Abstract
Animals survive in all sorts of extreme environments, whether it's a polar bear out and about when its -40°F, a desert iguana trying to find food as the temperature rises to 110°F, or a deep sea anglerfish living 3281 feet down into the sea. How do they do it? The answer is adaptations! Their bodies have special features that allow them to live in those environments. You might not be able to dive down 3281 feet to observe the deep sea anglerfish, but in this science fair project you can discover what the adaptations of birds in your own backyard tell you about their lifestyles.Objective
In this science fair project, investigate how well a bird's foot type reflects its lifestyle.
Introduction
If you were an animal with a thick layer of fat under your skin and a heavy coat of fur (like a polar bear) would you live in a tropical forest? No way! You'd be way too hot! But if you lived in the cold of the Arctic, these physical features would be necessary to keep you warm. Physical features that help animals survive in their surroundings are called adaptations. All creatures have adaptations. Some adaptations help animals deal with the climate, like the polar bear example above. Other adaptations help animals move better in their environment, blend in with their surroundings so that they don't get eaten by predators, or help them successfully gather dinner.
![]() Click here to watch a video of this investigation, produced by DragonflyTV and presented by pbskidsgo.org |
In this DragonflyTV video, while at the Aquarium of the Pacific, Milan and Harison noticed that fish have different types of mouths. Some fish have mouths that face down, others have mouths that point up, and still others have mouths that face forward. Check out this DragonflyTV video to see how Milan and Harison designed an experiment to find out if the different types of mouths are adaptations that determine how and what certain fish eat. What do you think their results are? Watch the video and find out!
Birds are animals with a lot of specific and useful adaptations. One major adaptation is the shape of their feet. Have you ever looked at a bird's feet and noticed how different they are from other types of birds' feet? For example, chickens and ducks are both birds, but they have very differently shaped feet! Chicken feet have long skinny toes with strong, sharp nails to scratch at the ground and find insects to eat, while ducks have webbed feet to help them paddle in the water. In Figure 1, below, you can see six different types of birds' feet. Each type of foot is adapted for a different task.
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| Figure 1. The table above illustrates six different types of birds' feet and how these adaptations help the bird survive (chart adapted from the Norman Bird Sanctuary, 2000). |
To conduct your experiment, you'll need to find a place where you can observe birds, mark down what type of feet each bird has, predict what kind of lifestyle the birds have based on their foot type, and then do a little research about the birds to see if you were right. Have fun bird watching!
Terms, Concepts and Questions to Start Background Research
Bibliography
This science fair project was based on this DragonflyTV episode:
These websites are good resources for identifying birds and researching their lifestyles:
Materials and Equipment
Experimental Procedure
| Species | Type of Feet | Predicted Lifestyle | Researched Lifestyle | ||
| Where does the bird spend its time? | How does the bird get its food? | Where does the bird spend its time? | How does the bird get its food? | ||
Variations
Credits
Sandra Slutz, PhD, Science Buddies
This science fair project was based on this DragonflyTV episode:
Last edit date: 2008-09-18 12:00:00
If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring careers in Zoology.
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Zoologist and Wildlife Biologist Ever wondered what wild animals do all day, where a certain species lives, or how to make sure a species doesn't go extinct? Zoologists and wildlife biologists tackle all these questions. They study the behaviors and habitats of wild animals, while also working to maintain healthy populations, both in the wild and in captivity. |
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