Nature Study Lesson # 12 The Bluebird & Lesson # 5 The Beak of a Bird

"Each kind of bird has a beak especially adapted for getting its food" -Handbook of Nature Study

I told the boys that when they see any bird, whether they can identify it or not, they can be detectives and by looking at the bird's beak can tell what it eats. We looked at pictures of all sorts of beaks and began to see how the shapes and what they eat tend to go together. We then looked at the beak of the Bluebird, our subject of the day, and we could determine by its short, thin and sharp beak that the bluebird primarily eats insects. They painted the mobile from the Outdoor Hour, which included pictures of their food and nests. 

We will put these together tomorrow and hang them in the kitchen, where we change the things we hang from the ceiling from time to time.

I told them that the bluebird is often called "the blue robin," and this lead to a discussion of the similarities and differences between the two birds. We also listened to the songs of both birds and the boys decided that, although similar, the robin's call was definitely bolder.

"The bluebird is related to the robins and the thrushes and is as beneficial as it is beautiful"-Handbook of Nature Study, p.64

The Burgess Bird book can be found here.