Activity 3:
my favorite bird is a tough question. So many. The painted bunting for its colors, hummingbirds because they are so small and fast, spoonbills and avocets for their interesting bills, ospreys and hawks in general for their power and strength, forked tail kite for their signature tail. And thats just off the top of my head.
Activity 2:
outside in my area i can find 1) shorebirds like the sanderling; 2) ducks like mallards, moscovy, and wood; 3) songbirds like cardinals and warblers; 4) wading birds like herons and egrets.
activity 1:
I really liked reading about the extinct elephant bird on the wall of birds. Its a real shame people caused its extinction like so many other animals. To see a bird that large would make the ostrich seem small. And who knows what we could be doing with a giant docile bird like that.