Diurnal and

Nocturnal Animals

Diurnal Animals• Diurnal is a tricky word! Let’s all say that word

together. Diurnal [dahy-ur-nl]• A diurnal animal is an animal that is awake or

active during the day. • The following pictures are all of diurnal

animals.

• Can you think of another diurnal animal?

Nocturnal Animals• Nocturnal is also a tricky word! Let’s all say

that word together! Nocturnal [nok-tur-nl]• A nocturnal animal is an animal that is awake

or active at night. • The following pictures are all of nocturnal

animals.

• Can you think of any other nocturnal animals?

Nocturnal Animals• Today we are going to be learning about

Nocturnal Animals. Keep your Eagle Eyes open for some clues!

• Nocturnal animals are active at night. During the day, these animals sleep or keep away from the sun.

• It is not until the sun goes down, that these animals begin to look for water and to hunt for food.

• Some nocturnal animals have special features that help them adapt to the dark.

Big Eyes• To help them see at night, many

nocturnal animals have very large eyes. Their eyes are special in that they let in more light, so an they can see better in the dark!

opossum

Sense of Hearing & Smell• Nocturnal

animals also have very good hearing and a strong sense of smell. This helps them find their way in the dark.

great horned

owl

Quiet Movement• Cats are great

hunters. They have soft pads

on their feet so they do not

make any noise when

they are looking for

food.

domestichouse

cat

Adaptation

• An adaptation is when an animal makes adjustments or changes, so it can have a better chance to survive in its environment.

Reasons for Adaptations• The hot climate is a reason many

animals adapt to the night. A frog has very sensitive skin and it will dry out under the sun’s harsh rays.

red eyed tree frog

Reasons for Adaptations

• Another reason nocturnal animals prefer the nighttime is that the darkness keeps them safe from other animal predators.

garden dormouse

Echolocation• Some animals are even equipped with a special

adaptation that give them super hearing, such as a bat!

• Bats use echolocation to find food! Bats have super sonic hearing. Bats use sound waves to find their food. The sound wave bounces off an insect and tells the bat where to fly!

Echolocation Facts• Even if thousands of bats are using their

echolocation at the same time, they can still fly and find food.

• Humans can’t hear the echolocation sounds.• Most of the time bats use their mouth to send

out echolocation sounds, sometimes they use their nose.

Class Echolocation Activities• Today we will watch a video on echolocation.• Later on we will also participate in an

echolocation activity to better understand how echolocation works.

Diurnal & Nocturnal Animal Sort

Diurnal Animals

Nocturnal Animals

Diurnal & Nocturnal Worksheet

You will each get a copy of the diurnal and nocturnal animal worksheet. You will also get a set of animal cards. You will cut them out and glue them in the proper section. You must decide if the animal is a diurnal (daytime) or nocturnal (nighttime) animal. You may independently read when finished.