If we take a closer look at the different types of songbirds, we can see that although they share common features - bills, feet, wings, feathers, etc. These differences have developed to serve specific functions that make each bird better able to survive in its environment. For example, the shape of the bill of a finch is very different from that of a wren and this can be linked to differences in what they eat. Finches have short, conical bills that are very strong. They use their bills to crack open hard shells to get at seeds.
Wrens have long, slender bills that are curved slightly downward.
They use their bills to search for insects in crevices. The major purpose of this activity is for students to see the diversity among songbirds by looking at simple line drawings of five representative species listed below. Click on the line drawings above to open up the full-sized drawings. Print out the line drawings of the five songbirds and make enough copies so that each student gets a picture of one bird. Split the class into groups of 3-5 students and give each student in a group a different picture.