Learn Hardcore Malay: Beberapa burung itu berwarna kuning terang, dan ekornya hitam. - Some of those birds are bright yellow, and their tails are black.

If you said itu burung, it would sound more like "that is a bird" or "those are birds" (depending on context), not "that bird / those birds" as a noun phrase. The normal noun phrase order is:

[Quantifier] + [Noun] + [itu]
→ beberapa burung itu

Does burung here mean bird or birds? How do we know it’s plural?

Burung by itself is number-neutral; it can mean bird or birds, depending on context. In this sentence:

beberapa means some, so it forces a plural reading.
Therefore beberapa burung itu = some (of those) birds.

Malay usually doesn’t mark plural on the noun itself. Plural is understood from:

words like beberapa (some), banyak (many), semua (all)
numerals: tiga burung (three birds)
or from context.

Could you say beberapa ekor burung itu instead of beberapa burung itu? What difference would it make?

Yes, you can say beberapa ekor burung itu:

ekor is the classifier (measure word) for animals.

So:

beberapa burung itu = some of those birds
beberapa ekor burung itu = some (units) of those birds

Both are grammatical and natural. Including ekor sounds a bit more careful, specific, or sometimes slightly more formal, but in everyday speech beberapa burung itu is perfectly fine.

What exactly does berwarna mean, and why not just say kuning terang without it?

Berwarna is ber- (a verb-forming prefix) + warna (color). Together, berwarna literally means to have the color or is/are colored.

So:

burung itu berwarna kuning terang
= those birds are bright yellow
(literally: those birds have a bright yellow color)

You can sometimes say just burung itu kuning (those birds are yellow) in casual speech, but:

berwarna + color sounds more descriptive and explicit about color.
Using berwarna is particularly natural when describing colors or patterns:
- berwarna merah jambu – pink (lit. colored pink)
- berwarna hitam dan putih – black and white

So berwarna emphasises that we are talking about their color.

Could I say burung itu adalah kuning terang instead of berwarna kuning terang?

You could say burung itu adalah kuning terang, but it is unusual and sounds awkward in Malay. For adjectives that describe inherent or physical qualities (like color, size, shape), Malay usually:

omits any linking verb (no adalah), or
uses a more specific verb like berwarna for color.

Natural patterns are:

Burung itu kuning terang. – Those birds are bright yellow.
Burung itu berwarna kuning terang. – Those birds are bright yellow (more explicitly about color).

Use adalah mainly in more formal contexts before a noun phrase or long descriptive phrase, for example:

Burung itu adalah sejenis burung tropika.
Those birds are a type of tropical bird.

But not normally before a simple color adjective.

In kuning terang, is terang an adverb like brightly, or another adjective?

Terang is an adjective meaning bright / clear.

In kuning terang:

kuning = yellow
terang = bright

The phrase literally is bright yellow, i.e., yellow that is bright. Malay often combines two adjectives like this:

merah gelap – dark red
biru muda – light blue
hijau pekat – deep green

So terang here is not an adverb; it’s another adjective modifying the color.

Why is there a comma before dan: ..., dan ekornya hitam? Could we omit the comma or the dan?

The comma here is stylistic punctuation, similar to English:

Beberapa burung itu berwarna kuning terang, dan ekornya hitam.

This roughly corresponds to:

Some of those birds are bright yellow, and their tails are black.

About variations:

Omitting the comma
- Beberapa burung itu berwarna kuning terang dan ekornya hitam.
  This is also acceptable and quite common.
Omitting the dan
- Beberapa burung itu berwarna kuning terang, ekornya hitam.
  This is possible in more literary or descriptive styles, but in everyday writing/speech, keeping dan is clearer and more natural.

So both comma and dan are optional in a sense, but dan is more important for clarity than the comma.

How is ekornya formed, and what exactly does it mean?

Ekornya is:

ekor = tail
-nya = a clitic that can mean his/her/its/their or mark something as definite (the).

In this context, ekornya means their tails or the tails (referring back to the birds mentioned).

A rough breakdown:

ekor – tail
ekornya – its tail / their tails / the tail(s)

Malay doesn’t mark plural on ekor; the plural meaning comes from the context (we’re already talking about beberapa burung).

Why ekornya hitam without any verb? Shouldn’t there be something like adalah or ialah?

Malay often has zero copula in simple descriptive sentences using adjectives:

ekornya hitam
literally: its tails black, meaning its/their tails are black.

So:

ekornya hitam – its/their tails are black
bajunya merah – his/her shirt is red
langit biru – the sky is blue

You usually don’t put adalah or ialah before a single adjective like hitam here. Adding adalah (ekornya adalah hitam) sounds stiff and unnatural.

Does -nya in ekornya mean its or their? How do we know which one?

-nya is not specific about number. It can mean:

his / her / its / their, depending on context.

Here, because we are talking about some of those birds (clearly plural), ekornya is understood as their tails.

Malay relies on context rather than changing the form for singular vs plural. If you really wanted to be explicit and a bit more formal, you could say:

ekor mereka hitam – their tails are black

but ekornya hitam is more natural in this kind of descriptive sentence.

Could I say ekor mereka hitam instead of ekornya hitam? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say ekor mereka hitam:

ekor = tail
mereka = they / them (3rd person plural pronoun)
ekor mereka = their tails

Differences in feel:

ekornya hitam
- Very common, smooth, and natural in descriptions.
- -nya is somewhat lighter, almost like the/its/their fused with the noun.
ekor mereka hitam
- Slightly more explicit: clearly their tails (plural).
- Can sound slightly more formal or emphatic on them.

In most neutral descriptions like this sentence, ekornya hitam is more typical.

Can we drop itu and just say Beberapa burung berwarna kuning terang, dan ekornya hitam? How does the meaning change?

Yes, you can drop itu:

Beberapa burung berwarna kuning terang, dan ekornya hitam.

Meaning difference:

Beberapa burung itu …
→ Some of those birds … (referring to specific birds already known, seen, or mentioned)
Beberapa burung …
→ Some birds … (more general, not tied to a specific group previously mentioned)

So itu adds definiteness and specificity: that/those (ones we’re talking about).

Is there any difference between kuning terang and kuning cerah?

Both are very close in meaning and both are used to mean bright yellow.

kuning terang
- terang = bright, clear
- Slightly more literal and straightforward.
kuning cerah
- cerah = bright, vivid, often used for sky/complexion/color
- Can sound a bit more vivid or lively, often used in descriptions of cheerful or pleasant colors.

In many contexts, they are interchangeable:

Bajunya berwarna kuning terang.
Bajunya berwarna kuning cerah.

Both are understood as His/her shirt is bright yellow.