Welcome to Quarter 2! Do you need to go back to Quarter 1? Forward to Quarter 3?

Day 46*

1. Read the page about bird flight, continuing down and reading the section about argentavis.
2. Watch the video about the birds’ secret to flying super high.
3. Watch the video about argentavis, the largest known flying bird in history.
4. Print out the second quarter grading sheet and save it for later.

Day 47

1. Albatrosses fly with a technique called dynamic soaring. Read all about it!
2. Watch the video about how albatrosses can fly for so long without using much energy.

Day 48

1. Read the section that begins “Of course, most birds flap their wings…” Continue reading until the video measuring magpie flight energy.
2. Watch the video of a seagull in flight.
3. Watch the video about how birds can fly in strong winds.

Day 49

1. Read about bird flight patterns.
2. Play the video and identify the flight pattern. Click ‘identify another pattern’ and try again until you have identified all five of the flight patterns.

Day 50

1. Read the section that begins “Hummingbirds flying in the rain…” and read two paragraphs.
2. Watch the video “a hummingbird in a rainstorm.”
3. Continue your bird count! (If you are using the paper version and yours is full, you can print another copy of the tally sheet on day 5.) Go outside and count all birds you see or hear for 15 minutes. Try to identify the birds and count how many of each you notice. Save your count sheet (or if you are using the app, be sure you are logged in so your count will be saved.)

Day 51*

1. Watch the video about different strategies birds use to fly together.
2. Print page 1 of the PDF and use the video to answer the questions. Check your answers and record your score out of 6.
3. Watch a flock of starlings fly in a strange formation called a “murmuration.”

Day 52

1. Of course, not all birds fly. Some birds rely entirely on walking, running, or swimming to get around. Birds that regularly travel on the ground often have longer legs. Ratites like ostriches and emus have reduced the number of their toes for more efficient locomotion.
2. Look at a closeup view of an ostrich walking. See its toes?
3.Watch this video of an emu running around his enclosure. Watch his legs!
4. Look at this image of the skeleton of a walking bird (northern lapwing). Observe the differences in the leg bones compared to a flying bird (sparrow).

Day 53

1. Read the paragraph that begins “Waddling makes most of…” The waddling of a penguin may look inefficient, but it uses less energy than human walking!
2. Watch the video about penguin waddling!

Day 54

1. Read the paragraph about avian head bobbing.
2. Watch this video of a kingfisher keeping its head steady while it sits on a swaying reed. How do birds do that?
3. According to the National Audubon Society, birds are less able than humans to stabilize their gaze by making movements with their eyes. Instead, they focus on stabilizing their heads.

By keeping their head steady, birds like the kingfisher don’t have to rely on their eyes alone for image stabilization, says David Dickman, a neuroscience professor at Baylor College of Medicine. “The branch is blowing all over the place, so if the bird’s head wasn’t locked to gravity and stable in space, then they would constantly have to be moving the eyes to maintain [focus].” And depending largely on eye movement to control stabilization, as many vertebrates do, is not advantageous for birds, Lentink says. When birds are in high-intensity motion, their heads become a stable platform. Large movement in the eyes takes away from that stability and thus reduces the accuracy of visual information. “You don’t want to have moving eyes,” he says.

4. Here is a funny commercial about someone using a chicken to stabilize their camera using this characteristic. If you have access to a chicken, you can try moving their body around and watching how they hold their head still.

Day 55

1. Read the three paragraphs about birds adapted for climbing.
2. Watch the video of a treecreeper climbing the bark of a tree.
3. Watch the video of a woodpecker climbing down a tree.
4. Continue your bird count! (If you are using the paper version and yours is full, you can print another copy of the tally sheet on day 5.) Go outside and count all birds you see or hear for 15 minutes. Try to identify the birds and count how many of each you notice. Save your count sheet (or if you are using the app, be sure you are logged in so your count will be saved.)

Day 56

1. The difference between swimming and diving birds
Birds that swim are/have

• lightweight and buoyant
• feathers have more barbules and hooklets (less permeable to water)
• well developed glands that produce secretions to keep feathers in good conditions
• webbed feet that act like oars

2. Watch the video of the tufted duck, mallard, and swan underwater. You can see that even though they swim underwater, they keep their wings tucked in and propel themselves by paddling their feet alone.
3. Birds that dive are/have

• heavier and less buoyant
• feet located further back on the body
• smaller, muscular wings used for “flying” underwater

4. Watch the video of the puffin swimming. Notice how the feet are tucked back while the wings do the work.
5. Here is another video, of birds called surf scoters. You can see that sometimes they propel themselves mostly with their feet (although their wings are partially extended for steering) and sometimes they propel themselves with their wings.

Day 57

1. Read about the way emperor penguins get out of the water.
2. Watch the video of emperor penguins shooting out of the water onto the ice!
3. Read about why divers have small wings.

Day 58

1. Watch the video about the function of bird feet.
2. This video is talking about the main functions of bird feet. Study these bird feet flash cards. (Make sure you sign into Quizlet, or you will not be able to see all of them!)

Day 59*

1. Watch the video about crafting a “proper” bird foot.
2. Read the section about bird toe arrangements. (STOP when you get to “claws.”)
3. Print page 1 of the PDF and identify the bird toe configurations. Check your answers and record your score out of 5.

Day 60*

1. Read the section about webbing and lobation in the feet of water birds. (Stop at “Thermal Regulation.”)
2. Print page 1 of the PDF and identify the types of water bird feet. Check your answers and record your score out of 4.
3. Watch the video of the coot eating water plants. What type of feet does it have?
4. Continue your bird count! (If you are using the paper version and yours is full, you can print another copy of the tally sheet on day 5.) Go outside and count all birds you see or hear for 15 minutes. Try to identify the birds and count how many of each you notice. Save your count sheet (or if you are using the app, be sure you are logged in so your count will be saved.)

Day 61*

1. We’re going to move on from locomotion and discuss the various sounds that birds make. Read the nine most important things to know about bird song.
2. Print page 1 of the PDF and use the website to answer the questions. Check your answers and record your score out of 8.

Day 62*

1. Visit ‘songbirds in action‘ and click “play the videos.” There are nine different birds to click on, each one with a video of the bird singing. Watch and listen to each one, and read the information next to the video. Some of this will repeat what we learned yesterday, but it’s good to review.
2. Print page 1 of the PDF and use the information you read to answer the questions. Check your answers and record your score out of 6.

Day 63

1. Visit this page again. Click the + on the right hand side and select number 4, “How Birds Sing.” Click ‘Animate the Syrix’ and explore all 4 animations. Don’t miss the button that says ‘play 1/4 speed!’
2. Watch the video about a bird’s vocal apparatus.

Day 64*

1. Watch the video “How Birds Sing.”
2. Print page 1 of the PDF and use the video to answer the questions. Check your answers and record your score out of 7.

Day 65

1. Read the article about the lyrebird and how it mimics so many sounds!
2. Watch the video of David Attenborough and a lyrebird that sounds like a chainsaw!
3. Continue your bird count! (If you are using the paper version and yours is full, you can print another copy of the tally sheet on day 5.) Go outside and count all birds you see or hear for 15 minutes. Try to identify the birds and count how many of each you notice. Save your count sheet (or if you are using the app, be sure you are logged in so your count will be saved.)

Day 66*

1. Only three groups of birds are known to learn their songs: songbirds, hummingbirds, and parrots. Today let’s talk about the interesting vocalizations of parrots! Watch the video “why can parrots talk?”
2. Print page 1 of the PDF and use the video to answer the questions. Check your answers and record your score out of 6.

Day 67

1. Read the section that begins “Low frequency calls of cassowaries…”.
2. Watch the video of the wild female southern cassowary calling.
3. Listen to more cassowary sounds.

Day 68

1. Watch the video about imitating bird calls and understanding their functions.

Day 69

1. Watch this episode of the “Secret Life of Birds” about the dawn chorus.

Day 70

1. Now we are going to spend some time learning about the geography of birds – where they live, and why different types live in different places. Read the beginning of “Bird Biogeography.” Stop at the picture of Hesperornis regalis.
2. Factors that control bird distribution can include: evolution, climatic change, shifting vegetation, weather disasters, diseases, rapid dispersal, ecological adaptation, competition between species, and barriers.
3. Continue your bird count! (If you are using the paper version and yours is full, you can print another copy of the tally sheet on day 5.) Go outside and count all birds you see or hear for 15 minutes. Try to identify the birds and count how many of each you notice. Save your count sheet (or if you are using the app, be sure you are logged in so your count will be saved.)

Day 71

1. Watch the video about when penguins went from the sky to the sea.
2. Read the article “Why Are there No Penguins in the North Pole?”
3. Factors such as uncomfortably warm waters around the equator, lack of islands to “hop” further north with, and a greater abundance of land predators have been used as explanations for why penguins have not spread into the waters of the northern hemisphere. Penguins provide an excellent example of how environmental factors can constrain the spread of a bird population.

Day 72

1. Watch the video “When Birds Stopped Flying,” about the global distribution of ratites.
2. Look at the map of the distribution of today’s ratites, and then read the article “Evolution Made Ridiculous Flightless Birds Over and Over.”

Day 73*

1. Read about zoogeography.
2. Print page 1 of the PDF and use this image to label your map. Check your answers and record your score out of 6.

Day 74*

1. Read about endemic bird families. Be sure to click on the links to take a look at the birds from each area.
2. Print page 1 of the PDF and use the link to fill out your worksheet.

Day 75

1. A modern example of birds expanding their range is the cattle egret. As little as 150 years ago, cattle egrets were not found in North or South America, with the first sightings occurring in South America in 1877. Breeding populations were first discovered in the United States in only 1953, but this enterprising bird has settled in quite comfortably. Look at the map of the cattle egret’s expansion.
2. Watch the video about the amazing expansion of the cattle egret.
3. Continue your bird count! (If you are using the paper version and yours is full, you can print another copy of the tally sheet on day 5.) Go outside and count all birds you see or hear for 15 minutes. Try to identify the birds and count how many of each you notice. Save your count sheet (or if you are using the app, be sure you are logged in so your count will be saved.)

Day 76

1. Read about the diversity of avifauna (bird species) around the world.
2. Take a look at the zoogeographic map again. The Oriental and Australasian realms are very close together – why are the species in each so different from each other? A British naturalist named Alfred Russel Wallace wondered the same thing. He drew a boundary between the two regions known today as the Wallace Line. (Look at it here!)
3. Watch the video about the Wallace Line.

Day 77

1. Now we are going to take a look at some of the most notable bird species or families in each zoogeographic realm. One of the most remarkable bird species in the Nearctic is the junco! Why is the junco so special? It is noted for its wide and seemingly rapid diversification. (See map) Although these juncos all look very different, they are able to easily interbreed – meaning they are still considered the same species.
2. Watch the video about the scientists studying juncos.
3. Next watch a video about dark-eyed juncos.

Day 78

1. The closest thing the Nearctic has to an endemic bird family is the family Meleagridinae (turkeys). It contains only two living species, the wild turkey, and the ocellated turkey. The wild turkey’s range is almost exclusively in the United States, with some populated areas in Mexico, but the ocellated turkey is only found in the Yucatan Peninsula – which is in the Neotropical realm.
2. Watch this video of an ocellated turkey calling. What differences do you notice between it and the North American wild turkey? What similarities are there?
3. The ocellated turkey has also been called the “peacock of turkeys.” Watch the video of one displaying in Belize.

Day 79

1. Next up is the Neotropical realm, and there is a lot to see here! Today watch “Wingbeats to the Amazon,” a documentary about South American birds.

Day 80

1. Although there are several hummingbird species native to North America, by far the most hummingbird species can be found in central and South America. Scroll through the pictures of different hummingbird species to get an idea of some of the different ones, and study the distribution map on the left.
2. Watch the video “the world’s longest beak.”
3. Watch the video “two hummingbirds battle for nectar.”
4. Continue your bird count! (If you are using the paper version and yours is full, you can print another copy of the tally sheet on day 5.) Go outside and count all birds you see or hear for 15 minutes. Try to identify the birds and count how many of each you notice. Save your count sheet (or if you are using the app, be sure you are logged in so your count will be saved.)

Day 81

1. The family Furnariidae consists of ovenbirds and woodcreepers. They are not endemic to the Neotropical (see range map) but are one of the dominant groups of birds in South America. Scroll through the pictures to get an idea of what the species in this family look like.
2. Watch the video about the red ovenbird.
3. Watch how ovenbirds build their nests.

Day 82

1. The last Neotropical family we are going to look at is the tanager family. As you can see from the range map, they are endemic to South and Central America. Tanagers are the second-largest family of birds in the world, making up 4% of all bird species and 12% of birds in the Neotropical. The tanager family includes many beautiful and brightly colored birds.
2. Scroll through the pictures to get an idea of the variety in this family.
3. Watch the video about the 10 most beautiful tanagers in the world.

Day 83

1. As we say goodbye to the Neotropics, watch the vintage documentary, “Realm of the Rhea.” Notice the appearance by the ovenbird in the middle!

Day 84

1. The Ethiopian realm (also known as the Afrotropical) is home to about 1800 species of birds. It has a lot of grassland, savanna and desert habitats. Today we’re going to talk about weaverbirds!
2. Weaverbirds, from the family ploceidae, are endemic to Africa and parts of Asia. Take a look at the range map and click through the pictures of the birds in this family.
3. Watch the video about weaverbirds and how they make their nests.

Day 85

1. Only a few bird families are endemic to the Ethiopian/Afrotropical, including Struthionidae – ostriches.
2. Watch the video about the development of communal nesting in ostriches.
3. Continue your bird count! (If you are using the paper version and yours is full, you can print another copy of the tally sheet on day 5.) Go outside and count all birds you see or hear for 15 minutes. Try to identify the birds and count how many of each you notice. Save your count sheet (or if you are using the app, be sure you are logged in so your count will be saved.)

Day 86

1. The bird family scopidae is endemic to the Ethiopian realm, but contains only one species, the hammerkop. Look at the range map.
2. Watch the video of a pair of hammerkop building their nest.

Day 87

1. Another single species family endemic to the Ethiopian realm is the secretary bird. Look at the range map and picture of a secretary bird. The secretary bird is notable for its long, tough legs, which it uses to kill snakes.
2. Watch the video about secretary birds.
3. Watch another video about secretary birds.

Day 88

1. Turacos are another family that is endemic to the Ethiopian realm. There are 23 different species of turaco, so there is more variety in this family than in the last two we have studied. Look at the range map and the pictures to see the variety in the turaco family.
2. Watch the video “The 10 Most Beautiful Turacos in the World.”

Day 89

1. The Ethiopian realm also serves as a wintering ground for many species from the Palearctic. Take a look at the map. Map A shows where up to 68 species of Palearctic birds winter, with darker green areas representing areas where more species converge. Map B shows areas of Africa with the most rainfall. More species tend to congregate in areas with more sun, rain, and plant growth.
2. Although the Ethiopian realm is at approximately the same latitude as the Neotropical, it has less than half as many avian species as well as fewer endemic species.
3. The Ethiopian realm includes Madagascar! Nearly half the species found on Madagascar are found nowhere else. Most species of birds in Madagascar, including 80 of the 109 endemic species, are found only in forest habitats. One of the most famous birds native to Madagascar is actually extinct: the world’s largest ratite, the elephant bird.
4. Watch the video “The Tale of the Elephant Bird.”

Day 90

1. Called “the rarest duck in the world,” the Madagascar pochard was thought to be extinct before a small population of them was discovered in 2006. Read about saving the Madagascar pochard.
2. Watch the video about how conservation efforts are increasing the population of Madagascar pochards.
3. Continue your bird count! (If you are using the paper version and yours is full, you can print another copy of the tally sheet on day 5.) Go outside and count all birds you see or hear for 15 minutes. Try to identify the birds and count how many of each you notice. Save your count sheet (or if you are using the app, be sure you are logged in so your count will be saved.)
4. Tally up your score for this quarter. Be sure to save this grading sheet.

You’ve finished Quarter 2! Move ahead to Quarter 3!