Birds Flashcards
What are birds decendants of?
Ground dwelling dinosaurs which didn’t fly and had feathers
What is the name of fossil link between birds and dinosaurs?
Archaeopteryx
What are the features that link dinosaurs and birds
Reptilan forelimb claws
Boned tail
Feathers
Reptilian teeth
What is the phylum of birds?
Chordata
What is the class of birds?
Aves
How many orders are there of birds?
27
Approx how many species are there currently known of birds?
10,000
How was Himalayan Forest Thrush identified?
DNA and song differences
How did flightless birds evolve?
From flying ancestor when predation risk was low
What is the largest living bird?
Ostrich
What are examples of flightless birds?
Penguin, Kiwi, Ostrich
What are examples of waterbirds?
Black throated diver, blue footed booby, little grebe
What are features of waterbirds?
Webbed Feet Dense plumage Waterproof Must breed on land Areas such as marine or fresh water
What are features of the order Procellariifrmes?
Seabirds
Live to 30-40 years old
Gland in nose removes excess salt
E.g Albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters.
What orders are birds of prey?
Falconiformes, accipitriformes and stigiformes?
What birds are Falconiformes?
Falcons
What birds are Accipitriformes?
Eagles. Kites, Osprey, Vultures
What birds are Strigiformes?
Owls
What are features of birds of prey?
Talons and hook beaks for killing and tearing flesh
Foward facing eyes with binocular vision
Hunt other birds and mammals
What are examples of wading birds?
Curlews Sandpipers Plovers Godwits Stints
What are features of wading birds?
Long legs
Probing bill
Mud and wet areas
Feed on worms and molluscs
What is the largest order of birds?
Passeriformes (song birds) with 5200
What is the purpose of the song birds sing?
Attract females or repel mates
Why may colour of bird eggs be important?
Provides camouflage
Why is colour important in birds?
Sexual signals (feathers or bill)
How do birds breed?
Lay eggs in nest
Incubation
Bi-parental care is normal so both parents feed chicks
What is a precocial chick?
Downy, can thermoregulate and feed themselves on hatching
What is a altricial chick?
Naked and blind so cannot thermoregulate nor feed themselves
Why do some birds form social flocks?
Safety when breeding, roosting and foraging
How can we track birds?
Ringing them or GPS tag
How far do Bar-tailed Godwits travel in 6 days from New Zealand to Alaska in one go?
11,000
Why are birds important to humans?
Food, sport, art, pleasure, bioindicators, bearer of disease
What defines an animal as a bird?
Feathers
What did feathers evolve from?
Scales
Why did feathers evolve?
Provide insulation
Colour and form adaptations through sexual and natural selection
Enables flight
What are the hypothetical stages of feather evolution?
Reptilian stage Elongation (solar reflection) Splitting (flexible) Fraying and pigment Elongate for balance Secondary splits (lighter)
What are the 4 types of feather?
Contour (covers body)
Down (insulation)
Semiplume/ filoplume
Flight
What is the calamus?
Part of feather that sticks into the bird.
What is the vane made up of?
strands of feathers containing barbs which zip them together
How do birds maintain their feathers?
Preen, oil and bathe
What do birds bathe in?
Water or dust
Why do birds moult?
Feathers wear out do to abrasion and UV
mites and parasites
Change plumage- breeding/ non breeding
What 4 animals has flight evolved for?
Insects
Pterosaurs (extinct)
Birds
Bats
What does adaptive light require?
Large wing surface
High energy
Very efficient oxygen transport
Where are forces generated for bird to fly?
On an aerofoil
What is the wing aspect ratio formula?
Wingspan/ Wing area
What are features of high ratio wings?
Long and thin
Good gliders
High speed
What are features of low ratio wings?
Short and round
Rapid take off
Higher manoeuvrability
What happens at low speeds during turbulence?
It would stall and fall
How does a bird reduce turbulence?
Alula
What is an advantage of wing tip slots?
Allow greater control at low speeds for large birds who soar a lot eg. cranes, eagles, vultures, buzzards
What is the respiratory pump for birds?
Sacs
What are the lungs used for in birds?
Gas exchange only so thin and efficient
What are the 4 air sacs in birds?
Clavicular air sac
Cranial thoracic air sac
Caudal thoracic air sac
Abdominal air sac
How does birds respiring difer to mammals?
Birds have one way air flow
Air pump and gas exchange is separate in birds
Birds have thinner exchange surface
Birds remove 25% more oxygen per breath
why do birds need high oxygen demand?
Flight
Other than their lungs, what are other adaptations for birds for flight?
Hollow bones
No teeth so light head
Centre of gravity in body centre
