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Birds are the only animals with feathers.

Feathers keep a bird warm and dry. They are light but strong, and they help birds fly.

All birds have wings, but not all birds can fly. An ostrich runs, and a penguin uses its wings to swim.

Birds have no teeth. They have a beak, and its shape fits their food: a short, strong beak cracks seeds, and a long, thin beak sips nectar from flowers.

Experiment: Feather detective

1. Look at your feather. Find the stiff line down the middle: the shaft.
2. Look with the hand lens at the sides. Can you see lots of thin branches?
3. Gently pull two branches apart. Now there is a gap.
4. Stroke the feather gently from the bottom to the tip between your finger and thumb. Is the gap gone?
5. Wave the feather in the air. Then wave the dark paper. Which is lighter?

What I saw	Yes or no
A shaft in the middle
Thin branches on the sides
The gap closed when I stroked it

Questions

1. Draw a bird. Show its feathers, wings, beak and feet.

   🍎

2. Can a penguin fly in the air?

   yes / no

3. Write one thing that feathers do for a bird.

Sources for every fact on this sheet: echoesof.science/school/birds/sources/

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