Bird Bill Game
In nature, only one bird species occupies a specific niche. If there were only one
kind of food available, the bird that had the best ability to get that food would
survive. Another species less well adapted would die or move away to where food supplies
were greater or more diverse or where there was less able competition.
To play this feeding strategy game, students will need to choose a bill type to represent
one kind of bird- found on the beak- chart. During the game, students will be able
to determine the success of any one bill type in relation to the food item being
gathered.
OBJECTIVE
To determine that one bill type is better adapted to pick up one food resource than
another.
MATERIALS
(for two groups of 15 people)
- paper cups - 1 per participant
- marbles - 300 per kit
- round toothpicks - 400 per kit
- 1/4 inch washers - 300 per kit
- spoons - metal or durable plastic - 4
- tongue depressors, popsicle sticks, or chopsticks - 4 pairs
- scissors - 4 pairs
- tweezers - 4 pairs
- clothespins (spring type) - 4
- bird poster or bird beak chart
- nylon stuff bag to hold the materials
- quilt or blanket for each group
RULES OF THE GAME
- paper cups are stomachs
- marbles (snails) , toothpicks (worms) and washers (beetles) are food items
- spoons, pairs of tongue depressors, popsicle sticks or chopsticks, scissors, tweezers, and clothespins are bird beaks
- Teacher (predator) spreads a food source and gives the signal to start eating.
- Using its "beak" each bird picks up as many food items as it can, one at a time, for a period of one minute.
- Bird places food items in "stomach" (stomach must remain upright).
- Teacher gives the signal to stop eating.
- Each bird will count the number of food items in its stomach and report its results to the group. (if there are multiple tries with one food item, the number of food items collected by one bill type will be added together and averaged.)
- Data should be recorded on a group data sheet similar to the attached sample. Students may wish to design their own data sheets.
- Discuss the results.
- Repeat the procedure with the second and third food items.
- Repeat the procedure with all three food items at once, arranging the food items in separate "habitat" areas, with a center overlap zone.
- Compare the "scores" of single food items. Are there more survivors with diversity?
HELPFUL HINTS
- If possible keep your group size to about 15.
- Be sure to spread food items over a large enough area to avoid bumping and crowding by the birds.
- For scientific accuracy, the times of each trial must be constant (usually one minute).
- During each discussion period, try to correlate the simulation activity to the real world.
Last Updated: Tue, Feb 17, 1998 9:41 PM PST