Cardenales amarillos y petirrojos moteados: mutaciones de color en aves silvestres (FLEX)

>>>This is a guided ***FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE*** unit study!!!<<<

Have you ever seen a wild bird which looked lighter, darker, or differently colored than usual for its kind? What causes red cardinals to sometimes be yellow, or robins to sometimes be missing patches of color? How can a usually black-and-white penguin end up just all black or all white? In this unit study, we will take a look at the many ways that wild birds can end up with such weird colors and plumage patterns.

- Learn about the primary pigments and physics which produce birds' natural colors

- Learn the differences between "normal" color variations and morphs, and these rarer color mutations

- Learn what albinism REALLY is and why so many white birds (and other animals) called "albinos" really aren't!

- Learn how to recognize and name a variety of other color mutations, including leucism, melanism, xanthochroism, and more

- Learn about other factors which can cause color changes in birds, including diet and pollution

- See how these natural color mutations have been exploited by selective breeding to establish color varieties in captive birds such as peacocks and cockatiels

- Explore case studies and image collections of bird color mutations from around the world!

*ASYNCHRONOUS CLASSROOM: 
--This class has NO pre-scheduled live meetings or pre-recorded video meetings. However, requesting an "office hours" live Zoom meetup is always an option. 
-Initial materials will be distributed via the classroom board with commentary and discussion questions posted, and it is up to each individual student to download/view the materials and then participate in classroom board communication with both the instructor and any other students enrolled in the same session. Additional materials and instruction will be provided based upon individual students' questions and interests!
-New material will generally be posted at the beginning and middle of each week (varies by class), with the classroom board open for daily discussion and Sundays serving as weekly checkpoints.
-I will also be available throughout the session via the classroom and direct message to answer any questions you have -- I strive to respond to all contacts within 12 hours (and usually much sooner!).

While there may be supplementary notebooking pages/worksheets and optional quizzes provided as part of the weekly lesson materials in any given flex class, these will not be collected or graded unless the student/parent requests it. If you want/need a formally graded course, this can be arranged ahead of time -- otherwise, this will be run as a fun (but thorough!) unit study. 

*IMPORTANT NOTE ON AGE LEVELS: Please note that while this flex course is currently set to ages 13-18 in order to comply with Outschool's five-year age range listing, I operate under a flexible age range policy and welcome younger learners. I believe in giving *all* interested learners open access to the same general resources and knowledge base, without prejudging age as a limiting factor to understanding -- I know full well there are plenty of younger children out there who can comprehend this level of general audience science, and who know more about their favorite animals than most adults do! ;)