A Bird Built for Diving: teacher key

Ospreys, grade 5 edition, written for 5th grade. An osprey is a bird that eats almost nothing but fish. It dives for its food, has feet and eyelids built for the job, raises its young in a large stick nest and migrates for the winter.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. About how often does a dive end with a fish caught?
   • On a quarter or more of dives (answer)
   • On almost no dives
   • On every single dive
2. When does an osprey close its third eyelid?
   • When it lays eggs
   • When it flies south
   • When it dives into the water (answer)
3. How old are young ospreys at their first flight?
   • About 5 days
   • About 50 to 55 days (answer)
   • About 5 months
4. Where do most UK ospreys spend the winter?
   • West Africa (answer)
   • Antarctica
   • Scotland
5. Which tells why an osprey can hold a slippery fish?
   • A third eyelid
   • A large nest
   • Rough pads on its feet (answer)
6. What does the word wingspan mean?
   • A fish
   • Tip to tip (answer)
   • A kind of nest

Words

• hovers: stays in air
• wingspan: tip to tip
• nostrils: nose holes
• incubate: keep eggs warm
• migrate: travel far