Rocket and Raven lie on their backs in the park grass, watching a flock feed.
One bird gives a sharp call. In a blink, every bird is in the air.
Rocket sits up. "How did they ALL know? I did not see anything."
Raven points to the sky. A hawk circles high above the trees.
Nova whispers, "One bird saw it. Think about what that one bird did next."
A bird feeding alone must keep looking up for danger.
Every time it looks up, it stops eating.
In a flock, there are many eyes. Someone is always watching.
The others can eat with their heads down.
When one bird spots a hawk, it gives an alarm call. The whole flock takes off.
Many animals that live in groups use alarm calls. A sudden sound means danger.
A hawk hunting a flock has another problem.
Dozens of birds twist and turn together. Which one should it chase?
The crowd makes it hard to focus on a single bird.
A school of fish does the same thing in the water.
A herd keeps its young in the middle. The adults stand around the edge.
Each animal in the group is safer than it would be alone.
| Group | Safety trick | How it helps |
|---|---|---|
| flock | alarm call | everyone escapes at once |
| school | turning together | a hunter cannot pick one fish |
| herd | young in the middle | adults shield the young |
| ant colony | many workers guard the nest | the nest is rarely left alone |
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| A bird feeding alone has to look up often. | ? |
| A hawk finds it easy to pick one bird out of a twisting flock. | ? |
| Alarm calls help a whole group escape. | ? |
| A herd keeps its young on the outside edge. | ? |
Sharp eyes, explorer! Tomorrow we see how a group finds food and stays warm.