them because they have the abilities to “explore” the world, unlike us humans, at will by flying as far as they can. Anyway, while I like all kinds of birds for one reason or another, I consider “Magpie Robin” as my favourite.

“Magpie Robin” is an attractive little bird which can grow as big as 19 centimetres. It also happens to be the national bird of “Bangladesh”, which has a distinctive, shiny blue-black colour in the upper part and throat area of its body while the rest of the body, beneath its shoulder area, is white. Its brown-tinged wings also have a long white patch feature on them. However, the female magpie robin has a slightly different colour combination. This bird also has a long tail that is held upright as they feed themselves on the ground or land on it clearly. Mostly found in Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia, this bird, belonging to the “thrush” or songbird family, stays in urban garden and forests.

One of the most distinctive features of “Magpie Robin” is that it is the only bird in its entire “songbirds” family which can lay more than one egg per day. During mating season, the male bird also has a special way of “courting” its female partners by singing from the high lands or some perches. Another notable feature of this beautiful bird is that they keep their tails up in the air but they move them while they sing.

Anyway, magpie robin is my favourite bird because it rather has a wide range of distinctive songs in its song “repository” in order to amuse its fans. Interestingly, this beautiful little bird also has some extraordinary abilities to imitate the calls of other birds. This particular bird is my favourite also because it has a rather ‘shy’ nature, and they have a beautiful physical feature.