Third graders conducted an experiment to test different ways to grasp seeds, to model the adaptations of bird beaks! They used needle-nose tweezers, regular tweezers, and tongs to grasp different sizes of “bird food.” The used mini-marshmallows, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds in the shell to represent the food.
What they learned: different types of birds have adaptations to be able to eat certain types of food. Birds that eat large foods, such as small animals, have big, powerful beaks. This is represented by the tongs. Birds that eat medium-sized seeds, such as sunflower seeds, have medium-sized beaks, like the tweezers. Some birds eat tiny seeds, which are represented by the needle-nosed tweezers.
