DISCOVER THE AMAZING WORLD OF BIRDS!

Learn with us what is a bird, how they evolved, what adaptations they developed to be able to colonize air, land and water so successfully! This course is designed for people working or wishing to work with birds and animals, life scientists and environmental researchers and consultants, amateur bird watchers, or anyone working with birds.

The aim of this course is to introduce the student to the many interesting and diverse bird species, and their physiology and habitats. You will learn a wide variety of bird facts, through a combination of tools such as reading, interacting with tutors, undertaking research and practical tasks, and observing birds!

There are 9 lessons in this course:

1. Classification & Introduction to Birdwatching
   • History of birds; Classification (Classes, Subclasses, Superorders, etc); Bird Migration; Birdwatching clubs & Other information sources, etc Binoculars, etc
2. The Biology of Birds
   • Anatomy, external & internal structure, breeding, eggs etc.
3. Common and Widespread Land Birds
   • Pests, introduced birds, pigeons, crows & their relatives, etc.
4. Giant Birds & Long Legged Birds
   • Emu, Ostrich, Herons, Storks & Relatives etc
5. Seabirds & Waterbirds
6. Hunters
   • Birds of Prey, Owls, Kingfishers
7. Passeriformes includes all song birds, plus lots of other birds including: larks, jays, magpies, swallows, nightingales, wrens, mockingbirds, robins, bluebirds, thrushes, pipits, shrikes, warblers, blackbirds, orioles, finches, grosbeaks, tanagers, and more
8. Other Birds
   • Parrots, Honeyeaters, Swifts & others
9. Attracting, Feeding & Keeping Birds

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

• Discuss the study of birds, including bird taxonomy
• Describe anatomical and physical characteristics of birds.
• Describe anatomical and physical characteristics of birds.
• Discuss a range of different common and widespread land birds.
• Discuss a range of different flightless and long legged birds including Ratites and Ciconiiformes.
• Discuss and describe a range of water birds and sea birds.
• Discuss and describe a range of hunting birds.
• Discuss and describe a range of Passeriformes.
• Discuss and describe a range of parrots and other birds..
• Explain domestication of birds and the methodology and implications of attracting and feeding wild birds.

• Contact a Birdwatching Club or organisation in your own country, or region of the world, and find out what services and information they offer. You may locate groups on the internet, or listed under clubs and organisations in the Yellow Pages section of your phone book. You might contact them on the phone, or by email, by letter; or by attending a meeting.
• Write a brief history of the evolution of birds mentioning of species that have become extinct and give reasons as to why you think this occurred.
• Research and discuss the breeding cycle of one particular bird species (of your own choosing), then identify any traits or behavioural patterns that are unique to this species
• Select different birds from groups studied, and research each different bird using any resources you have available to you, such as textbooks, the internet, libraries, etc. Write a paragraph describing each of the six birds you selected, giving a detailed description of their external appearance, together with details of their distribution, structure, feeding habits and breeding. If possible, focus on any birds from each group that inhabit or regularly migrate to your region.