Bird Stations Beaks A cone shaped bill is

Bird Stations

Beaks

A cone shaped bill is found in many birds such as finches and grosbeaks. It is a strong beak used for cracking seeds. Thin, slender, pointed beaks are found mainly in insect eaters. They are used to pick insects off leaves, twigs, and bark. This warbler is a good example. Woodpeckers have strong beaks which taper to the tip, forming a chisel for pecking holes in trees for food or nests. Most feed on insects which live under the bark. Hummingbirds have long, tubular bills that resemble straws, which they use to sip nectar from flowers. Mergansers, specialized for eating fish, have sharp tooth-like structures on the edge of the bill to hold fish tightly. Hawks, owls, and other birds of prey which catch and kill live prey have sharp, "hooked" beaks. These are used to bite the skull or neck and also to tear the body into pieces small enough to swallow. The edges of a Mallard's bill are fringed to strain plants, seeds, and small animals from mud and water. Beaks which are flat and wide at the base are found in birds which catch insects in flight, such as flycatchers. These birds also often have "whiskers, " which are actually modified feathers, at the corners of the mouth, which effectively widens the mouth opening, allowing more effective capture of prey.

• Bird beak matching: • http: //www. sciencegeek. net/Biology/review/U 6 Beak. Adaptations. ht m

Here is a bowl of sunflower seeds (DON’T EAT) and a variety of tools available to you. Each tool represents the different beak type. 1. Write what beak type you think each one represents 2. Which one would be the best for ‘eating’ the sunflower seeds?

Feathers

• Sketch a contour feather. Label these parts: rachis (hard, hollow center tube), the barbs (the perpendicular feathery parts) and the barbs (smaller interlocking zipper-like structures). • Look at the feathers under the microscope and sketch what you see • Compare and contrast the down, contour, and flight feathers

• The barbs in feathers come apart easily and birds must repair them. To repair a feather, a bird pulls the feather gently through its beak to zip together any barbs that have pulled apart. Try to repair or preen a contour feather by holding the hollow shaft in one hand pinching the feather between a finger and thumb on the other hand. Run the finger and thumb up the feather to zip up the separated barbs.

Look at the chicks and feel free to gently touch them. What kind of feather is their body mostly covered by right now? Is this different from an adult chicken? Why do you think this would be the case?

Groups of birds

• http: //media. hhmi. org/biointeractive/click/finch/

Nests

Sparrows and pigeons: The sparrow and pigeon make their nests with grass, leaves, feathers, etc. They make them on trees or in houses, at any safe place. Bulbul: A bulbul’s nest can be found in hedges and bushes. The nest is cup-shaped. This prevents eggs or baby birds from falling out. Partridge: The nest is made of dried grass and leaves. The bird uses its beak to make a nest which is hollow inside. The nest is made on the ground in the bushes or in tall grass to keep it safe from predators. Weaver bird: The weaver bird uses dry twigs, grass, fine pieces of straw to make a very big and strong nest by pulling the grass in and out. The nest hangs from the branch of a tree. The bird enters and comes out through a tunnel-like opening at the end of the nest. Tailor bird: The tailor bird makes their nests with long leaves. They stitch two large leaves together with bit of thread, straw and dry twigs. The nest is lined with material like cotton, wool, grass and hair to keep the nest cozy. Woodpecker: The woodpecker makes holes in the trunks with their chisel-like beaks to make their nests. They use chips of wood to make their nests warm and cozy. Owl: The owl makes their nests in the hollows of trees or on walls. The nest is lined within, to keep it soft. They put feathers and grass in their nests to keep them warm.

Here are some birds who do not build nests. • Cuckoos are lazy birds. They do not build their own nests. They lay their eggs in nests of other birds. • The penguin too, does not build a nest. It lays its egg on a platform of stones on the ground. The male penguin then holds the egg between its feet and lower belly and hatches • The koel is a clever but very lazy bird. It does not build its own nest. It lays its eggs in the nest of a crow when the crow is away. The crow takes care of these eggs thinking that they are its own eggs. It even feeds the baby birds on hatching. Birds take care of their young ones. Once all the eggs are laid, the parents guard the nest. Soon, baby birds hatch out of the eggs. They are tiny and weak. The parents feed them and protect them from enemies. Once the baby birds grow big, they fly off with their parents.

• Can you tell what the birds used to build their nests? Do all birds use the same materials? Which material was used most by the birds? Where do you think the birds found the material? How did they get it from where they found it to the nest? How does the nest stay together?

Wings and Flight

• Label the types of uses for these wings

Bones

• What advantages does this provide for birds? What disadvantages?

1. As you know, birds have hollow bones. Hollow objects are lighter than solid objects and, because of this, birds use less energy in flight and need less food. Hollow bones may not seem very strong, but in this experiment you'll see how strong hollow bones can be! 2. Starting at one of the shorter sides, roll a sheet of printer paper into a tube approximately 1 inch in diameter and 11 inches tall. Tape the edges of the paper so the tube doesn't unroll. Repeat this step with two more sheets of paper so you have three "bones" in all. 3. Stand the three bones on end and then balance a paper plate on top. It may help to tape the bones to the bottom of the plate to keep the structure from falling. 4. How many pennies do you think it will hold? Record your estimate. 5. Add pennies to the plate one at a time to see how many the structure can hold. Distribute the pennies evenly around the center of the plate to keep the structure balanced. 6. Continue adding pennies until the bones collapse and the structure falls. Count the pennies. Was your estimate close?

Muscles

• https: //www. exploratorium. edu/cooking/meat-chart. html

• Color the areas that would be “slow-twitch” dark meat on the birds with dark red • Color the areas that would be “fast-twitch” light meat on the birds with light pink

Birds vs reptiles

• Using your notes and the information from the other stations, compare and contrast birds and reptiles. Be sure to include: • • Eating habits and digestion Reproduction and eggs Outer covering Habitats Sensory organs Respiratory system Circulatory system

Migration

• https: //nationalzoo. si. edu/migratory-birds/play-migration-game • Print: https: //d 32 ogoqmya 1 dw 8. cloudfront. net/files/sp/mnstep/activities/l earnmigration. pdf

• Which flyway is closest to us?

The routes followed by migratory birds are numerous, and while some of them are simple and easily traced, others are extremely complicated. Differences in distance traveled, in time of starting, in speed of flight, in geographical position, in the latitude of the breeding and wintering grounds and in other factors all contribute to great diversity. No two species follow exactly the same path from beginning to end; geographical groups of species with an almost continental distribution may travel different routes. Bird migration is generally thought of as a north-and-south movement, with the lanes of heavier concentration following the coasts, mountain ranges and principal river valleys. In general, it may be said that the great routes of migration do conform very closely to major topographical features when these happen to lie in the general direction of the travel to be performed. It happens to work out nicely in North America where the coasts, mountain chains and come of the larger rivers do not depart from a north-and-south alignment. The terms "migration route" and "flyway" are to some extent theoretical concepts, while the latter has, in addition, come to have an administrative meaning. Migration routes may be defined as the lanes of individual travel from any particular breeding ground to the winter quarters of the birds that use them. Flyways, on the other hand, may well be conceived as those broader areas in which related migration routes are associated or blended in a definite geographic region. They are wide arterial highways to which the routes are tributary. There are four (4) major North American flyways that have been named the Atlantic, the Mississippi, the Central and the Pacific Flyways. Except along the coasts, the flyway boundaries are not always sharply defined and both in the northern breeding, and the southern wintering, grounds there is more or less overlapping. As a matter of fact, in the region of Panama, parts of all four flyways merge into one.

Senses

Binocular vs monocular vision Having two eyes gives animals binocular vision. Predatory animals tend to have eyes closer together which gives them very good binocular vision. This binocular sight gives better depth perception, allowing for more accurate attacks when hunting. 1. Stand on the ‘X’ marked on the floor. Close one eye and try to toss the quarter into the cup. 2. Now open both eyes and try again. 3. Which way was it easier? 4. Why do you think it’s more accurate with two eyes?

• What do you think accounts for the big difference between the owl and pigeons sight?

Mating/Reproduction