#20 and #21 Australian birds

Question 1

what is the common ancestor of birds and dinosaurs?

Answer 1

velociraptor

Question 2

what is the earliest evidence of a bird and when did it occur
what features did it have

Answer 2

Archaeopteryx

a theropod dinosaur with feathers, wings, tail, claws and teeth

Question 3

why did birds evolve?

Answer 3

the air was an unexploited habitat, more food available, to escape predators, fast migration was possible

Question 4

what are the characteristics that define birds?

Answer 4

feathers
wings
beak
light weight 
lay hard shelled eggs
endothermic

Question 5

what is convergent evolution?

Answer 5

when a two unrelated species resemble each other
they are not the same species, they are not genetically related but due have a similar look and live in similar environments
they have similar niches and diets hence they have evolved similar features

Question 6

how many species of bird does the world have vs. australia

Answer 6

• there are over 10,000 species of birds worldwide

- in australia we have over 900 species of bird

Question 7

what is the largest bird in aus.

Answer 7

cassowary

Question 8

what are the 5 broad categories of Australian birds?

Answer 8

• long-established non-passerines of gondwanan origin
• australasian passerines descended from the corvid family
• recent passerine colonists from Eurasia
• introduced species
• worldwide groups

Question 9

what species are long-established non-passerines of gondwanan origin

Answer 9

non-passerines are non-singing birds
- ratites: emus and cassowaries  
- parrots and cockatoos
- penguins
they all have southern hemisphere distribution and have been present in Australia for a long time

Question 10

what are some australian passerine birds and what are their features

Answer 10

they descended from the corvid family
crows, magpies, ravens
most recently evolved birds

Question 11

what are some recent colonists from Eurasia and their features

Answer 11

• swallows, larks etc.
• wedge tailed eagle from asia
• have recently colonised australia from other places now live and breed here

Question 12

what are some introduced species from humans

Answer 12

• deliberate introduction by humans
• now a pest species
• starling, blackbird

Question 13

what are features of worldwide groups?

Answer 13

• worldwide distribution
• they have strong dispersal capabilities
• large birds
  i. e. raptors, owls, seabirds

Question 14

what are species that show convergent evolution

Answer 14

english and Australian robins

Question 15

how old is the oldest fossil of a bird

Answer 15

110MYA

birds do not make good fossils

Question 16

what is the most diverse group of bird in australia

Answer 16

the passeriformies (song-birds)
- contains most of the worlds species and most of australias species

Question 17

what is monogamy in birds

what birds do this

Answer 17

• where male and female pair for life or one season
• they raise chicks together
• black swans
• fairy wrens

Question 18

what is polygyny in birds and what birds do this

Answer 18

• where the male will mate with multiple females
• male will not raise offspring
  satin bower bird does this

Question 19

what is polyandry and what bird does this

Answer 19

• where female mates with multiple males
• female does not care for the young
  -can be successive where the female mates with one male and the male looks after the eggs or simultaneous where the female mates with multiple males and a male will look after the young
  cassowary uses successive polyandry - males look after eggs and raise the young

Question 20

what are the forms of parental care in birds?

Answer 20

bi-parental
paternal care
mound builders
cooperative breeders
no care at all

Question 21

what is bi-parental care and who does this

Answer 21

• where male and female look after and raise young
• alternate shifts in feeding and incubation
  little penguin does this

Question 22

what is paternal care and who does this

Answer 22

• the male incubates eggs and looks after the young

emu does this

Question 23

what is mound building and who does this

Answer 23

creates an incubation temperature for eggs
- males look after the mound
mallee fowl does this where the male will adjust the temperature constantly for the mound

Question 24

what is cooperative breeding and who does this?

Answer 24

breeding pair often assisted by helpers
-previous offspring stay and help raising the young
honeyeaters
choughs and apostle birds

Question 25

what is no parental care and who does this

Answer 25

• parasitic birds will give their eggs to another bird to raise
• inter-specific parasitism where a bird will drop their eggs into nest of the different species i.e. cuckoo
• intra-specific parasitism where bird will drop their eggs into nest of same species i.e. swallows and coots

Question 26

what are bird songs for?

Answer 26

territory defence and mating

Question 27

what are conservation issues for birds?

Answer 27

loss of tree hollows
clearance
fire
predation 
illegal pet trade