Overview

q Background information
q Different types of Match at least Apply our
Recall the three bird knowledge
adaptations three types beaks with of physical
of adaptations their food adaptations to
source our activity
q Activity - Brilliant Beaks
q Wrap up
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Types of
Adaptations Behavioural
Structural Physiological
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Behavioural
Behavioural adaptations are what the
animal does in response to certain stimuli
to help them survive.
This could be:
• Noises
• Hibernation patterns Can you think about a
• Social behaviour behavioural adaptation that birds
• Behaviour for protection do?
4 This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
Behavioural adaptations are
the things organisms do to
survive. For example, bird calls
and migration
are behavioural adaptations
Birds migrate to move from
areas of low or decreasing
resources to areas of high or
increasing resources.
The two primary resources
being sought are food and
nesting locations
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 Structural
Structural adaptations can be the external and
internal arrangement and types of body parts.
When we look at structural adaptations of birds let’s
look at their beaks!
When you are on a walk chances
are, you'll see several different
types of birds, each with different
beaks, colouration and body
shapes.
This Photo by Unknown Author
is licensed under CC BY-SA
This Photo by Unknown Author is
6 licensed under CC BY-SA
Physiological
The organism's ability to maintain a steady
internal, physical and chemical state to cope
with changing environments.
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Activity: Brilliant Beaks
Instructions:
Extension Activity
1) Assign your team roles Graph your answers from the
table
2) Grab your materials
3) With the different 'beaks,' time
yourself to see how quickly you can What is an Ornithologist?
transfer the food to the stomach
4) Fill in the grid with the times
5) Move on to the extension activity
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Fruit Eating:
Birds that eat fruit often have very
large bills in relation to head size
enabling them to grasp and
manipulate large pieces of fruit
and break through the outer skin
to the soft fruit inside.
Aerial Fishing:
The Kingfisher has this type of long
spear like bill, which it uses to catch
small fish in a diving flight into the
water from above.
Pursuit Fishing:
Some species of aquatic birds
chase fish by diving from the
surface of a pond, lake, river or
sea
Probing:
Probing bills are characterised by a
long thin, downward curving shape
used by the bird to feed on worms
and other small invertebrates in mud
or soft ground.
Dip Netting:
Long straight upper mandible, often
with a small hooked end, and a lower
mandible that has been adapted to
hold a large fold of skin that can be
used like a net to trap fish or
crustaceans in a large gulp of water.
The water is drained off and the catch
is then swallowed. Pelicans are
perhaps the best-known examples of
birds with this type of bill.
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Wrap-up
Ornithologists study every aspect of
birds including:
- bird songs
Physiological - flight patterns
- physical appearance
- migration patterns.
Birds are genetically related to dinosaurs,
which is something else
Structural an ornithologist might study
Behavioural
Types of
adaptations
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 References
Birdlife Australia. (n.d). Find a Bird. http://birdlife.org.au/all-about- birds/australias-
birds/find-a-bird/
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