Brilliant Bird Beaks: An Experiment to Understand Animal Adaptation

Grade Level: 1st - 5th; T ype: Biology/Physiology

Object ive:
The objective of this project is to identify and understand adaptations in birds.
Through experimentation with models of bird beak shapes and different types of
bird food the student will grasp the importance of physical adaptations to an
organisms survival.

Research Quest ions:

How might the shape and structure of a birds beak affect how and what it
eats?
What structural and behavioral adaptations do the animals that are native to
your hometown have?
Which birds are native to your area? What are the shapes of their beaks?
What is a trait? How are these traits passed down from generation to generation?
What are some human adaptations?
How can I make a data table?
What is a bar graph?
Adaptations are how a plant or animal is built or how it behaves that allow it to survive in its environment. There
are two main types of adaptations: structural (or physical) and behavioral. A structural adaptation is part of the
organisms body (i.e. birds-wings, humans-opposable thumbs). Behavioral adaptations are, as the name infers,
the way the organism behaves that allows it to survive (i.e. birds-migration, opossum-plays dead). Understanding
that plants and animals are specially adapted to specific habitats is not only fascinating, but is also related to real
world issues such as habitat loss and environmental conservation. Understanding animal adaptations leads to an
understanding of human invention and engineering. Weve borrowed many ideas from animals to help construct
items that let us adapt ourselves to different activities (i.e. snorkels for breathing under water, the bird-like shape
of airplanes, camouflage material, etc.)

Mat erials:
All materials can be found around the home or readily purchased at the grocery store or hardware store.
Straw
Butter Knife
Fork
Pliers
Tweez ers
Toothpick/chopstick
Strainer
6 plastic cups
Water
Narrow necked vase
Marshmallows
Needle and thread
Sunflower seeds
Yarn or string
Potting soil
Swedish fish candies
Confetti
4 Bowls
Plate
Stopwatch
Bird Field Guide

Experiment al Procedure:
1. Find someone who will time your experiments for you with the stopwatch. They can also help you set up
the experiments.
2. Find pictures of the following birds in your bird field guide: Broad Winged Hawk, Hummingbird, Grosbeak,

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Robin, Mallard Duck, Great Blue Heron. Look at each of the birds beaks. Make a prediction about how each
bird uses its beak to eat. (For example: Does it use it like a spear? Like a straw?) Write your predictions in
your science notebook.
Collect together the straw, pliers, tweez ers, toothpick (or chopstick) and strainer. These tools are going to
represent your bird beaks. You will also need the 6 cups. The cups represent your bird stomach.
Set up the first experiment. Fill the vase with water. The object of this first experiment is to find out which
beak will work best at moving the water from the vase into your stomach (cup).
When you are ready have your assistant time you for 30 seconds using each tool or beak. After you have
used each tool write down how much water you were able to move from the vase into your stomach.
Make a table like the one below to keep track of your data. (Table 1)
Set up your second experiment. Thread a needle with a long piece of thread. Push the needle through a
marshmallow until you have several on the thread. The object of this experiment is to see how many
marshmallows you can remove from the string and put in your stomach in the 30 seconds.
When you are ready have your assistant time you for 30 seconds using each tool or beak. After you have
used each tool write down in your data table how many marshmallows you pulled off of the thread and
whether it was easy or difficult.
For your third experiment fill a bowl with sunflower seeds. The object of this experiment is to see how
many seeds you can crack open in 30 seconds.
When you are ready have your assistant time you for 30 seconds using each tool or beak. After you have
used each tool write down in your data table how many seeds you were able to crack and put in your
stomach.
To set up your fourth experiment fill one of the bowls with potting soil. Cut pieces of string into lengths of 2
inches. Bury many pieces of string in the soil. The object of this experiment is to see how many pieces of
string you can dig up and place in your stomach.
.When you are ready have your assistant time you for 30 seconds using each tool or beak. After you have
used each tool write down in your data table how many pieces of string you were able to pull out and put in
your stomach.
Fill a bowl up with water for your sixth experiment. Float Swedish fish in the water. The object of this
experiment is to see how many Swedish fish you can pick up and put in your stomach.
When you are ready have your assistant time you for 30 seconds using each tool or beak. After you have
used each tool write down in your data table how many Swedish fish you were able to pick up and put in
your stomach.
For your final experiment fill the last bowl with water. Sprinkle confetti in the water. The object of this
experiment is to see how much confetti you can pick up and put in your stomach.
When you are ready have your assistant time you for 30 seconds using each tool or beak. After you have
used each tool write down in your data table how much confetti you were able to pick up and put in your
stomach.
Now you have tested all of your tools or beaks. Look back at your bird field guide pictures and the
predictions you made. Which birds have beaks that were like your tools? What do these birds eat? Does
the data you collected by modeling birds beaks and different types of food make sense with the bird facts
you have read?
To show what youve learned, construct a bar graph of the amount of food you ate with each tool. See the
example below. (Figure 1)
(Optional) Find a spot outdoors where you can observe wildlife. This might be in your yard, at school, or in
a park. Be sure you have an adults permission to go to your spot. Sit quietly with a notebook. Write down
your observations of how different animals like squirrels, chipmunks, insects and birds collect and eat their
food.

T able 1

Vase wit h Wat er Marshmallow

St raw
Knife and Fork
Pliers
T weez ers
St rainer
T oot hpick
(Chopst ick)

Sunflower
seeds

St ring in soil

Swedish Fish

Confet t i

Figure 1

T erms/Concept s: Adaptation; Habitat; Structural Adaptation; Behavioral Adaptation; Survival; Gene; Trait;
Observation; Prediction; Data table; Bar graph
References:
Nolting, Karen S. Backyard Birds: Peterson Field Guides for Young Naturalists. Sandpiper, Boston,1999.
Bird Beaks http://www.backyardnature.net/birdbeak.htm
NatureWorks: Structural and Behavioral Adaptations http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep1.htm