Parks in the Classroom

Songbird Idol

Classroom Guide

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Songbird Idol

Pre-Show Resources

Thank you for bringing Parks in the Classroom to your school. We hope you enjoy the show. This

package includes a number of resources that complement the topics that are covered in Songbird

Idol, including song lyrics. Packages have been assembled for both Division 1 and Division 2.

Please review the materials and select the ones that are best suited to your students.

Below you will find a summary of the show, Songbird Idol themes, a show day schedule, and a list

of resources available for both divisions.

If you have any questions about the program, please contact Jamie Lantz at (780) 781-0718 or

jamie.lantz@gov.ab.ca.

Show Summary Birds are considered one of the most successful organisms on earth. They have survived for millions of

years: mastering the land, sea and air and have long played a role in the biodiversity of our planet. They live

in every environment from the harsh Antarctic expanse to barren deserts, from bustling urban areas to remote

and harsh seas. But, more impressive is the unparalleled beauty of their song and appearance.

The many bird species of Miquelon Lake have adapted not only to survive, but thrive in the mosaic of

wetlands and forests of Miquelon Lake and the surrounding Beaver Hills. Songs and calls play a very

important role in the life and survival of birds and are incredibly diverse. These sounds vary from short,

simple call notes to surprisingly long, complex songs. But life in the forest isn’t a rock concert as

development and invasive species threaten these local “stars” and the biodiversity they are a part of.

The competition is tough this season as songbirds across the province come together in the battle of battles.

Their songs can fill the forest with melodies, but which bird is the best singer? Is it the Ruby-crowned

Kinglet? The Yellow Warbler? Or the crowd-favorite, Brown-headed Cowbird? Students will decide who is

the best songbird of Alberta while also learning about birds and their adaptations.

Show Day Schedule

On the day of the performance, Parks in the Classroom interpreter Jamie, will arrive at least one

hour before the show begins to unload her van and set up the show in the gym, auditorium, or other

pre-assigned area. She would appreciate the help of four student volunteers to assist her for set-up

and later, tear-down. The show itself requires several enthusiastic volunteers to play small roles that

are both speaking and non-speaking. Please choose 7 students (reading) and 1 adult (preferably

male) to fill these roles.

The show runs for approximately 45 minutes to one hour depending on audience participation. It is

very important that Jamie begins on time to remain on schedule for following programs. After the

Parks in the Classroom

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show, Jamie will run post-show sessions for classes that have signed up for them. Once these are

done, Jamie will load the program materials back into her van and depart from the school.

Show Topics

Curricular Matches:

This program is geared to but not limited to Division 1.

Gr. 1 Science: Needs of Animals and Plants

Gr. 2 Science: Crawling and Flying Insects

Gr. 3 Science: Animal Life Cycles

Gr. 6 Science: Trees and Forests

Overall Learning Objectives:

1. What are song birds?

2. How do birds vocalize?

3. What is the difference between songs and calls?

4. Introduction to cowbird parasitism and the evolution of anti-parasitism strategies in the

Yellow Warbler.

5. Identify some common birds found in the Beaver Hills and Edmonton area.

6. The impact that invasive species like the European Starling have on native song birds.

7. Some common threats to bird populations and how we can help.

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European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) European Starling is internationally recognized as an invasive species. Descendant from a line of “stars”, the starlings made their North American debut in 1890 and 1891, when about 100 of these birds were released into New York’s Central Park as part of the local Shakespearean society’s plan to introduce the city to all the birds mentioned in their favourite author’s play. The starlings quickly made their way across the continent. They have been a regular feature ever since.

Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia) Yellow Warbler is making her Songbird Idol debut. Although she does not sing, she is easily one of the most recognizable birds in the forests with her gorgeous yellow plumage. Yellow Warbler spends her springs and summers residing in Miquelon Lake Provincial Park where she raises an average of 4-5 young per year with her mate.

Meet the Cast

Image: Drajs Vujnovic, Gov’t of Alberta

Image: Gerald Romanchuk

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Ruby Crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) A small bird with a big voice! The loud, long and rolling song of the Ruby echoes throughout Alberta’s coniferous forests in spring. Ruby’s talents are not limited to singing. Kinglets are known to perform a “broken-wing” act to draw predators away from their nest, which is defended fearlessly. Away from the stage, Ruby enjoys wintering in the Southern United States and Mexico.

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) “Here-comes-trouble!’ What’s a season of Songbird Idol without a controversy? Often portrayed as the “bad guy”, the brown-head cowbird wins fans over by its troubled youth. Cowbirds’ nomadic lifestyle makes it impossible for them to tend a nest. Thus, females will lay eggs in the nests of other birds, abandoning their young to foster parents, usually at the expense of the host. Their highly successful career of parasitizing songbird nests has spelt trouble for songbird populations who can’t compete with such an aggressive bird. Their success continues to flourish with the expansion of ranching and the fragmentation of forests.

Image source: http://braducation.com/tigerphotographic/frame.php?imagenumber=54

Image Source:

http://www.wildlifenorthamerica.com/Bird/Brown-

headed-Cowbird/Molothrus/ater.html

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Resource List:

These activities are designed to provide teachers with pre-visit and post-visit resource materials to

support the Parks in the Classroom (PITC) Program. A critical aspect of the PITC program is to

provide teachers with resources to set the foundations of and expand learning.

Please make these resources available in your staff room so that all teachers can benefit from them.

Resources have been divided into the two divisions. Please photocopy pages you require. Or

download your own copy at www.albertaparks.ca/pitc.

Division 1:

Parts of a Bird………………………………………. p. 7

Songbird Idol Maze………………………………… p. 14

Songbird Idol Word Match………………………… p. 16

Songbird Idol Bird Match………………………….. p. 18

Song Lyrics …………………………………………p. 26-28

Song Bird Idol Vocabulary …………………………p. 29 -30

Division 2:

Build a Bird …………………………………………p. 8-13

Songbird Idol Maze …………………………………p. 14

Songbird Idol Word Search …………………………p. 15

Songbird Idol Crossword Puzzle ……………………p. 17

Songbird Idol Bird Match …………………………..p. 18

Yellow Warbler Survivor Game ……………………p. 19-25

Songbird Idol Vocabulary …………………………..p. 29 – 30

SOLUTIONS can be found on page 31.

Activity Sheets

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Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

Parts of a Bird

Label these parts on the Dark-eyed Junco. Knowing these parts of the bird will help you decide what kind of birds you

see when you are exploring outside!

• Wing

• Tail

• Crown

• Breast

• Beak

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Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

Build A Bird

Bird Parts List

Birds have bodies that are specially built for their way of life. Look at the beaks of these three birds.

Each bird’s beak is specially designed to eat a special food. Other parts like the legs, feet, wings and tail are specially designed for the bird’s particular way of life. This activity let’s you put your brain to work to design a mystery bird.

Take a peek below to see an example of one of the birds built by a student. Try your hand at building your own bird on the other sheets that follow.

Sparrows and Finches have short, thick nutcracker beaks.

Owls and hawks have short, sharp meat-cutting beaks.

Woodpeckers have long, strong, wood-chisel beaks.

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Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

Build A Bird

Bird Parts List

Using the bird parts shown on this page and the clues on the following pages draw the missing parts of the mystery birds.

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Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

Build A Bird

Circle your answer

Woodpecker Goose Owl Heron Hummingbird

Using the parts of the bird on the first page, draw the missing parts for the mystery bird described on this page.

Mystery Bird This tiny mouse-sized bird uses its long, thin beak to reach into flowers to drink nectar and catch small insects for food. It has a short tail made of tiny feathers that spread out like a fan for steering.

It has short, thin wings that it uses to hover and fly forward and backward like a helicopter. Even though it is Alberta’s tiniest bird, it flies south for the winter.

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Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

Build A Bird

Circle your answer

Woodpecker Goose Owl Heron Hummingbird

Using the parts of the bird on the first page, draw the missing parts for the mystery bird described on this page.

Mystery Bird This bird is a deadly hunter of small mice and other small animals. Its big eyes and special hidden ears help it find its prey. Its large silent wings and wide, fan-like tail help it fly quietly, turn and dive through the forest.

Special strong feet with those sharp talons on each toe are used to catch victims. Its short, sharp curved meat-cutter beak is used for eating and feeding its babies.

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Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

Build A Bird

Circle your answer

Woodpecker Goose Owl Heron Hummingbird

Using the parts of the bird on the first page, draw the missing parts for the mystery bird described on this page.

Mystery Bird This goose-sized bird uses its long neck like a bow to silently strike downward to catch small fish and frogs with its long, sharp beak. It often wades in deep water where its long legs help to keep it from getting its wings and body wet.

This bird has long wide wings and can fly long distances. When wading or walking, it folds its wings across its back.

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Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

Build A Bird

Circle your answer

Woodpecker Goose Owl Heron Hummingbird

Using the parts of the bird on the first page, draw the missing parts for the mystery bird described on this page.

Mystery Bird This bird has a thick, sharp chisel-like beak that it uses to chip though the bark and wood of dead trees, as it searches for its favourite food – wood ants and other wood-eating insects.

It can hold onto the tree bark with its special feet with two toes pointing forward and two pointing backward. Its special tail has hard pointy-tipped feathers that help it hold onto the tree.

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Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

Songbird Idol Maze The sound of a bird song can help you locate birds in the forest. It also helps birds find one another in the forest. With so many leaves on trees, sometimes

it’s hard to spot one another out there!

Help the robin find his way through the forest to his mate!

START

FINISH

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Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

Songbird Idol Word Search

C L Z R C B T F E S P V W H P

R O O S T A E E L A T A J R A

R C H Z T X D A S G H R A E R

W B Z I L A O S K J E X E H A

O S B K K A E X N I R Y S T S

M A E C O R E G I O N P B A I

H I I G I E T A B U C N I E T

S H G N N N F N C W L J R F I

C P E R E I I I W A K I D Z C

M S A C A B L X Q R C J A G M

T Q T R O T N T D B O T G T W

B A M R R C I W S L L E G X B

R F L Y O O B O O E F G N O S

P K L U S S W C N R N P I B D

P L U M A G E I L G C Z W B X

BEAK FLY PASSERINE

BIRD HABITAT PLUMAGE

CHICKADEE INCUBATE ROBIN TAIL

CROWN MIGRATION ROOST WARBLER

ECOREGION NECTAR SONG WING

EGG NESTLING SPARROW

FEATHER NEST SYRINX

FLOCK PARASITIC

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Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

Songbird Idol Word Match Fill in the missing word.

1. ______________________ The mouth part of a bird. 2. ______________________ Birds are the only animal to have this. 3. ______________________ Birds build these in trees. 4. ______________________ A type of songbird with an orange-red tummy. 5. ______________________ Birds do this when they want to get another bird’s

attention. 6. ______________________ Hummingbirds love this sweet food. 7. ______________________ Birds lay these. 8. ______________________ This black-capped bird was named for its song.

Chickadee Sing Eggs Beak Feathers Nectar Robin Nest

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Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

Songbird Idol Crossword Puzzle Across 3. Many birds eat these small creatures especially in spring and summer. 7. The highest point of a bird’s head. A king wears one. 8. Hummingbirds love to eat this sweet food. 9. Another name for a songbird. 10. When a bird stays on eggs to keep them at a stable, warm temperature. Down 1. A group of birds flying together. 2. This is what birds do when they leave their summer homes every fall. 3. A species that was introduced to an ecosystem that does damage to that ecosystem. 4. Birds do this to communicate to one another. 5. The voice box of a bird. 6. Woodpeckers use these to drill holes in trees in search of food.

S

P

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Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

Songbird Idol Bird Match Match the 8 birds from the show with their picture.

American Robin

Yellow Warbler Common Loon Black-capped Chickadee European Starling Ruby Crowned Kinglet Brown Headed Cowbird Raven

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Yellow Warbler Survivor Classroom Activity

A Yellow Warbler nest with one cowbird egg. (Photo: Darrin O’Brien ©).

Permission grated for image use. www.flickr.com/photos/stylurus/2618264361/

Background: Parasitism is a term to describe when one organism benefits at the expense of another, usually of a different species. In the natural world, nest parasitism can be seen among birds during the egg-laying and nestling stage of development. One such parasitic bird is the Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater). Brown-headed Cowbirds target songbird nests, in particular Yellow Warblers (Dendroica petechia) nests, by laying their own larger eggs in the warbler nests.

Fortunately, some yellow warbler parents can recognize foreign eggs in their nests and they will either abandon their nest or build another nest overtop the old eggs -preventing incubation. At times, these new nests can be 5 nest layers high! If the warbler fails to recognize the foreign eggs and accepts the cowbird eggs, it will incubate and raise the nestlings as its own.

Once hatched, cowbird nestlings are aggressive and much larger than the warbler nestlings. The cowbird nestling can be so aggressive that the warbler nestlings cannot compete with the cowbird for food and succumb to starvation. In addition, the rapidly growing cowbirds out-compete the warblers for space and often push the warbler nestlings out of the nest. The situation is gloomy as we also consider the status of our native migratory songbird population declines due to habitat destruction or habitat fragmentation in Alberta and in their wintering grounds.

A Yellow Warbler feeding a cowbird nestling. (Photo: Earl Reinink ©)

Permission grated for image use. www.flickr.com/photos/earl_reinink/5914546062/in/set-

72157623959318839/

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***Lesson idea originally donated to MiddleSchoolScience.com by Meg. W. (Owl Family Survival) Activity by: LaRosa, E. (2000). Middle School Science. Retrieved January 31, 2012 from www.middleschoolscience.com. Lesson plan modified for PITC.***

Objectives:

• To simulate the struggle for survival of nestlings in a yellow warbler family

• To bring food back to the nest despite obstacles.

• To feed and take care of nestlings in a pecking order and with cowbird parasitism.

• To live in a nest as yellow warbler.

• Students will experience how adaptations and changes in habitat affect a species

• Students will discuss the importance of resources for a community.

Materials:

• Timer/Stop Watch

• Rope (If competing activity outdoors) to mark a “forest boundary”

• Coloured Chalk (to outline nests)

• Black Beans 1-3 lbs (food for warblers)

• White Beans – 5 beans (represent 5 cowbirds)

• Plastic forks (1 per warbler parent)

• Paper plate with a rim (2 plates per nest = 12)

• Small paper or plastic cups (1 per nestling, can be colour coded for a specific nest and numbered to represent nestling feeding order)

• Warbler Assignment Sheet – Cut up for students to pick their role

• Class Data Sheet and Bar Graph Sheet (I per student or team)

Procedure: 1. Cluster student desks together to represent nests in a forest or create nest circles

on the floor using the string. Nests should be large enough for students to sit in without being too large. Colour code the nests.

2. Plastic forks will be used by the parent warblers to gather food (beans). 3. Place the plates of black beans around the room at various distances to the nests.

Randomly distribute the 5 white lima beans into the piles. Do not let the students know that the white beans represent a cowbird nestling.

4. Have each student pick up a Yellow Warbler Assignment Card to determine whether they are a parent or a chick and which nest they will live in.

5. Students will move to their nests 6. Distribute the coloured and numbered plastic cups to each nestling in the nest. For

example, nestling #1 will received cup #1. 7. Distribute a fork to each parent to feed their nestlings. 8. Relay the rules of the game to the class.

Rules:

1. The parents may only pick up the food using their beaks (forks) and drop the food into the nestlings “mouths” (the plastic cup held at their chest)

2. The parents must follow the pecking order and feed nestlings in number sequence. For example, if the mother feeds nestling #1, then the father will feed #2, if the

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father returns to the nest quicker, then he will feed #3. Who is feeding is not as important as the sequence.

3. When it is their turn, nestlings must chirp (quietly) to get fed. Once they have been fed, they must become silent (or nap).

4. Parents will keep up with the number of trips they make or the number of times they feed nestlings.

5. The parents may not assist nestlings in any way. If nestlings fall out of the nest (leave their seat or move out of the string boundary), they are dead.

Start the Activity:

1. Allow 5-7 minutes for parents to feed their young. 2. Walk around the room and monitor the activity. 3. Gently remind students of rules and their roles. 4. Keep track of nestlings that have died by falling out of their nest.

Stop Feeding: 1. When the time is up have everyone sit in their nests. Have nestlings count the

number of beans in their cups and record data into class chart. 2. Have students raise their hands if they have a white bean. Tell them their nests

have been parasitized by a cowbird and they are the cowbird. They will “boot” a nestling out of the nest and take all their beans; they will also take half of the beans of the other nestlings in the nest. Nestlings must recount their beans.

3. Ask students with less than 10 beans to raise their hands. Any nestling with less than 10 beans have died from starvation. (Note: This number may need to be adjusted according to the skill of the parent warbler in class – walk around the room to determine this number).

4. Complete collecting data into chart. 5. To provide different points of view, ask students to return to the desks and discuss

the activity. Have all students go back to their desks and discuss the activity. Sample discussion questions:

a. If you were a parent, how did you feed your offspring? Who ate first? How did you collect your food, did you have a plan? Explain.

b. If you were a nestling, describe how you got your food and avoided falling out of the nest. Did you “fight” for your food? Did any of your siblings not survive? Explain.

c. What are some possible outcomes for the nestlings if the parents never returned from finding food?

d. Which family had the highest success rate? Describe the members of the family and how the parents collected the food?

e. What are some benefits and disadvantages in having a small or large warbler family, two warbler parents vs. one?

f. Describe a family scenario that would have a very low success rate. What scenario would have the best success rate? How many parents and nestlings? Explain.

g. What are some other factors that could affect the success rate of the warbler families?

h. Looking at your data, overall, which nestling ate the most food? The least food? Were there any families where each nestling was fed almost

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evenly? Were there any families where one nestling ate much more than its brothers or sisters? Explain your findings.

i. List at least three similarities and three differences between the yellow warbler families we pretended to be today and a human family.

j. Name at least three things you would do differently as a yellow warbler parent or nestling if we conducted the activity again.

k. What advantages did the cowbird nestling have over the yellow warble nestling?

Additional closing activity: JOURNALING: Imagine you are either a nestling trying to compete with the cowbird or a young cowbird in the nest. Describe a first-person view of what you experience as a nestling and even consider an anthropomorphic attitude (attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to animals). Be very descriptive and consider your entries daily.

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Yellow Warbler Assignment Sheet: There are 30 yellow warbler assignment cards. Red 2 parents, Orange 1 parent, Yellow 2 parents, Green 1 parent, Blue 1 parent, Purple 2 parents. Assume nestling #1 is the oldest per nest. Have students pick cards until each one is in a nest. If you have less than 30 students, you can remove some of the slips or leave it to chance as they pick. You can glue cards onto an index card and have the students pick a card and put their names in pencil on the back. You can then reuse them.

Red

Yellow

Warbler

Mom

Yellow

Yellow

Warbler

Dad

Yellow

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

#5

Blue

Nestling

Yellow

Warbler

#2

Orange

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

#2

Purple

Yellow

Warbler

Dad

Red

Yellow

Warbler

Dad

Yellow

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling #1

Green

Yellow

Warbler

Dad

Blue

Nestling

Yellow

Warbler

#3

Orange

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

#3

Purple

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

#1

Red

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

# 1

Yellow

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

#2

Green

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

#1

Blue

Nestling

Yellow

Warbler

#1

Orange

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

#4

Purple

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

#2

Red

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

#2

Yellow

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

#3

Green

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

#2

Orange

Yellow

Warbler

Mom

Orange

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

#5

Purple

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

#3

Yellow

Yellow

Warbler

Mom

Yellow

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

#4

Blue

Yellow

Warbler

Mom

Orange

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

#1

Purple

Yellow

Warbler

Mom

Purple

Yellow

Warbler

Nestling

#4

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Tally Sheet

Directions: 1. Find your family color. Place X’s in the boxes if you do not have that family member. 2. Cowbird nestlings write “cowbird” in their square and record bean total. 3. Mom & Dad Yellow Warblers - record the number of feeding trips. 4. Nestlings: Fill in the number of beans in your cup. If you died, state the reason. 5. Calculate your family’s success rate. If five nestlings were born into the nest and 1 died, you would divide 4 by 5 and then multiply by 100 to get an 80% success rate.

Family

Red

Orange

Yellow

Green

Blue

Purple

Mom

Dad

Nestling #1

Nestling #2

Nestling #3

Nestling #4

Nestling #5

SUCCESS RATE (# alive divided by the # born) x 100

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Bar Graph of Yellow Warbler Feeding Results

To

tal

nu

mb

er

be

an

s e

ate

n p

er

wa

rble

r/co

wb

ird

ne

stli

ng

R 1

R 2

0 1

0 2

0 3

0 4

0 5

Y 1

Y 2

Y 3

Y 4

Y 5

G 1

G 2

B 1

B 2

B 3

P 1

P 2

P 3

P 4

Nestling by family groups based on nestling colour

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Songbird Idol Song Lyrics

Ruby Crowned Kinglet I am a Ruby Crowned Kinglet, I love to flick my wings, I eat spiders and insects But I especially love to sing. I have olive green upperparts, Dark wings and a tail, And a small red crown on my head, But my song, it just seems to sail, Chorus: I sing chubby, chubby, chubby CHEEKS, chubby CHEEKS! O it sounds so sweet Chubby, chubby, chubby cheeks, chubby cheeks! Oh my long, long, rolling song, I sing from the tops of trees Makes it hard to see my ruby crown Hiding in the leaves

I am a very common bird You can always spot me, Singing the summertime away, In the coniferous forest, I will always be Chorus:

I sing chubby, chubby, chubby CHEEKS! Chubby CHEEKS! O it sounds so sweet Chubby, chubby, chubby CHEEKS! Chubby CHEEKS!

Songbird Idol (Photo: C.G. Neath, Government of Alberta©)

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Brown-Headed Cowbird Song

I was left with a surrogate mom, in a warbler nest My real mom follows bison, all across the west She threw out all the other eggs, to make some room for me (throw out the warbler eggs and plop your own cowbird egg into the nest) Those warblers never noticed, and they feed me constantly Now I'm much luckier than my sibs, laid in another nest The warbler mom noticed, they were bigger than the rest She quickly built another nest, atop my egg-bound kin Laid another clutch of eggs, to begin again Chorus: Cuz I'm a cowbird, brown-headed cowbird cutest bird you ever heard I'm a cowbird, brown-headed cowbird Warblers are in trouble rest assured I'm first to hatch, and twice as big as all of my nest mates When our warbler mom brings us bugs, I never hesitate Elbow my way past the rest to get most of the food That doesn't mean there's much left, for the rest of the brood With a cowbird in a warbler nest, there ain't a lot of room, And baby warblers fall out, accidently I assume I think when I am grown up, and lay eggs of my own Warblers make such good moms, I'll make their nest my home Chorus With the bison gone, the cows are here, and that's alright you see Cause buffalo or cattle they're all the same to me Thanks to the cows, we've spread our wings beyond the bald prairie Now forest nests, and all the rest we use parasitically It's not too hard to get some birds to take care of our chicks The warblers of the forest, don't know our cowbird tricks But Warbler numbers are falling fast, they're dropping like a stone Without their nests to lay my eggs my chicks won't have a home Chorus

Songbird Idol (Photo: C.G. Neath, Government of Alberta©)

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Yellow Warbler Duet

Oh I long to sing like da males, But a females, we no communicate that a way. I got the same a parts, but instinct it a tell me ‘no way!’ I would use too much energy to sing all day… Almost all the Passerines, (Male Warbler Song) In the summer and the spring, Sing complex patterns, that are so convincing (Male Warbler Song)

(Male: Ohhhhh I really love to sing!) However all of you know, It’s the male who gets to show (Male warbler Song) His song the most in the spring, It a keep us remembering. (Male: Hey babe don’t forget about me) Chorus He perches in the treetops, (Male: I perch in the treetops) To defend his territory, (Male: Defendin’ my territory) He let all of the birdy know, (Male: Stay Away Stay Away) This space is where he be. (Male: Get out of my space) He use a special vocal variation, (Male: I sing a series of different notes) To tell potential mates, (Male: Hey little birdies) That he iz available, (Male: Come on over here) And he a want to mate (Male: I really wanna mate)

Chorus

Songbird Idol (Photo: C.G. Neath, Government of Alberta©)

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Types of Birds Corvid: A member of the crow family.

Duck-like: A bird structured like waterfowl, with webbed feet.

Hawk-like: A bird structured like a bird of prey, with a sharp beak, talons, and keen eyesight. E.g.

Red-tailed hawk, Great-horned Owl.

Parasitic Bird: A type of bird that lays eggs in another bird’s nest for the other bird to incubate and

raise.

Passerine: A group of birds that are characterized by diverse and elaborate calls; also called

songbirds.

Songbird: A group of perching birds that are characterized by diverse and elaborate songs.

Shorebirds: A bird mainly found around shorelines of lakes and wetlands.

Bird Behaviour Bird Call: Relatively simple, brief sounds that rarely involve more than four or five notes.

Bird Song: Complex series of notes that form a recognizable rhythm and pattern.

Communication: Exchange of information though speech, signals, writing or behaviour.

Courtship: Behaviour of animals intended to lead up to and include mating.

Incubate: To sit on eggs keeping them at a favorable temperature to promote embryonic growth

before hatching.

Migration: When groups of wildlife move from one location to another, usually due to seasonal

change.

Mimicry: The resemblance of one organism to another or to an object in its surroundings for

concealment and protection from predators.

Parts of a Bird Beak (Bill): The mouthpart of the bird. The size, shape and structure of the beak will vary by

species, and most birds’ beaks are specialized for the type of food they eat.

Breast: The part of the bird’s body between the throat and abdomen. A bird’s breast may be a

differently colour from the rest of the body which can help with identification.

Vocabulary

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Crown: The top or the highest part of the bird’s head, the peak of the head. Many birds have a

crest on the crown or an otherwise distinct crown shape with the peak closer to the front or

back of the head.

Plumage: Feathery covering of a bird.

Tail: The hindmost part of an animal. It can be held in different positions when the bird is perched

or flying.

Syrinx: Vocal organ of birds; a voice box.

Wing: The upper limbs used for flight. Wing shape is a way to identify birds in flight.

Important Wildlife Terms Beaverhills (Cooking Lake Moraine): Located east of Edmonton. It is an extensively treed,

upland area consisting of rolling to hummocky terrain rich in native wetlands and aspen

dominated Boreal mixed wood forest habitat. This ‘knob and kettle’ topography supports a

high diversity of vegetation, waterfowl, mammals and birds.

Ecoregion: A piece of landscape that is characterized by distinctive regional ecological factors such

as climate, soil type, and plant type,

Habitat: The area or natural environment where an organism normally lives or occurs and where

food and shelter are available.

Introduced Species: A species that was brought into a new ecosystem by humans, also called alien

species.

Invasive Species: A species that was introduced to an ecosystem that does damage to that

ecosystem.

Native Species: A species that naturally occurs in a given ecosystem.

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