Forensic Science of Bird Strikes

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Introduction

National Middle School Science Standards

Earth Science, Life Science, Engineering Design

Key Terms

ornithology, forensic science, bird ecology, feather identification, DNA barcoding, birdstrike, snarge

Key Concepts

Analysis of bird feathers and snarge
Identifying bird and other animal remains
Value of reference collections in museums
Impacts of human activities on ecology
Technology used by forensic ornithologists

Resource Types

A resource marked "♦" is aligned with the Q?rius Bird Strike Whodunit School Field Trip Program. Learn more about all of our School Field Trip Programs here.

Videos and Webcasts

♦ Webinar: Feather Identification with Ornithologist Carla Dove
♦ Forensic Ornithology - Bird Detective with Ornithologist Carla Dove on Smithsonian Science How
How to Identify a Bird from a Single Feather Ask the Smithsonian
Feather Identification: When Birds Collide National Museum of Natural History
Meet Our Scientist: Forensic Ornithologist Carla Dove Smithsonian Insider

Printable Lessons

♦ Forensic Ornithology Lesson Carla Dove (PDF; requires a compound microscope and bird feathers)
Advanced Bioinformatics Lesson Northwest Association for Biomedical Research

Online Activities

♦ All About Feathers Cornell University Lab of Ornithology
DNA: The Double Helix Nobel Prize (uses Flash)

Science Literacy Resources

Middle School Level

What Bird Species Is Most Likely to Hit an Airplane? Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine
Everglades Pythons Exhibit New Behavior National Audubon Society

High School Level

Fighting the Perils of Bird- Plane Collisions Smithsonian Magazine
Attack of the Giant Pythons Smithsonian Magazine
Smithsonian Efforts to Catalog DNA Washington Magazine

Gifted Reading Level

Scientists Discover New Threat to Birds Posed by Invasive Pythons Smithsonian Newsdesk
Migratory Geese Cause Hudson River Crash Smithsonian Newsdesk
Barcode of Life: DNA Tags Help Classify Animals Scientific American (PDF)

Subject Guides

Vertebrate Zoology Subject Guide Smithsonian Libraries

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

The Forensic Science of Bird Strikes teaching resources support students in meeting the following middle school NGSS Performance Expectations:

Earth Science

MS-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity

MS-ESS3-3 Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.

Life Science

MS-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

MS-LS2-2 Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
MS-LS2-5 Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Engineering Design

MS-ETS1 Engineering Design

MS-ETS1-1 Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
MS-ETS1-2 Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
MS-ETS1-3 Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.

Resource Type