A bird watcher sees a small yellow bird in a tree. Explain to the bird watcher how he can use a dichotomous key to identify the bird. Assume he does not know anything about dichotomous keys. Then write two steps of a dichotomous key that would be helpful for the bird watcher.

Answer 1

To use a dichotomous key to identify a bird, the bird watcher can follow a series of questions or characteristics that will help narrow down the possibilities and eventually lead to the correct identification of the bird. Each step presents two choices, and the bird watcher must choose the one that best fits the bird they are observing.

For example, the bird watcher could start by examining the size and color of the bird. The first step in the dichotomous key could be:

Step 1: Is the bird small or large?
- If small, go to step 2.
- If large, go to step 3.

Step 2: Is the bird yellow or another color?
- If yellow, the bird may be a yellow warbler.
- If another color, go to step 4.