Animal Behavior And Adaptation

NC Standard: 1.02

Activity: What's Your Adapatation?

Question: What adaptation will your bird need to live in a chosen habitat?

Vocabulary: Adaptation

Background: Birds have a variety of adaptations - including characteristics of beaks, feet, legs, wings, and coloration. These adaptations have evolved so that the bird is better suited to its environment and lifestyle. A variety of major daptations are listed below:

	Adaptation	Bird	Advantage
Beaks	Pouch-like, long, thin	pelican	can hold fish, can probe shallow water and mud for insects
	Pointed	woodpecker	can break and probe bark or tree for insects
	Curved	hawk	can tear solid tissue, like meat
	Short, stout	finches	can crack seeds and nuts
	Slender, long	hummingbird	can probe flowers for nectar
Feet	Webbed	duck	aids in walking on mud, swimming
	Long Toes	crane, heron	aids in walking on mud
	Clawed	hawk, eagle	can grasp food when hunting prey
	Grasping	chicken	aids in sitting on branches, roosting
Legs	Flexor Tendons	chicken	aids in perching, grasping
	Long, Powerful	ostrich	aids running
	Long, Slender Powerful Muscles	heron, crane, eagle, hawk	aids in lifting and carrying prey
Wings	Large	eagle	aids flying with prey and soaring while hunting
Coloration	Bright Plumage	male birds, female birds	attractionin courtship and mating rituals, aids in camouflage while nesting
	Change of Plumage With Seasons	owl, ptarmigan	camouflage protection

The major purpose of this activity is for students to realize that there are advantages for birds in looking the way they do, recognizing some of the ways in which birds are physically adapted to their environments.

Materials: drawing paper, pencils, crayons, paper

Procedure:
Students design and create imaginary birds, and write reports including descriptions of the birds' adaptations after discussing background information.

Objectives: Students will be able to: 1) identify and describe the advantages of bird adaptations; and 2) evaluate the importance of adaptations to birds.
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Line of Learning: This line is drawn to provide students with a space to share their experimental learning in words or pictures.
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Animal Behavior And Adaptation

Procedure: Students design and create imaginary birds, and write reports including descriptions of the birds' adaptations after discussing background information.

Procedure:
Students design and create imaginary birds, and write reports including descriptions of the birds' adaptations after discussing background information.