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.
Some herds keep their young in the middle. Muskox adults face out around them.
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 |
| muskox herd | young in the middle | adults shield the young |
| ant colony | big workers guard the entrance | they keep other ants out |
| 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 muskox herd keeps its young on the outside edge. | ? |
Sharp eyes, explorer! Tomorrow we see how a group finds food and stays warm.