Feathered

Friends

by Daphne Greaves
illustrated by Holly M. Jones
 Feathered
Friends
by Daphne Greaves
illustrated by Holly M. Jones

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ISBN 10: 0-15-351525-2

ISBN 13: 978-0-15-351525-5

Ordering Options
ISBN 10: 0-15-351214-8 (Grade 4 Advanced Collection)
ISBN 13: 978-0-15-351214-8 (Grade 4 Advanced Collection)
ISBN 10: 0-15-358115-8 (package of 5)
ISBN 13: 978-0-15-358115-1 (package of 5)

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 Characters
Narrator 1 Narrator 2 Ranger Ellen
Ranger Mark Sam Ava
Joe Emma Alec
Darlene Bill Tia
Josh Beth

Setting: A wildlife refuge in Texas

Narrator 1: A group of fourth-grade students are at Aransas/

Matagorda Island National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. They are
there to help the rangers with a bird count.

Narrator 2: The students will be identifying and counting different

types of birds. First, the rangers want to give the students some
background.

Narrator 1: Let’s listen in as the students encircle the rangers to

hear what they have to say.

Ranger Ellen: The first annual Christmas Bird Count was in 1900.

Ranger Mark: At one time, hunters would go out

every December 25 to hunt birds. After 1900,
the tradition became that bird hunters
only counted the birds.

Sam: Is that what we’re going to do?

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Ranger Mark: Yes, it is. Today there are many other bird counts
in addition to the annual Christmas count.

Ava: Like the one we’re having here at the refuge.

Ranger Ellen: That’s right, Ava.

Ava: What are we supposed to do?

Ranger Ellen: That’s a good question. You’ll each go out with your
team for an hour. Watch the birds, and count how many you see.

Joe: So the team that counts the most birds wins?

Ranger Ellen: That’s right.

Emma: Let’s go!

Ranger Mark: Hold on, Emma. There are a few more things you
need to know. As well as counting the birds, you have to record
the types of birds you see. We are giving each group a bird guide.
It has the names and pictures of many birds.

Emma: What a great idea. Let’s go now!

4
Ranger Ellen: We have to tell you how to count the birds first.
You have to make sure you don’t count the same bird more than
once. For example, don’t add another sparrow to your total every
time you see a sparrow.

Ranger Mark: Only record the highest number of birds you see
all together at one time.

Ranger Ellen: Some birds are solitary, so you will only see one of
them at a time. Other birds stay in groups. They could be harder
to count.

Ranger Mark: For example, during the hour, you might see a
group of three sparrows. You write that down. Later in the hour,
you see a group of five sparrows, so you write that down. Much
later you see a group of two sparrows. You would not write down
the two sparrows because you had already seen a group of five.

Ranger Ellen: So your record book would look like this. Sparrows:
3, 5. High count = 5. Only the 5 goes into the final count.

Alec: I get it. That would mean that all together we could assume
we saw five individual sparrows.

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Ranger Ellen: Very good, Alec. Does everyone understand?

All the Students: Yes!

Ranger Ellen: Okay, Emma, what do you say?

Emma: Let’s go?

Ranger Mark and Ranger Ellen: That’s right! Let’s go!

Narrator 1: The rangers divided the students into the Red, Green,
and Blue Teams.

Narrator 2: Each team will scan and inspect a different area of

the refuge.

Narrator 1: I wonder which team will count the most birds and
win the contest.

Narrator 2: Only time will tell. Let’s look in on the

Red Team. I’d like to see how they’re doing.

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Joe: Okay, Red Team, let’s get organized. I think we should
look over the guidebook before we start.

Darlene: That’s a good idea. They have tips in here that tell
how to identify birds.

Bill: What does it say?

Darlene: First, you should move very delicately when you are
around birds.

Joe: That makes sense. Birds have very good hearing and
eyesight. They may be reluctant to get too close to us.

Darlene: Let’s be careful not to scare them away.

Joe: Hang on—I have to untangle my shoelaces before we

get going!

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 Bill: What else does the guide say?

Darlene: It says you can identify birds by their flight.

Joe: That means the way they move through the air. Some birds
flap their wings up and down very fast. Others lumber along,
soaring with their wings stretched out.

Darlene: It also says look for their size and coloring, and listen
to their songs.

Joe: Right! For instance, if you hear a high bird sound that goes
“chip, chip, chip,” you can be pretty sure that it’s a cardinal.

Bill: How do you know so much about birds?

Joe: My parents are bird-watchers.

Darlene: I’m impressed. I bet we have a good chance of

winning the contest.

Joe: I hope so.

Bill: Come on, let’s get going.

8
 Narrator 1: The Red Team was smart to take a look at the
guidebook.

Narrator 2: It certainly helps to be informed. Let’s see how

the Blue Team is doing.

Emma: Look! Some birds.

Tia: Does anyone know what they are?

Josh: I don’t. I’ve never paid much attention to birds before.

Emma: They’re so pretty, though.

Josh: Look at the colors on that one.

Emma: It’s such a bright yellow.

Tia: Look at its tail. It’s a beautiful greenish-gray color.

Josh: What kind of bird is it?

American Goldfinch

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 Tia: Look at this picture in the guide. I think the bird is an
American goldfinch.

Josh: It sure looks like the picture.

Emma: What does the guide say about it?

Tia: It says that a mature American goldfinch is bright

yellow with a black forehead. Goldfinches like to be around
streams, and in the winter, they fly as far south as Mexico.

Emma: There’s another one!

Josh : Let’s start counting!

Narrator 1: The Blue Team sure is exuberant.

Narrator 2: Who can blame them? It’s nice to be outside

looking at birds and listening to them sing.

Narrator 1: You know, they say that once you start bird-
watching, you never want to cease.

Narrator 2: I can certainly see why. Let’s check in on the

Green Team.

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 Sam: What is that honking noise?

Beth: It’s coming from over there! Wow! Look at that giant bird
on the water!

Beth: It must be as tall as a person!

Sam: Look in the guidebook. Let’s see what it is.

Alec: See this picture in the book? I think our giant friend is a—

Beth: Whooping crane!

Sam: I think you’re right. It’s mostly white like the bird in the
picture. It also has the same black and red patch on its head.

Alec: The guide says that whooping cranes stand nearly five
feet (1.52 m) tall. They have a wingspan of seven feet (2.13 m).

Beth: Look! Look! It’s spreading its wings. This bird is very
nimble and flexible. That is incredible and inspiring!

Alec: Oh, look at the black color on the tip of its wings. It
perfectly matches the description in the guide.

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Beth: What else does the guide say?

Alec: Whooping cranes eat crabs, berries, crayfish, and frogs.

Beth: Yuck, frogs!

Alec: They mate for life and travel in pairs or as a family. Listen
to this, team.

Sam: What?

Alec: It says in the book that whooping cranes are an endangered

species.

Sam: You mean they’re dying out?

Alec: Well, they’re vulnerable, but places like this refuge nurture
and protect them. It’s helping them to make a comeback.

Beth: That’s good. They are so beautiful and unique.

Alec: Come on. Let’s see whether we can spot the rest of the family.

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Narrator 1: The hour is up, and it’s time for our student
bird-watchers to report back to the rangers.

Narrator 2: Let’s see how our teams did.

Joe: We saw a great blue heron!

Emma: We saw the most beautiful American goldfinches!

Tia: We saw some spotted sandpipers and Canada geese!

Alec: Well, we saw an entire family of whooping cranes!

All the Students: Wow! Great! Listen!

13
Ranger Ellen: It sounds like you all had a great time. We’re glad.

Ranger Mark: It looks like the Red Team had the highest count,
so they are our winners.

The Blue and Green Teams: Congratulations, Red Team!

Ranger Ellen: All our teams should be congratulated.

Sam: Why?

Ranger Ellen: Well, we all won today. The information you

gathered will be used by scientists to comprehend new things
about birds to help them survive.

Ranger Mark: This information will help us begin to understand

why some birds are more pliable and can adjust to changing
temperatures.

Ranger Ellen: We’ll be able to compare the movement of birds

this year with past years.

Emma: And, we also had a lot of fun!

Ranger Ellen: That’s right, Emma. That’s important too.

Sam: Okay, congratulations to all of us!

Everyone: Congratulations! Hooray!

14
 Think Critically
1. What does the title tell you about this Readers’
Theater?

2. What details does this Readers’ Theater give

about the whooping cranes? How are people
able to help this endangered species?

3. What kind of help do the rangers need? What

are these students doing to help them?

4. Why do you think the author wrote this

Readers’ Theater?

5. Would you like to participate in a bird count?

Explain your answer.

Science
Research Birds Choose a bird and create a page about
the bird that might appear in a bird guidebook. Look in an
encyclopedia to find out information about your bird. Then draw
a picture of the bird and write a description of it. You may wish
to include other information, such as what the bird eats, where
it lives, and its song.

School-Home Connection Borrow a bird guide

from the library. Take a walk in your neighborhood with
a family member. See how many birds you can identify.

Word Count: 1,454 (1,456)

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