Tonia Kushin has been introducing seabirds to her 6th/7th grade class over the last week. These sessions have included learning about what makes a seabird a seabird, and dissecting mallards that one of the students hunted. Ann Harding met with the class via Skype on the 12th October for the first seabird lesson. After covering the main characteristics of seabirds, they discussed the different groups of seabirds in the world, and which species breed on the Pribilof Islands.
The class had lots of great questions. Here are a couple of questions that we needed to look up answers for:
How many seabird species are there in the world?
Birdlife International (an international bird conservation organization) currently recognizes 334 species of seabird. http://seabird.wikispaces.com
And, how does the shell of an egg form?
Eggs form in the reproductive tract of the female bird. The yolk and egg white (albumen) are surrounded by two shell membranes, and the developing egg then passes into the uterus (or shell gland) where several layers of eggshell are added. After that, the cuticle or skin is applied (this gives the egg it’s color), and the finished egg moves along the reproductive tract and out of the bird. The shell is made primarily from calcium carbonate crystals, and is vital for protecting the egg from infection and drying out. It also regulates gases and water for the growing baby chick.