Objectives:
Students will leave the class knowing more about the unique vocal abilities of the great horned owl, swamp sparrow, and lyrebird.
*IMPORTANT NOTE* Inform students that they will be doing a research report about a bird of their choosing and reporting it to the class in part 2 of this class series. Highlight that students should mention what the bird they chose teaches them about Jehovah. Encourage them to write a report about a bird not mentioned in this lesson so they can share something new with their classmates.
Materials:
Visual aids (images of great horned owl, lyrebird, and swamp sparrow)
Video clips demonstrating each bird’s unique sounds
Theocratic Connection Links:
- Watching The World – Owls’ Hoots Herald Their Health
- Communication in the World Around Us
- Learning a Song
Video Links:
- Five Facts about the Great Horned Owl:
- FWCC Quick Facts: Swamp Sparrow:
- Bird Mimics Chainsaw, Car Alarm and More | World’s Weirdest:
Introduction (4 minutes):
Ask, “What makes bird songs special?” Encourage students to share their thoughts.
Introduce the three birds to be discussed: the great horned owl, lyrebird, and swamp sparrow, highlighting their unique vocal abilities.
Great Horned Owl: The Nighttime Hooter (8 minutes):
Show a video of the great horned owl hooting. Highlight that they use different sounds for different purposes.
The great horned owl can make a variety of sounds, including deep, soft hoots with a stuttering rhythm.
The male and female of a breeding pair may perform a duet of alternating calls, with the female’s voice higher in pitch.
Discuss how these sounds help the owl communicate and establish territory.
Swamp Sparrow: The Traditional Singer (8 minutes):
Their songs remain consistent across generations, creating stable traditions. Discuss how these stable song traditions help swamp sparrows communicate and maintain their cultural heritage.
Explain that like humans, baby swamp sparrows learn to communicate by copying adults. From a young age, they learn to copy, or mimic, songs sung by their elders. In fact, their mimicry is so accurate that the music changes little between generations.
Just like children, the sparrows don’t remember every song they hear, biologist Robert Lachlan noted this when we he researched swamp sparrow songs. “They don’t just learn songs at random; they pick up commoner songs rather than rarer songs.” In other words, they learn songs they hear most often.
It’s an example of a strategy that scientists call conformist bias. Until recently, this learning ability was thought to be special only to humans.
Lyrebird: The Master Mimic (8 minutes):
Show a video of the lyrebird mimicking different sounds. Explain that the lyrebird can copy the calls of other birds and even man-made noises like car alarms and chainsaws. The lyrebird can accurately imitate the sounds of up to 20-25 species of birds.
Explain that they have a special vocal organ called the syrinx, which allows them to produce complex sounds.The lyrebird has a well-developed vocal organ called the syrinx, similar to vocal cords in humans and other species. The syrinx sits at the bottom of the trachea and acts as a resonating chamber. The ability for more intricate calls are due to muscles around this chamber, which produce changes in loudness and pitch in their song. Many singing birds can even control the left and right sides of the syrinx separately, allowing them to sing with two independent voices.
Discuss how mimicry helps lyrebirds attract mates and communicate with other birds.
Conclusion (2 minutes):
Review the unique vocal abilities of the great horned owl, lyrebird, and swamp sparrow. Encourage students to think about what the singing abilities of these birds teach us about Jehovah.
Assessment: Assess student comprehension and engagement through active participation in discussions and thoughtful responses to reflection questions. Evaluate students’ understanding of each bird’s unique vocal abilities and adaptations through their responses to questions and participation in activities.