Beaks, Wings, Sings & Flies by Fun For Kidz

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3 Check It Out! 4 What Makes Birds So Special? 8 Weird Sleep Habits of Birds 10 Macaws Have It All! 11 Drawing the Macaw 12 Summer’s Hummers 14 Puzzles 16 The Great Impersonator 17 Just a Minute 18 10 Amazing Facts About Birds 20 Ducks Can Quack You Up 21 Duck’s Tongue – Your Tongue 22 Bird Attack 26 Feathered Friends Funnies 27 Cowboy Clark & Larry 28 Ziggy’s Mail Zone 29 Kidz Corner 30 Puzzle Solutions

Agustin J. Villarreal/Shutterstock.com

Birds are amazing creatures with many different features. Some have big beaks, huge tail feathers, or bright colors. Others stand out with the crown feathers on their heads. All birds have their own special talents. Many love to sing. One bird in this issue is able to sing 1000 songs an hour. Birds can be multitaskers; they can actually fly and sleep at the same time! But some birds don’t fly at all. They prefer to run fast or swim. When you finish this issue, go outdoors. Stop, look, and listen for the birds that live in your neighborhood. Take a picture or write a description of your favorite bird and send it to us. We will include your submission in the Kidz Corner page.

RuthChoi/Shutterstock.com

Victoria Crowned Pigeon There may be over 400 billion birds living on Earth today! You’ll find them living in trees, on mountains, on the ground, near water, on ice, and in deserts. With over 10,000 bird species, you can bet there are mind-boggling differences among them. There are tall ones and short ones. Some weigh as much as a refrigerator, while others weigh less than a penny. Great egrets have long legs and wade in the water. But swifts spend months at a time in the air and have such short legs that they can barely walk. The bird family has a lot of variety. But there is something that sets birds apart from every other kind of animal. What is it?

Lilac-Breasted Roller

Is it being colorful? Birds are some of the brightest and most colorful animals on Earth. But insects and other animals can also be beautifully colored. So this isn’t what makes birds special. Colors and patterns help birds identify their own species. They also help with camouflage. For example, wild green parakeets hide easily among trees’ leafy branches. Vivid colors let birds show off and intimidate other less-colorful birds. Males use their colorful and unusual plumage to attract attention. Female birds look for colorful males – the more dazzling, the better.

The wingspan of a Wandering Albatross can be 11 feet!

Is it having wings and the ability to fly? Birds fly, right? Well, not all of them. There are over 60 kinds of birds we’ll never see fly. They are stuck on the ground, even though they have wings. Penguins are flightless birds, but they are champion swimmers. Emus, ostriches, rheas, and kiwis cannot fly, but they’ll beat you in a foot race every time. Lots of animals besides birds have wings and can fly. Think of the bat (a mammal) and flying insects. But some birds are the animal kingdom’s expert aviators.

Is it their hollow bones? Most, but not all, birds have a few hollow bones. The bones of puffins, loons, and penguins are solid. This may make them heavy enough to dive deep into water to catch dinner. A bird’s “hollow” bones are filled with air sacs that are connected to their lungs. Birds use a lot of oxygen when they fly, especially large gliding birds. When a flying bird breathes, its sacs and lungs fill with air. This means it can stay in the air longer without becoming exhausted.

This Puffin will enjoy a dinner of fish.

Birds aren’t the only animals with hollow bones. Reptiles have a few. People also have hollow bone areas. Your sinuses are open spaces in your skull as well as in the bones near your nose.

A Keel-Billed Toucan’s bill makes up 1/3 of its length!

Is it their bills? Sorry, no. All birds have bills, also called beaks. But other types of animals have bills too. The platypus has a large flat bill. Octopuses have tiny beaks. So do turtles and tortoises. Because birds have no teeth, bills are extremely important for eating. Tongshaped bills help birds like herons grasp fish out of the water. The cone-shaped bill of many birds can crack seeds. Hawks, eagles, and other raptors use sharp, curved beaks to scrape into their food like a fork. The keel-billed toucan pinches up food easily with its huge rainbow-colored bill. This bill might seem like a burden to carry around, but it’s actually quite light. It’s made of keratin, like your nails and hair.

Is it their eggs? Nope. Other animal groups also lay eggs, including insects, fish, frogs, and reptiles. Even mammals like the platypus and the spiny anteater lay eggs. Eggs come in all colors, depending upon the bird species. Some are shades of white or pink. Others are blue or green. Eggs can be covered with dark spots and splotches or be totally black. Like birds themselves, eggs can be massive or miniature. Ostriches, the largest of all birds, lay eggs the size of a cantaloupe. The tiniest egg belongs to the wee bee hummingbird, which lays eggs the size of small coffee beans.

Great-Crested Grebe 6

WHAT DO YOU CALL A GROUP OF BIRDS? Here are just a few of the names that people have come up over the years. Which is your favorite?

a dole of doves

This Golden Pheasant’s feathers have amazing colors and patterns. Is it their feathers? Yes! Birds are the only animals with feathers. This is what sets them apart. Feathers are more than decoration. Without them, birds couldn’t survive. Each bird’s body has different kinds of feathers. Some protect the bird from wind and sun. Others help it stay warm. Flight feathers help birds fly. Waterproof feathers lay right next to a bird’s body. Outer feathers may get wet when it rains, but the bird itself stays dry. Imagine spending the day climbing cliffs, swimming in salty oceans, walking through dusty grass, or flying through the trees. Birds’ feathers get plenty dirty after all this activity. That’s why they spend so much time grooming themselves and caring for their feathers, their most unique feature.

a parliament of owls a charm of finches a gaggle of geese a kettle of hawks a muster of peacocks a flamboyance of flamingos a pod of pelicans a bevy of quail a host of sparrows a wake of buzzards a blush of robins a bouquet of pheasants an unkindness of ravens

by Melissa Abramovitz Like people, animals need sleep. Without enough sleep, our minds and bodies don’t work right. We can’t learn or remember things. We act grouchy. We get sick more often. If a person or animal doesn’t sleep for a few days, it may die. Scientists think sleep helps our bodies store energy and heal damage. Sleep also lets our brains sort out what we learn while awake. But no one is exactly sure why we sleep! The sleep habits of most animals are pretty boring. An animal gets tired, lies down, and goes to sleep. Some birds have strange sleep habits. These weird habits keep birds safe from predators that might attack them when they are asleep. Or the habits help migrating birds stay on schedule.

Alpine swift

Sleeping While Flying The bird called the swift sleeps while flying as it migrates to and from warmer climates. The wings stop flapping, and the bird naps for a few seconds as it glides. It flaps again so it won’t crash-land. Then more naps and flaps, until it is no longer tired. Scientists have found that Alpine swifts can stay in the air for more than six months without landing! The swifts eat flying insects and get by with about two-and-a-half hours of sleep per day. Swainson’s thrushes also sleep while migrating. They glide and sleep many times – for about 14 seconds at a time – while flying. They sleep half the brain at a time. Often, the eye that is opposite the side of the brain that is awake is open while the other eye is closed. This is because information from the right eye goes to the left side of the brain and vice versa. The open eye helps the bird watch for danger.

Swainson’s thrush

One-Legged Snoozing Does sleeping while standing on one leg sound comfortable? Flamingos think so. This is their normal way of sleeping. Their other leg gets tucked under the body. Some scientists think the flamingo does this to rest the heart and the tucked leg. It takes a lot of energy for a flamingo’s heart to pump blood to its legs because the legs are so long.

Flamingos rest their heads on their backs while sleeping.

Other scientists believe that tucking one leg helps flamingos stay warm. Flamingos usually sleep in shallow water. So maybe having one leg out of the water is less chilly than having both legs wet. Still others think standing on one leg helps camouflage the flamingo. The lagoons where flamingos hang out have many tall, thin trees and reeds. One tall, thin leg might look like a reed or tree to predators that eat flamingos.

mallard ducks

Lookout Groups Groups of quail sleep on the ground. They make a cozy circle with the tails facing in. This helps them stay warm at night. Each quail’s head faces outward in a different direction. This way, the group can look out for danger all around. Mallard ducks may also sleep in a group for safety, but not in a circle. The ducks in the center of the group sleep with both eyes closed because they are relatively safe from predators, like foxes. Ducks closer to the edges sleep with one eye open while resting half the brain. These lookout spies warn the group when trouble strikes.

California quail

Nature certainly has some interesting ways of protecting birds while they sleep!

by Diane Winebar

Hyacinth macaw, named for its deep blue color

Scarlet macaws. Powerful beaks let macaws crack open nuts and seeds.

Macaws like me are impressive. Just take a look at our flashy feathers. What brilliant colors! There are many kinds of macaws, all living happily in Central and South American rainforests. We come in shades of nearly every color imaginable. Some macaws are red and gold. Others are bright green with touches of blue. I am a hyacinth macaw, and my deep blue feathers shine in the sun. From the top of my head to the tip of my long, pointed tail, I am over three feet long. Hyacinths are the largest macaws there are. Like other birds, we have beaks. Ours are thick, hooked, and extremely strong. When it’s mealtime, they’re perfect for cracking open nuts, seeds, and even hard coconut husks. We use them as a third foot when climbing trees. We are a curious bunch of birds. When we see something interesting, we pick it up with the long, curved talons of one foot and examine it. Luckily for us, our talons let us grip tree branches tightly. Most of us sleep while sitting on branches, and a strong grip keeps us from falling. Macaws are very smart birds and can even learn to imitate human speech. If we live near or with people, we’ll repeat words we hear over and over until we get it right. We are talkative even without people nearby. When we’re together, our chattering can be earsplitting! Screaming is our way of calling to one another. “Hey, I’m over here in this tree!” we might say. Yes, we macaws have it all. But now the sun is setting. My family is getting ready to spend the night in the trees. They are calling to one another to find out who will sleep where. Tomorrow will be another great day in the rainforest.

written and illustrated by Andrew Wales

1. 1. Start with a large oval shape for the body and a smaller egg shape for the head. Then add a triangle for the tail at the bottom end of the body oval. Add two curved lines for the longer part of the tail. Next, sketch the beak on the front of the face, and also sketch the eye and leg.

A blue-and-yellow macaw

3. 2. Now begin making small changes to the shape of the areas you’ve drawn. You want to make your macaw look feathery, not smooth. Begin drawing the branch, the claw, and other details.

3. Now begin filling in some of the shapes you’ve drawn. Some are filled in completely. You can use crosshatching to fill in other areas. Crosshatching means making areas darker and darker by using layers of lines that cross over one another. 4. Finish by adding shading to your drawing. Make some areas light, some dark, some white, and some black. See how the tree is made very dark by using the crosshatching technique?

Send your macaw drawing to Fun For Kidz, PO Box 227, Bluffton, OH 45817-0227, or scan and email to kidzcorner@funforkidz.com.

Be sure to include your name, age, city, and state. Do you have a pet bird in the house? Draw a picture or write to us about your pet bird. You might see your drawing and letter in a future issue!

Hummingbirds, the smallest birds in the world, can flap their wings up to 200 times a second when they need to. The rapid flapping makes a loud humming sound. So you will probably hear one before you see it. They’re hard to spot because they zoom around so quickly. If you do see one, and the sun light hits it just right, you’ll be wowed by a glimpse of brilliant, sparkly color. All 350 species of hummingbirds live in North, Central, and South America. Only a few fly to the US and Canada to lay eggs in the spring and summer. Most stay in their tropic homes. Tiny birds mean even tinier nests. Many nests are the size of a quarter, and most eggs look like jellybeans. Newborn hummers can be the size of a plump raisin! Hummers are the only birds able to fly backwards, sideways, upside-down, and hover in midair. When hovering, their teeny hearts beat more than 1000 times a minute. Hummers use up so much energy, they spend the day licking up flower nectar with their long tongues to get the fuel they need. They also eat insects for protein. At night, they go into a really deep sleep called torpor. Their heartrates and breathing slow way down, so they burn fewer calories. This allows them to stay alive throughout the night without eating. Ready to meet some spectacular small wonders?

Melinda Fawver/Shutterstock.com

The BEE HUMMINGBIRD, the smallest bird in the world, is often mistaken for a bumblebee. Males weigh less than a penny and are about the length of a large paper clip! Like other hummers, females are smaller. The island nation of Cuba is their home.

With its shining white head, the SNOWCAP HUMMINGBIRD really stands out. These birds live high in the humid forests of countries like Nicaragua and Honduras. At two-and-one-half inches long, they are among the smallest hummingbirds.

Three-inch-long RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS are feisty warriors. They’re not afraid to attack much larger birds that come into their area. Even chipmunks aren’t safe. These hummers fly to the Northwest US and Canada to breed. When winter comes, they make the 3000-mile trip back to the mountains of Mexico.

ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRD was named for a French princess. These four-inch-long hummers live year-round along the western coast of North America. They are extremely vocal. And just look at that rosy-pink throat!

The FIERY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD is one glittery bird! Just over four inches long, they live in the mountains of Costa Rica and Panama. Males and females have the same coloring, which is very unusual because male hummers are generally more colorful.

The most common hummer in the US is the RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD. They are the only hummingbirds to spend their summers east of the Mississippi River and are the only hummers many of us will ever see. Twice a year, they fly 600 miles across the Gulf of Mexico in less than a day. That’s quite a trip for these three-inch-long birds. Especially when you realize they fly without stopping!

by S. Allyn Kelley 2. 2. 3.

by Evelyn B. Christensen

What makes a bird a bird? Most birds fly, but some don’t. Other animals, like butterflies and bats, fly. So flying is not what makes an animal a bird. All birds lay eggs, but other animals, like fish and snakes, do too. So laying eggs is not what makes an animal a bird. Feathers are what make an animal a bird. Birds are the only animals that have them!

ACROSS

1. In the wild, this bird usually is pink. It also frequently stands on one leg! 2. This black bird is often identified by the cawing sound it makes. 3. This bird is livestock. It is a male chicken. 4. This seaside bird uses its long bill to scoop up fish from water. Three gallons of water can fit in its bill! 5. This bird lives in the Southern Hemisphere and is a great swimmer! It cannot fly, though. 6. This bird is small. Its wings move so quickly, they are hard to see clearly! DOWN

1. This bird is considered graceful. 2. This bird eats insects out of trees. 3. This bird lives in the American Southwest and Mexico. It eats snakes, scorpions, and other animals. 4. This scavenger eats dead animals that died a natural or accidental death or were killed by another animal.

R A E E F E S E S E E T F R A E H E E A S H E H E E T S

T A

WORD BANK

(Not all will be used.)

CARDINAL EAGLE PEACOCK SWAN ROADRUNNER FLAMINGO PELICAN DUCK PENGUIN CROW WOODPECKER ROOSTER CONDOR HUMMINGBIRD MOCKINGBIRD

T R

F H R E H F S

Fill in the squares so that each row, column, and 8-square section has the letters F-E-A-T-H-E-R-S (2 E’s in each).

by Evelyn B. Christensen

A mockingbird, an owl, a sparrow, and a woodpecker each nested in a different tree. Use the clues to decide which bird nested in each tree. 1. No bird nested in a tree that starts with the same letter as its name. 2. The bird in the sycamore drilled a hole for its nest.

Mockingbird Owl

3. Neither the mockingbird nor the bird that hunts at night nested in the walnut.

Sparrow

Use the grid to eliminate possibilities. Put an “x” in a box if you know a bird doesn’t go with a tree. Put an “o” if you know it does.

Woodpecker

Oak

Sycamore

Walnut

Maple

by Doris Fisher

by Guy Belleranti

Not all birds fly. Find your way through the maze by connecting letters to spell, in order, the following flightless birds: CASSOWARY, EMU, KAKAPO, KIWI, OSTRICH, RHEA, TAKAHE, WEKA. You may move forward, backward, up, or down. No letter may be connected more than once. Write the leftover letters in the blank spaces to spell out a fact about two more flightless birds.

Start

M G

O W Y

N D

G O

R W

A M O

D O N O O

H O

W E

G O O

H W A

A M

M E

____

___ ___

_________ _ _ _.

____

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ .

╠ ╝ ╦ ╠ ╝ ╦ ╦ ┴  ╝

 ♥ ♥

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

___,

___ ___ ___ ___ .

 ├   ├ ╤ ╬ ├ 



 ▼  

4. It was named after

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

____

╤ ┴   ╢ ┴

3. It died on

Finish

╤ ┴   ╢ ┴

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ .

__________

_ _ _ _ _ _ _,

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ .

A fact about two more flightless birds: ________

1. The name of the last passenger pigeon was

2. It lived at the

E W A

Passenger pigeons were once the most common bird in North America. There may have been 5 billion in the US alone. They became extinct due to loss of habitat and being hunted for food. Find out about the last passenger pigeon by using the code. Some letters and numbers have already been inserted.

___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

 ┴  ╢ ╝ ╦ ╡  ♥ ╦

A B C D E F G H I J K L MN O P Q R ┴ ╬ ╠ ╣ ├ ┬ ╡ ╢ ╝ ┤ ╟ ╤ ╦ ♥  

S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10               ▼  by Evelyn B. Christensen Can you find these birds hidden in the sentences below? The hidden bird might be part of more than one word.

They’re eider right or wrong,

cardinal, crow, duck, eagle, hawk, loon, owl, sparrow, swan, wren 1. Dad ducked his head to avoid hitting the low-hanging light fixture. 2. My dog tends to howl whenever I practice my violin. 3. A huge crowd was at the 5K race to raise money for cancer research. 4. My mother used a wrench to fix the broken pipe. 5. He put the card in a long envelope and mailed it to his friend. 6. We bought lots of balloons for the birthday party. 7. The students love to sing and want to organize a glee club. 8. I tend to laugh awkwardly when I’m embarrassed. 9. She always wants to do her very best if she’s asked to be in charge. 10. Grasp arrows carefully when removing them from the target.

check owl your answers on page 30. 15

by Crystal Jennings

There is a bird that can meow like a cat and sound like a car alarm! The northern mockingbird can impersonate animals, musical instruments, and dozens of other bird species. Have you ever sat on your porch in the spring or summer and heard what sounded like many different birds? Chances are the sounds were coming from this one incredible bird. The northern mockingbird is found only in North America. What sets it apart from all other birds is its ability to learn at least 200 sounds and songs during its lifetime. It can sing 1000 songs an hour! Mockingbirds have been heard mimicking squeaky wagon wheels and cell phone ringtones. People have reported seeing them mocking cat owners by flying around the yard, calling, “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!” These birds have been recorded meowing like a cat. Imagine what the neighborhood dogs think! Scientists believe mockingbirds mimic other birds to make a territory sound crowded. Other birds think there are too many birds around, so they go somewhere else. This leaves the mockingbirds plenty to eat. Northern mockingbirds were once sold as pets. Thomas Jefferson owned at least four, and his favorite was named Dick. Dick would follow Jefferson around the White House, sitting on Jefferson’s shoulder while the President played the violin. Today laws protect mockingbirds. They can’t be injured or kept as pets. Their nests or chicks can’t be harmed. The mockingbird is the state bird of Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. Invite these birds into your backyard by placing a suet feeder there. Offer chopped dried grapes, raisins, apples, or pomegranates on a platform feeder. It’s important to have a bird bath or water source there too. Planting berry bushes will help ensure these talented singers visit you. Then sit back and enjoy the concert!

e t u n i M Just a by Teresa Lilly

(Sue) walked over to her friend Betsy’s . rang the on heard someone call out, “Just a minute! Just a minute!” the door. waited by the . No one came and opened the . rang the again. Inside, a lovely voice sang out, “Just a minute! Just a minute!” was tired. She decided to look in the and see who was bed. She keeping her waiting so long. She stepped down into the . One on a was careful not to step on the red and pink bush scratched her . got close to the . She peeked over the ledge and Finally, could still hear the voice inside singing, “Just a looked inside. . It wasn’t Betsy’s . It minute! Just a minute!” but it wasn’t ’s older . wasn’t even laughed out loud when she saw who had been tricking her. In a , sitting on top of a , was ’s red , singing out silver the only words it knew:

“Just a minute! Just a minute!” 17

Ducks can Quack You Up by Amy C. Laundrie

Hatching ducks in an incubator then raising them is great fun. Maria and Vanessa chose the name Happy Feet for their black and white runner duck with cheery yellow feet. Although these ducks like the water, they also are comfortable on land. They can’t fly well, but they can run fast. Maria and Vanessa loved to have foot races with Happy Feet. As a duckling, Happy Feet imprinted on Maria and Vanessa. She thought the girls were her family, and she would follow them around the yard. When she pecked at their toes, it made them laugh. When they called, “Duck, duck,” she’d come running.

down, and snatched her? What if the skinny foxes or coyotes they’d seen prowling about caught her scent and hid in the grass, waiting for their chance? As worried as they were, they didn’t want Happy Feet to spend all her time in a pen. She needed to spread her wings. Vanessa carried her down to the shore, took a deep breath, and let her go. Happy Feet didn’t leave their side. “Are we going to have to get in the lake ourselves?” Maria asked.

Happy Feet loved taco-flavored chips. When she heard a crinkling bag, she’d hurry over to investigate.

Once they waded in, Happy Feet followed. Watching her splash around made the girls laugh. She grew to love searching for tasty bugs underneath the water plants and became an expert at snatching minnows.

When it came time to head to Maria and Vanessa’s northern Wisconsin cabin, Happy Feet came along. She rode in a pet taxi in the back of their van. Her occasional peeps sounded a bit like, “How much longer? Are we there yet?”

One day Maria and Vanessa packed a picnic lunch and paddled their kayaks to a sandbar. Happy Feet decided to swim along. While the girls searched for clams and pretty rocks, Happy Feet looked for insects, snails, and tasty weeds.

After arriving, the girls worried about letting Happy Feet go. What if she swam off and didn’t come back? What if an eagle or osprey spotted her, swooped

Ducks can be great buddies and have fun personalities. Hanging around with them may even quack you up.

We use the taste buds on our tongue to decide what foods we like or don’t like. A duck has a tongue, too, but its taste buds are in the lining of its mouth and the tip of its bill. We have almost 9000 taste buds. Most ducks have between 50 and 500 taste buds. Since people have many more taste buds, you can easily do this experiment. You’ll learn how different places on your tongue are responsible for recognizing the four basic tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.

WHAT YOU NEED: water, salt, sugar, vinegar, non-sweetened cocoa powder, and four blunt toothpicks

WHAT YOU DO The food you eat must be mixed with a liquid for your taste buds to work. So in this experiment, you’ll dip a toothpick into water before you use it to taste the salt, sugar, vinegar, and cocoa. BE SURE TO USE A DIFFERENT TOOTHPICK FOR EACH DIFFERENT TASTE. Dip a toothpick into water and then into the salt. Touch the toothpick to different parts of your tongue. You’ll discover it tastes the SALTIEST at the very tip and on the sides of your tongue. When you touch the middle or back of your tongue, you’ll barely taste the salt. Try this test again with the other ingredients. Remember: Use a new toothpick dipped into water each time. The sugar will taste SWEETEST at the tip of your tongue. You will taste the SOUR vinegar best at the sides of your tongue. Cocoa powder will taste most BITTER at the back of your tongue.

You can make a drawing of your tongue and label which parts of it experience tastes that are sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. Share this fascinating information with your friends and classmates at school.

by Kelly Musselman

1. Why aren’t geese allowed to drive? They honk too much.

2. Why did the bird act strange? It was a little cuckoo.

3. What kind of bird plays in a band?

by Joseph Bore

A trumpeter swan

4. What kind of bird takes from the rich and gives to the poor?

Worms again? I was thinking pizza!

Robin Hood

5. Why do ducks enjoy being out in the rain? They like fowl (foul) weather.

6. What did the chicks say when the mother hen wouldn’t buy them anything?

Cheap! Cheap! Cheap!

by Joseph Bore

by Jim Browne

by James Hanson

“I think I know what happened to the canary!”

“Do I remember my first flight? Yes, and it was the worst second of my life.”

Cowboy Clark and Larry sat under the shade of the large elm tree, talking. Unbeknownst to them, Mrs. Whiskers sat five branches up on the very same tree. “Mrs. Whiskers is a fool to continue fighting with the owls,” Cowboy Clark said. “I’m worried about her,” Larry whined. “Don’t worry, Larry, I’ll be just fine,” Mrs. Whiskers meowed. Startled, Larry jumped up. Cowboy Clark craned his neck to give her a dirty look. “You’re a sneaky one,” he said. “You’re going to find yourself in a world of hurt if you continue fighting the owls. Did you know they can turn their heads 180 degrees around?” “So? I can jump up and turn completely around in a split second.” Larry stammered, “I heard they’re able to see a mile away.” “Yet they can’t see anything close to them. I’ll use that to my advantage.” Mrs. Whiskers yawned. Cowboy Clark shook his head. “You’re talking foolish. They’ll smell you coming.” Mrs. Whiskers was unperturbed. “On the contrary. They don’t have a good sense of smell.” “Why are you and the owls fighting, Mrs. Whiskers?” Larry asked. “It’s really only a fight with one of them, Larry. On three separate occasions, Hooty-Hoot hooted right in my ear, scaring me while I was catnapping.” “Why don’t you come live with me, Mrs. Whiskers?” Larry asked. “I’ll make sure no one bothers you when you’re sleeping.” “You don’t want her living with you, Larry. It’d be a cat-astrophe!” Cowboy Clark rolled around the ground laughing. Mrs. Whiskers sighed. “That wasn’t the least bit funny.” Descending backwards down the tree, Mrs. Whiskers dropped to the ground. “Tootles, boys. I need to get ready for tonight. It’s bound to be a real hoot.”

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Dear Ziggy, My name is Corey, and I am 11. I like going to school because I see all my friends there. My teachers are all good. I like all my subjects, although sometimes I have too much homework ha-ha. We live near a winter park resort, and that is good because my family likes snow sports. My older brother is better at snowboarding than I am. Does it snow a lot where you live? Keep up the good work! Sincerely, Corey Priore Empire, CO

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Dear Ziggy, How did you get your name? What do you do for fun? I hope you will tell me. My whole family reads Fun For Kidz, even my grandpa. All the pages are great! We do the science experiments because they are lots of fun. Your friend and reader, Blake Rodham Las Cruces, NM

Dear Ziggy, Hi! My name is Amanda, and I am 7. I like to read and do puzzles. I also like to draw and paint. In the summer I climb trees. I have a black and white cat named Whiskers. He is so cute! Well, bye. Amanda Hoffmann Detroit, MI

Dear Ziggy, This is a long letter to you because there are three of us writing it! My best friends and I all love your magazine. We each get it and read it together. I’ll go first. My name is Becca, and I am 10 and in 4th grade. My favorite subjects are math and language arts. I have a mom, dad, and one sister named Sydney. She is 6. For fun, I like to do gymnastics and go to Girl Scouts. See you later! Hi Ziggy! My name is Mariah and I am also in 4th grade, but I am 9. My older brother is Andrew, and he is 11. I do gymnastics with Becca and Riley and we love it! We are all pretty good, but it takes a lot of practice. My best subject is science. I want to be a vet when I grow up. Bye for now! Hi Ziggy! My name is Riley, and I am in 4th grade too. I just had my 10th birthday in February, and we had a party to celebrate double digits! We had so much fun. We have twin boys in our family. They are Robert and Ben, and they are 5 years old. They were named after our grandfathers. I love horses and wish I could have one. I love Fun For Kidz! Love from Becca, Mariah, and Riley Shaker Heights, OH

Acrostic Poem by Avyaan Rangbulla, age 7

Send Us...

your drawings, poems, and jokes & riddles, and photos for publication!

EMAIL TO: kidzcorner@funforkidz.com OR MAIL TO:

Kidz Corner, PO Box 227 Bluffton, OH 45817-0227

Forget about the bad things And don’t think about it ever Land with a good thought Catch your bad feelings and put them in a dungeon Out of your mind they will go New will be your feelings, bright and nice

This is an acrostic poem. Can you figure out the word that I used? About Falcons by Avyaan Rangbulla, age 7 Falcons are my favorite bird, as they are the fastest. Here are some things I know about falcons. 1. Falcons have sharp talons - talons are claws of a bird. 2. They have a strong beak for ripping its prey. 3. They can fly up to 65 miles per hour and stoop to 240 miles/hour. A stoop is a controlled dive.

Kingfisher by Zoe, age 9

4. Falcons eat dead carrion, and they hunt other birds like parrots, sparrows, pigeons, hawks, and sometimes owls too. 5. They are mostly found in South-Central America. 6. They have great eyesight. 7. They cannot move their eyeballs, so they have to move their heads. They are able to do it due to their flexible necks. 8. Falcons have a great sense of smell.

Gio is a Fun For Kidz superfan! Here he is doing the puzzles in a recent issue.

Feathers Sudoku on page 14

T S E E F A R F H E H F R E T E H S R A F E A T H

A-Maze-ing Flightless Birds on page 15

R A H S T E A S E T E F

Start

E R S E E T S R H F A S T E A E F H R R A H F S E E T Hidden Birds on page 15 1. duck 2. owl 3. crow 4. wren 5. cardinal

M G

O W Y

N D

G O

R W

A M O

D O N O O

H O

W E

G O O

H W A

A M

M E

Y K

E W A

Finish

A fact about two more flightless birds:

6. loon 7. eagle 8. hawk 9. swan 10. sparrow

PEN G U IN S A N D GA L A PAG O S CORMORANTS ALSO DO NOT FLY. HOWEVER, THEY ARE GOOD SWIMMERS.

The Last Passenger Pigeon on page 15 Bird Crossing on page 14 2.

C R OW S O 3. W R 3. R O O S T E R D 1. F L A M I N G O N A P 4. D I C A N 4. P E L R C O K N 5. P E N G U I N N E D O 6. H U M M I N G B I R D E R R 1.

1. MARTHA 2. CINCINNATI ZOO 3. SEPTEMBER 1, 1914 4. MARTHA WASHINGTON

Bird Boggler on page 14 The mockingbird nested in the oak. The owl nested in the maple. The sparrow nested in the walnut. The woodpecker nested in the sycamore. Photo Credits: Wikimedia Commons: JJ Harrison [CC BY-SA 3.0] 5 (top); Joanne Goldby [CC BY-SA 2.0] 5 (bottom); Eric Kilby from USA [CC BY-SA 2.0] 7; Rudraksha Chodankar (Own work) [CC BY-SA] 8 (top); CheepShot (Identified as Thank you!) [CC BY 2.0] 8 (bottom); allipepla_californica - matt knoth from San Francisco [CC BY 2.0] 9 (bottom); Anodorhynchus_hyacinthinus (hyacinth macaw) - Alex_LG (originally posted to Flickr as IMG_7193) [CC BY-SA 2.0] 10 (left); Snowcap hummingbird Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren [CC BY 2.0] 12 (right); Colibri Insigne (fiery throated hummingbird) - Bruno Conjeaud [CC BY-SA 3.0] 13 (top-right); Becky Matsubara from El Sobrante, California [CC BY 2.0] 13 (bottom-left); Northern Mockingbird - Charlesjsharp (Own work) [CC BY SA 4.0] 16.

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V i s i t U s O n l i n e ! F a c e b o o k . c o m / F u n F o r K i d z • w w w. F u n F o r K i d z . c o m Vol 22 No 3 • MAY/JUNE 2023 Publisher: Thomas M. Edwards Editor: Marilyn Edwards Associate Editor: Diane Winebar Graphic Design: Gaurakisora Tucker Marketing Director: Jonathan Edwards Circulation Manager: Mark Studer Science Editor: Larry White Science Illustrator: Alan Wassilak Cowboy Clark & Larry Editor: Lisa Rehfuss Cover Artist: Chris Sabatino

FUN FOR KIDZ (ISSN 1536-898X) is published bi-monthly Subscriptions: All subscription inquiries and changes of by the Bluffton News Publishing and Printing Company, address should be addressed to FUN FOR KIDZ at P.O. Box 227, P.O. Box 227, 190 Sunset Dr., Bluffton, OH 45817. Bluffton, OH 45817. Telephone: 419-358-4610. Telephone: 419-358-4610. POSTMASTER: Send address Subscription rates are six issues (1 year) $32.95; twelve issues changes to Fun For Kidz, P.O. Box 227, Bluffton, OH (2 years) $55.90; eighteen issues (3 years) $68.85. Canadian 45817-0227. Periodical postage is paid at Bluffton, OH postage - first class - $18 per year, all other foreign countries first and Preston, ID. class airmail - $37.50 per year. FUN FOR KIDZ, INC. accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any Replacement Issues: We will replace one damaged or lost-ininjuries arising out of the use or misuse of ideas, materials, and the-mail issue per year. Your request must be made within 45 activities featured in its publications or products. days of the specific issue’s date: January 1, March 1, May 1, July Copyright © 2023 by the Bluffton News Publishing and Printing 1, September 1, or November 1. Co. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. FUN Attention Readers: Send in your letters, short stories, FOR KIDZ™, and the FUN FOR KIDZ logo™, are trademarks of FUN poems, jokes & riddles, and drawings for publication. Send to: Kids Corner, PO Box 227, Bluffton, OH 45817. FOR KIDZ, The Bluffton News Publishing and Printing Co.

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