On top of the all the words in English, and their strange spellings, there are all the phrases Americans use informally. These casual sayings are called idioms, and learning them is important for fully understanding ‘American’ English. Luckily, we’re here to help you learn some common idioms.

Today’s idioms are all refer to birds!

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush: What you have is worth more than what you might have later

Don’t count your chickens before they hatch: Don’t count on something good happening until it’s happened.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket: What you’re doing is too risky

Go on a wild goose chase: To do something pointless

Birds of a feather flock together: People who are alike are often friends (usually used negatively)

Kill two birds with one stone: Get two things done with a single action

The early bird gets the worm: The first people who arrive will get the best stuff

You can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs: There’s always a cost to doing something

As a duck takes to water: easily and naturally

As happy as a lark:  very happy and cheerful

As the crow flies: by the most direct way, along a straight line between two places

Birds-eye view: a general view from above

chicken and egg situation: a situation where two things happen together and it is difficult to see which one of them caused the other, related to two factors – each of which causes or leads to the other