In this activity your group can find out some neat “bird statistics” as well as get a feel for how diverse birds are. They will also realize that even though birds are very different, they all share many characteristics.
Discuss each grouping of birds below so the children can learn the range of sizes, shapes, and features that birds have. (You can also bring in the “props” listed in the materials section to help illustrate the discussion.)
Here’s some information you can use when you talk about each grouping. If you have photographs of these birds, show them to the children and have them point to each one as you describe it.
The Largest Wingspans
Explain that the wandering albatross, the marabou stork, and the Andean condor hold the three top records for the largest wingspans in the world. The wandering albatross has the longest wings of any bird and is considered the most efficient flier of all. The stork and condor are also skilled fliers, but instead of having narrow, pointed wings, they have broad, slotted wings.
Working in pairs, have students measure and record each other’s
“wingspan” from the tip of the longest finger on one outstretched arm to the tip of the longest finger of the other outstretched arm. How does each compare to the top three birds?
Extension for older students:
Objectives:
Compare bird sizes and skills. Describe three bird record holders.
Ages:
Grades K-5; 6-8
Materials: drawing paper and pencils tiny jelly beans ping-pong balls yardsticks or tape measures bird field guide tennis ball markers chalkboard or easel calculators photographs of the birds (optional)
Subjects:
Science, Math
Measure and record each partner’s height from the top of the head to the bottom of the foot (not counting shoe bottoms). On the chalkboard or easel, make a list of all the data collected to see if students can see any patterns. (They should observe that a human’s height and “wingspan” are roughly equal.)
Using hand-held calculators, have students add all the heights together and then all the “wingspans” together. Divide the total of “wingspans” by the total of heights (“wingspan”/height). The answer should be very close to one. Explain that what they have found is that the relationship between “wingspan” and height is a ratio of one to one for humans.
Give each student a copy of the raptor silhouettes. Have them divide the wingspan of each bird by its body length. If the body length is one, what is the ratio of each bird’s wingspan to body length? Ask, “Why do you think raptors have such big wingspans in relation to their bodies?”
Using the raptor silhouettes and the data below (all dimensions are median average), ask students to estimate the width of the wing then calculate the approximate ratio of the area of the wing to the weight of the raptor.
An additional activity is to have students make full sized silhouettes of these raptors.
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Turkey Vulture
Length: 67 cm (26 in)
Wingspan: 171 cm (67 in)
Weight : 1.8 kg (4 lb)
Red-tailed Hawk
Length: 49 cm (19 in)
Wingspan: 125 cm (49 in)
Weight: 1082 g (2.4 lb)
Bald Eagle
Length: 79 cm (31 in)
Wingspan: 203 cm (80 in)
Weight: 4.3 kg (9.5 lb)
Peregrine Falcon (female)
Length: 46 cm (18 in)
Wingspan: 116 cm (46 in)
Weight: 952 g (2.1 lb)
The Tallest and the Heaviest
The largest bird living today is the ostrich. Males can grow to heights of over eight feet (2.4 m) and weigh over 345 pounds (155 kg). But the ostrich isn’t the all-time record holder. The now-extinct moa of New Zealand was the tallest bird ever to live. It grew to heights of over 12 feet (3.6 m) and probably weighed over 500 pounds
(225 kg). And the elephant bird of Madagascar, also extinct, was the heaviest bird ever to live. Some scientists think it weighed half a ton (454 kg)!
National Wildlife Week ► March 19-35, 2012 ► www.nwf.org/nationalwildlifeweek

The Earliest Known Bird
Most scientists agree that birds evolved from reptiles millions of years ago. The earliest known bird was
Archaeopteryx. It lived about 160 million years ago, during the Age of Dinosaurs. Archaeopteryx had many reptilelike features, such as bones in its tail, sharp teeth, and hooked claws. But it also had feathers, which is why it is considered a bird. Scientists think it was one of the first birds ever to have evolved.
The Smallest Bird
The bee hummingbird of Cuba is the smallest bird in the world. It has a total length of two inches (5 cm), including its tail and its long bill. This tiny hummer weighs only about 1/10 ounce (2.8 g). That's about as much as a Ping-Pong ball.
The Fastest Fliers
The swift family includes some of the fastest fliers in the world. Some have been clocked at over 100 miles (160 km) per hour. Swifts spend most of their time on the wing, catching flying insects. In fact, they hold the record for spending the most time in the air.
Peregrine falcons are the fastest dive-bombing birds. When they swoop down on their prey, they can approach
200 miles (320 km) per hour.
The Largest Eyes
Birds have very large eyes in proportion to their bodies. In fact, some birds of prey and some running birds have bigger eyes than we do and can see a lot better. Ostriches have the biggest eyes of any land animal alive today. Each one is over two inches (5 cm) in diameter—about the size of a tennis ball. (Most of a bird’s eye is hidden by the eyelids and the skull so it looks smaller than it really is.) Hawks and eagles probably have the sharpest vision of all animals.
The Largest and the Smallest Eggs
The ostrich holds the record for having the largest eggs of any living bird. Each one is about six inches (15 cm) long, with a very thick shell. (One ostrich egg is about 20 times bigger than a chicken egg.) But the elephant bird holds the record for having the largest bird eggs ever found. Each one could hold more than two gallons (7.61) and was over 10 inches (25 cm) long.
The tiniest eggs belong to the tiniest of birds—the hummingbirds. Their eggs are smaller than tiny jelly beans.
(Pass around some small jelly beans.)
The Fastest Swimmers
Many birds can swim underwater using their wings as flippers. The fastest are penguins. Penguins are streamlined like missiles, and they can zip through the water at speeds of over 25 miles (40 km) per hour.
What Do These Birds Have in Common?
After discussing each category, ask the group what all these birds have in common. (All are warm-blooded and have feathers, beaks, wings, two legs, scales on their legs and feet, and many similar internal features, such as lightweight bones, fused bones, air sacs, and gizzards.)
Take a Bird Walk
After the discussion, take a trip to the zoo or take a bird walk in a nearby park (see the activity “Bird Behavior Hike”).
The best time to go for a bird walk is very early in the morning when many birds are active.) Each time you see a bird, point out its special features, such as colors, wing shape, size, beak and feet adaptations, and songs. If on a walk, use a field guide to identify the birds you see.
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Then have a contest about the birds you have seen. For example, have your kids vote on the biggest bird, the smallest, the most colorful, the “weirdest,” the one with the largest wingspan, the fastest hopper, the best glider, the loudest squawker, the one with the dullest colors, and the most common.
Have the kids explain which birds they think should “win” a certain title and then draw a picture of their favorite bird. Then let the kids vote on each category. Finally, announce the winners!
Adapted from “Super Birds”, Ranger Rick’s NatureScope Birds, Birds, Birds . National Wildlife Federation, 1998; “Wings on the Wind”,
National Wildlife Week Educator’s Guide Keep the Wild Alive, National Wildlife Federation, 1999
National Wildlife Week ► March 19-35, 2012 ► www.nwf.org/nationalwildlifeweek