Zebra Finch Data Table - Nest A
Laying order
and egg color
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Fledging
Day
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Seed
Totals
Write the number of seeds fed to each bird on each day in the boxes below.
Bird 1
___________
Bird 2
___________
Bird 3
___________
Bird 4
___________
Bird 5
___________
Bird 6
___________
Total number
of seeds
How many eggs were laid in the nest?
J. Paul/C. Penrod 2016
How many eggs hatched in this clutch?
Write this as a fraction.
How many of the hatched chicks fledged?
Write this as a fraction.
Zebra Finch Data Table - Nest B
Laying order
and egg color
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Fledging
Day
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Temp:
Seed
Totals
Write the number of seeds fed to each bird on each day in the boxes below.
Bird 1
___________
Bird 2
___________
Bird 3
___________
Bird 4
___________
Bird 5
___________
Bird 6
___________
Total number
of seeds
How many eggs were laid in the nest?
J. Paul/C. Penrod 2016
How many eggs hatched in this clutch?
Write this as a fraction.
How many of the hatched chicks fledged?
Write this as a fraction.
Hatching Questions
Fill in the table to show what each part of the simulation represents. Then answer the questions for your nest.
Part of the Simulation
Plastic eggs with paper birds
inside
Paper plate
What it Represents in Nature
Cup attached to each paper bird
Lentils dropped in cups
Bird with the most seeds
Birds with fewer seeds
The runt (smaller bird)
How many chicks hatched? __________ How many chicks fledged? ____________
What is the total amount of seeds the chicks ate? _____________ What was the least seeds eaten by one chick?______ What was the most seeds
eaten by a chick? _______ What is the range of seeds eaten? (Subtract the least from the most.)_________________________________________
Was there a bird that was significantly smaller?__________ What happened to it? _____________ How much seeds did that bird use?
___________
Why do you think it didn’t live?_______________________________________________________________________________________________
What was its impact on the rest of the chicks? __________________________________________________________________________________
J. Paul/C. Penrod 2016
What environmental factors affected your chicks? _______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What are some actual variations your bird might have had?_______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Now find a group that had Nest B and answer the following questions together.
What differences were there between the hotter nests and the cooler nests? ________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What does your group think caused these differences? ___________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
How does this relate to real climate change? ___________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Anything else? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
J. Paul/C. Penrod 2016
Number of seeds
Feeding Zebra Finch
38
36
34
32
30
28
26
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Color and number of bird
J. Paul/C. Penrod 2016
Degrees Celsius
Zebra Finch Habitat Temperatures
44
43
42
41
40
39
38
37
36
35
34
33
32
31
30
1
J. Paul/C. Penrod 2016
2
3
4
5
6
7
Hatching days
8
9
10
11
12
Teacher Directions for Zebra Finch Simulation
1. Explaining the simulation:
 Some animals have a survival advantage in a given environment.
 Survival advantage can be a result of a variation in a body structure, behavior, or physical ability
that favors one animal of a species over another.
 A particular physical attribute may provide an advantage for survival in one environment but not
when that environment changes.
 A simulation is a kind of a play, or game in which scientists can make observations about the effects
of a change in the environment. It gives them information about what is happening and might help
them find solutions to a problem.
 Our simulation is based on little birds called Zebra Finches that live in Australia. The number of
Zebra Finches is changing. Scientists have noticed this change and want to find out more about
what is happening to the Zebra Finches. The scientists have studied the birds’ habitat for answers
to the problem. We designed this simulation so students could learn about Zebra Finch nests, eggs,
hatching, and fledging. (Fledging is the term for when a bird can fly and leaves the nest.)
2. Pass out and explain the supplies (work in teams of 4 if possible):
 You have either “Nest A” or “Nest B” which have different environmental conditions.
 You will receive a paper plate. Put it in the middle of the table.
 You have a bag of eggs. Do not open them.
 You have a plastic cup with some seeds called lentils in it. Give it to one team member. (Feeder)
 You have two sets of cards. One set says “Laying.” Give that set of cards to one team member. (Egg
Director) One set says “Hatching.” Give that set to another team member. (Hatch Director)
 You have a recording table. Give that table to another team member. (Recorder)
J. Paul/C. Penrod 2016
3. Explain the moves. You may wish to write a list on the board to show the order in which things happen:
 Do not move until all the directions have been given.
 The Laying cards explain how the eggs get into the nest (the paper plate). The Egg Director reads
the first card. One player takes an egg. The Recorder writes the color of the egg next to Bird 1 on
the Table. The team member puts the egg into the nest (the paper plate) without opening it. The
next team member takes an egg and the Recorder writes that color, continuing until all the Laying
cards are gone and all the egg colors are marked on the table and resting in the nest.
4. Explain hatching and feeding:
 You are ready for Hatching and Feeding. The Hatch Director will read the first card. It contains a
temperature, a direction, and a day. Follow directions on the card. Recorder should be sure the
temperature and number of seeds fed to each bird is entered into the Table. You can write
numbers for the seeds, or make hash marks. The Feeder counts out the proper number of seeds
for each day (8) and feeds the hatched chicks. (If you have no hatched chicks, you do not feed.)
 The Hatch Director continues to read the cards while the Recorder records and the Feeder feeds.
5. When the last card is read and recorded:
 Total up the number of seeds by bird and by day.
 Answer the questions at the bottom of the Table.
 If you have time, discuss things you noticed during the simulation.
6. Make connections with students:
 Do a whole group discussion about what each part of the simulation represented and fill that
information in on the back of the Table.
 Ask students to answer the other questions in their groups, looking for patterns.
 Students can use the graph provided or (better) create their own graph for temperature and food
consumption.
J. Paul/C. Penrod 2016
 Finally, the simulation provides a “Nest A” and a “Nest B” with different conditions. Student teams
with Nest A can partner with a Nest B team and compare results. This should lead to some findings
about how temperature is affecting the Zebra Finch. A writing assignment would be in order here.
For Teachers:
This is a real world problem. In nature, birds like the Zebra Finch will lay a clutch of eggs one at a time and
only begin to incubate them when the last egg has been laid. The embryos within the eggs do not start
developing until the temperature is warm enough, so normally, the babies would all grow at about the same
rate and hatch at the same time. As global temperatures rise, Zebra Finch habitats are becoming warmer.
The first eggs the mother bird lays may begin to incubate because the ambient air temperature is warm
enough to trigger growth of the embryo even without the parent’s body heat. This provides a survival
advantage for the first chick or two in the nest as they are larger than their younger siblings. The food may
not be distributed evenly, or the older birds may injure or push the smaller ones from the nest. This may be
one reason why Zebra Finch nests are not yielding as many young. Before sharing this information with your
students, you may wish to have them ask their own questions about the effects of temperature and do some
research to find answers. Since scientists don’t have all the answers yet, our students have an opportunity to
participate in real citizen science by thinking deeply about this problem.
This simulation, like any model, has limitations. For example, while temperature increases are generally
thought to play a part in the decrease in finch numbers, the reasons for this are far more complex than this
simulation may suggest. The warm weather may cause the embryos to die in the shell, though scientists could
not confirm this in the lab. It may be that the food sources for the birds are not in sync with the current
temperatures. Seed may not mature in time, or insects may not be available. When you use a simulation or
other model with your students, it is important for you to help them analyze the model for accuracy,
drawbacks, and benefits.
J. Paul/C. Penrod 2016