Bird Study

Requirements for Bird Study merit badge from ? to January 1, 1998:

  1. Spend 3 hours in each of two different kinds of natural habitats or at two different elevations (total of 6 hours).
    1. List the different bird species you see.
    2. List the numbers of each seen.
    3. Explain why all birds do not live in the same kind of habitat.
  2. Spend 3 hours on each of 5 days in a large area (total of 15 hours). List the bird species you can identify by sound or sight. *
  3. Recognize, by sound, 10 birds usually found in your neighborhood.
  4. List 8 families of birds usually found where you live.
  5. Write a 500-word history about a bird of your choice. Include the following information:
    1. Description
    2. Habitat type
    3. Feeding habits
    4. Mating and nesting behavior
    5. Care of the young
    6. Migratory habits
    7. Range
    8. Any unusual characteristics or behavior you find interesting about the bird.
  6. Do ONE of the following:
    1. Make 8 field trips during one season, about 3 months. Keep records of all the birds you see.
    2. Carefully observe a bird for an hour a day for 10 days. Record your observations.
    3. Go on an 8-hour Christmas census with a bird club. List all the birds you see.
    4. Go on an 8-hour May bird census with a bird club. List all the birds you see.
    5. Visit a bird refuge. Describe its purpose and give the management techniques used.
    6. Attend a meeting of a bird club such as the local chapter of the National Audubon Society. Report on what you learned.
    7. Write a 300-word paper on bird behavior.
  7. Do ONE of the following:
    1. Build a backyard sanctuary by planting trees and shrubs for food and cover. Describe what birds you hope to attract and why.
    2. Build 3 bird feeders of different kinds. Keep them stocked with food for 3 months in winter. Describe what kinds of birds are attracted to them. Indicate what kinds of foods were liked best.
    3. Take twelve clear, sharp, recognizable pictures of twelve species of birds.
    4. Build a watering device for birds. Keep it filled for 3 months. Tell what kinds of birds used it. Describe any interesting things you saw.
    5. Build a birdhouse or nesting box. Study the nesting habits of birds that use the structure. Provide nesting materials for the birds.
  8. Do ONE of the following:
    1. Select one species of bird that eats other animals Indicate its place in nature and briefly discuss its importance.
    2. Make a migration (flyway) map of the United States. Name some of the birds that use each flyway or migration route. Tell where they nest. Tell where they winter. Describe birdbanding.
    3. Make a list of the extinct or declining birds of the United States. Describe some of the chief causes for this decline.

* Requirements 1 and 2 must be done at different times.

Requirements: