Just wondering

[GINGER BIRD]

why are women referred to as birds

[Quizmonster]

'Bird' - sometimes spelt 'brid' - meant the young of our feathered friends as long ago as 800 AD in Anglo-Saxon texts, so you might find a phrase such as 'a hen and her birds'.
It was not until half a millennium later, in 1300, that 'burd(e)' meaning a �maiden' is first recorded. That was associated with 'bryd', from which we get the modern word, 'bride'. So, the connection between birds and girls/women is truly ancient...even today, in Scotland, women are often called �hen'! But, despite the claims of some, the flying ones definitely preceded the human ones.

[Jibergrt]

.and I thought it was because they pick up worms.....

[VS Prasad]

Brit. informal a young woman or girlfriend.

http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/bird?view =uk

FELLOW b : a peculiar person c chiefly British : GIRL

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dic tionary&va=bird

(UK, slang) A person: He�s an odd bird.
(UK, slang) A girl or woman considered sexually attractive, as used by a man: Who�s that bird?
(Ireland, slang) Girlfriend: Anto went out with his bird last night.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Bird

The feathers of birds will have the widest range of
colours. Women prefer a wider range of colours for
dresses than men. In India also, women are called by
the slang word 'bird'.