| To "Are you Sleeping?" (Adult sings the first line and children echo it back) It's an owl, it's an owl. That I hear, that I hear. Listen for the bird call, listen for the bird call. Who, who who...who, who, who. It's a black crow, it's a black crow. That I hear, that I hear. Listen for the bird call, listen for the bird call. Caw, caw, caw.... caw, caw,caw. It's a blue jay, it's a blue jay. At the bird feeder, at the bird feeder. Eating lots of seeds, eating lots of seeds. Calling jay, jay, jay.... calling jay, jay, jay It's a Robin, it's a Robin, (have children hop and then stop) Hopping on the ground, hopping on the ground. Searching for worms, searching for worms. To feed her babies.... to feed her babies. I'm a duck, I'm a duck. (children can waddle and quack) Watch me waddle, watch me waddle. Hear me when I talk, hear me when I talk. Quack, quack, quack..... quack, quack, quack. |
| Have children finish these maxims: (you will discover some wonderful insights into their thinking and imaginations) They can put these in words or pictures... The early bird...(gets the worm) Birds of a feather.... (will flock together) A bird in the hand is.... (worth two in the bush) A feather in the hand is ... (better than a bird in the air) Each bird must sing..... (with its own throat) To (soar) with the eagles or (run) with the turkeys Fish got to (swim) and birds got to (fly) |
| Five and five eggs (use hands) that makes ten, Sitting on top is mother hen (fold one hand over the other) Cluck, cluck, cheep, cheep, now what do I see (put fingers around eyes) Ten fluffy baby chicks, as yellow as can be. (10 fingers again) |
| Some fun facts: - Birds can be catergorized into many groups. One grouping is based on the difference when they hatch. Altricial birds are those that hatch naked and blind, usually hatch one at a time, and rely on parents to feed them. Precocial birds all hatch within 24 hours of each other regardless the sixe of the clutch. Within hours they are able to run and seek food. The mother will protect her young but not feed them. Parents of altricial birds do not incubate their eggs as long but they use much energy in feeding the young. Parents of precocial birds usually have a longer incubation time but they don't feed their young. (Make Way For Ducklings is a great book to read together) Turkeys, chickens, Killdeer, pheasant, grouse, quail, ducks, and geese are example of precocial birds. Song birds, woodpeckers, and birds of prey are altricial. Hummingbird (must migrate, altricial) -Our smallest bird but flight muscles are 1/3 of its body weight. The wings beat 80 times per second and can fly across the Gulf of Mexico (500 miles) in one flight! -Its heartbeat is 1200 times per minute, (average bird is 220) - It weighs 8 times as much as its egg, an ostrich weighs 50 times more than its egg. -A hummingbird has around 1,000 feathers (large bird has about 25,000) -Hummingbirds not only remember where there are tubular flowers but at what time of day they open! (so much for being a bird brain) Chickadee (says in the winter, altricial) -It puts on 1/10 of its body weight in one day but burns it off in the winter. It needs 20 X more food in the winter than in the summer. (between 150-250 sunflower seeds) -At night it can drop its body temp. 20 degrees below its normal 108 to conserve energy -It ruffles its feathers to trap air next to the skin to stay warm. -70% die in the first year. Mallard Duck (most migrate, precocial) -Only the female incubates the eggs that can be a dozen or more. Females imprint and return to their place of birth. Can all birds fly? No, the penguin, Ostrich, and Emu do not. They have adaptations that help them survive without flight. In order to fly there are numerous body alterations in a bird: hollow bones, rapid digestive system, no diaphragm, no bladder, atrophy of sex organ in non-breeding season, no teeth... Why can little birds sing so loudly so early in the morning? Syrinx is in the lungs so 100% of air travels through it while our voicebox is on top of the lungs with about 2% going through. Birds sing to communicate with mate, defend their territory and send messages. Chickadee females are known to leave a mate for a better male singer! Birds feet: different feet for different life styles- web feet for swimming, curved feet for perching, talons for tearing, long flat toes for wading. Of course the same goes for their beaks or bills. |