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When Agnes Caws!

by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Giselle Potter

Topic: Conservation

Follow the adventures of Agnes and her mother, Professor Octavia Peregrine, as they race to find the Pink-headed Duck—before Colonel Pittsnap does!

when agnes caws


• Questions for discussion (see below)

• Have students draw and color in some of the colorful birds found in this book: Pink-headed Duck*, Blue-footed Booby, Pheasant, Grouse (for example: Greater Sage-Grouse*), Great Hornbill, Golden-fronted Leafbird, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Sulfur-crested Cockatoo, Snake Bird (Anhinga), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. The ones in bold are linked to their species account on the Lab's All About Birds Online Bird Guide. (*Indicates those species that are threatened or endangered).

• Discuss other endangered species, such as the Peregrine Falcon, Whooping Crane, and Ivory-billed Woodpecker—see web sites below.

Whooping Crane

Questions about the book:

1. Which bird call “pierced the jungle air of Borneo?" (Golden-fronted Leafbird)

2. Who made this sound (a bird)? “Chaca-cha-ca! Wick, wick, wick!" (Sulfur-crested Cockatoo)

3. Where do Agnes and her mother go in search of the rare Pink-headed Duck? (the Himalayas)

4. What did they do with the Pink-headed Duck in the end? (Set it free, and the duck " reach flying speed...and winged its way over the horizon")

5. Bot Agnes (with her mom) and Colonel Pittsnap were looking for the same endangered bird. how were their reasons different? (Colonel Pittsnap wanted to kill and stuff the bird for his collection of dead birds, while Agnes wanted to find out whether the Pink-headed Ducck still exists and where it can be seen now)


Additional Resources

Conservation success stories

Modern extinctions