What Makes a Bird a Bird? BRI DGE S T O BI RDI NG What Makes - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

What Makes a Bird a Bird?

BRI DGE S T O BI RDI NG

What Makes a Bird a Bird?

• Birds a re the o nly living a nima ls tha t ha ve fe a the rs.
• All b irds fly.
• All b irds ha ve two wing s
• Birds re pla c e the ir wo rn o r da ma g e d fe a the rs.

TRUE OR FALSE

What Makes a Bird a Bird? (instructor key)

• Birds a re the o nly living a nima ls tha t ha ve fe a the rs. T

RUE Birds are the o nly living c re ature with fe athe rs. F e athe rs are made o f ke ratin, the same pro te in that make s up b ird b e aks, lizard sc ale s, mammal hair, human fing e rnails, animal ho o ve s, and ho rns.

• All b irds fly. F

AL SE So me b irds that do n’ t fly are turke ys, o stric h, so me kiwis, and so me c o rmo rants.

• All b irds ha ve two wing s. T

RUE

• Birds re pla c e the ir wo rn o r da ma g e d fe a the rs. T

RUE Birds mo ult at mo st twic e a ye ar in the Spring and F all to re plac e wo rn o r damag e d fe athe rs.

The Art of Flight (Instructor Key)

F e a the rs – Uniq ue to b irds. Ada pte d fo r:

• F

lying

• Pro te c ting skin & I

nsula tio n F

• re limb s (a rms/ wing s) a re

mo difie d (a da pte d) a lmo st e ntire ly to flig ht. Bo dy sha pe

• is stre a mline d to re duc e re sista nc e to a ir during flig ht o r

wa te r in diving . T a il

• is sho rt with lo ng ta il fe a the rs tha t a c ts a s a rudde r (c ha ng e

dire c tio n) & b ra ke s (slo w do wn) while flying ; b a la nc e while pe rc hing , stiff suppo rt o n ve rtic a l surfa c e s (wo o dpe c ke rs).

Types of Feathers (Instructor Key)

• F

lig ht F e a the rs– fo und o n wing a nd ta il.

• Co nto ur F

e a the rs—g ive sha pe & c o lo r. Co lo re d o nly a t the e nds, the pa rt we se e ). Are fo und e ve rywhe re e xc e pt the b e a k, le g s, a nd fe e .

• Do wn F

e a the rs—ha ve little o r no sha ft. Are so ft & fluffy. Ac t a s insula tio n.

• Se miplume F

e a the rs—a re a mix b e twe e n do wn & c o nto ur fe a the rs. T he se do ha ve a sha ft. F

• und unde rne a th c o nto ur

fe a the rs.

• Bristle F

e a the rs—a re ve ry stiff. T he se a re fo und a ro und mo uths o f inse c t e a ting b irds; the y a c t like a funne l. Also fo und a ro und e ye s, wo rk a s e ye la she s.

• F

ilo plume fe a the rs a re ve ry, ve ry sma ll. Unlike o the r fe a the rs, the se a re a tta c he d to ne rve e nding s. T he y se nd me ssa g e s a b o ut pla c e me nt o f fe a the rs fo r flig ht, insula tio n, a nd pre e ning .

FLIGHT FEATHERS CONTOUR FEATHERS DOWN FEATHERS SEMIPLUME FEATHERS BRISTLE FEATHERS FILOPLUME FEATHERS

What Makes a Bird a Bird?

• All b irds ha ve thic k, he a vy b o ne s tha t pro vide the

struc ture the y ne e d to fly.

• Birds ha ve po o r e ye sig ht
• Birds ha ve he a rtb e a ts tha t a re slo we r tha n huma ns.
• All b irds la y e g g s.

TRUE OR FALSE

What Makes a Bird a Bird? (instructor key)

• All b irds ha ve thic k, he a vy b o ne s tha t pro vide the struc ture

the y ne e d to fly. F AL SE (sho w e xa mple o f ho llo w b o ne ) A b ird’ s ske le to n is made o f lig htwe ig ht b o ne s that are ho llo w.

• Birds ha ve po o r e ye sig ht. F

AL SE Whe re b irds' e ye sig ht re ally e xc e ls is in the pe rc e ptio n o f mo tio n and de tail – b irds c an se e 2-3 time s b e tte r than humans in that re spe c t.

• Birds ha ve he a rtb e a ts tha t a re slo we r tha n huma ns. F

AL SE Mo st small animals have a fast he artb e at. T he humming b ird has the faste st with a he artb e at o f 1200 b e ats pe r minute .

• All b irds la y e g g s. T

RUE No b ird g ive s live b irth.

Bones Light as a Feather

What Makes a Bird a Bird?

• Mo st b irds e a t wo rms.
• All b irds sing .
• All b irds mig ra te .

TRUE OR FALSE

What Makes a Bird a Bird? (instructor key)

• Mo st b irds e a t wo rms. F

AL SE Birds e at many diffe re nt thing s like se e ds, live fish, inse c ts, and wo rms. T he ir b ills te ll yo u what the y e at.

• All b irds sing . F

AL SE All b irds c all b ut o nly so ng b irds sing and c all.

• All b irds mig ra te . F

AL SE So me b irds are mig rato ry, so me are no t. I t larg e ly de pe nds o n the ir fo o d so urc e , and the c limate o f the ir b re e ding g ro unds.

A Diet of More than Worms

WHAT DO BIRDS E AT WIT H?

• With a Be a k (b ill).
• Birds ha ve no te e th, b ut a g izza rd in the ir sto ma c h to pulve rize

ha rd fo o d (like se e ds) with inte ntio na lly ing e ste d g rit & g ra ve l.

• Be a ks c a n pro b e c re vic e s fo r fo o d, sta b & se ize fo o d
• Bills a re ma de o ut o f b o ny inte rio r c o ve re d with K

e ra tin (pro te in) whic h is hig hly re sista nt to we a r.

A BE AK CAN IDE NT IF Y BIRDS AND WHAT T HE Y E AT

• Wa ding b irds with lo ng , pro b ing b ills- fish & inve rte b ra te s tha t live

unde r wa te r/ in sa nd

• Ha wks, o wls, e a g le s w/ sha rp-e dg e d b ills with se rra te d e dg e s (like

ste a k knife ) to te a r fle sh.

• Wa rb le rs, vire o thin, sha rply po inte d b ills to pro b e into c re vic e s a nd

c a pture inse c ts.

• T

hic k, c o nic a l sha pe d b ill o f c a rdina l, finc h to c ut & c rush se e ds

• Sha pe o f a c ro w’ s & ja y’ s b ill is in b e twe e n thin & thic k fo r a wide r

va rie ty o f fo o ds, so the b ill is “mid-size d”.

What Makes a Bird a Bird?

• Birds a re ve rte b ra te a nima ls.

TRUE OR FALSE

What Makes a Bird a Bird? (instructor key)

• Birds a re ve rte b ra te a nima ls. T

RUE

• A ve rte b rate animal is o ne with a spine whic h b irds do

have .

• T

he re are o ve r 85,000 spe c ie s o f ve rte b rate animals suc h as amphib ians, b irds, fish, mammals and re ptile s.

• Mo st larg e land animals are ve rte b rate s. E

ve n larg e se a animals, suc h as the whale , are ve rte b rate s.

• Ho we ve r, o nly ab o ut 5% o f all animal spe c ie s are

ve rte b rate s.

• T

he re maining 95% o f animals are inve rte b rate s that do n’ t have an inte rnal b ac kb o ne (e .g ., inse c ts, mo llusks and arthro po ds).

REVIEW: What Makes a Bird a Bird?

BRI DGE S T O BI RDI NG

What Makes a Bird a Bird? (instructor Review key)

• Birds a re the o nly living a nima l with fe a the rs.
• Birds ha ve wing s.
• Birds ha ve b ills (b e a ks).
• Birds la y e g g s.
• Birds ha ve two le g s tha t a re e spe c ia lly a da pte d fo r the ir

ha b ita t a nd fo o d.

• BONUS ANSWE

R: All b irds ha ve c a lls a nd so me b irds ha ve so ng s.

ACTIVITY

F AMI L E S AND SPE CI E S

ACTIVITY: Families & Species

• Onc e b irdwa tc he rs unde rsta nd tha t b irds a re g ro upe d

into fa milie s b e c a use o f the c ha ra c te ristic s the y sha re , using fie ld g uide s a nd ide ntifying b irds will b e c o me muc h simple r. He re is a simple a c tivity to intro duc e ta xo no my.

• Use the b a g g ie c o nta ining the b ird pic ture s with the lig ht c o lo re d b o rde r.

T he se sho uld b e a rra ng e d o n the b o a rd o n the to p e dg e .

• Distrib ute o ne b a g g ie pe r stude nt. E

a c h stude nt is to find he r “fa mily g a me b ird” o n the b o a rd a nd pla c e the o the r fa mily me mb e rs b e ne a th it (se e Ga me K e y fo r a nswe rs).

• Onc e c o mple te d, yo u c a n re vie w a va rie ty o f fa milie s a nd ide ntify spe c ie s.