This video on birds describes the five main characteristics of birds, some similarities and differences between birds and reptiles, and different types of beaks that birds have depending on what they eat. Many scientists believe that birds evolved from flying reptiles that lived among the dinosaurs over 70 million years ago. Although birds are not the only animals that have wings, they are the only animals that have feathers. The program shows special facts about the bones of birds that assist in flight, how birds incubate their eggs, and why it is important for penguins to be warm blooded. In a hands-on activity demonstrated in this program, students explore birds' second stomach called gizzard where food is ground down by tiny pebbles.
Students use sunflower seeds and aquarium gravels to demonstrate how birds digest their food.
The video has a feature called Animals Up Close that takes viewers to the aviary at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum where an ornithologist explains what hummingbirds eat and how they make their nests. The teacher's guide provides a brief synopsis of the program, previewing and follow up questions and activities, and a list of additional resources. In a sample follow up activity, groups of students build a number of bird feeders to hang outside the window. They then experiment with different kinds of food to see what different types of birds they attract. This program may be shown to any group in a school, public library, prison or military base without further permission from Schlessinger Media.