Raptors! The Birds of Prey
Raptors, or birds of prey, include hawks, eagles, falcons, ospreys, owls, and harriers. “Prey” refers to the fact that these birds are hunters. One distinction between them and other birds that feed on living things is the kind and size of the prey, such as an American Robin pulling an earthworm out of the ground. Predatory birds consume fish, skunks, mice, rabbits, lizards, and even other birds.
Another difference is found in their other name. The word “raptor” originates from a Latin phrase meaning “to seize and carry away.” Predatory birds accomplish this by using their strong feet to capture and remove prey. Raptors fascinate people because of their skill and strength. Upon closer inspection, these birds are incredible natural wonders that are crucial to Earth’s ecosystems.
Children create poems in this activity to share with family and friends about owls, eagles, hawks, or other raptors.
Children fold paper airplanes to resemble birds’ four distinct wing shapes to gain firsthand experience with flight.
Some raptors have special equipment to help them hunt specific types of prey. See if you can match these hunters with their quarry.
the connections between organisms in a group determined by the energy flow from food to predator
an animal that hunts other animals for food prey
an animal that a different animal hunts for food, such as a raptor
a kind of bird, like a hawk or eagle, with powerful beaks and keen claws for capturing live prey, such as an owlet
a young owl ecosystem
a group of animals and plants interacting with their surroundings and one another
These fish-eating raptors’ method of carrying their prey indicates that their brains have evolved to divide up difficult tasks.
This month’s other topics include: how many ducks really quack, and why do some species sleep in communal roosts?
Give us your injured, hurt, and flightless raptors who want to be free to soar.
Test and hone your ID skills with this raptor puzzle.
Drawing birds is a great way to get to know them without having to go outside. Audubon for Kids produced a video featuring ornithologist David Sibley, who also illustrated and wrote The Sibley Guide to Birds. The video demonstrates how to draw a Bald Eagle. Get out a piece of paper and a pencil or crayon and try it yourself! Share your art on Instagram: #SketchWithSibley @audubonsociety.
Get to know birds
If you have a fondness for animals, including wildlife, you may want to familiarize yourself with the creatures you see on a daily basis: birds. There are many special things about birds. For one, they have feathers. No other animal has them. Birds come in an amazing variety of colors and sizes. That’s another special thing about birds—diversity.
You could characterize a bird by describing its color and pattern, the size and form of its beak, or the appearance of its legs and feet. These are called field marks. Field marks are indicators used by people to help identify birds. Once you are proficient at identifying field mark cues, you can start to identify individual bird species. Thus, get a field guide, launch an app, or, if you can, walk outside. When you spot a bird, take a closer look.
Drawing birds is a great way to get to know them without having to go outside. Audubon for Kids released a video featuring ornithologist David Sibley, who wrote and illustrated The Sibley Guide to Birds. The video demonstrates how to sketch a Black-capped Chickadee, a tiny, acrobatic songbird. Get out a piece of paper and a pencil or crayon and try it yourself! Share your art on Instagram: #SketchWithSibley @audubonsociety.
a feature, such as color, pattern, size, tail shape, leg length, beak size and shape, type of feet, and so forth, that aids in the identification of birds
wild animals living in nature species
a collection of plants or animals with similar traits and the capacity to procreate and create new members of their own species
the state of having a wide variety of objects, including plants, animals, and people
The bill roost is the term for the hard, horny area of a bird’s mouth.
a location where birds congregate to rest or sleep; a place for birds to do so
Using this homemade bird feeder, you can recycle your empty milk cartons to attract more birds to your backyard. This quick and simple project will give your avian guests a good source of food while also being enjoyable for you.
After learning some naming conventions, children use their creative juices to “invent” a new bird, sketch it, and give it a name.
The beak and feet of a bird can reveal a great deal about its diet and feeding habits.
Upon observing pigeons through a window, park bench, or internet video, children utilize a checklist to identify various behaviors and color changes.
With their large eyes, razor-sharp beak, and strong feet with piercing talons, owls are among the most striking birds in the sky. Their haunting calls echoing through the dark give us chills. Owls are popular characters in both contemporary and mythological tales because they are also considered symbols of wisdom.
Owls are categorized as raptors, or birds of prey. They are hunters, and the creatures they capture and consume are their prey. In other words, they’re hunters. Insects, worms, fish, crabs, small mammals, and even other birds are among their food sources. Owls use their feet, just like other raptors like eagles, hawks, falcons, and kites, to seize their prey. Their outstanding hearing, acute vision, and unique feathers on the edges of their wings that allow them to fly silently all contribute to their enhanced hunting abilities.
Through playful probing of the sounds and sizes of five different species of owls, children learn the distinctions between them after viewing pictures of North American owls.
Children create and illustrate tales about an owl that enters their lives after reading a story about the adventures of a burrowing owl.
With a bit of imagination and paint, your child can make handprints of flamingos, owls, or any other favorite feathered creature.
The John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove is home to fascinating resident owls. These birds are badly injured and unable to survive in the wild, so now they are part of Audubon Pennsylvanias education program. Get to know the owls with Audubon staffers Carrie Barron and Christine Lin in this video series, starting with this episode on owl anatomy. Watch Episode 1 to see an Eastern Screech Owl eat a mouse. Our hosts dissect an owl pellet in Episode 2.
Discover a little bit of the mystery surrounding these incredible raptors.
Even though these owls have the same game face on, their personalities couldn’t be more dissimilar.
After reading the “Owl Prowl” magazine from Audubon Adventures, use this entertaining online quiz to gauge your knowledge.
Take this quiz to identify the species of North American owls by sight!
If you click on an owl’s picture, the species name appears on the back.
Photographs of Northern Saw-whet Owls, clockwise from top left: Jolie Gordon, Paul Lesko, Randy Heaton, Ed MacKerrow, John Adolph, Matt Scott, and Barbara Fleming All Audubon Photography Awards. Draw a bird with David Sibley.
Drawing birds is a great way to get to know them without having to go outside. The ornithologist David Sibley, who wrote and illustrated The Sibley Guide to Birds, made a drawing tutorial for kids on Audubon for Kids. Get out a piece of paper and a pencil or crayon and try it yourself! Share your art on Instagram: #SketchWithSibley @audubonsociety.
Seabirds: Feathered Ocean Travelers
Seabirds are aquatic birds that live their entire lives in the water. Pelicans, puffins, terns, skimmers, albatrosses, penguins, and other birds are included in this group. They have amazing traits, such as waterproof feathers and unique organs that enable them to drink saltwater, that enable them to survive in the frequently hostile conditions they encounter at sea. Some have additional fat layers to protect them from the chilly waters of the Arctic and Antarctic. While some dive headfirst into the water to catch fish, others “fly” underwater to obtain their food.
It’s not necessary to live close to the ocean to see seabirds; some can be seen around freshwater lakes. Some travel thousands of miles by land and sea between their wintering grounds and the locations where they raise their young.
Drawing birds is a great way to get to know them without having to go outside. Drawing an Atlantic Puffin is demonstrated in a video produced by ornithologist David Sibley for Audubon for Kids. Sibley also wrote and illustrated The Sibley Guide to Birds. Get out a piece of paper and a pencil or crayon and try it yourself! Share your art on Instagram: #SketchWithSibley @audubonsociety.
Use common household items to conduct an experiment to determine the value of insulation for birds that inhabit extremely cold climates.
Establish a food chain with the Emperor Penguin, a famous seabird, to experience Antarctica without ever leaving your home.
From Audubons Project Puffin, make this adorable puffin chick toy with a ball of yarn and a little love.
Photographs of Atlantic Puffins, clockwise from top left: Nonnie Thompson, Fabiola Forns, Jean Hall, Dakota Wheeler, Kevin Vande Vusse, Andrea Storrs, and Susan Hodgson All Audubon Photography Award.
These alcids, which are related to puffins, are skilled swimmers beneath the waves despite needing to flap frantically to get airborne.
With their many adaptations for living in the ocean and their empathetic social behaviors, penguins are among the most adorable and fascinating animals on the planet.
After reading “Seabirds: Feathered Ocean Mariners” in Audubon Adventures, try your knowledge with this entertaining online quiz.
Many families enjoy spending a day at the beach because of the sunshine, refreshing breeze, and waves that crash into the white sand or splash over the rocks. The shore is a unique location where the land and the sea converge. Beaches are crowded with people who come to play, unwind, and take in the scenery.
People adore the natural features of seashores, which include birds and other animals. Above the water line, shorebirds and other coastal birds soar, dive, skitter back and forth, or stand in groups. For them, the beach serves as a feeding ground, a comfortable resting place during a protracted migration, and frequently a spot to build a nest and raise their young directly on the sand. We have even more reason to enjoy going to the beach after learning about the fascinating and difficult lives of shorebirds and how to respect and preserve them as well as the habitat we share.
Children’s signs can aid in educating people about how to preserve birds’ nesting areas on the beach.
Although shorebird diversity is astounding, it can also be overwhelming. Here are four staple groups to get you started.
Beach vacations are wonderful, but not just people love them. Here’s how to enjoy the sun while safeguarding shorebirds.
a bird that forages for food along the shoreline, possessing short bill and pointed wings
the region that borders a body of water, like a lake or sea
an empty hollowed-out bird’s nest in the sand beach hopper
a tiny, tough-shelled animal that lives on beaches, typically in washed-up seaweed, and hops like a flea; also known as a beach flea dune, sand hopper, and sand flea
a wind-blown sand hill next to a lake or the ocean that serves as cover
patterns and colors that help an object or animal blend in with its surroundings
This shorebird, like many others, migrates to Alaska’s Arctic Refuge’s coastal plain each summer to breed.
By doing so, youll be helping birds and other wildlife.
After reading the “Sharing Our Shores” issue of Audubon Adventures, try your knowledge with this entertaining online quiz.
Drawing birds is a great way to get to know them without having to go outside. The ornithologist David Sibley, who wrote and illustrated The Sibley Guide to Birds, made a drawing tutorial for kids on Audubon for Kids. Get out a piece of paper and a pencil or crayon and try it yourself! Share your art on Instagram: #SketchWithSibley @audubonsociety.
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