This document provides information about birds and mammals. It discusses the key characteristics of birds, including that they are endothermic vertebrates with feathers and four-chambered hearts that lay eggs. It also describes how birds are adapted for flight through hollow bones, large chest muscles, and wings formed from their forelimbs. The document then discusses the characteristics of mammals, including being endothermic vertebrates with four-chambered hearts, skin covered in fur or hair, and most young born alive and fed milk. It outlines the three groups of mammals - monotremes, marsupials, and placental mammals - and provides examples and distinguishing characteristics of each group.

1. Birds and Mammals
Sixth Grade
Gail Howard
• Birds
• The Physics of Bird
Flight
• What Is a Mammal?
• Diversity of Mammals

2. Characteristics of Birds
• Endothermic vertebrate
• Feathers
• Four-chambered heart
• Lays eggs

3. Four ways birds are adapted for
flight
• Bones of a bird’s
forelimbs form wings
• Bones are nearly
hollow
• Large chest muscles
that move the wings
• Feathers

4. Characteristics of Mammals
• Endothermic vertebrate
• Four-chambered heart
• Skin covered with fur or hair
• Most young are born alive
• Fed with milk produced in its mother’s
body

5. Three groups of mammals
• Monotremes
• Marsupials
• Placental mammals

6. Monotremes
• There are two species
of monotremes: spiny
anteaters and duck-
billed platypus.
• They are mammals
that lay eggs.

7. Marsupials
• Marsupials are mammals
whose young are born
alive, but at an early stage
of development, and they
usually continue to
develop in a pouch on
their mother’s body.
• Two species of marsupials
are: kangaroos and
opossums.

8. Placental Mammals
• Placental mammals
develop inside its
mother’s body until its
body systems can function
independently.
• A few species of placental
mammals are: primates,
bats, rabbits, elephants,
dolphins, otters, squirrels,
etc.

9. Table comparing mammal groups
Characteristic Monotremes Marsupials Placental
Mammals
How Young
Begin Life
a. ____?
____
b.____?___ c.___?___
How Young
Are Fed
Milk from
pores or slits
on mother’s
skin
d.____?___ e.___?___
Example f.____?
_____
g.___?
_____
h.__?____

10. Writing Assignment
• You are a documentary
filmmaker preparing to
make a short film about
spiny anteaters. First,
think of a title for the film.
Then plan two scenes that
you would include in the
film and write the
narrator’s script. Your
scenes should show what
the animals look like and
what they do.