Sources

Pictures, common names, and scientific names of "Oklahoma Birds" were takes from the following website:
http://www.backyardbirdcam.com/gallery/gallery.htm

Habitat Information from:
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/othrdata/chekbird/r2/okokcity.htm

Information gathered from:
www.allaboutbirds.org
AND
MS Encarta Kids 2007

Google.com was the used search engine

Oklahoma Birds

Common Name - Forster Stern
Scientific Name - Sterna Forsteri
Range - North America
Habitat - Breeds in marshes, generally with lots of open water and island-like vegetation
Unique Characteristics or Habits - Forster's Tern is the only tern restricted to North America for most of the year



Common Name - American Robin
Scientific Name - Turdus mirgratorius
Range - North America to northern South America
Habitat - lawns, fields, city parks, woodlands, forests, tundra. during the winter they look for forests with berry-producing vegetation
Unique Characteristics or Habits - Robins eat a lot of fruit; female robins are always the ones to choose the nesting place



Common Name - Common Nighthawk
Scientific Name - Chordeiles minor
Range - extends through most of North and South America. NA in the summer for breeding and SA in the winter for non-breeding times
Habitat - grasslands, woodland edges, pastures, cultivated fields, and roadside brush
Unique Characteristics or Habits - the population of common nighthawks is decreasing significantly in many areas; it looks like a bat with its floppy flight pattern



Common Name - Black-Crowned Night Heron
Scientific Name - Nycticorax nycticorax
Range - 5 continents except Australia and Antarctica
Habitat - various wetlands, including salt- and freshwater marshes, swamps, streams, lakes, and agricultural fields
Unique Characteristics or Habits - it will throw up its food often which makes it easy to study their diets



Common Name - Black-Chinned Hummingbird
Scientific Name - Archilocus alexandri
Range - runs along the western half of the US from the Northwest down to the southern tip of Mexico
Habitat - in canyons and along rivers; in arid areas, mostly found near cottonwood, sycamore, willow, salt-cedar, sugarberry, and oak trees. Birds wintering in the gulf often spend time in the shade of oaks
Unique Characteristics or Habits - females are generally bigger than males, and children are generally larger than their parents



Common Name - White-winged Crossbill
Scientific Name - Loxia leucoptera
Range - Canada and the northern part of the United States
Habitat - coniferous forests, especially where large crops of spruce and tamarak cones can be found
Unique Characteristics or Habits - the Crossbill can eat over 3,000 conifer seeds in a day and it breeds all 12 months of the year



Common Name - Double Crested Cormorant
Scientific Name - Phalacrocorax auritus
Range - all of the United States, as well as extending into the southern tip of Canada as well
Habitat - found in diverse aquatic habitats, especially ponds, lakes, rivers, lagoons, estuaries and open coastline
Unique Characteristics or Habits - large pebbles are often found in cormorant nests, and the birds treat them like eggs



Common Name - American Coot
Scientific Name - Fulica americana
Range - ranges from the southern tip of Mexico into northern Canada
Habitat - aquatic habitats such as ponds, lakes, and rivers
Unique Characteristics or Habits - the coot does not have webbed feet like a duck, but special "lobes" that help to push water out with much more ease



Common Name - Gray Catbird
Scientific Name - Dumetella carolinensis
Range - Ranges from Washington to Texas and all the way to Maine; they make it into Canada every once in a while
Habitat - intense shrubs, vine tangles, and young tree brush; their habitats are often created by humans in the form of clearing, roadsides, and fencerows
Unique Characteristics or Habits - the Gray Catbird's long song may last for up to 10 minutes and is used to mark territory



Common Name - Orange Bishop
Scientific Name - Euplectes franciscanus
Range - native to North Africa, it eventually spread to Puerto Rico and into the US, primarily in the midwest
Habitat - inhabits open savannah with tall trees and shrubs
Unique Characteristics or Habits - these birds do not migrate and generally live their entire life in the area they were born

What Makes a Bird Different From Other Animals?

Is it the pretty colors?
Is it the bill or beak?
Is it the eggs?
Is it the wings?

No, other animals have all of the other characteristics. Then what is it?
FEATHERS!

All birds have feathers and birds are the only animals that do!

Why Do Birds Need Feathers?

• Feathers do many jobs for birds.

• It keeps them warm, wing feathers allow flight and tail feathers are used for steering

• The color of the feathers can be used to hide the bird or help the bird find a mate

• Most birds lose their feathers and grow new ones every year.

• The feathers of some birds are red, green, yellow, blue, and other beautiful colors

Why Do Birds Have Bills or Beaks?

• Birds have beaks or bills instead of jaws with teeth.

• There are many shapes and sizes of beaks

• The shape of the beak depends on what the bird eats

• Toucans are tropical birds with huge, curved beaks. They use their beaks to crack open nuts. Sparrows and finches have thick beaks that are perfect for crushing seeds.

How Big Are Birds?

The tiniest bird is the bee hummingbird. It is only a little more than 2 inches long and weighs less than a dime!



The biggest bird is the ostrich. It is about 9 feet tall and weighs up to 345 pounds. The ostrich cannot fly.




One of the heaviest flying birds is the great bustard.

Where Do Birds Live?

• Birds live almost everywhere on Earth. Some kinds of birds can live only in certain places.

• Penguins live only in cold places and parrots live only in warm tropics.

• Many birds have summer and winter homes. Some birds live in the northern United States and Canada during the summer.

• They migrate (fly) south to spend the winter in Central or South America

Why Do Birds Migrate?

• They migrate to have the best possible living conditions all year-round.

• Geese, like other migrating birds, travel south to have a ready food supply. The grass they feed on becomes scarce during the northern winter.

• No one understands exactly how migrating animals know when to migrate or how they find their way.

• Some experts think that the shortening days in fall or the lengthening days in spring may act as a signal to birds and other animals.

What Kinds of Birds Are There?

• There are about 10,000 kinds of birds. Scientists have different ways of grouping birds. One way to group them is by how and where they live

• Some birds live in water or get most of their food from water.

• Some birds live on beaches or shores. They are called wading birds because they have long legs for wading into water to catch fish or other animals

• Hawks, eagles, and falcons swoop down and grab other animals with their claws. They are called birds of prey. Owls are birds of prey that hunt at night.

Do Birds Sleep?

• Birds need much less sleep than people do. One seabird called the sooty tern, can fly for year by taking “baps that last only a few seconds.

• Most birds that live on land are active during the day and sleep at night. Owls are just the opposite, they sleep during the day and hunt at night.

• Birds usually sleep in shrubs, on tree branches, in holes in trees, or on the ground. Most ducks sleep on the water. Many birds sleep while they are standing.

How Are Birds Born?

• Birds hatch out of eggs. They break the shell and hop out.

• They cannot see at first and their parents must feed them and keep them warm.

• Some kinds of young birds stay in the nest less than a day. Some baby birds stay around the nest for months.

How Long Do Birds Live?

• Most birds do not survive longer than one year. Many birds get sick and die.

• Some cannot find enough food. Some get eaten by other animals.

• About one bird in ten lives longer than a year.

Bird Nests

• Birds build nests for breeding in trees, on cliffs, or on the ground.

• They collect sticks and twigs and place them onto a branch and some birds use mud or their own spit to harden the nest and make is all stick together

• Most birds are taking care of by at least one parent until they are to fly and get their own food.

Books About Birds

• “Igor, The Bird who Couldn’t Sing” by Satoshi Kitamura

• “Are You My Mother?” by P.D. Eastman

• “Horton Hatches the Egg” by Dr. Seuss

• “The Odd Egg” by Emily Gravett

• “Stellaluna” by Janell Cannon

• “Birds” by Kevin Henkes