Birds
Birds are relatively easy to study since they don't stay hidden out of sight very much. This module is a good time to get out with your still or video camera and a good bird guide try to identify what you have in your area.
Here is a You-Tuber that shared the development of baby hummingbirds over time:
Here is a You-Tuber that shared the development of baby hummingbirds over time:
Play this one all the way through and you will get a giggle out of the human tool sounds that it can make too.
Lecture Time
In our lecture time, we will be talking about the characteristics of class aves, flight, and look at some of the classification and members in class aves.
For Characteristics, all birds have 6 characteristics in common. Are birds endothermic or exothermic? How many chambers do they have in their heart? Do they have teeth in their bill? Are they oviparous (eggs develop outside of the female) or oviparous (eggs develop entirely inside the female) and with what material are the egss primarily composed? What is their body covered in? Why is it important that their bones be porous and light weight?
For the topic of flight we will be spending a lot of time talking about feathers. Do you know what some of these words mean: preen, down feathers, or the ones in the picture of the feather? In 1989 it took a supercomputer to explain a phenomenon related to the presence of just one feather on each wing. What phenomenon was that and how did it improve aeronautics?
Can you think of at least one member of each of these classes: flightless birds, birds of prey, game birds, water birds, song birds, and hummongbirds which get a whole class to themselves.
For Characteristics, all birds have 6 characteristics in common. Are birds endothermic or exothermic? How many chambers do they have in their heart? Do they have teeth in their bill? Are they oviparous (eggs develop outside of the female) or oviparous (eggs develop entirely inside the female) and with what material are the egss primarily composed? What is their body covered in? Why is it important that their bones be porous and light weight?
For the topic of flight we will be spending a lot of time talking about feathers. Do you know what some of these words mean: preen, down feathers, or the ones in the picture of the feather? In 1989 it took a supercomputer to explain a phenomenon related to the presence of just one feather on each wing. What phenomenon was that and how did it improve aeronautics?
Can you think of at least one member of each of these classes: flightless birds, birds of prey, game birds, water birds, song birds, and hummongbirds which get a whole class to themselves.
LAB IDEAS:
Bird Count
It used to be that unless our studies timed out perfectly to the Christmas Bird Count or the February Great Backyard Bird Count, the students would miss out on getting their bird observations into a national database. Now they have a version that runs year-round called eBird. Go to http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/eBird/ to learn how your module bird observations can help scientists learn more about population and migration patterns of birds.
Bird Calls
Often there are birds present that you cannot see, but you can hear them. Becoming adept at identifying a bird by its song is a great addition to your birding skills. There are sites on the web that will help you train up your ear. Listen to the bird calls in the audio file and see if you can ID what kind of bird it is.
Dissect and Owl Pellet
Larger image in slideshow
Owls are predators of mice, rabbits, and other small animals. They cannot digest the bones or the fur though. Instead they regurgitate them into little pellets. These pellets are collected by researchers and dissected to learn more about the owl's diet.
You can do this too. Pellets are available at science supply companies such as Home Science Tools and Carolina Biological Supply. It is very fascinating to see and study all the bones. The thing that made me marvel the most about rodent skulls is that their lower teeth are incredibly long and actually go well into the lower jaw. The curved bones that you see in the dissection image are their lower teeth. No wonder they have the need to gnaw on things.
You can do this too. Pellets are available at science supply companies such as Home Science Tools and Carolina Biological Supply. It is very fascinating to see and study all the bones. The thing that made me marvel the most about rodent skulls is that their lower teeth are incredibly long and actually go well into the lower jaw. The curved bones that you see in the dissection image are their lower teeth. No wonder they have the need to gnaw on things.
Bird Incubation and/or Bird Embryology
Chick Embryo_1wk old_by Ben Skala
I remember as a 3 or 4 year old taking an egg into my room and keeping it warm to get a chick to hatch from it. My parents were not aware of my pet project until the egg broke. Peew! Rotten eggs smell terrible. Know I understand that grocery store eggs don't turn into little baby chicks. The farmers that raise chickens to sell eggs are careful that the eggs do not get fertilized.
Chicks are often the goal though and chick development can be an exciting area of study while you are waiting for the little yellow. peeping bundle of joy to arrive. You may want to explore the history of the Hackel embryology fraud, look at a prepared chick embryo slide, or if you have access to a fertilized egg incubate it. The image to the right is from an embryology study photographed by Ben Skala and posted in Wikimendia Commons for educational use. It is a one week old chick embryo. Compare it to the illustrations that you have seen in your text.
Chicks are often the goal though and chick development can be an exciting area of study while you are waiting for the little yellow. peeping bundle of joy to arrive. You may want to explore the history of the Hackel embryology fraud, look at a prepared chick embryo slide, or if you have access to a fertilized egg incubate it. The image to the right is from an embryology study photographed by Ben Skala and posted in Wikimendia Commons for educational use. It is a one week old chick embryo. Compare it to the illustrations that you have seen in your text.
Slideshow
In the slide gallery below, you will be able to see the contents of an owl pellet that we dissected. There was a lot of fur and bones. We were very surprised at how deeply the rodent's teeth went into the lower jaw. There is more to our collection than just pellets though. Enjoy!