A birdcage scaffold consists of multiplicity of standards arranged at regular intervals in parallel lines, usually evenly laced together with a grid of ledgers and transoms at every lift height and the top lift is boarded to form the access

platform for work on ceilings and soffits, i.e., to fix lighting, ventilation or sprinklers over an inside area. The side bays of the birdcage may also be required to form a normal access scaffold to walls supporting the soffit.

There are two types of birdcages:

1. Birdcages with more than one lift in
the height.
2. Single lift birdcages.

The distinction between these two types is due to the different requirements of the bottom and top lifts from the intermediate lifts and the fact that these two special lifts are adjacent in a single lift birdcage.