Curriculum
Connections
Hummingbird
True or False Quiz
This quick quiz highlights some little-known facts and dispels some misconceptions
about hummingbirds. Use the quiz as a pre- and post-assessment. As your class
learns more about hummingbirds, let them add their own items to the quiz or create
a whole new quiz for another class to take. more
Territorial Tactics
Overview:
Territorial Tactics is an energetic tag game in which students simulate
the
territorial behavior and survival strategies
of hummingbirds. It is designed to teach students tactics used by
dominant territorial hummingbirds to guard a feeder or patch of nectar
plants, and tactics used by other hummingbirds to try to feed from
that protected food source. (The game is like Capture the Flag with
a few adaptations.) more
Migration
Mishaps
Overview: Migration
Mishaps is a game that helps to demonstrate why animals that migrate,
such as hummingbirds, are threatened by
habitat destruction. more
Design
a Hummingbird Flower
Overview: In this activity, students design and create a flower
adapted for pollination by hummingbirds. more
Which Plants to Plant?
Overview: Students research hummingbird-attracting
plants and make selections to grow in a school garden. more
Make
Your Own Hummingbird Feeder
Overview: Based
on what they know about hummingbirds, students will design and create
their own feeder using everyday materials. more
Hummingbird
Inquiry Ideas
Hummingbird gardens and feeders arouse curiosity and enable students
to design experiments to answer their own questions about the
birds' behavior. Here are some questions and mysteries to get them
started.
Which
type of feeder is most attractive to hummingbirds?
Tip: Test several different types of commercial
feeders or make your own. Hang the feeders in proximity to one
another. Observe birds feeding and measure how much nectar has
been consumed from
each feeder. Be aware that one dominant bird may guard the feeder
it prefers and force others to feed at less preferable feeders.
Do hummingbirds
feed more or less often at feeders placed near nectar flowers than
at feeders placed far away from them?
Tip: Place one feeder in or near the hummingbird garden. Place another
feeder of the same type in a distant but easy-to-view location. Observe
birds feeding and measure how much nectar has been consumed from
each feeder.
Do hummingbirds
really prefer red?
Tip: Obtain colorless feeders or make your own. Color the feeders
with non-toxic paint or tie differently colored ribbons on them.
Place the feeders in similar locations or the same location. Observe
birds feeding and measure how much nectar has been consumed from
each feeder.
Which
flowers are most attractive to hummingbirds?
Tip: Observe hummingbirds feeding at different times of the day.
Use a stopwatch to record the amount of time a bird spends feeding
at each type of flower. Graph and compare feeding times, showing
the favorite flowers in order of preference.
Photo
courtesy Oklahoma Dept. of Wildlife Conservation |
Do
hummingbirds prefer nectar made from purified
water over nectar made from ordinary tap water?
Tip: Make two batches of nectar, one using purified
water and one using tap water. Use two identical feeders placed
at the same location,
just a few feet apart, each with a different batch of nectar. (Be
sure to label them.) Record daily observations. Reverse the feeders
and keep recording. Compare results with those at Natural
Instinct (click on Hummingbird).
Do hummingbirds
prefer nectar made from white cane sugar or white beet sugar?
Tip: Granulated white table sugar used to make hummingbird nectar
can be made from beets or cane. The sucrose should be the same in
both products, however, there is some anecdotal evidence from reliable
observers that hummingbirds do prefer nectar made from cane sugar
(may be due to different residues). The source of the sugar is usually
written on the front of the bag it comes in. Find out if your hummers
have a preference!
More questions
(primarily for high school students) are available from Operation
Rubythroat.
Caution: When
investigating questions related to hummingbirds, be careful not
to set up an experiment that could cause harm
to the birds. For example, never experiment with providing nectars
of different concentrations or nectars made from any substances other
than ordinary granulated white table sugar.
More Ideas for Crossing the Curriculum with Hummingbirds
Operation
Rubythroat has a whole section of cross-disciplinary
activities for art, drama, geography, music, math or writing.
Journey
North also has a collection of Hummingbird lessons,
activities and information as well as weekly challenge
questions.
