What's the difference between "ave" and "pájaro"?

Question

What's the difference between *el ave* and *el pájaro*?My Spanish class has used them both for the same bird and it really has me confused.Are they the same thing? Or do they have distinct differences?

Answer 1

The two previous responses demonstrate how geography affects language. As Igor explains, a "pajaro" is a type of "ave." Nomariely explains that, colloquially, Puerto Ricans say "pajaro" for all "aves."

I learned that "ave" translates to "bird" in English, while "pajaro" translates to "parrot" (or tropical birds). In Puerto Rico, a tropical island, all of the birds would be tropical birds, explaining the universal usage of "pajaro" to mean "ave."

Igor also mentions the difference between flighted birds ("pajaros") and flightless birds ("emus"). If you're interested in an additional thought experiment, how do "pollos" fit in to this conversation?

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Habituálmente se utilizan como sinónimos, pero no es correcto, ya que: el grupo más abundante de aves son pájaros... pero no todos. Por ejemplo, avestruz, emú son aves pero no pájaros, ya que no vuelan.

Answer 3

Hi, "ave" and "pajaro" are in fact the same thing. "Ave" is a more formal way to say "pajaro"; it also depends varies from which country is the person, for example in Puerto Rico we say "pajaro" but in other places they say "ave". I hope this helps you understand better!