A coloring page of a friendly giraffe with a little bird flying past. The outlines are thick and the shapes are large, so small hands can fill them in without frustration, and the round spots make an easy first exercise in staying inside the lines. Free to download and print, no registration needed.
🖊 Giraffe and Little Bird — Line Art (free, printable)
🗣 Conversation Starters — for care activities and family time
Which birds do you see near home, or on your walks? What do they look like?
Is there a birdsong you are especially fond of?
Do the birds you see change with the seasons?
Have the birds around you changed since you were younger?
Do the birds you see in Japan change with the seasons?
They do. Japan has summer visitors that arrive from the south in spring — barn swallows and cuckoos among them — winter visitors that come down from the north in autumn, such as swans and ducks, and residents that stay all year round, like sparrows and crows. The cast of birds outside the window turns over twice a year.
Why do birds sing the way they do?
Song evolved mainly as a male’s way of holding a territory and courting a mate, so an elaborate voice can be an advantage in attracting a partner. In Japan the bush warbler and the skylark are the best loved of the singers.
Is birdwatching hard to take up?
Not at all. A pair of binoculars and a field guide are enough to begin, and a local park, a riverbank or the edge of farmland will already hold a surprising number of species. Roughly 700 kinds of wild bird have been recorded in Japan once rare visitors are counted, so there is something new in every season.
