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Zoology > Birds > Flashcards

Birds Flashcards

1
Q

What are birds decendants of?

A

Ground dwelling dinosaurs which didn’t fly and had feathers

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2
Q

What is the name of fossil link between birds and dinosaurs?

A

Archaeopteryx

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3
Q

What are the features that link dinosaurs and birds

A

Reptilan forelimb claws
Boned tail
Feathers
Reptilian teeth

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4
Q

What is the phylum of birds?

A

Chordata

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5
Q

What is the class of birds?

A

Aves

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6
Q

How many orders are there of birds?

A

27

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7
Q

Approx how many species are there currently known of birds?

A

10,000

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8
Q

How was Himalayan Forest Thrush identified?

A

DNA and song differences

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9
Q

How did flightless birds evolve?

A

From flying ancestor when predation risk was low

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10
Q

What is the largest living bird?

A

Ostrich

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11
Q

What are examples of flightless birds?

A

Penguin, Kiwi, Ostrich

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12
Q

What are examples of waterbirds?

A

Black throated diver, blue footed booby, little grebe

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13
Q

What are features of waterbirds?

A 
Webbed Feet
Dense plumage
Waterproof 
Must breed on land
Areas such as marine or fresh water
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14
Q

What are features of the order Procellariifrmes?

A

Seabirds
Live to 30-40 years old
Gland in nose removes excess salt
E.g Albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters.

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15
Q

What orders are birds of prey?

A

Falconiformes, accipitriformes and stigiformes?

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16
Q

What birds are Falconiformes?

A

Falcons

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17
Q

What birds are Accipitriformes?

A

Eagles. Kites, Osprey, Vultures

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18
Q

What birds are Strigiformes?

A

Owls

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19
Q

What are features of birds of prey?

A

Talons and hook beaks for killing and tearing flesh
Foward facing eyes with binocular vision
Hunt other birds and mammals

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20
Q

What are examples of wading birds?

A 
Curlews
Sandpipers
Plovers
Godwits
Stints
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21
Q

What are features of wading birds?

A

Long legs
Probing bill
Mud and wet areas
Feed on worms and molluscs

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22
Q

What is the largest order of birds?

A

Passeriformes (song birds) with 5200

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23
Q

What is the purpose of the song birds sing?

A

Attract females or repel mates

24
Q

Why may colour of bird eggs be important?

A

Provides camouflage

25
Q

Why is colour important in birds?

A

Sexual signals (feathers or bill)

26
Q

How do birds breed?

A

Lay eggs in nest
Incubation
Bi-parental care is normal so both parents feed chicks

27
Q

What is a precocial chick?

A

Downy, can thermoregulate and feed themselves on hatching

28
Q

What is a altricial chick?

A

Naked and blind so cannot thermoregulate nor feed themselves

29
Q

Why do some birds form social flocks?

A

Safety when breeding, roosting and foraging

30
Q

How can we track birds?

A

Ringing them or GPS tag

31
Q

How far do Bar-tailed Godwits travel in 6 days from New Zealand to Alaska in one go?

A

11,000

32
Q

Why are birds important to humans?

A

Food, sport, art, pleasure, bioindicators, bearer of disease

33
Q

What defines an animal as a bird?

A

Feathers

34
Q

What did feathers evolve from?

A

Scales

35
Q

Why did feathers evolve?

A

Provide insulation
Colour and form adaptations through sexual and natural selection
Enables flight

36
Q

What are the hypothetical stages of feather evolution?

A 
Reptilian stage
Elongation (solar reflection)
Splitting (flexible)
Fraying and pigment
Elongate for balance
Secondary splits (lighter)
37
Q

What are the 4 types of feather?

A

Contour (covers body)
Down (insulation)
Semiplume/ filoplume
Flight

38
Q

What is the calamus?

A

Part of feather that sticks into the bird.

39
Q

What is the vane made up of?

A

strands of feathers containing barbs which zip them together

40
Q

How do birds maintain their feathers?

A

Preen, oil and bathe

41
Q

What do birds bathe in?

A

Water or dust

42
Q

Why do birds moult?

A

Feathers wear out do to abrasion and UV
mites and parasites
Change plumage- breeding/ non breeding

43
Q

What 4 animals has flight evolved for?

A

Insects
Pterosaurs (extinct)
Birds
Bats

44
Q

What does adaptive light require?

A

Large wing surface
High energy
Very efficient oxygen transport

45
Q

Where are forces generated for bird to fly?

A

On an aerofoil

46
Q

What is the wing aspect ratio formula?

A

Wingspan/ Wing area

47
Q

What are features of high ratio wings?

A

Long and thin
Good gliders
High speed

48
Q

What are features of low ratio wings?

A

Short and round
Rapid take off
Higher manoeuvrability

49
Q

What happens at low speeds during turbulence?

A

It would stall and fall

50
Q

How does a bird reduce turbulence?

A

Alula

51
Q

What is an advantage of wing tip slots?

A

Allow greater control at low speeds for large birds who soar a lot eg. cranes, eagles, vultures, buzzards

52
Q

What is the respiratory pump for birds?

A

Sacs

53
Q

What are the lungs used for in birds?

A

Gas exchange only so thin and efficient

54
Q

What are the 4 air sacs in birds?

A

Clavicular air sac
Cranial thoracic air sac
Caudal thoracic air sac
Abdominal air sac

55
Q

How does birds respiring difer to mammals?

A

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

56
Q

why do birds need high oxygen demand?

A

Flight

57
Q

Other than their lungs, what are other adaptations for birds for flight?

A

Hollow bones
No teeth so light head
Centre of gravity in body centre

Zoology (8 decks)

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