BIRDS
PRE READING
TASKS
New
words:
ornithology, ostrich, beak,
predators, feathers, hummingbird, penguin, hard-shelled
eggs
Ex.1 Answer to the
questions?
-
What kind of birds do you
know?
-
Which is the largest bird in
the world?
-
Do parrots know what they are
talking about?
-
Why some birds like Ostrich,
Kiwi and Penguins are flightless?
-
What is the smallest bird in
the world?
-
Which is the fastest flying
bird?
WHILE READING
TASKS
Ex. 2 Find out from the
text. Are these sentences true are
false?
-
Ornithology is the study of
insects.
-
A scientist who studies birds
is called an ornithologist.
-
All flying animals are
birds.
-
The fastest running
bird is the penguin, but it
cannot fly.
-
Modern-day birds do not have any
teeth
-
Most birds are insectivores
(they eat insects)
-
Birds (like
the toucan) are carnivores
(meat-eaters)
-
Cowbirds, lay their eggs in
other bird's nests
Ex.3 Complete the sentences
with the words in the box
ostrich, bee
hummingbird, peregrine falcon,
gentoo
penguins
-
The largest bird is
the ______
. It can grow up to
9 feet (2.7 m) tall. The _____also lays the largest birds' eggs
which are up to 4.5 x 7 inches (11 x 18 cm) across
and , weigh 3 pounds (1400
g).
2. The smallest bird is the
______ which is 2.5 inches long ( 6.2 cm) weighing
only 0.06 oz (1.6 g). ______ lay the smallest birds' eggs. They
always lay 2 at a time, each the size of a person's small
fingernail.
3. The only backwards and sideways flyer is
the _____-
!
4. The fastest flying
bird the_____ , clocked at 90
mph (145 kph).
5.______
are the fastest swimming
birds.
ALL ABOUT
BIRDS
Ornithology is the study of birds. A
scientist who studies birds is called an
ornithologist.
|
Birds are warm-blooded vertebrate animals that have wings,
feathers, a beak , no
teeth a skeleton in which many bones are fused together or are
absent, and an extremely efficient,, one-way breathing system.
Flying birds have strong, hollow bones and powerful flight
muscles.
M ost birds can fly.
Birds have a very strong heart and an efficient way of breathing -
these are necessary for birds to fly. Birds also use a lot of
energy while flying and need to eat a lot of food to power their
flight.
Not all flying animals are
birds, and not all birds can fly. The ability to fly has developed
independently many times throughout the history of the
Earth. Bats (flying
mammals), pterosaurs (flying reptiles from
the time of the dinosaurs), and flying insects are not
birds.
MOVING: Flying, Running, and
Swimming
The fastest running
bird is the ostrich, but it
cannot fly. The ostrich is also the fastest two-legged runner of
all the animals on Earth. The
ostrich is the largest bird.
|
The locomotion of birds is quite varied; most can fly, some
can run very well , some
swim , and
some do combinations of these. Some
birds cannot
fly.
Most birds can fly. Flying birds' wings are shaped to provide lift,
allowing them to fly. These light-weight animals have adapted to
their environment by flying, which makes them efficient hunters,
lets them escape from hungry predators (like cats), and takes them
away from harsh weather (migration).
The peregrine falcon is one of the fastest birds, and has been
clocked at 90 miles per hour in a dive (and some people say that
they can dive at over
200 mph).
Feathers:
T here are different types of
feathers and they each have different uses.
Feathers are used for:
-
Flying - flight feathers, grow in the
wings and the tail.
-
Thermal
insulation - soft down feathers
that grow close to the skin keep birds from getting too cold or too
hot
-
Courtship and mating
displays - these vary
tremendously from species to species.
Diet:
Modern-day birds do not have any teeth
(ancient birds did have teeth). Birds have a tongue, but unlike our
tongue, a bird's tongue has a bone in
it.
Birds spend most of their time
looking for food. Most birds are insectivores (they eat insects).
Some birds, like owls and eagles, are carnivores
(meat-eaters). Some birds, like
the hummingbird, grouse,
and Canada
goose, are mostly herbivores
(plant-eaters). Other birds, like starlings, are omnivores (plant-
and meat-eaters). Some birds (like
the toucan) are fructivore
(fruit-eaters)
Birds mostly use their keen
eyesight to find food. They use their beak and their claws to get
bugs ,
worms , small
mammals ,
fish ,
fruit , grain, or
nectar .
Birds play a very important part in the natural control
of insects
and in the
dispersal of seeds. Some birds, like the tiny,
nectar-eating hummingbirdare important pollinators of
some flowering
plants .
Nests and
Eggs:
Birds bear their young
in hard-shelled
eggs which hatch after some
time. Some birds, like chickens, lay eggs each day, others (like
the maleo) may go for years between laying
eggs.
B irds
build nests for
breeding in trees, on cliffs, or
on the ground. Most birds are taken care of by at least one parent
until they are able to fly and get their own food.
The incubation period of bird eggs varies from species to species.
There's also some variability due to the
temperature.
Some birds, like
old-world cuckoos and some cowbirds, lay
their eggs in other bird's nests. The non-related adult bird takes
care of the cuckoo's egg unwittingly. Some cuckoos even kill the
other eggs in the nest to insure that their egg gets enough
food.
POST – READING
TASKS
Ex.4 Match the bird’s beak
to their food
E x.5 Hunt
for the words shown on the list below, then circle them as you find
them.