What It's All About
Birds are beautiful creatures. Have your students ever watched them and yearned for the ability to soar through the sky? Do your students know the names of any birds? Does anyone have a bird as a pet? Does anyone have a favorite bird?
Bird Basics
Not all flying creatures are birds, and not all birds can fly. Are bats birds? No, they're flying mammals. Are butterflies birds? No, they're insects. Can your students think of any other creatures that fly that aren't birds? Does anyone know any birds that can't fly? There are actually many birds that fall into this category, but some of the most common ones include penguins, ostriches, and kiwis.
Two things that make birds unique are their feathers and their hollow bones. Both of these features help give them the ability to fly. The major parts of a bird include the crown, bill (beak), eyes, throat, breast, belly, foot, tarsus (leg), tail, rump, wingbars, back (mantle), nape, and eyebrow. Using a picture of a bird, can your students guess where all of these parts are?
There are about 10,000 species of bird and they come in all colors, shapes, and sizes — from the tiny bee hummingbird — which is only two and a half inches long, to the huge ostrich — which can grow up to nine feet tall!
Birds play an important role in controlling the insect population, spreading seeds, and, in the case of the hummingbird, even pollinating flowers. Using a variety of bird books or the Internet, have the students look through the birds and pick their favorite. Younger students can draw or paint a picture of their favorite and write the name of it. Older students can research a few facts to add to their picture or even write a short report.
Name That Bird
Ornithologists, the people who study birds, use a variety of observations to help them identify different species. Here are the basics for bird identification:
Category: Is the bird a swimmer, flier, wader, or bird of prey?
Field marks: Does the bird have spots of color, eye-rings, or other distinguishing characteristics?
Size and shape
Behavior: How does the bird eat, mate, fly and/or swim, walk, flock, and climb?
Wings and flight: What shape are the bird's wings when it is flying? How does it fly? Does it soar or swoop or dip up and down?
Range of habitat: Where is the bird? Is it in a tree? Is it on a cliff? Is it on the ground?
Special features: Is there anything extra-special about the bird? Does it have a very distinct beak or legs?
Birdcalls and birdsongs: What does the bird sound like?
Gather photos of a variety of birds. Assign one bird to each student or create small groups and have them answer all of the identification questions. Then place all of the pictures on a wall and play “Name That Bird.” Each student should read their answers as if they are the bird speaking. For example, “I like to swim. I have an orange breast.” Have the other students try to guess what bird is being described.
Learning birdsongs is fun and easier than you'd think. Birders use mnemonics to remember a bird's song, which means they come up with a phrase that sounds like what the bird says. For example, an Eastern towhee says “hot dog, pickle-ickle-ickle!” Have fun learning birdcalls by visiting www.learnbirdsongs.com.
Bird Business
Birds are busy little creatures doing their part to create a healthy, thriving planet.
Birds eat bugs. Songbirds eat bugs that can damage crops.
Birds eat rodents. Owls eat mice and rats that can carry disease.
Some birds pollinate flowers.
Some birds, like vultures, eat just about anything, acting like the Earth's garbage disposal.
People all over the world have come to rely on birds. In southern India, farmers watch the skies for flocks of birds that signal imminent rainfall. In Colorado, whitewater rafting guides have trained homing pigeons to deliver photos back to home base. Beyond the business of birds, they are also simply enjoyable. Do you know any songs about birds? Any poems? A story or fairy tale? Have you ever seen a painting of a bird? Bird photographs?
Have your students go home and try to find a song, poem, story, movie, painting, or photo of a bird. When they return, have a bird show-and-tell and discuss the importance of birds and what they mean to your students.
