#20 and #21 Australian birds Flashcards
what is the common ancestor of birds and dinosaurs?
velociraptor
what is the earliest evidence of a bird and when did it occur
what features did it have
Archaeopteryx
a theropod dinosaur with feathers, wings, tail, claws and teeth
why did birds evolve?
the air was an unexploited habitat, more food available, to escape predators, fast migration was possible
what are the characteristics that define birds?
feathers wings beak light weight lay hard shelled eggs endothermic
what is convergent evolution?
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
how many species of bird does the world have vs. australia
- there are over 10,000 species of birds worldwide
- in australia we have over 900 species of bird
what is the largest bird in aus.
cassowary
what are the 5 broad categories of Australian birds?
- long-established non-passerines of gondwanan origin
- australasian passerines descended from the corvid family
- recent passerine colonists from Eurasia
- introduced species
- worldwide groups
what species are long-established non-passerines of gondwanan origin
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
what are some australian passerine birds and what are their features
they descended from the corvid family
crows, magpies, ravens
most recently evolved birds
what are some recent colonists from Eurasia and their features
- swallows, larks etc.
- wedge tailed eagle from asia
- have recently colonised australia from other places now live and breed here
what are some introduced species from humans
- deliberate introduction by humans
- now a pest species
- starling, blackbird
what are features of worldwide groups?
- worldwide distribution
- they have strong dispersal capabilities
- large birds
i. e. raptors, owls, seabirds
what are species that show convergent evolution
english and Australian robins
how old is the oldest fossil of a bird
110MYA
birds do not make good fossils
what is the most diverse group of bird in australia
the passeriformies (song-birds) - contains most of the worlds species and most of australias species
what is monogamy in birds
what birds do this
- where male and female pair for life or one season
- they raise chicks together
- black swans
- fairy wrens
what is polygyny in birds and what birds do this
- where the male will mate with multiple females
- male will not raise offspring
satin bower bird does this
what is polyandry and what bird does this
- 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
what are the forms of parental care in birds?
bi-parental paternal care mound builders cooperative breeders no care at all
what is bi-parental care and who does this
- where male and female look after and raise young
- alternate shifts in feeding and incubation
little penguin does this
what is paternal care and who does this
- the male incubates eggs and looks after the young
emu does this
what is mound building and who does this
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
what is cooperative breeding and who does this?
breeding pair often assisted by helpers
-previous offspring stay and help raising the young
honeyeaters
choughs and apostle birds
what is no parental care and who does this
- 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
what are bird songs for?
territory defence and mating
what are conservation issues for birds?
loss of tree hollows clearance fire predation illegal pet trade
