2020 ORNITHOLOGY BC KAREN LANCOUR National Bio Rules

2020 ORNITHOLOGY (B/C) KAREN LANCOUR National Bio Rules Committee Chairman karenlancour@charter. net

Event Rules – 2020 DISCLAIMER This presentation was prepared using draft rules. There may be some changes in the final copy of the rules. The rules which will be in your Coaches Manual and Student Manuals will be the official rules.

Event Rules – 2020 BE SURE TO CHECK THE 2020 EVENT RULES FOR EVENT PARAMETERS AND TOPICS FOR EACH COMPETITION LEVEL n The National Bird List is at www. soinc. org under Event Information (states may modify for state & regional competitions) n

The Competition Content: n Taxonomic Scheme of the 2020 Science Olympiad Science National Bird List is used in competition n States may use a modified state bird list for Regional and State Tournaments – It must be posted on their website by Nov. 1 n Identification, anatomy & physiology, reproduction, habitat characteristics, ecology, diet, behavior, ID calls, conservation, biogeography Process Skills: observation, inferences, data and diagram analysis Event Parameters: check 2020 rules for what is allowed

Taxonomy Official National List n Order n Family n Genus specie (Scientific name) and Common name Note: The American Ornithological Society (AOS) updates bird taxonomy and has standardized common names of NA birds

SOSI TRAINING MATERIALS n n n n Training Power Point – content overview Training Handouts – ornithology, binder, field guide Sample Tournament – sample problems with key Event Supervisor Guide – prep tips, event needs, and scoring tips State of NA Birds – 2016 - report on bird status Orders of Birds – links to order characteristics Families of Birds – links to family characteristics

SO WEBSITE TRAINING MATERIALS EVENT RESOURCES – the Science Olympiad website www. soinc. org under Event Information-will be posted throughout the fall § Training Power Point – content overview § Internet Resource – links to good resources for learning content § Training Handouts – overview, general principles § Sample Tournament – sample problems with key § Event Supervisor Guide – prep tips, event needs, and scoring tips Training CD’s – the Science Olympiad Store at www. soinc. org n Biology-Earth Science CD (BECD) – current year topics for all bio events with training materials and extra resources n Taxonomy CD (TXCD) 2020 – all content, extra resources, exams for Heredity and Designer Genes n Division B and Division C Test Packets – national exams from the previous year

State Resources n n Many states have Bird identification resources and/or state lists plus guides. Check the web for state resources. Many commercial field guides are available. State DNR websites may also have resources.

Class Aves n n n n 3 billion birds 9000 species vertebrates with feathers, modified for flight and for active metabolism. horny beak, no teeth large muscular stomach feathers large yolked, hard-shelled eggs. The parent bird provides extensive care of the young until it is grown, or gets some other bird to look after the young. strong skeleton

ORDERS AND FAMILIES OF BIRDS Learn the Order and Family characteristics and then species!! General arrangement of guides n The families reflect how birds have evolved and have many distinctive features and behaviors. n Ocean, shore, game and predatory birds appear first, they are generally large birds. n Next are hole-nesting birds without true songs, they are smaller. n Last come the song birds which are still smaller.

Bird Modifications n n n Generally the feeding habits go from eating fish and small mammals to eating seeds and insects. Special modifications in morphology allow birds to succeed in their environment. These modifications are very helpful in identifying families, species, and their unique behaviors.

Body Regions

Identification Features n n n Special features Adaptations Sexual differences

Head Markings n n n n n Many have distinctive stripes or colored patches on their head. Crown = tip of the head and Cap = a distinctively colored crown as black-capped chickadees. Crest = a projection or tuft on the head often brightly colored as cardinals. Lores = space between eye and bill and spectacles = distinctive eye rings or eye stripe. Size of eye – large eyes are hints that the bird is nocturnal or feeds at night. Color of eye – they may be red, yellow, brown, black, etc. Ear tufts = projections near region as horned owls (birds do not have visible ears). Auricle region = feathers covering the opening of the ears. Chin = the area around the bill Throat = the area between the bill and the breast. It may be highly brightly colored as the ruby throated humming birds.

Bill Adaptations for Feeding n n n The two parts are the upper and lower mandibles. Often mistakenly called a beak. Beak = the hooked bill of a hawk or parrot. The bill is modified for eating a specific type of food.

Bill adaptations A. probing flowers for nectar B. drilling into trees for insects C. scooping fish D. catching fish E. straining food from the water F. capturing prey and tearing flesh G. cracking seeds H. capturing worms and insects I. opening seeds from pine cones

NECK and BODY n n n Most birds have short necks but some such as the crane are long. Some birds are stout while others are slender bodied. Back = upper surface and rump = area closest to the tail. Breast (chest) = underside near head and belly = underside around legs. Sides = belly under wings. Many birds have distinctive plumage patterns but remember that stripes are head to head or lengthwise while bars are wing to wing or crosswise.

PLUMAGE n n n The color pattern of the feathers along the body varies. It is often unique for a species. It is usually brighter in males than females with young of both sexes resembling the female. It is usually brightest during the mating season (spring and summer for most birds).

Wing Feathers n n WINGS: used for true flight as well as gliding, balance during hovering and perching, and during courtship. Many have distinctive white or colored patches. Wings can be long or short, pointed or rounded. Shoulder = part of wing nearest to the body. There are two sets of flight feathers. Primaries = from bend outward to tip and Secondaries = from bend toward shoulder.

TAIL n n n The tail is used for steering and breaking during flight. It can also be used in courting displays. The shape and color pattern is useful in identification. The tail can be long or short and its shape can be square, rounded, pointed, elongated, forked or notched.

LEGS and FEET n n n The length and thickness of the legs as well as the shape of the foot are clues to the way the bird lives. Some birds extend their legs during flight while others hold them under their body. The feet are modified for perching, clinging, walking or swimming.

Foot adaptations A. perching B. wading C. climbing or clinging D. swimming E. preying

ADAPTATIONS FOR FLIGHT Entire anatomy is designed around flight Small compact body, reduced weight with all heavy organs close to center of gravity Center of gravity and propulsion systems are properly balanced Body is light yet strong enough for flight The skeletal system is exceptionally light and delicate yet sturdy Many bones are fused together to make the light but strong Strong flight muscles to move wings that can make up to 50% of body weight Active metabolism which provides energy for muscles and large lung capacity The eyes are perhaps the most important sense organ – they are disproportionately larger than in other vertebrates. Birds of prey have very large eyes

BIRD ANATOMY

VOCALIZATION n n Many birds have distinctive calls and songs. They can help to identify birds not visible. Calls are short and simple to signal alarm or distress while songs are more complex and are used for ownership of feeding territory and courtship. In most species only males sing.

LEARNING BIRD SONGS n n Books and field guides attempt to put sounds into words. Many have slightly different word translations so be careful about these. Listen to the actual sounds or recordings to learn them.

BEHAVIOR n n n What a bird is doing can tell a lot about its identity and role in its ecosystem. Is it alone or in a flock? Is it shy or social or aggressive? Where is it most of its time? How does it fly? Is it soaring, gliding, flapping or fluttering? Is there a flock flight pattern ?

BEHAVIOR n n Is it swimming, dappling, diving, perching, walking, and/or hopping? How does it feed and what does it eat? Where does it nest? How do the young act? How does it react to other birds of its specie, other species or other animals? Does it have any unique behaviors?

BIRD NEST TYPES

BIRD NEST TYPES

BIRD NEST TYPES

RANGE MAP BIRD RESIDENCE

Bird Ecology – Roles of birds in the ecosystem n n n n Indicators of environmental health Food source for humans and animals Flower pollinators Insect control – they eat insects and reduce many pests Disseminate seeds Scavengers and Cleaning Carcasses of Dead Animals Clean parasites off animals

Challenges to Bird Population n n n Habitat loss Residential and commercial development Agriculture Energy production and mining Natural resource use Pollution Climate change

Game Plan 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Use the POWERPOINT for an overview Study the HANDOUTS – for background information and as a guide to making a binder and learning the competition Use the INTERNET RESOURCES and CD’S for more help – see the Science Olympiad National website at www. soinc. org under www. soinc. org event information and the Science Olympiad store Prepare a RESOURCE BINDER and use OTHER TOOLS to LEARN THE BIRDS and then MODIFY THE BINDER AND/OR TAB THE BIRDS FIELD GUIDE for effective use in competition Do the SAMPLE TOURNAMENT under timed conditions to experience being timed in competition. Prepare and do PRACTICE STATIONS, OLD TESTS, and INVITATIONALS –to master knowledge, teamwork, and using your binder effectively under timed conditions.

LEARNING THE BIRDS n n n Make your own resource binder to assist you – see the handout on binders with a sample bird fact sheet. Learn the characteristics of the Class, the Orders and then the Families. Finally become familiar with the characteristics of the Genera within each Family

Binder Tips – See handout on making a binder n n n The most effective resources are the ones produced by the students. The process of producing the resources is a major learning tool. Have a copy of the rules in your binder Have a copy of the Official Bird List in your binder (National or State) Prepare and organize materials by major topic divisions. Place materials from many different sources into your topic divisions Reduce the size of pictures where possible to get more information on a page. Color code information to help you locate or emphasize key items. Put pages in sheet protectors – two per protector to save space. Use tabs to separate sections. Label tabs so items can be located with ease.

Field Guides n n n See the handout on Selecting and Using a Field Guide – they are organized differently Choose the field guide that is easiest for you to use -there may be a state guide for the regional and state if your state has a state bird list. Tab your field guide Practice using the field guide Practice under timed conditions

Power Point Slides n n n Make power point slides for Order, Family, and/or Species Make them like sample stations with pictures and questions Prepare them so they can be reorganized to make practice competitions for study

Flash Cards n n n Make flash cards with pictures on one side and information on the back Use the flash cards to make up sample competitions Use the flash cards to learn the BIRDS

Doing the Competition n n n Place information in appropriate place on answer sheet Print legibly so information is understandable Work as a team – use time effectively Use Binder and/or Field Guide effectively Identify to Order and then to Family and Genus Be sure to spell names correctly Carefully read all questions and use common sense in answering Relax, Do your best, and Have Fun!!