Kids want to know about birds great, small

"What is the biggest bird?" asked a young patron at Vernon Area Library in Lincolnshire.

Birds range in color, size, eating habits and flying ability. A modern-day reminder of their ancestors, the dinosaurs, they are among the most beloved of all animal species, capturing the hearts of one in five Americans who define themselves as bird-watchers.

Jackie Karnstedt, educator and teen specialist at Wheaton's Cosley Zoo, is a big bird enthusiast, caring for the zoo's great horned owl Marley.

"Owls, in general, are really interesting animals for our visitors to come and see because in many cases they're not seeing owls in their yards or neighborhoods, they're hearing them. Being able to see the owls gives them a unique connection to what they're hearing at home," Karnstedt said.

When you think of big birds, the ostrich might come to mind. It's the largest living bird, soaring up to 9 feet tall and weighing more than most adult men at 320 pounds.

But the largest bird that has ever existed made the ostrich seem not-so-big. The giant elephant bird, which made its home on the island of Madagascar, topped the scales at 800 pounds, stood almost 10 feet tall and laid giant, foot-long eggs. Both birds were designed without flying abilities. Sadly, the only remains of the elephant bird are fossilized eggs and skeletons. In the 1600s, the species was overhunted to extinction.

It turns out the closest relative of these supersized avians isn't the ostrich or emu, but the very small kiwi, another flightless bird, this one the size of a chicken.

Cosley's biggest bird is the three-and-a-half-foot sandhill crane, an elegant stork-like species with a five-foot wingspan seen in northern Illinois marshes and pond areas in summertime. When you spot a tall, light-brown bird with a red splash on its head, most likely it is a sandhill crane wading through wetlands.

A great comeback story, sandhills were almost exterminated 30 years ago. Concerted efforts at wetland protection invigorated this dramatic bird species that migrates in the fall and spring.

"Sandhill cranes are popular with bird-watchers, especially during migration and their courtship rituals. Mating is preceded by an elaborate display in which the birds run, jump, toss sticks and flap their wings. The cranes then make their nests by piling plant material into large mounds," Karnstedt said.

Cosley Zoo is home to more than 30 bird species. In February, Cosley is hosting a family program for anyone of any age to become a citizen scientist and contribute bird statistics to the 2017 Great Backyard Bird Count. The project is a biodiversity database that organizes data to determine bird trends. In 2015, the backyard bird count tracked 9.5 million bird observations worldwide.

Karnstedt's close work with Marley the great horned owl gives her insight into why birds are so captivating.

"People enjoy bird watching because birds are animals that can be most easily seen every day. Many other groups of animals are generally harder to find in nature unless you know what clues to look for," she said. "A lot of people in the world don't realize that they may have an appreciation for birds or bird watching. I say that because it's hard to appreciate something that you cannot actually identify, other than the fact that it's a bird. The world of nature can completely change when you learn to identify them by species."

Training Marley has been a learning opportunity for Karnstedt as much as it is for the owl. Gaining insight into the owl's personality has been part of the learning curve,

"That is part of the challenge, and part of the fun, when working with animals. You could have a completely different experience when working with each individual. She is everything that a female great horned owl should be - curious, intuitive and stubborn. These qualities challenge me and her other caretakers every day but it also allows us to appreciate her for her," Karnstedt said.

Check it out

The Vernon Area Library in Lincolnshire suggests these titles on birds:

•"Birds," World Book Publishing

•"Everything you Need to Know About Birds," DK Publishing

•"Little Kids First Big Book of Birds," by Catherine D. Hughes

•"Ostrich: The World's Biggest Bird," by Natalie Lunis

•"World's Biggest Birds," by Mari Schuh