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Primary Science · Year 5Chapter 2 · Life cycles of animals
Year 5 Science · Life cycles of animals · Lesson 2.5

Year 5 Science: Life cycle of a bird, and comparing the four

Part of the Year 5 Science life cycles of animals chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

2.5

Life cycle of a bird, and comparing the four

Year 5
LH1: the life cycle of a bird, and the differences between the four life cycles
Story. Aisha watches a blackbird build a nest in the hedge. “Her eggs are blue-green,” she says. “Her chicks will need food from their parents. Frogs and butterflies start very differently.”

A blackbird is a bird. Birds have feathers and a beak. A bird lays its eggs in a nest. Each egg has a hard shell.

The egg hatches into a chick. The parents feed the chick until it can grow its feathers. The young bird then leaves the nest, and it can fly. When it is grown, it is an adult bird, and it can lay eggs.

Compare the four life cycles: a mammal is born alive and fed on milk. An amphibian starts as an egg in water, and then becomes a tadpole. An insect starts as an egg on a leaf, and changes shape in the chrysalis. A bird starts as an egg with a hard shell in a nest.

Bird (blackbird)egghard shellchickfedyoungfeathersadult birdthe life cycle goes round
The life cycle of a blackbird: egg with a hard shell, chick fed by its parents, young bird with feathers, and adult bird.
Observations of animals in the class list2mammal2amphibian4insect4bird
Bar chart of a class list of 12 observations of animals: mammal 2, amphibian 2, insect 4, bird 4.

Key ideas

  • Birds have feathers and a beak, and lay eggs with hard shells in a nest.
  • A chick is fed by its parents until it can leave the nest.
  • Each life cycle starts in a different way: born alive, spawn, eggs on a leaf, or eggs in a nest.
  • A table or a bar chart helps you compare the groups.
Worked example 2.5.1
Look at the bird life cycle in section 2.5. Which stage comes after the chick? Write the words.

Method. Read the pictures in order.

  1. Read the stages. The stages are egg, chick, young bird, and adult bird.
    chick, young bird
  2. Name the next stage. The stage after the chick is the young bird.
    young bird
  3. Write the answer.
    young bird

Check. The young bird grows its feathers. ✓

Worked example 2.5.2
What covers a bird’s body? Write the word.

Method. Read the features of birds.

  1. Read the features. Birds have feathers, and a beak.
    feathers and a beak
  2. Name the covering. So the covering is feathers.
    feathers
  3. Write the answer.
    feathers

Check. Feathers help a bird fly. ✓

Worked example 2.5.3
Look at the tally bar chart in section 2.5. Which group has the same number of observations as the birds? Write the word.

Method. Read the bar for the birds.

  1. Read the bird bar. The bird bar shows 4 observations.
    4
  2. Find the matching bar. The insect bar also shows 4 observations.
    insect
  3. Write the answer.
    insect

Check. Both bars reach 4 on the chart. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: a bird’s chick is not a small adult. It hatches from its egg and is fed by its parents, and it grows its feathers before it can fly.

Try it (with your teacher or a grown-up). Watch a bird feeder or a garden from a window, with a grown-up. Count the birds you see in five minutes, and record them in a tally. Never touch a nest or any eggs, and keep a safe distance from wild birds.

Exam tip

Grown-up tip. Ask: “Which group starts life in a nest? Which group is fed on milk?” Let your child compare the four life cycles in a table.

Exercise 2E  Life cycle of a bird, and comparing the four

1
FBirds have feathers and a beak. Write the word for the covering that helps a bird fly: feathers or fur.
2
FFill in the gap: birds lay eggs with hard ___. Write one word.
3
FWhat is a baby bird called? Write the word.
4
FWho feeds a chick in the nest? Write the word: parents or the chick itself.
5
FHow many stages are shown in the bird life cycle in section 2.5? Write the number.
6
FFill in the gap: a young bird leaves its nest when it is able to ___. Write one word.
7
FLook at the tally bar chart in section 2.5. How many observations were of birds? Write the number.
8
FLook at the tally bar chart in section 2.5. How many observations were of mammals? Write the number.
9
PSLook at the tally bar chart in section 2.5. Which two groups had the same number of observations? Write the two names.
10
PSLook at the tally bar chart in section 2.5. How many more observations were of insects than of mammals? Write the number.
11
PSWorking scientifically. Compare two life cycles. Write one way a blackbird’s egg is different from a frog’s egg. Write one sentence.
12
RExplain why a bird’s nest should not be touched by people. Write one sentence.

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