Exam 1

Question 1

Why are birds so popular?

Answer 1

they sing and dance, they have been serviceable to humans, we’re jealous that they can fly, they are colorful and visible

Question 2

What have birds use been through time?

Answer 2

canary in the coalmine, carrier pigeons, honeyguide, birds helping Polynesians find islands

Question 3

Do you believe the ivory billed woodpecker exists? Why or why not?

Answer 3

Yes, because the papers that argue that it does exist have experimental evidence, where the others do not. One paper that argues the woodpecker does exist sites 14 occasions where they identified birds with characteristics of the ivory-billed woodpecker. They also found holes of woodpeckers much larger than the pileated or any other woodpecker would make

Question 4

What makes a bird a bird?

Answer 4

feathers, pneumatic bones, unique respiratory system, no teeth, digitigrade

Question 5

Does evolution pose a problem for your faith, why or why not?

Answer 5

No it does not. God created the world, species and us somehow. Why couldn’t that process be evolution?

Question 6

Why do people believe that birds have a reptilian origin?

Answer 6

Because their skulls have many features that are similar between them:

• lower jaw composed of many bones
• sclerotic ring (bone in eye)
• single middle-ear bone
• single occipital condyle

Question 7

Theropod or thecodont origin and why?

Answer 7

Theropod. Because we have found several genera with feathers, and they have very similar proteins.

Question 8

What factors are responsible for current bird distribution?

Answer 8

History (continental drift), ecological tolerances, distribution of habitats, matching species to location

Question 9

what are the general patterns of molt?

Answer 9

Most birds molt sequentially, one feather on a time on either side of the bird in order to maintain balance. More rarely, large waterbirds will molt all of their feathers at once

Question 10

what are the types of feathers?

Answer 10

vaned feathers - flight feathers, contour feathers.
Downy feathers - no vein, insulation, semi-plume
Other - bristles, filoplume

Question 11

What’s the general structure of a feather?

Answer 11

calamus, rachis, barbs, barbules, hooklets

Question 12

What are the general patterns of plumage?

Answer 12

Birds have pteryla (tracts) - areas where lots of feathers are growing, and apteria - areas where feathers don’t grow (but are still covered by feathers)

Question 13

What are the mechanics of flight?

Answer 13

Gravity - overcome with lift (air foil shape of wing)

Drag - overcome by thrust (wing flapping)

Question 14

What are the types of flight?

Answer 14

Thermal / slope soaring - use of thermals, key is uneven heating of the groundd
Dynamic soaring - utilizes differential wind speeds above the ocean
Flapping, hovering, intermittent flight
flap bounding - starts flapping when heading down, quit flapping before hitting apex.
Flap gliding - flapping up to an apex, then soaring down

Question 15

flight adaptations to avoid stalling?

Answer 15

Alula - bird “thumbs” help smooth the air moving across the top of the wing
Coverts - lift up to prevent stalling when landing
Tail- helps smooth out and prevent turbulance

Question 16

Explain wing loading vs aspect ratio

Answer 16

Aspect ratio - the lenght of the wing / width of wing

wing loading - body mass of bird / area of the wing

Question 17

what are the extremes of flight?

Answer 17

Frigate birds and albatross can fly for extremely long periods of time without rest. Hummingbirds are extremely agile, flying backwards, forwards and hovering

Question 18

Key differences between circulatory and respiratory system

Answer 18

respiratory - small lungs that wrap around the ribs, no diaphragm, air sacs, unidirectional flow of air
circulatory - large heart, high blood pressure, high glucose levels, paired veins + arteries maintain core temp

Question 19

circulatory and respiratory system adaptations for flight

Answer 19

circulatory - large heart, fast heart beat and high pressure delivers nutrients quickly to muscles, thin capillary walls allow for rapid diffusion of gasses
respiratory - Allows for more efficient breath due to unidirectional flow and no mixing of high- and low-oxygen air

Question 20

general structures, unique adaptations of birds

Answer 20

air sacs, ribbed lungs, paired arteries/veins, high glucose levels

Question 21

Endocrine and urogenital systems - differences, unique adaptations, relation to flight, key structures

Answer 21

Endocrine - greatly reducesed, whd or lost. Pineal gland and pituitary gland present, and a few others.
Urogenital - much reduced. One sided. No scrotum, no penis. Male system degenerates when not breeding. Makes birds lighter and more aerodynamic. Both have cloaca and the cloacial kiss

Question 22

What are uncinate processes and their function?

Answer 22

uncinate processes are projections between the ribs that help create negative pressure

Question 23

Endocrine and urogenital systems - differences, unique adaptations, relation to flight, key structures

Answer 23

Endocrine - greatly reduced or lost. Pineal gland and pituitary gland present, and a few others.
Urogenital - much reduced. One sided. No scrotum, no penis. Male system degenerates when not breeding. Makes birds lighter and more aerodynamic. Both have cloaca and the cloacial kiss

Question 24

Key muscles and adaptations

Answer 24

the low, central center of gravity aids in flight. Large muscles, up to 1/3 of total bodyweight.
The pectoralis and the supracoideus work antagonistically to beat the wings in flight.
The AHL, attaching the humerus to the shoulder, was critical in the evolution of flight

Question 25

perching

Answer 25

Birds legs are reduced to enable flight. The tight grip needed to perch is created by bending the legs, which tightens the flexor tendon

Question 26

toe arrangements

Answer 26

Most birds have four toes, but those toes can be in many different arrangements. The most common in perching birds is three toes forward and one back, the next most common is two forward and two backward

Question 27

feet types

Answer 27

palmate, semipalmate, totipalmate, lobed and raptorial

ansiodactyl, zygodactyl

Question 28

ecomorphology

Answer 28

The shape of birds features matches with their ecological role.
the relationship between the ecological role of an individual and its morphological adaptations.

Question 29

differences with vertebrate digestive system

Answer 29

retention time extremely fast (<2 hours). Extremely fast metabolism, lightweight and efficient digestive system. Adaptable to diverse diet

Question 30

ecomorphology of bills

Answer 30

bill shape matches diet. Short, stout bills for cracking nuts, long, slender bills for nectar-eaters, pouch-shaped bill for pelicans, sharp bills for carnivores

Question 31

unique digestive system adaptations

Answer 31

Has a crop (pouch of esophagus) and gizzard with gastroliths for crushing food. Excrete uric acid instead of urea

Question 32

General avian diets and diet specialists

Answer 32

Birds can eat almost anything (grains, fruits, seeds, fish, grass, mammals, nectar)
Specialists are: fish-eaters, nectar-eaters, insect-eaters