Songs about birds, animals and other living creatures used to be sung either by children or by adults for children. Some of these songs came from the adult repertoire (old ritual, calendar, work, entertainment songs), others were created by adults for children. In these songs, animals and birds are depicted in their natural surroundings, e.g. Graþi ponia pelëda ("A beautiful lady owl"), Lek gervë ("A crane is flying"), Tupi kiðkis ant dirvono ("A hare is sitting on the ground"), or personified and imitating peoples' life Iðkrito uodas ið àþuolëlio ("A mosquito fell down from an oak"), Atvaþiavo meðka ðiûbose ("A bear has come in a fur coat"), Að maèiau girdëjau ("I have seen and heard").
One of the most colourful and most frequently depicted characters in animal songs was the goat, with 11 different types represented in the catalogue of the verse. Some of these are spread all over Lithuania, e.g. Turëjo bobutë þilà oþelá ("An old wife had a grey goat"), O kur tu buvai, oþeli mano ("Oh where have you been, my goat") [mp3], Oþys ant tilto stovëjo ("A goat was standing on a bridge"), Eik, oþeli, vandenëlio ("Go for some water, goat"), others are distributed unequally, e.g. Að oþelis ukum pukum ("I am a goat ukum pukum"), Að einu keleliu ("I am going along a track"), To to stovëj oþelis ("To to a goat was standing"). The characters of the billy-goat and the nanny-goat were commonly known in the folklore of other nations as well. The cult of the goat used to play a very important role in the Baltic mythology, and among the Lithuanians in Eastern Prussia survived as long as until the 16th century. (2)

See: A. Jonynas. Lietuviø folkloristika (Folklore investigations in Lithuania) (Vilnius, 1984)

In the area of Gervëèiai, numerous variants of the song Stovi oþelis ant tiltelio ("A goat is standing on the bridge") were recorded, where tunes have features of calendar songs. A certain number of goat songs can be distinguished for having their separate independent melodic types, whereas others have adopted the tunes of wedding or lyric songs. In Þemaitija, the verse of Turëjo bobutë þilà oþelá ("An old wife had a grey goat") accompanied by colourful and extended refrains is very popular. (Example…)
Songs about birds also belong to animal songs, but do not range widely in their tune. The variants of such commonly known songs as Þvirbli þvirbli, kur tu tupi ("Sparrow sparrow, where are you sitting"), Ðarkele varnele (Little magpie, little crow"), Pasëjotëvelis gelsvus mieþelius ("Daddy has sown yellow barley"), demonstrate a considerable degree of textual and melodic improvisation. For example, the song Tupi grûðioj pelëda ("An owl is sitting in a pear") is noteworthy for its outstandingly numerous variants, which total 130, with somewhat smaller numbers recorded in Þemaitija and Suvalkija, whereas the song Lek gervë, lek gervelë ("A crane is flying, a little crane is flying") with its variants is traced only in Þemaitija.
The songs, comprising the animal description group, contain a lot of personified animal and bird characters, that work on the fields, are engaged in housework, entertain themselves, etc., e.g. Tindi rindi riuðka, Padarë þvirblelis alaus ("A sparrow has made some beer"). Other songs about animals depict them as personified characters participating in people's life, e.g. Að maèiau girdëjau ("I have seen, I have heard"), Iðkrito uodas ið àþuolëlio ("A mosquito fell down from an oak"), etc. Thematic pattern of this kind seems to be widely used in the verse of Russian folklore too, while the tune, in contrast, appears to be restricted by local traditions. In the song Iðkrito uodas ið àþuolëlio the mosquito's illness, death and funeral are depicted. As some original performers of this song have noted, this piece used to be performed during Advent.