Animals, Plants & Seasons 3-minute video · ages 4-8 · free coloring page
Why do geese fly south in a V?
Honk, honk! Geese in a V! Why do geese fly south, and why in a V?
3 min
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Free coloring page
The scene from the video as a coloring page, plus the three-sentence answer, the experiment, and a QR code back to this page. One sheet, US Letter, black and white.
The answer in three parts
Why?
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Winter in the north is hard.
Lakes and ponds freeze over, and the grass gets covered with snow, so it's hard to find food. Geese fly south, to places where the water stays open. In the spring, they fly back north. This big trip is called migration.
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Each goose helps the goose behind it.
When a goose flaps, some air rolls upward behind it, a little to the side. The goose behind flies in just that spot, where the air helps lift it up. It's like getting a little push!
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Taking turns at the front.
The goose at the very front gets no help at all. So when the leader gets tired, it drops back, and another goose takes a turn at the front. They share the hard work!
For grown-ups: When every goose flies one behind the other, a little to the side, the whole flock makes a V. Flying together, geese can go farther than flying alone. Some geese fly more than a thousand miles.
A tiny experiment
Try it!
Count the V
You need: a fall day and the sky
- On a fall day, look up and listen for honking.
- When you see a V, count the geese on each side.
- Are the two sides the same length? Does a goose ever change places?
What happened? The geese take turns doing the hardest part. Teamwork!
Did you know?
How do geese know the way? They use the sun, the stars, rivers and mountains they remember, and even a special sense for the Earth's magnetic pull, like a compass inside them.
All that honking? The geese are talking! Honking helps them keep track of each other, and stay together up in the sky.
Your guide in this video
I'm Honk, a Canada goose. Flying together, we can go farther than flying alone.
Honk is a friendly Canada goose with a black neck and a white chin strap.
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