Bird Adaptations

Beaks Probing – hummingbird Drilling – woodpecker Cracking – macaw, finch Spearing – great blue heron Tearing – hawk Filtering - duck

Probing beak The hummingbird’s beak allow it to sip nectar from flowers. Some birds have probing beaks that allow them to find food in sand or mud.

Drilling beak Also referred to as a chisel-type beak, a woodpecker can locate and extract insects below the surface of a tree’s bark.

Cracking beak Many birds that eat seeds must be able to crack open the hull that surrounds the seed. Birds such as finches and sparrows do this.

Spearing Beak These birds have a beak with serrated edges and a hooked tip that helps them catch fish or minnows. The heron is such a bird.

Tearing Beak Birds of prey such as the eagle, hawk, falcon, and owl use their beak to tear their food into small pieces they can swallow.

Filtering Beak The bill of a duck is fringed to allow mud and water to escape while straining plants, seeds, and small animals for it to eat.

#1 #2 #3 Beaks 1st Trial 2nd Trail 3rd Trial 4th Trial 5th Trial Average #1 #2 #3

Activities http://askeric.org/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Biological/BIO0116.html - Animal Adaptations: Focus on Bird Beaks http://www.tenet.edu/teks/science/stacks/instruct/vistas/5th_grade.html - Eaks! Beaks! http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/pershing/birds/designabird.htm - Design a Bird