BIRD 



744 



BIRD 



OUTLINE AND QUESTIONS ON BIRDS 



Outline 



I. Important Characteristics 



( 1 ) A covering of feathers 



(2) Power of flight 



(3) Possession of a backbone and warm 



blood 



(4) All have two legs 



II. Framework of the Body 



(1) Hollow bones 



(2) Air cavities 



(3) Keel-like breastbone 



III. How the Birds Fly 



(1) Wings 



(a) Modifications of forelimbs 



(b) Uses^of the feathers 



(2) Tail 



(a) The bird's rudder 



(3) Long-distance flights 



( 4 ) Rapidity of flight 



(5) Examples for airship-builders 



IV. The Coat of Feathers 



( 1 ) Where the feathers grow 



(2) Why they vary for different birds 



(3) Purpose of oil glands 



( 4 ) Why the male is brightly dressed 



(5) Molting 



V. Senses 



(1) Sight 



(a) Compared with that of other ani- 



mals 



(b) Sensitiveness to light 



(2) Hearing 



(a) How birds hear 



(b) Acuteness of this sense 



(3) Touch, taste and smell 



(4) Sense of direction 



(a) The carrier pigeon 



(b) Birds that return to last-year's 



nests 



VI. The Song of Birds 



(1) Their "organ of speech" 



(2) Birds most gifted in song 



(3) Birds which cannot sing 



VII. Their Home Life 



(1) The mating instinct 



(2) Hatching of eggs 



(3) Care of the young 



(a) Feeding 



(b) Teaching them how to fly 



VIII. Food 



(1) Animal and vegetable food 



(2) How birds eat 



(3) Methods of finding food 



IX. Birds and Mankind 



(1) Value to farmer 



(2) Protection of birds 



(3) Birds as pets 



X. Classification 



See lists, fully classified, under the heading 

 Related Subjects 



XI. Nests of Birds 



Purposes of nests 



How nests vary 



Nests of special interest 



(a) Burrowed nests 



(b) Mounds 



(c) Nests of clay 



(d) Carpenter nests 



(e) Wooden nests 



(f) Woven nests. 



(4) Birds that steal nests 



XII. Migration of Bird* 



(1) Why birds migrate 



(2) How they migrate 



(3) The routes they follow 



XIII. Bird Reservation* 



(1) Their purpose 



(2) Location of important reserves 



XIV. Bird Day 



(1) What it means 



(2) Its influence 



(3) How observed 



Questions 



How are birds related to snakes? 



What resemblance is there between a flying bird and a boat? An aeroplane? 



What is the origin of the old saying, "Like water from a duck's back"? 



Why does the bobolink wear different plumage for different seasons? 



