Forest food chain

A forest food chain can begin with sunlight and oak leaves. Caterpillars eat the leaves, songbirds eat caterpillars, and a red-tailed hawk can prey on smaller birds. This sequence shows one route by which energy moves from a producer to consumers. The decomposer box reminds readers that dead leaves and animals become food for organisms that return nutrients to the soil. Forest ecosystems include many more links: birds may eat fruit or insects, hawks take varied prey, and oak trees produce acorns as well as leaves. Use this chain to practise reading arrows and identifying producers, consumers, and decomposers before introducing a more complete food web.