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DELTA STUDIES CURRICULUM

UNIT 3 • LESSON 2

Bird Adaptations

CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS FOR GRADE THREE

Life Science3. Adaptations in physical structure or behavior may improve an organism’s chance for

survival.a. Students know . . .animals have structures that serve different functions in growth,

survival, and reproduction.

ObjectiveStudents will conduct an investigation to learn that the beak structure of most birds isadapted to acquiring a specific type of food in the birds’ habitats. They will also identifyother adaptations, such as feet and legs that birds have to help them to survive in specifichabitats.

BackgroundEach organism is adapted to live in its habitat and to obtain the things it needs in order tosurvive. The beaks of most birds are adapted to eat specific things in their environment.The way a beak looks offer clues on what the bird with that particular beak might eat. Forexample, a seed-eating bird, like a sparrow, has a short, thick, and strong beak to crackseeds. A woodpecker’s beak is narrow and strong and is used for chiseling bark and woodto get the insects living there. The beak of a heron or an egret is long and narrow andshaped for spearing fish, crayfish, and frogs. Hawks and owls have hooked sharp beaks fortearing prey. Some ducks have a sieve-like edge on their beaks to strain out water as theyswallow water plants. Whereas fish-eating ducks, like Mergansers, have beaks suited tograb fish.

Not only are the beaks adapted to what the birds eat but also the feet and legs of birds canprovide clues to where the birds live. For example, webbed feet of a duck are best suitedfor a water habitat, whereas the running feet of pheasants make them suitable for walkingor running on land. The feet and legs of egrets and herons are adapted to wade in shallowwaters when these birds are hunting for food.

The behavior of birds can also provide clues of where they live and what they eat. Forexample, a Great Blue Heron keeps very still while fishing in shallow water to avoid beingseen by the fish it wants to catch and eat.

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24 UNIT 3 | LESSON 2•

In this lesson a variety of foods and bird beaks are simulated as described below:

STATION 1: Foam peanuts and clay represent fish eaten by herons and Mergansers. Thebeaks of these birds are simulated by chopsticks used for spearing fish; or tongs andclothespins for grabbing fish.

STATION 2: Pipe cleaners or buttons represent worms and other invertebrates eaten bysandpipers. The beaks of these birds are simulated by tweezers or chopsticks for pokinginto sand and grabbing the worms.

STATION 3: Sunflower seeds represent seeds eaten by sparrows. The beaks of these birds aresimulated by pliers for grabbing and cracking seeds.

STATION 4: Rice represents insects eaten by woodpeckers. The beaks of these birds aresimulated by tweezers for grabbing insects.

STATION 5: Cotton balls represent mice eaten by hawks. The beaks of these birds aresimulated by pliers for tearing meat.

STATION 6: Grass clippings or shredded newspaper represent aquatic plants eaten by someducks and geese. The beaks of these birds are simulated by a slotted spoon or pasta serverto allow water to leak out leaving the plants in the beak for the bird to swallow.

Preparation!Prepare six “food” stations:

• Station 1: Several foam peanuts (polystyrene packing peanuts) or one polystyrenecup broken into 1-inch square pieces floating in a bowl of water and one clumpof clay shaped like a fish to sink to the bottom

• Station 2: Pipe cleaner cut into 1" pieces or buttons buried under the sand or soilin a bowl

• Station 3: Sunflower seeds in a bowl• Station 4: Rice grains pressed into a piece of polystyrene or a piece of clay• Station 5: Cotton balls• Station 6: Grass clipping or paper shredded like pieces of grass in a bowl of water

!Gather five sets of “beaks” with each set containing: One pair of chopsticks, oneclothespin, one slotted spoon or pasta server, one pair of tweezers, one tong, and onepair of pliers.

Materials! Materials described in the “Preparation” section! A copy of the “Birds’ Beaks Exploration Sheet” for each group! Illustrations of a Mallard and an egret! Several pictures of bird beaks (included in this lesson)

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25UNIT 3 | LESSON 2 •

! Several pictures of bird feet and legs (included in this lesson)! OPTIONAL: Hawk talon resin mold

TimePreparation: 30 minutesLesson: 60 minutes

Motivation" Show a picture of a Mallard and show a pasta server. Ask students: “How is a duck’s

beak like a pasta server?” Explain that all birds have beaks that are adapted to thetype of food they eat. For example, a Mallard’s beak is broad with sieve-like ridges,which allows the water to run out while the vegetation is retained and swallowed.We can say that this ducks’ beak works somewhat like a pasta server.

" Show a picture of an egret. Ask students what this bird might eat? Explain that somefish-eating birds, like herons and egrets, have beaks like spears, which they use tocatch their food, like fish and frogs.

Procedure

1 Tell students that they will be experimenting with various tools that represent birdbeaks to find out which tool is most suited to pick up a specific food.

2 Divide students into five teams and distribute a copy of the “Birds’ Beaks ExplorationSheet” to each group. Show students the various types of food that are set up at the sixstations.

3 Provide each team with a set of tools that represent a variety of bird beaks. Havestudents hypothesize which tool would be best to use to pick up each type of food.Ask groups to complete Part A on their Exploration Sheets. You might choose toassign certain beaks to specific students within each group.

4 Once groups have completed Part A, they may go to each station to try to pick up thefood with the “beak” they thought was best suited. They can try other beaks and thencomplete Part C of their Exploration Sheets.

5 After all groups have completed Part C of their Exploration Sheets, discuss whethertheir hypothesis was correct or incorrect from the actual trial.

6 Discuss how different beaks help birds eat and that this difference is an adaptationthat helps birds to survive. Remind students that an adaptation is a physical character-istic or behavior that helps an organism to survive.

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26 UNIT 3 | LESSON 2•

7 Show students pictures of bird beaks and ask them to describe the characteristics ofeach beak and what each bird might eat. Students should be aware that different typesof birds have different beaks depending on what they eat. (A hawk eats mice and otheranimals; a heron eats fish and frogs; a sparrow eats seeds and some insects; a sandpipereats worms and other invertebrates; a blackbird eats insects and some seeds; a gooseeats aquatic plants; a Merganser eats fish; and a woodpecker eats insects in and undertree bark.)

8 Discuss:• Why might seed-eating birds need shorter and heavier beaks?• How do long beaks help birds?• Why do some birds have sharp curved beaks?• What type of beak is best for a bird that eats insects found in trees?• What type of item can represent a hawk’s beak?

9 Show illustrations of birds’ feet and legs. Ask students to carefully observe how eachfoot is formed. How are the feet/legs different? What special feature does each foothave? How would the bird use these features to help it survive? Where would this birdfind most of its food source: on or near the ground, on or near the water, climbing intrees? Is this bird a wader? How would you know if this bird spends time in or nearwater? Do you think this bird walks/runs after its food? Do you think this bird is apredator?

Key to “Bird’s Feet”: 1) duck’s webbed foot for swimming; 2) sparrow’s perching footfor perching on a branch; 3) woodpecker’s foot for climbing trees; 4) hawk’s grabbingfoot for catching prey; 5) pheasant’s running foot.

Assessment!Give each student one or two tools that represent beak samples. Have them draw an

imaginary bird with the special tool next to the food it might eat. Ask them todescribe how the beak is used to get the food.

! If available, display the resin model of a hawk’s talon. Have students describe inwriting the feet, what these feet are adapted to do, what this bird eats, how it ac-quires its food, and what type of habitat it lives in.

!Using illustrations of various birds’ feet and legs and have students identify wherebirds with such feet and legs might live: on the water, on the shore, or on land.

!Ask students to match some of the bird’s beaks to their feet and legs. Then askstudents to write a paragraph describing the relationship among the type of beak,type of feet or legs, the bird’s habitat, and what it eats.

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27UNIT 3 | LESSON 2 •

Extension#Encourage students to use the Internet to see colorful examples of birds, their beaks,

and feet.#Take students on a field trip to a park or wildlife refuge to view birds.

Resources$ BOOKS

• Birding in and Around San Joaquin County by the San Joaquin Audubon Society• Watching Water Birds by Jim Arnosky• All About Owls by Jim Arnosky• Birds, Birds, Birds! (Ranger Rick’s NatureScope series) National Wildlife Federation

(an activity guide)• Peterson First Guide to Birds of North America by Roger Tory Peterson• Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification by Chandler S. Robbins,

Bertel Bruun, and Herbert S. Zim• The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Western Region by Miklos

D. F. Udvardy• Other field guides to birds to allow students to see various beaks, feet, and birds in

their habitats

! WEBSITES

• http://www.birdday.orgPromotes conservation and knowledge about migratory birds on all flyways.

• http://sssp.fws.govShorebird curriculum to encourage shorebird tracking, monitoring, habitat restora-tion, and other projects.

• http://www.sanjoaquinaudubon.org/checklist.htmlA “Field Checklist of the Birds of San Joaquin County” compiled by David Yee

• http://www.audubon.orgWebsite for the National Audubon Society where a listing of local Audubon chap-ters can be found (see “States and Centers”)

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