Bird Beak Structure and Function

In this lesson, students explore how the external structures of plants and animals help them get what they need to survive. They investigate how the shape of a bird beak determines what the bird can pick up and eat.

• All animals have different body parts that help them get what they need to survive in their environment. 
• Bird beaks come in different shapes, and the shape determines what a bird can eat.

• Why do some animals have claws? 
• What animals have beaks? 
• How do birds use their beaks? 
• Why do some plants have thorns? 
• Why do birds need to eat?
• How might the different beaks affect the kind of food a bird can eat?

Misconception: All bird beaks have the same shape.

Fact: There are many different kinds of bird beaks, with many different shapes.

Beak: the hard, pointed body part that sticks out of a bird’s face

Claw: a body part at the end of an animal’s toes that is sharp and curved

Engineer: anyone who uses scientific knowledge and mathematics to solve a problem by creating new technologies

Mimic: to copy

Prototype:  a smaller version of what will be engineered

Thorn: a hard, sharp part of a plant that sticks out of a plant’s roots, stem, or leaves

Using Claws

Many animals have claws. A claw is a body part that is sharp and curved. Claws are at the end of an animal’s toes.

Birds such as eagles have claws. Tigers have claws. Cats have claws. Bears have claws.

Animals use their claws in different ways. Many lizards have claws. They use their claws to help them climb. Cats also use their claws to climb. They protect themselves with their claws. And they use their claws to hold animals they will eat.

Birds use their claws for many things. They use them to carry sticks to build a nest. They use them to hold onto branches. They also use them to catch and carry animals they will eat.

Bird Beaks

Birds don’t only use their claws to catch food. They also use their beaks.

A beak is the hard, pointed body part that sticks out of a bird’s face. Birds use their beaks to pick up and eat food.

Not all bird beaks are the same. Some are narrow. Others are wide. Some are pointy. Others are curved.

For the hands-on investigation, students compare bird beak types to investigate whether or not the structure of the beak affects the type of food it eats. Students use different objects that represent different beak shapes such as a toothpick, a spoon, or tweezers and try to pick up various materials (e.g. paper for leaves, pompoms for insects, and rubber bands for worms) that represent food items that birds would eat. They collect the data and analyze them to draw an evidence-based conclusion about how beak structure affects what a bird eats.