Laz Lewis., age 10, of Berkeley, Cal for the question:

What happens to dead birds?

We do not often find dead birds lying around   yet a countless number of them perish every year. The reason for this is that a bird 1s body decays very quickly. He is a very light and frothy creature. If he were heavy, he could not possibly take to the air. His bones are light and hollow, he has not much flesh and he is covered with the lightest of clothing.

When this little light body falls in the woods, it is immediately attacked. All sorts of insects arrive to eat the meat and certain scarp beetles will make off with the whole body. The light bones are attacked by decay making bacteria. They break down the substance into simple chemicals. These chemicals are often the kind of food which plants need. They enrich the soil. The bodies of all the fallen birds, then, finally help to feed the plants.