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Roll and Read (Yellow)
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When they run, they
Many birds cannot
use their wings to
fly! They are called
change direction
flightless birds.
quickly.
The sound of male
There bones are
kakapos booming can heavier than those of
be heard from more
flying birds.
than four miles away.
Kagus are endangered Like humans, all birds
have a sternum, or
because of hunting by
breastbone.
dogs and cats.
Kakapos are parrots
found in New
Zealand.
Ostriches are the
largest birds in the
world. They live in
Africa.
There is a flightless
bird called the kiwi.
It lives in New
Zealand.
Both parents guard
the nest while waiting
for the eggs to
hatch.
An egg hatches when
the chick inside
pecks its way out of
it.
They have flippers
instead of wings.
Many penguins live on
and around the
frozen continent of
Antarctica.
You may have seen
penguins in an
aquarium cuddle and
snuggle with their
chicks.
Have you ever
watched a penguin
preen, or clean and
smooth its feathers?
Female emus can lay
up to ten bluishgreen eggs at one
time.
Male emus sit on the
nests for about
fifty-five days, until
the chicks hatch.
Cassowaries are
found in the swamps
and rain forests of
Australia and New
Guinea.
Cassowaries weigh
about 130 pounds.
They eat fruit,
insects, frogs, and
snakes.
This world map shows
the homes of many
flightless birds.
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Have you every
traveled to a country
where flightless
birds live?
Scientists believe
that the ancestors of
flightless birds could
fly.
Scientists also think
that flightless birds
became flightless
because the animals
that once hunted
them became extinct.
They have few
feathers and are
black in color. They
weigh about nine
pounds.
Flightless cormorants
have webbed feet
and are great
swimmers.
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* Use with "Penguin Chick” 3.2.1
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Roll and Read (Green)
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Antarctica is the
coldest place on
Earth.
Satellites help
scientists study the
weather in
Antarctica.
But penguins, seals,
fish, and whales live
there year-round.
Weather information
from the satellites is
sent down to Earth.
Few people other
than scientists have
been to Antarctica.
Some parts of
Antarctica have
become warmer.
It is a frozen
continent covered in
ice.
Female emperor
penguins lay one egg.
The South Pole is the
farthest south that
you can go!
Soon the chick is
ready to hatch. It
pecks at the shell
until it breaks.
For emperor
penguins, seals, fish,
and whales, the
climate in Antarctica
is just right.
Scientists will
continue to study
Antarctica’s climate
and what for signs of
change.
In this way they are
protecting the
animals that make
their home there.
Emperor penguins
spend their whole
lives in Antarctica.
Penguins cannot fly.
But they are very
good swimmers.
Penguins use their
bills to preen, or
clean and smooth
their feathers.
They use a radio
called an acoustic
sounder.
Scientists in
Antarctica also study
the weather with
balloons.
The beeping sounds
make an echo that
tells scientists the
wind’s speed and
direction.
Antarctica is very
windy. It is also very
dry.
Each day, they launch
the balloons into the
air.
Radios attached to
the balloons record
information about the
air.
Scientists study the
weather in
Antarctica.
Antarctica is so dry
that scientists call it
a desert.
The small amount of
snow that falls there
never melts.
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* Use with "Penguin Chick” 3.2.1
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Roll and Read (Blue)
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Penguins are dark on
the back and white on
the front.
The calcium from the Emperor penguins get
mollusk shells
a lot of attention for
thickens the
being the biggest
penguins’ eggshells.
penguins.
All penguins share lives
The king penguin is
that are tied to the sea
the second largest
and the Southern
penguin.
Penguins’ beaks have
different shapes
based on what they
hunt and eat.
The Adelie penguin’s
beak is short and
stubby for catching
krill.
A rookery is a colony of
birds or other animals
who have come
together to nest and
raise their young.
The pupil is the black
opening in the center
of the eye.
The smallest penguin
in the world is the
little blue penguin.
Male emperor
penguins huddle to
help conserve heat.
He warms the egg
with his brood patch,
which is a warm patch
of featherless skin.
They build their
nests out of pebbles
and lay two eggs.
A crest is a tuft of
feathers that sticks
up from a bird’s head.
Instead of making a
nest, the little blue
penguin digs a burrow
in the ground.
The inner fluffy part is
called down. The down
traps air close to the
penguin, keeping the
penguin warm.
Emperor penguins
breathe very cold
Antarctic air.
Magellanic penguins
live on the southern
tip of South America
and the islands
around Antarctica.
All crested penguins
have similar nesting
habits.
Penguins also cool off
by panting, seeking
shade, and lying down
on the ice.
The Southern
Hemisphere is the
natural home of the
world’s penguins.
Predators swimming
on the ocean surface
see black when they
look down into the
dark water.
Most amazingly, this
is the time they
choose to incubate
their eggs!
Because those body
parts are smaller,
emperor penguins
lose less body heat.
Emperor penguins
also have a layer of
fat called blubber.
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Hemisphere’s marine
ecosystem.
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