Gabby: Welcome to Flamingo Gardens.

My name is Gabby.

Today we're going to learn about birds, and how they help our ecosystem, and even how they help us humans.

I'm sure there's a lot of things you don't know that birdies can do for us every day.

Miss Penny: I'm so excited to learn all about birds!

A bird is an animal whose body is covered with feathers.

It has wings, scaly legs, a beak, no teeth, and birds lay eggs.

Most birds can fly.

Gabby: All birds have feathers, a beak, and they lay eggs.

So you have, what is this?

Hair?

Speaker 3: Hair.

Gabby: They have feathers.

This is right against their skin, and they keep the birdie warm.

What do we have here?

Point here.

Speaker 4: Lips.

Gabby: We have lips.

We eat with our mouth.

We speak with our mouth.

Birdies have beaks.

Beaks are used also to talk in their own bird language or human language if you're a crow or a parrot.

Beaks also serve to preen themselves.

They have to clean themselves.

We brush our hair.

They're used to feed their babies.

Miss Penny: Wow.

What else do birds have?

Gabby: They have the wings.

All right?

We have arms.

They have wings to fly.

And then they have something we don't have.

Speaker 4: What?

Gabby: They have a tail.

So the tail can be used as a direction, like a steering wheel or to balance.

Do you think maybe our ancestors, when they saw a bird flying, they said, "Wish we could do that."

Right?

And this is how we got the plane to fly.

And if you're on a plane and you're sitting on the wing, you'll see that the flaps go up and down.

And where do you think we learned that from?

The birdies.

We have feet.

Different birds have different types of feet.

The feet can be talons or they can be like the songbirds have to clutch onto a branch.

The parrots even use their feet like a hand, and they bring their food to the mouth.

All other birds bring their mouth to the food.

Miss Penny: That's interesting.

Gabby: That's interesting.

Miss Penny: All right.

Let's go meet some of these birds.

Gabby: We're here to learn about flamingos.

We have different types of flamingos here.

Do you know flamingos are natives to Florida?

Miss Penny: So native means they were born and- Gabby: They were born, they're from here.

Miss Penny: ... where they are.

Gabby: Exactly.

We have Floridian flamingos here.

We have Cuban flamingo.

We have flamingos from Chile, those are the lighter ones.

From North Africa.

Miss Penny: Wow.

Gabby: Why are flamingos pink?

Speaker 4: Oh, because they eat shrimp.

Gabby: They eat shrimp.

You know, they're born white.

And then as they eat some shrimp that has algae inside of it, that's how they get their color.

You notice the different colors?

Some are more coral, some are more pink.

See how tall they are?

They're five feet.

Taller than you guys right now.

And what's your age?

Speaker 5: Eight.

Gabby: Eight.

Speaker 4: Six.

Gabby: And you?

Speaker 6: Seven.

Gabby: And you?

Speaker 3: Six.

Gabby: Six.

Well, they live to 40, 45 years old.

Miss Penny: That's amazing.

Gabby: That's amazing.

Speaker 5: That's a lot.

Gabby: Do you think they fly?

Look how big they are.

Speaker X: Yeah.

Gabby: Yes, they do.

They sure do.

It looks like a pink cloud.

And a group of flamingos is called the flamboyance.

Say it.

Speaker X: Flamboyance.

Gabby: We're going to learn some new words today.

All right?

Miss Penny: Well, that's wonderful.

And it's nice to have this little area where they can ... Their habitat.

Gabby: Their habitat.

Who can tell me what habitat means?

Speaker 5: Where an animal lives.

Gabby: Where an animal lives.

By the way, you see those little white birds?

Speaker X: Yes.

Gabby: Those are ibis, also known as the hurricane birds.

So they're known by that because when a hurricane comes in, they're the last bird to come inland.

And they're the first ones to go out after the hurricane tail leaves.

Let's feed the flamingo and the ibises.

Miss Penny: This is so exciting.

An important part of being a bird expert is making sure the birds you take care of eat the proper foods.

Different kinds of birds have different kinds of diets, which means they eat specific kinds of foods.

So we'll need the food that these birds can eat.

Hurray!

It looks like Shiny has the proper food to feed the flamingos and the ibis.

Good job, Shiny.

Okay, Vision kids, we can do this too.

Let's get some bird food.

Gabby: And we can feed the ibis by hand because they have a very gentle beak.

And just open your hand.

Their beak is very gentle.

Miss Penny: This is so much fun.

Let's throw some food into the water like Shiny did.

Gabby: Now let's see if the flamingos will come.

Toss them some food.

There he goes.

Miss Penny: 1, 2, 3.

Speaker 4: Go flamingo.

Go flamingo.

Go flamingo.

Gabby: Let's observe them.

Look how he's shaking the mud with his leg.

All right, so he's pushing up all the algae and all the crustaceans.

Then with his beak, he'll scoop up.

And remember I told you he has a strainer on the side.

So he lets all the mud and the water out.

But the food, the snacks, stay inside.

Miss Penny: Why do they keep their feet up?

Gabby: When they're on one leg like that, they are saving energy.

Look at him.

You hear them honking?

Miss Penny: Can you make the sound of the flamingo?

Gabby: How does the flamingo sound?

It's like a honky.

Miss Penny: Wow.

Flamingos and ibises are amazing.

Let's go meet some more of Gabby's bird friends.

Gabby: So we're here at the backyard birds.

Now, all these birdies are birds that you would see in your backyard.

Let's see if we can identify some.

Who can tell me what that pretty blue one is?

Speaker X: A blue jay.

Gabby: A blue jay.

A blue jay.

Do you know that they are great pollinators?

Because they forage for acorns and they hide them all over the place for winter time.

And then when it's time to eat, they forget they hid some.

And those little acorns turn into oak trees.

Miss Penny: Wow.

Gabby: Oh, look at this little blue jay here.

Look, he came to say hello.

Speaker X: Hi.

Gabby: Yeah.

Speaker X: And it's so cute.

Gabby: They are cute.

And what is that white one over there?

Speaker X: A dove.

Gabby: A dove.

Let's see what other birdies we have.

Who can tell me the Florida state bird?

Starts with an M. Miss Penny: Mockingbird.

Gabby: Mockingbird.

And the Mockingbird, we have one.

He's hidden back there.

You can't see him very well.

He's gray and white.

Now, he's a songbird.

And he's the only songbird that sings in the morning and at night.

Say, "Mockingbird."

Speaker X: Mockingbird.

Gabby: Perfect.

Ready to go see some more birdies?

Speaker X: Yes.

Gabby: Let's go.

Oh.

So what's the difference?

Does anybody know?

This is a peacock.

You can tell because boys have blue necks.

And that's a peahen.

And girls have green necks.

Look at this.

This is a little peachick.

She's getting big now.

She's about two to three weeks old.

So she's just a newborn.

And they actually have beautiful feathers.

Speaker X: It does match the ground.

Gabby: It does match the ground.

That's called camouflage.

Let's say, "camouflage."

Speaker X: Camouflage.

Gabby: Camouflage is when you wear something that makes you look like the environment, so you don't stand out.

And that's good for protection.

Speaker 5: Yes.

Gabby: Because if we walk by here, and I didn't point it out, you could hardly see her.

She's totally camouflaged.

So we're visiting with fish crows.

Do you know that crows are one of the smartest animals on the planet?

Speaker X: No.

Gabby: Yeah.

So they can talk, they can learn different languages.

They can recognize our faces amongst a crowd of the people that they like.

They're very family-oriented.

And the children will even return throughout the years to visit with their parents and help them with the new siblings.

Crows are black from beat to feet, completely.

And they're smart, so you can make friends.

And look how they're looking at us.

See, they're observing and learning.

Miss Penny: Oh, he's talking.

Gabby: Yeah.

Oh, did he say something?

Miss Penny: He said, "Come on."

Gabby: They say hello.

Good morning.

Goodbye.

Miss Penny: Goodbye.

Gabby: American bald eagle has been our national bird since 1782.

A lot of people they don't know when they say, "Oh, you have eagle eyes."

Eagles can see up to a mile down.

They have excellent vision.

Miss Penny: Wow.

KidVision kids, it's time to go learn about hawks.

Shannon is going to bring us a very special bird friend.

Shannon Gallagh...: Hello, my name is Shannon Gallagher and I am here with Bradley Cooper, the Cooper's hawk.

And I actually had the privilege to raise Bradley myself.

Now Bradley here is just a-year-old.

And I'm happy to share him all to you guys.

You guys want to ask questions about Bradley?

Speaker 6: Can he see good at night?

Shannon Gallagh...: Can he see good at night?

Yes.

He can see very well during the day and the night.

But what's special about hawks and eagles is that they have something called a camera lensed eye.

Just like a phone.

Just like a camera.

How we can zoom in and out, that's exactly how the hawk's eye is going to work.

Speaker 3: Like binoculars.

Shannon Gallagh...: Exactly.

You guys want to pet him?

Just nice and gentle.

One at a time.

Okay?

Just like this.

Speaker 3: Bravo, bravo, bravo.

Miss Penny: Bravo, bravo.

Gabby: So birds are really special.

The birds can tell us if the environment is healthy, if the ecosystem is healthy, if the water is polluted or the air is polluted the birds will leave that area, how they eat insects and rodents to keep our planet healthy.

If we didn't have birds, bees, bats, butterflies, and beetles to pollinate, we wouldn't have any fruits.

No bananas, no oranges, no berries, no chocolate, no vanilla.

All the inventions that have been made based on birds.

Aren't they wonderful?

So do you feel like you learned a lot today about birds?

Speaker X: Yes.

Gabby: Do you understand how it's important for us to take care of birds because they take care of us?

Speaker X: Yes.

Miss Penny: Yes.

Speaker X: Thank you.

Gabby: You're welcome.

And I hope you come back real soon.

Okay?

Bye.

Speaker X: Bye.