Chapter 7 Flashcards
What is the scientific name for feathers?
Plumage
What is the largest flying bird?
Andean condor
What are the bills of birds made of?
Keratin
What is the ridge on the sternum that provides the necessary attachment point for the flight muscles?
Keel
What is the retractable group of feathers on the front of the wing that is supported by the “thumb bones”?
Alula
What is the most important flight muscle?
Pectorals
What allows the air to flow through the lungs instead of just in and out?
Air capillaries
How many times does a bird inhale and exhale to move each breath of air through its respiratory system?
Twice
How many chambers are in a bird’s heart?
Four
What is the storage sac in the esophagus that moistens food and releases it in a steady stream to the rest of the digestive system?
Crop
What organ grinds the food to make it more easily absorbed?
Gizzard
What type of vision allows birds to see most of their surroundings at once?
Monocular vision
What type of vision in which both eyes focus on the same object?
Binocular vision
What type of feathers are the strong feathers on the bird’s body, wings, and tail?
Contour feathers
What are the soft, fluffy feathers close to the bird’s body?
Down feathers
What is the gland that produces oil used to condition and waterproof the feathers?
Preen gland
What is the process in which birds replace old, broken, or missing feathers?
Molting
What is a structure that changes the flow of air to produce a force?
Airfoil
What is the simplest kind of flight that is when a bird coasts “downhill”?
Gliding
What is the type of flying that allows birds to rest and save energy by alternating flapping with gliding or coasting?
Intermittent flight
What is the built-in knowledge that birds possess at birth that let them know where to nest and what kind of nest to build?
Instincts
What is the unusual organ that produces a bird’s singing voice without the use of vocal cords?
Syrinx
What is the practice of taking a dust bath to get rid of parasites?
Dusting
What is it called when flocks of small birds harass a hawk?
Mobbing