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BIRD
Watchers
Anna’s Hummingbird
BIRD watchers
Dedicated to Janet Hanson and Marc Perkowitz
Word Corner Publishing
15020 Burwood Drive
Lake Mathews, Perris, CA 92570
Bird Watchers by Carlynn McCormick
Workbook: Audubon’s Birds of America
rendered for coloring by Paul E. Kennedy
Cover Photo: Anna’s Hummingbird by Steve Byland
Greater Roadrunner, California Quail, Red-tailed Hawk,
Black-chinned Hummingbird and
Costa’s Hummingbird photos by Steve Byland
Audubon Bird Prints: Dover Electronic Clip Art®
Wild and Domestic Animals—
Magnificent Frigatebird: Dover Electronic Clip Art®
Jan Sovak Dinosaur— Workbook for this study guide
Dromaeosaurus: Dover Electronic Clip Art®
Passenger Pigeon photo: Wikipedia
Edward’s Dodo painting: Public domain
Additional Photographs: McCormick Family Album and Microsoft®
Copyright 2014
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this work may be copied
or duplicated in any form without
the express permission of the publisher
Table of Contents
Teacher Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter One: Who Was John James Audubon? . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter Two: Birds of America—Part I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Chapter Three: Birds of America—Part II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chapter Four: Birds of America—Part III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Chapter Five: Birds of America—Part IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter Six: Birds of America—Part V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Chapter Seven: Wisdom of the Owl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Chapter Eight: Bird Watching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Chapter Nine: Birds—Music and Poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Chapter Ten: Extinct or Endangered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Teacher Section
Bird Watchers
Purpose:
The purpose of this book is for students of all ages to learn about the fascinating hobby
of bird watching. It was prepared for students who already have interest in learning
more about birds but you may be able to interest all students in the world of bird
watching. You might do this by explaining that each bird contributes to its environment
and use this as an analogy to show students the wisdom of contributing to their own
family and groups. Geography is another integral part of bird watching—students learn
where different birds are found, their migration path and how birds contribute to their
local surroundings. You want to help students find a personal reason for being more
informed about birds—don’t try to teach students information without their first having a
personal reason for knowing it.
Book Format:
The Bird Watchers book presents lessons step-by-step so they are easy to learn. It
usually works best if students complete each step, one at a time, in order. To track
progress, have students put their initials and the date next to each step after it is
completed. Students should make sure they know the meaning of every word that is
used in the book. Have them use the glossary in the back of this book or a student
dictionary to find the meaning of unfamiliar words or tell them the meaning of such
words.
Materials:
Workbook: Audubon’s Birds of America rendered for adult and student
coloring by Paul E. Kennedy; published by Dover Publications, Inc., Mineola,
New York
The following materials are optional but recommended for students who would like to
include the arts as a way of making study more interactive and fun:
Colored pencils, gel pens or markers (for coloring Audubon bird illustrations)
Access to the Internet, an encyclopedia or reference books on birds for helping to
identify birds
Notebook or journal (for recording birds that have been sighted)
Binoculars for getting a better view of birds
Camera for taking bird photos
CD recording of common bird songs
Name: ______________________ Date: ____________
1. Read: Please read the following introduction:
I N T R O D U C T I O N
Who hasn’t dreamed of flying? Moving arms in such a way as to lift off the ground, soar
through sky, and gaze down at the biosphere1 below. Perhaps we all, just a little, envy
the vantage point of “a bird’s eye view.”
Do you know that when you watch birds fly, you can actually learn more about the
mechanics of flight? You might notice, for example, a bird’s size or the way its wings
are shaped influence its flight. If you look closely you will see that the tiny hummingbird
seems to hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping its wings. If you are at the beach you may
see large gulls gliding and soaring above you. By watching them for a time, you may
realize that their power to glide does not come from the flapping of wings, but rather,
from resting on upward moving air currents.
1 Biosphere: The whole area of Earth’s surface where living organisms exist—land, sea and atmosphere. Our class studied the biosphere of Earth.
What is the National Bird of India?
Besides the desire to imitate a bird in flight, is there another reason to study birds?
Learning where birds live and how they migrate teach about geography. You might
enjoy researching answers to questions such as: Why do some bird species live in a
certain area? Why do different birds take similar migration paths? What is the historic
significance behind state or national birds? Why is the Cactus Wren the state bird of
Arizona and the Roadrunner the state bird of New Mexico? Why is the Gallic Rooster
the national bird of France and the Green Pheasant the National Bird of Japan? What
are the national birds of other states or countries? Look at the photos on this page to
find the national bird for India and the national bird for the United States. __________
What is the National Bird of the United States?
2. Read: The history of birds is quite fascinating, especially when we realize that
not all dinosaurs are extinct. One group survived and we see their descendants
nearly every day. These creatures are none other than the chirping, tweeting,
singing birds outside our windows. (Optional) If researching the history of
feathered dinosaurs is of interest to you, go ahead and do so. __________
Dromaeosaurus
3. Optional Essay: Write a paper entitled, “Did today’s birds evolve from
dinosaurs? __________
4. Read: If you decide to take up observing the birds in your local area, or
researching birds that live in distant places, you will quickly learn how some of
these intriguing creatures use their wings or that some actually prefer not to fly at
all. The large ostrich of Africa, for example, does not fly but rather uses its
powerful legs for running fast.
Another flightless bird was the Great Auk, whose wings were less than 6 inches
long. Instead of flying, the birds had strong legs and were formidable swimmers.
The Great Auk was a large bird that, as an adult, weighed about eleven pounds.
The birds had a black back, white belly and heavy hooked beak. Sadly, the
Great Auk was extinct before 1900, mainly due to humans killing the bird for its
soft down feathers. What we can do to protect Earth’s winged creatures will be
taken up in chapter ten.
Great Auk, painted by John James Audubon
5. Read: Birds are some of nature’s most magnificent creatures—there are an
extraordinary number of different species—over 10,000. When you look for
different kinds of birds in your own local area, I think you will be delighted to find
that many different kinds coexist in the same environment. I live in a rural area of
Riverside County, in Southern California, surrounded by hills and nature. Since
my granddaughter has taken to feeding the birds around my house, I am
rewarded each morning with an array of hummingbirds, finches, sparrows and
thrashers, playing in the trees outside my front window.
And always, I find special delight in being visited by a Greater Roadrunner. I
marvel at their dark shaggy crest, brown-streaked body, thick bill, and long tail
and legs. These speedy little birds often race by me when I am strolling along on
one of the dirt paths around my house. I have even gotten a glimpse of a
roadrunner’s toes—two of its four toes face forward and two face backward.
I have been told that the name “roadrunner” comes from the bird’s habit of racing
down roads in front of moving vehicles and then darting to safety in the brush. To
me they are crafty little birds, which always bring to mind the roadrunner cartoons
I saw during my childhood!
Greater Roadrunner, photographed by Steve Byland
I love where I live for I have the advantage of being surrounded by numerous
small birds, roadrunners, quail (California’s state bird), as well as birds of prey.
From my hilltop vantage point, I often see red-tailed Hawks and Peregrine
Falcons soaring through the sky, circling the open fields in search of quarry2.
__________
2 Quarry: Animal hunted or caught as food.
California Quail, photographed by Steve Byland
Red-tailed Hawk, photographed by Steve Byland
6. Discussion or Essay: Write a short essay giving your purpose for learning more
about birds or discuss it with your teacher, study partner or a friend. If you write
an essay, turn it in to your teacher. __________
7. Optional Essay: If you ever had a daydream or night time dream about flying
and want to write about it, you may do so. __________
Dream of Soaring like an Eagle
Chapter One: Who Was John James Audubon?
John James Audubon
1. Read: John James Audubon (1785 - 1851) was a French-American
ornithologist—an ornithologist is a zoologist3 that studies birds. Ornithology
(ôr'nə-thŏl'ə-jē) then is a branch of zoology that is concerned with the study of
birds. The word ornithology comes from the ancient Greek word (ornis) meaning
bird and (logos) meaning the study of, thus, the study of birds. __________
2. Activity: In your own words tell your teacher or study partner the definition of
ornithology. Explain how ornithology fits in with zoology. __________
3. Read: Audubon was also an artistic genius who created realistic paintings of
numerous North American bird species. His book, The Birds of America, is a 3 Zoologist: A scientist who studies about animals. The name given to the branch of science that has to
do with living things—plants, animals, people—is biology. Biology can be broken down into botany—the
study of plants—and zoology—the study of animals. Zoology can be further broken down into
ornithology—the study of birds.
compilation of his hand-colored paintings that so beautifully capture the detail of
his feathery friends. The illustration of the Great Auk in the Introduction of this
guide is one of Audubon’s memorable images. You will find dozens more of his
beautiful illustrations within this guide—each bird portrayed in its natural
surroundings.
Although Audubon lived over a hundred years ago, his name is still synonymous
with birds and the preservation and careful management of the environment. He
had a deep concern for protecting the environment and realized the necessity of
sounding an alarm when it came to the destruction of birds and habitants. Today
the conservation4 group, National Audubon Society, carries his name and legacy5
into the future. __________
4. Activity: Tell your teacher or study partner the definition of the word
conservation and use it in your own made up sentence. __________
Audubon’s Painting of the Atlantic Puffin
5. Read: Why study birds? Below are some reasons:
a. Birds are easy to see and interesting to watch.
4 Conservation: The protection of valued resources; the preservation and careful management and care of
the environment and of natural resources. We put a plan into action to bring about the conservation of
our wildlife. 5 Legacy: Something that is handed down from a previous generation or time. Audubon’s magnificent bird
illustrations are his legacy to bird lovers of today.
b. The information gathered from watching birds helps us understand how
they function and relate to their natural environment.
c. Birds can provide indicators to our environment. Their changing
populations, for example, can give us clues as to the overall health of an
environment.
d. Studying birds is a form of conservation—preservation of our wildlife. It is
through such study that people were able to bring California condors back
into the wild. ____________
6. Optional Activity: Research the conservation plan that was put in place to keep
the endangered California Condor from becoming extinct. ___________
Audubon’s California Condor
Like vultures and other scavengers, condors are part of nature’s clean-up crew
Glossary
Abound: Be abundant or plentiful; exist in large quantities. I am happy that so many
different kinds of birds abound in my environment.
Biologist: A scientist who studies plants, animals and people.
Biology: The name given to the branch of science that has to do with living things—
plants, animals, people.
Biosphere: The whole area of Earth’s surface where living organisms exist—land, sea
and atmosphere. Our class studied the biosphere of Earth.
Bird: A winged, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animal. There are around 10,000
living species of birds.
Birder: A person who identifies and studies birds in their natural habitats. Janet and
Marc are birders.
Birding: Bird watching; the act of closely watching birds in order to identify them and
learn more about them. Birding is a fascinating hobby that is enjoyed by millions of
people around the world.
Birdwatcher: A person who enjoys observing birds as well as getting involved in any of
a number of other bird-related activities. My granddaughter is a birdwatcher.
Botanist: A scientist who studies plants.
Botany: The name given to the branch of science that has to do with plants.
Common name: The nonscientific name of a plant or animal most widely used and
accepted by the scientific community.
Conifer (coniferous trees): Any of numerous evergreen trees or shrubs that bear
cones. The word conifer comes from two Latin words ferre (to bear) and cone.
Evergreen trees, such as pines, spruce and fir, are coniferous trees because they bear
cones.
Conservation: The protection of valued resources; the preservation and careful
management and care of the environment and of natural resources. We put a plan into
action to bring about the conservation of our wildlife.
Deforestation: The removal of a forest or a large number of trees for a non-forest use,
such as converting forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use.
Drake: An adult male duck, either wild or domestic. There are four drakes and four
female ducks in our pond.
Endangered Species Act: Federal legislation in the United States that is intended to
provide a way to protect endangered and threatened species and prevent them from
becoming extinct.
Extinct: No longer in existence; lost or especially having died out leaving no living
representatives. The passenger pigeon has been extinct since 1914.
Femur: The thighbone. It is the longest and strongest bone in the human body.
Fibula: Outer of two bones in the lower leg of the human body. The other bone in the
lower leg is called the tibia. The fibula and the tibia together resemble an ancient
brooch, or pin. The head of the fibula is joined to the head of the tibia by ligaments.