Why Bird Beaks are Adapted to the Food the Bird Eats

II. Purpose
Bird beaks are adapted to the specific types of food that they eat. Due to the environment, the degree to which each bird gathers food will vary. The purpose of the Bird Beak Lab is to establish and understand how and why bird beaks are adapted to the food they eat. It will show us how adaptations influence an organism’s ability to compete for natural resources.
Independent variable – the environment in which each bird gathers food
Dependent variable – the amount of specific food gathered by each bird

III. Hypothesis
I predict that the size and shape of the birds’ beaks will directly affect the type and amount of food source it gathers. Birds like the hummingbird and Avocet will be unable to gather certain foods because of their beaks, thus having a disadvantage. The finch and pelican will benefit the most from the size and shapes of their beaks and will benefit the most.

IV. Materials
Wire-nose (hummingbird)
Tweezers (finch)
Chopsticks (Avocet)
Test tube clamp (pelican)
Nickels (clams)
Plastic cups
Red plastic beads (flowers)
Paper clips (shrimp) 
Rice

V. Procedure
THE GOAL: Compete with other birds to accumulate the most amount of food in each environment.
1. Place food on the lab table (be sure to spread it around)
2. Place the plastic cups (nests) an equal amount away from the feeding area.
3. Set timer to 30 seconds. Use your “beak” to pick up food during the allotted time and place it into your plastic cup. Gather as much food as possible.
4. When 30 seconds is up, count and record the amount of food gathered. Repeat procedure for different environment (ie – gather paperclips instead of red beads, etc.)

VI. Data Collection
See Appendix A

VII. Data Analysis
See Appendix B

Questions: