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🦅 Animal journeys

Why do birds fly away for winter? Simple, true animal journeys facts for young children, each with a fun fact, a tiny activity and a question to talk about together.

Tap a question to reveal the answer, share the fun fact, try the tiny activity, then talk about it together.

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Why do birds fly away for winter? Revealexpand_more

When winter comes, many birds fly to warmer places where food is easier to find, then fly all the way back in spring. Staying would mean cold days with almost nothing to eat, so a long trip is safer than a hungry winter.

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Talk about itIf you flew somewhere warm every winter, where would you go?

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Did you know?The arctic tern flies from the top of the world to the bottom and back every year, the longest journey of any animal.

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Try itFind your country on a map, then point to somewhere warm and sunny. That is the kind of trip a bird makes.

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🦅🧭How do birds find their way over such long trips?🦋How do tiny butterflies travel so far?🐟How do salmon find the river where they were born?

🤖Still curious?How do young birds know where to fly if they have never been there?arrow_forward

schedule2 minstarMediumgroupTogether

How do birds find their way over such long trips? Revealexpand_more

Birds use the sun and stars, the shape of the land below and even the Earth's invisible magnetic field to find their way. Many can sense which direction is north, a bit like carrying a compass inside their bodies.

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Talk about itHow do you find your way home from a place you know well?

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Did you know?Some birds can feel the Earth's magnetic field through special cells, and may even "see" it with their eyes.

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Try itIf you have a compass, watch the needle always swing to point one way. Birds carry a sense of that direction inside them.

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🦅🐦Why do birds fly away for winter?🦋How do tiny butterflies travel so far?🐟How do salmon find the river where they were born?

🤖Still curious?What is the Earth's magnetic field?arrow_forward

schedule2 minstarMediumgroupTogether

How do tiny butterflies travel so far? Revealexpand_more

Monarch butterflies fly thousands of kilometres to spend winter in warmer forests, even though each one weighs less than a paperclip. No single butterfly makes the whole round trip, it takes several generations to finish the journey.

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Talk about itWhat is the longest trip you have ever taken?

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Did you know?The butterflies that fly south have never seen the forest before, yet they reach the very same trees their great-grandparents used.

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Try itBlow gently on a small paper cutout and watch how far a light thing can drift on moving air.

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🦅🐦Why do birds fly away for winter?🐛How does a caterpillar become a butterfly?🧭How do birds find their way over such long trips?

🤖Still curious?How does a caterpillar turn into a monarch butterfly?arrow_forward

schedule2 minstarMediumgroupTogether

How do salmon find the river where they were born? Revealexpand_more

Salmon hatch in rivers, swim out to the wide ocean, then years later swim all the way back to the exact river where they were born. They seem to remember the smell of their home water and follow it upstream against the current.

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Talk about itWhat smell reminds you most of home?

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Did you know?A salmon can leap up small waterfalls to keep heading home, jumping higher than you are tall.

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Try itClose your eyes and see if you can recognise a familiar smell, like your kitchen. Salmon find home by smell too.

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🦅🐦Why do birds fly away for winter?🧭How do birds find their way over such long trips?🐟How do fish breathe underwater?

🤖Still curious?Why do salmon swim against the flow of the river?arrow_forward

🦅 Animal journeys

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