8 biology project on study of birds for school students

Project 1

Once you have made up your mind to go in for bird-watching, you should begin your observations with some of the birds you are already familiar with. For example, you can begin with house sparrows that visit your house. You can easily find a house crow or a pigeon. Jungle crow and myna can also be found easily. Keep a notebook and record your observations about these birds. Record their movements hear their voices, see what kind of food they pick up, how they react with the members of their own species, what are their colours, shapes and sizes, etc. While observing them you may come across a new type of bird you are familiar with.

Watch them and record your observations in the note book. Later on, you can find out the name of that bird by consulting a book on birds. You can give temporary names to those birds you are not able to identify at first. You may enjoy giving names based on their peculiarities or structural features. You can talk about some of the birds that you have observed with your friends and teachers and you may gain further knowledge about them from books on birds. Before long, it becomes your habit to identify and name a bird in your native language and remember its name in English. It may not be essential to remember their scientific names.

Project 2

You can extend your observations further and try to find out different varieties of birds in a particular area or locality. Some species of birds may be only occasionally visible or their population size may be small. Another species of bird may be found very commonly and their population may be larger. These are some of the things that you have to keep in mind while selecting a particular area for bird-watching. When you set out to observe in an area, you have to be mindful of the season, month, date and the time of the day. Here is a practical approach to the study of birds in a locality. This method is known as line transects method.

Transect is a sample belt of vegetation marked off fort study. This method is commonly used to find out the population of different species of birds in a locality. In this method field observations are made while moving along a particular line or lines figured out in the map of that area. The line should be measured by a tape but this may not be essential if the rate of progression along the line is maintained at a constant or defined speed. For example, if you move a distance of 600 metres and in doing so stop for 2 minutes every 10 minutes, you can cover the entre distance in two hours. The rate of your progression should be maintained at a definite level, whether it is on flat land or a step slope or a muddy stream. Observations should be carried out between 7 a.m.

During the course of observations, note all the birds that fall within 100 metres on either side of the transect line i.e. the line of progress, while moving along the line, you should standardize the number of steps taken by you to cover a distance of ten metres. Once you get used to it, you can work on line transect method anywhere you happen to go to. For this you do not have to go to Bharatpur, Ranganathittu or Karnala bird sanctuary. While doing the census (counting), you can also ask your friend to do the same. Later on, both of you can compare your results. While making notes on those types whose names you are not sure about, you can number them alphabetically or numerically, for example type A, B, C and so on or no. 1, 2, 3 and so on. You should also record the number of birds of each species seen by you on a particular date and time. Later on, when you get to know their names, write down names against numbers designated earlier on by you.

Your observations should continue in a chosen area for several days. Every day you have to record the number of different species observed and count the number of individual of each species. When you compare your observations of different days, you will come to the conclusion that their numbers vary slightly. Why is it so? Unless your efficiency of observation has changed markedly, such efficiency of observation has changed markedly, such variation in number may be called chance variations. But what you will find more interesting is that the cumulative number of species encountered or observed by you goes on increasing with the passing of days. This is suggestive of the fact that you are seeing only a fraction of the bird population of that place or region.

Project 3

After you have done this project in a particular area, you can select another area. The new area should have a different vegetation and landscape because this will enable you to compare the results of two different habitats. The style of observation and the method of observation (line transect method) should be the same. After your observations, you should find out the common birds of these two habitats and analyze why in a particular habitat your saw greater or less number of types of species and greater or less number of members of a particular species. As bird-watching is a fascinating hobby, you are likely to continue with this in a variety of different habitats.

Project 4

Whatever area you happen to chose for bird-watching you should continue to observe them in different seasons. In a particular season, you may find new arrivals. Observe them carefully. After some days, you will not find them. They are migratory birds that have come from far off places. Either they are on their way to a new place or they have come to stay for sometime. Try to find out their names by consulting your book on birds.

Project 5

An important part of your observation should be to keep a track on what they eat. For example, mynas and sparrows, which hop and chirp on the ground, consume insects and seeds. Bee eaters catch flying honey-bees and attack beehives. Kites come zooming down on rats and dead bodies of animals. Parakeets sit on guava trees and nibble at the fruit. Relate different kinds of feeding habits and behavior to their beaks, claws and their body size.

Project 6

While making observations you are most likely to come across their nests. Keep notes on them, too. See their overall structure, shape, size, location, and the raw materials they have been constructed with. Try to find out whether the male or the female has built the nest. It is good to know the design of the homes of birds where they rear their young.

Project 7

Listen very carefully to the calls of a bird. After sometime, you will become familiar with the call of a particular species. From their call you can immediately tell who they are and where they are calling from. You will feel as if they are telling you something. You will soon find out another interesting phenomenon. Some birds have the ability to imitate the calls of other birds. For example, the drongo mimics the calls of shikara hawk very well. Thus offers the drongo some advantage.

Project 8

If you happen to be in a place where a large number of birds congregate on the telephone wire, roof-tops, and on trees, particularly in the evening, you can make some interesting observations on their roosting behavior. It should not be difficult to find out what species of birds roost together, at what time they arrive and how long they make noisy flights and display themselves in this manner before they settle down. Some birds roost communally as this offers them an advantage.