Common Misconceptions About Birds — Arctic And Antarctic Birds

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MISCONCEPTIONS

Bird Classification

Students may think… Instead of thinking…
An animal is a land mammal other than a human being. Insects, birds and fish are not animals. Animals live in marine and terrestrial environments. Insects, birds, and fish are all animals.

Bird Characteristics

Students may think… Instead of thinking…
Birds have teeth in their beaks. Birds do not have teeth.
Birds’ eyes are located in the front of their heads. Most birds have eyes on the sides of their heads.
Birds’ legs have “knees” that bend the bottom of the legs backwards (similar to humans’ knees). Birds’ legs have “ankles” that bend the bottom of the legs forward.

Bird Behavior

Students may think… Instead of thinking…
Some birds mate for life. Birds that mate “for life” have a high chance of staying with the same partner for an extended period. Other birds change partners every year, or several times within the same year.
Birds fly south in the winter. Birds migrate to an area where the resources they need can be found. This may be a long distance (to the tropics, a coast, or even a different elevation). Some species do not migrate, or move, in response to fluctuating resources.
Birds migrate because it’s cold (to avoid freezing). Birds migrate toward areas of increasing or higher resources (nesting sites, food). Both environmental (temperature, daylight) and genetic factors are involved in migration.
Hummingbirds migrate on the backs of geese. This has never been observed, and there is virtually no overlap in the migration pattern and timing of geese and hummingbirds.
Small birds are carried long distances by powerful storms. Small birds are not adapted to deal with high winds. High winds ground small birds, not blow them around.

Bird and Human Interactions

Students may think… Instead of thinking…
Parent birds will abandon a nest if it has been touched by humans. Birds may abandon a nest if humans approach a nest too often because other predators may be led to the nest by the scent.
Bird feeders should be taken down in the fall because they keep birds from migrating. Birds migrate because of genetic and environmental cues. The presence of bird feeders will not cause them to stay!
You should not throw rice at weddings because birds eat it, and it swells up in their stomach and kills them (or makes them explode). Birds have no trouble digesting rice, or any other “expanding” vegetable.

Penguins

Students may think… Instead of thinking…
Penguins live anywhere it’s cold. Penguins live only in the Southern Hemisphere. Penguins do not live in cold climates in the Northern Hemisphere (like the Arctic).
Penguins live only in Antarctica (or on the ice). Of the 17 penguin species, only a few live and nest in Antarctica. Penguin species are found across the Southern Hemisphere.
Penguins only live in cold places. Penguins live on the southern edges of Africa, Australia, and South America and the Galapagos Islands near the equator! A cold current from Antarctica keeps the water near the Galapagos cool enough for the penguins to survive.
Penguins have fur to keep warm. Like other birds, penguins have feathers. Penguin feathers are short, dense, and packed so tightly together that they often look like smooth skin. Chicks are covered in fuzzy down, which keeps them warm and may resemble fur.
Penguins are fish, mammals, or amphibians because they live in water, on land, or both. Penguins are birds, even though they spend time on land and in water. Their motion in the water more closely resembles flying than the swimming motion used by other animals.
Polar bears eat penguins. Polar bears live in the Northern Hemisphere and penguins in the Southern Hemisphere, so the species never interact.
Penguins are only black and white. Some penguin species are black and white, but others have shades of black, white, grays, blues, yellows, and oranges. Species may have red eyes, brightly colored feathers, bright orange beaks, or pink feet.

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