The Topic:  Birds

Easier - Birds are warm-blooded creatures with two legs, wings, feathers, and a beak. All birds lay eggs and most can fly. There are about 8,600 different species of birds alive today.

 

Harder - Birds make up the scientific class Aves. They are warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals that are covered with feathers and possess forelimbs that have modified to become wings. Birds also have scaly legs, and no teeth (except in a few early fossil forms). They maintain a constant body temperature of about 41 degrees C (106 degrees F).

 

All birds today have descended from their flying ancestors, but a few such as ostriches, emus, some grebes, and cormorants have lost their capacity for aerial flight. Others, such as penguins, have become adapted to flying in a much denser medium, water. Birds are found in all habitats, from the icy shores of Antarctica to the hottest parts of the tropics, and from mountains, deserts, plains, and forests to open oceans and densely urbanized areas.

 

Websites for Specific Types of Birds

Go to our Birds Website for an index to over 100 websites on specific bird species.

 

 

Birds 

http://wings.ucdavis.edu/Book/Animals/intermediate/birds-01.html

Learn how birds fly in this site from the Aeronautics Internet Textbook.

Similar Information Site:

2) Flapping Flight http://www.catskill.net/evolution/flight/home.html

 

Guide to Birding (About.com) 

http://birding.about.com/hobbies/birding/?REDIR_404=yes

Website contains articles and Internet links to attracting birds, identifying birds, and bird behavior. The Birding for Kids section contains birding activities, games, and articles tailored for young readers.

Some Other Good Birding Sites:

2) Birding http://www.birder.com/

3) Birding (BBC Education) http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/birds/

4) The Nutty Birdwatcher http://www.nuthatch.birdnature.com/

 

Bird Sounds

http://www1.nhl.nl/~ribot/english/sounds1.htm

Here you find the sounds of birds indexed by both their common and scientific names.

Other Bird Sound Sites:

1) Bird Songs http://www.math.sunysb.edu/~tony/birds/

2) Voices of the Loon http://www.gmnphotography.com/voices.htm

 

Zoom Birds 

http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/subjects/birds/

Zoom Birds covers bird species, birding, fossils, bird extremes (biggest, fastest, etc.), the link between dinosaurs and birds, bird anatomy, backyard birding, bird as symbols, classification, evolution, jokes, classroom activities, and more.

 

Websites By Kids For Kids (ThinkQuest & ThinkQuest Junior)

The Nest: Nick and Sam's Bird Page 

http://tqjunior.advanced.org/3879/

This is all about birds. It tells you about the best feeders and food for each kind of bird. It also has a bird game.

 

Endangered Birds of Prey 

http://tqjunior.advanced.org/5861/

Here you find information about several endangered bird species plus protection laws and falconry.

 

Common Birds of New England 

http://tqjunior.advanced.org/5078/

The directory has information about twenty of the most commonly seen birds in New England. Other features include bird watching tips, how to attract birds, unuasual facts, and more.

 

The Wonderous World of Exotic Birds 

http://tqjunior.advanced.org/3556/

Here you can find information about toucans, ospreys, bald eagles, puffins, owls, and more. 

 

A Flock More Birdsites

A to Z of Birds

http://edu.leeds.ac.uk/~edu/technology/epb97/forest/azbirds.htm

Learn about birds' beaks, eggs, and feet! Read up on the barn owl, blackbird, and other birds.

 

Aliens Explore Earth: Birds 

http://www.alienexplorer.com/ecology/topic26.html

Site contains articles on a bunch of different types of birds (Written for middle school students).

 

Bird On! 

http://birdcare.com/birdon/welcome_text.html

These wild bird pages include pictures, descriptions of individual birds, and a dictionary of bird information.

 

Birds (Canadian Museum of Nature) 

http://www.nature.ca/notebooks/english/birdpg.htm

:Here you can find information and drawings of a huge variety of birds, from chickens to pelicans to the Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker.

 

BirdNet 

http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/index.html

BirdNet provides this giant information site about ornithology, the scientific study of birds.

 

BirdSource 

http://birdsource.cornell.edu/index.html

This site promotes bird watching, education, and conservation. Includes information on different species, bird counts, and what you can do to help.

 

Kaytee Discovery Zone 

http://www.kaytee.com/discovery/

Learn about different bird habitats and the birds which live there. Also find out about bird anatomy, diet, scientific classification, and more.

Another Kaytee Bird Page:

(2) Wild Birds http://www.kaytee.com/wild/

 

Life of Birds 

http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/

Here is the companion site to the PBS show by David Attenborough. It has information on bird songs, evolution, bird parenthood, and lots more.

 

National Audubon Society 

http://www.audubon.org/

This official site of the Audubon organization contains information about bird conservation, bird species, Audubon adventures (Kids & Education section), and much more.

 

Peterson Online: Birds 

http://www.petersononline.com/

This site includes the Bird Watcher's Digest and special feature birds. There are also tips on identifying those tricky species.

 

Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center 

http://web2.si.edu/smbc/

Find information about the migratory habits of many kinds of birds. Includes fact sheets, a bird of the month, and conservation information.

 

Summer Snacks for Birds (National Wildlife Federation) 

http://www.nwf.org/rangerrick/1998/jun98/sumfeed.html

Here are easy ways you can invite birds to snack. Summer's a great time to feed them.

 

WatchList for Kids (Audubon Adventures) 

http://www.audubon.org/bird/watch/kids/index.html

By taking action now, you can help prevent these at-risk birds from becoming threatened or

endangered birds on the brink of extinction. Take a look at the WatchList and learn what it's all about. 

 

Websites for Specific Types of Birds

Go to our Birds Website for an index to over 100 websites on specific bird species.

 

Website for Teachers

Birds by Patricia Shawcross and Tonya Tehranie (Thematic unit, third grade) 

http://www.libsci.sc.edu/miller/birds.htm

Students will explore endangered species of birds located in the U.S. and expand their knowledge of preservation and basic facts about endangered birds.

 

Bird Songs (Newton's Apple) 

http://www.pbs.org/ktca/newtons/13/songb.html

How does a bird learn its song? Why does it sing? What is a bird "saying" when it sings? Guide learners in finding the answers with this lesson plan.

 

Broad-winged Hawk by Dr. Nancy Cothern (Grade 1-3, Soarin' Hawk Raptor Rehabilitation) 

http://www.soarinhawk.org/l-bwh.html

Learners investigate the appearance, habitat, and living habits of the broad-winged hawk. 

 

Classroom FeederWatch 

http://birds.cornell.edu/cfw/

Involve your students in identifying and counting birds that visit their feeders, using the Internet to share data with scientists, analyzing data to answer their own questions, using their findings to describe how the natural world works, and publishing results in Classroom Birdscope, a newsletter written and designed by students.

 

Everyday Birds (Teachnet) 

http://teachnet.com/lesson/misc/birds041499.html

Read some ideas for the classroom and find a few links for the study of birds.