WEST MIDDLE SCHOOL students focus on bird's beaks

Mrs. Fent's and Mrs. Schulte's sixth-grade classes at West Middle School conducted a lab on bird beak adaptations.

Through this lab the students gained a better understanding of how the shape and size of a bird's beak determines the size and shape of their food. The size and shape of the bird's beak also factored in on how birds used their beak to gather food. Depending on the shape and size of the bird's beak, some birds pierced their food, while others scooped or merely pinched their food.

     

In the second trial of this lab, some food sources were removed and in other instances the bird's beak was injured in some way. During the second trial, students learned that if the bird's food was removed, the bird would die or need to migrate to find a new food source. Among the birds with a "handicapped beak" the students saw that these birds also needed to find other food sources for survival.

    

This lesson showed sixth grade students the importance of adapting to new environmental situations. It also demonstrated how physical adaptations of bird beaks directly resulted in determining the particular food sources of individual bird species.

-- Submitted by Sara Bochenek