Bird Beak Activity

This activity demonstrates that different bird beaks are better adapted to eating different types of food. I took several activities I had found online and modified them to match what I had on hand in my home and came up with this.

Supplies:

Five cups (representing stomachs) labeled with hummingbird, duck, robin, nuthatch, and woodpecker.

Five "beaks": straw, slotted spoon, clothespin, tweezers, toothpick or skewer.Five foods: marshmallows (grubs), cheerios (beetles), rubber bands (worms), water in a narrow-mouthed container (nectar), and rice krispies in water (water plants). Challenge ths student to fill each stomach with the appropriate food and the appropriate beak. No using hands except to manipulate the beak! After all, birds don't have hands!

Here are the correct matches.

Hummingbird: Straw beak with water in a narrow container. Use the thumb plug method to transfer the water rather than sipping the water and spitting it into the cup, especially if doing with a group of students.

Ducks: Slotted spoon beak with rice krispie water plants.

Robin: Clothespin beak with rubber band worms.

Nuthatch: Tweezer beak with cheerio beetles.

Woodpecker: Toothpick/skewer beak with marshmallow grubs. Put the marshmallows under a box lid with holes cut out just large enough for the marshmallows to fit through. This will represent the wood that the grubs like to live in.

Adapt this activity to what you have on hand and it will be great fun!