Exam 3 Flashcards
1
Q
Avian mating systems: Polygyny
A
- one male and multiple females
- about 2% of birds and 5% are in North America
- > most nest in marshes or grasslands
ex: red-winged blackbird - multiple females nest within male’s territory and he breeds with all of them, but does not provide parental care
- females do this because less help with young, but access to high quality habitats
2
Q
Canopy Nesters
A
- Oriole
- Warbling Vireo
- Bald Eagle
3
Q
Order Columbiformes
A
- Passenger Pigeon
- once the most abundant bird in North America
- > flocks of hundreds of millions
- > covered the sky for 14 hours
- driven to extinction by humans
- > declined precipitously 1870-1890
- > last observed in 1914
- the last passenger pigeon died in captivity in 2014
- > Martha
4
Q
Red-cockaded woodpecker (RCWs)
A
- native to Longlead Pine ecosystems
- can live up to 16 years
- > work in family groups
- > cooperative breeders
- create nest cavities in living trees
- > can take YEARS to make a new cavity
- > fungus promotes softening of wood
5
Q
Family Pandionidae
A
- Osprey
- feeds on fish
- distinctive crook in wings with dark wrist patch
- plunges into water head and feet first
- reversible outer toe and sharp spicules on feet
- > Zygodactyl toe arrangement
6
Q
Order Piciformes Common Features
A
- “the woodpeckers and their allies”
- bill shapes vary greatly
- only on family in North America
- > Picidae (woodpeckers)
- zygodactyl
- > 2 forward and 2 backward facing toes on their feet
- > Osprey have the same arrangement
- highly arboreal
- cavity nesters
- altricial offspring
- peck wood for feeding
- > size and shape of holes can indicate species
- peck wood to attract mates and defend territory
7
Q
Nest vulnerability based on location
A
Most vulnerable 1. Ground nests 2. Tree nests 3. Cavity nests Least vulnerable
8
Q
Family Ardeidae
A
- Herons, Bitterns, egrets
- many with long pointed bills for spear fishing
- 4 toes, not webbed
9
Q
Cavity nesters
A
- Woodpeckers
- Wood Ducks
- Tree Swallows
- Great-horned Owl
- Bluebirds
10
Q
Order Strigiformes Common Features
A
- “The Nocturnal Birds of Prey”
- Owls
- nocturnal
- large round heads
- big eyes that are fixed in their socket
- > rotate head up to 270 degrees
- silent flight
- predatory
- use cavities, or nests of other species
- altricial offspring
- offset ears help triangulate on prey
- small, hooked beak
- some of the strongest talons of all birds
- cryptically colored
- owls tear off shreds of prey and swallow chunks whole
- > no crop, so will carry whole prey to young
- > regurgitate a pellet of undigested bones and fur
11
Q
Avian mating systems:
Promiscuity
A
- pairing is extremely brief, together for copulation only
- about 6% of species
- males and females gather to form Leks during brief breeding period
- males display in courtship arenas that contain few or no resources and females choose
- males are usually noisy and colorful
- less than 10% of males achieve 70-80% of mating
Ex: Sage Grouse Lek
12
Q
Diurnal Birds of Prey; 2 Orders and the families in each
A
- Accipitriformes
- Family Cathartidae
- Family Pandionidae
- Family Accipitridae - Falconiformes
13
Q
Family Picidae Common Characteristics
A
- woodpeckers
- stiffened tail
- chisel-like bills
- > tip renews itself
- barbed tongue used to extract wood boring insects
- woodpeckers strike wood at 13-15 mph up to 12,000 times per day
14
Q
Avian Nests
A
- provide protection
- create a microclimate for eggs
- nest location is usually crucial
- > typically isolated and hidden
- > but exposed and conspicuous for some species
- > organized in colonies, or rookeries
- a few species do not nest, instead they rely on nests of others
- > brood parasites!
- brood parasitisms
- > laying eggs in the nest of other eggs with hopes that your offspring will be raised by others
ex: cuckoos, brown headed cowbirds
15
Q
Family Cathartidae
A
- new world vultures
- vultures
- most hold wings in a dihedral (V-shape)
- carrion-eaters
- head and neck naked
- skin rough
- sexes alike
1. Black Vulture - grey/black head
- underside of wing tips are white
- toes extend past tail
2. Turkey Vulture - red head
- underside of wing is dark towards the front and light towards the back
- tail extends past toes
16
Q
Avian mating systems: Polyandry
A
- one female and multiple males
- very few, under 1% of species
ex: spotted sandpiper - > female lays for about 4 mates; Jacana
- > females are larger and more colorful
- multiple males set up nests in her territory and she lays eggs in all
- male does all the incubation and caring for young
- advantageous for the male for the same reason for females under polygyny
- > males get access to a high quality habitat
ex: spotted sandpiper - > female lays for about 4 mates
17
Q
Super Order Neognathae
A
- about 29 Orders
1. Anseriformes - Waterfowl
2. Pelecaniformes - Water birds
3. Charadriiformes - Shorebirds
4. Galliformes - Chicken-like birds
5. Accipitriformes - Hawks
6. Falconiformes - Birds of prey
7. Strigiformes - Owls
8. Columbiformes - Pigeons and Doves
9. Piciformes - Woodpeckers
10. Apodiformes - Swifts and Hummingbirds
11. Passeriformes - Perching birds
18
Q
Ground Nesters
A
- Bobwhite
- many Ducks
- Geese
19
Q
Incubation length
A
- each species has a predictable incubation length
- > about 12 days inn woodpeckers, cuckoos and small songbirds
- > can last 65-95 days in albatrosses and kiwis
- egg size is a major determinant of the length of an incubation period
- > larger eggs = longer incubation
20
Q
Composition of an Avian egg
A
- depending on the species, yolk makes up 20-70% of an egg
- > more yolk means a better developed hatchling
21
Q
Determinate vs Interdeterminate Layers
A
- birds come in two varieties
1. Determinate Layers - lay fixed number of eggs no matter what, then stop and begin to incubate
2. Indeterminate Layers - will replace eggs if some are removed OR will stop laying if eggs are added
EX: Flicker experiment
-> with egg removal, Flicker laid 71 eggs in 73 days bc they kept removing the eggs
22
Q
Can you think of any disadvantages associated with having to having to incubate your eggs longer?
A
- more extreme weather events
- more opportunities for predation of eggs
- balance your needs with the needs of the offspring
23
Q
Mid-height Nesters
A
- Robin
- Blue Jay
24
Q
Family Troglodytidae
A
- “The Wrens”
- small
- bills thin and curved
- often cocked tail
- diet is insects
25
Order Passeriformes: Oscines
- the Songbirds
- 17 families of songbirds in North America
- make up the majority of neotropical migrants
- > neotropical migrants are birds that breed in North America and spend winter in Central and South America, or the Caribbean
- migrate hundreds to thousands of miles each year
- some shore birds and raptors are also neotropical migrants
26
Family Parulidae
- "The Warblers or Wood Warblers"
- small
- Warble = to sing
- many brightly colored
- yellow is common
- diet is mainly insects
27
Order Pelecaniformes Common Features
- "The long-legged Water/Wading Birds"
- pelicans, herons and ibises
- long-legs and long-necks
- eat fish
- > specialized bills
- associated with water
- many breed in colonies called rookeries
- altricial young
28
Order Galliformes: ring necked pheasant debate
- invasive species, or a valuable game bird?
- native to Asia and introduced into the US in the 1880s
- dominate the game-bird hunting industry
- > 1.7 billion dollars annually
- stocked on private and public land for hunting
29
The avian egg in comparison to reptile eggs
1. Like reptilian eggs
- protective shell
- includes all nutrients and water required for development
- Still needs oxygen from the external environment
- > Shell facilitates gas exchange
2. Unlike reptiles
- Increased calcification creates a harder shell
- Parents usually do the incubating
- > Reptile eggs are kept warm via a location for warmth (not much parental involvement)
30
Species with Precocial Young
1. Order Anseriformes: Family Anatidae
2. Order Charadriiformes
3. Order Galliformes
31
The Avian Egg characteristics
1. the egg shell varies in thickness
- > Ostriches have the thickest egg shells
- > paper thin in some species
- if too thin will break and if too thick hatchlings can not break through
2. egg size increases as body size increases
3. eggs come in a variety of colors and shapes
- the benefits of a pointed egg is to avoid the egg falling out of its nest, or off a cliff
- > egg will roll in a circle
32
Avian mating systems: (Social) Monogamy
- one male and one female
- 90% of avian species are socially monogamous
- most partners cheat sexually
- > regardless, partners stay together until young disperse and some partner for life
- benefit of monogamy is that they can raise more young than one parent would alone
33
Class Aves: 2 Super-Orders
1. Paleognathae
- ancient group of bird families
- nicknamed "The Ratites and Tinamous"
2. Neognathae
- all other birds
34
Incubation period
- the period from laying, or start of incubation, to hatching
- embryo requires a certain temperature and humidity
- > too cold = no development
- > too hot = death
- > also sub-lethal effects
- Brood patch develops on the parent(s)
- > one (or both) parents incubate
- > parents rotate eggs
35
Avian Mating Systems
- unlike herps, most birds exhibit some level of pair bonding prior to reproduction
- > vary from brief unions to life-long bonds
- several specific mating systems have been described that vary according to:
- > duration of association
- > number of sexual partners
36
Order Passeriformes Common Features
- "The Perching Birds, or Passerines"
- constitutes more than HALF of all bird species
- less accurately referred to as the songbirds
- most are small terrestrial birds
- altricial offspring
- many are migratory
- found on all 7 continents
- > South Georgia Pipit is the only Antarctic passerine species
- Hallux
- > enlarged flexible hind toe used for perching
- highest resting metabolic rate of all the vertebrates
- relatively larger brains
- good learners (ex: songs)
- separated into two groups based on their relative ability to sing
37
Family Threskiornithidae
- Ibises and Spoonbills
- feed by probing mud, or filter feeding
- 4 toes, not webbed
38
Egg production
- ovulation and laying take about 24 hours
- birds can store sperm
- ova mature hierarchically
- mature ova is released from ovary and fertilized
- coated with nutrients and shell along the way
- uterus (shell gland) adds the final layers
- > females must have adequate calcium to produce a strong eggshell
- most eggs weigh 10-20% of the female body mass
39
What does the avian egg need for survival?
1. Active Gas exchange
2. Proper Temperature
- usually 100-112'F
- if an egg is submerged in water for an extended period drowning will occur
- if too cold, there will be no development
- if too hot, death will occur
40
Order Accipitriformes Common Features
- “The Accipiters”
- Hawks, eagles and their allies
- diurnal
- legs are short and strong
- talons are sharp and curved
- bills are hooked
- eyesight is 4-8x better than humans
- nest in trees, cliff ledges, and cavities
- offspring altricial
41
Avian mating systems: Polyandry
- one female and multiple males
- very few, under 1% of species
ex: spotted sandpiper
- > female lays for about 4 mates; Jacana
- > females are larger and more colorful
- multiple males set up nests in her territory and she lays eggs in all
- male does all the incubation and caring for young
- advantageous for the male for the same reason for females under polygyny
- > males get access to a high quality habitat
42
Fascinating Passerines
- the Birds of Paradise have some of the most dramatic courtship displays in the animal kingdom
- The Bower Birds build impressive "bowers" (treasuries) to impress mates
43
Species with Dihedral Wing Shape
1. Order Accipitriformes: Family Cathartidae
44
Family Accipitridae Common Characteristics
- hawks, kites, eagles, old world vultures
- medium to large
- wingspan 2-6 feet
- largely brown, gray or black above and paler underneath
- barred or streaked with brown
- Harriers
- > owl-like facial disk
- > overhead flight shape varies
45
Order Anseriformes Common Features
- "The Waterfowl"
- affiliated with the water
- pointed wings
- socially monogamous
- > Male = Drake
- > Female = Hen
- precocial young
- > covered in downy feathers
- one family = Family Anatidae
46
Family Trochilidae
- The Hummingbirds
- includes the smallest bird species
- the only backwards flier
- brilliant colors
- > many iridescent
- sexually dimorphic
- nectar feeders
- > long slender bill-narrow gape
- migrate long distances
47
What are some traits that birds possess which might
| facilitate such a broad distribution and high diversity?
```
- Birds posses a unique combination of traits that have
facilitated high diversity
1. endothermic
2. amniotic egg
3. flight
```
48
What group of tetrapods are birds most closely
| related to?
- Birds are more closely related to reptiles than
| they are to mammals
49
Species with Copulatory Organ (phallus, or penis)
1. Order Anseriformes: Family Anatidae
50
Typical Avian Life History
- 1 to 4 is the period of parental care
1. Incubation
- eggs
2. Nestling Phase
- post-hatch, but before young can leave the nest
3. Fledgling phase
- young can leave the nest, but still need help
4. Post-fledging
- lazy teenagers hanging around
5. Dispersal
- young leave to find their own breeding territory
51
Family Anatidae: Dabbling Duck
- also called puddle ducks
- surface-feeding ducks
-> feed on plants, seeds, and insects from surface, or land
- take off directly into the air
- hind toe is "spur-like"
Ex: Mallards, Wood Duck
52
Family Anatidae
- ducks, geese, swans
- webbed feet with elevated hind toe
- males have copulatory organ (penis)
- Plumage is only sexual dimorphic in ducks
- > usually only during breeding season
- Two types of ducks
1. Dabbling Ducks
2. Diving Ducks
- > distinguished by foraging method, hind toe, and take off technique
53
Order Falconiformes Common Features
- the falcons
- bill hooked and notched
- tomial tooth
- > morphology of beak adapted for severing spinal cords
- head is bullet-shaped and neck is short
- wings long and pointed
- eyesight is extraordinary
- > can ID prey up to 3000 feet away or movement up to 5000 feet away
- do not build nests
- have an unmatched speed
54
Species with Altricial Young
1. Order Pelecaniformes
2. Order Accipitriformes
3. Order Strigiformes
4. Order Columbiformes
5. Order Piciformes
6. Order Passeriformes
7. Order Apodiformes: Family Apodidae
55
The Megapodes
- "Mound-builders"
| - there is an entire family of birds that builds mounds instead of nests
56
Family Laniidae
- "The Shrikes"
- true predators
- hooked bills
- bill similar to falcons
- > severs spinal cord of prey
- diet is 68% large insects and 28% reptiles, small mammals and birds!
- will perch and wait in open areas
57
Implications that cause Altricial vs Precocial
- birds do not have a choice
- > each species has evolved such that their young fall at a certain point along the Altricial or Precocial gradient
- food availability and predation pressure are important determinants of which strategy evolved
- precocial offspring can walk easily after birth, barely need parental care
58
Super Order Paleognathae
1. Ratites
- flightless, terrestrial
- lacks keel on sternum
- long necks and legs
-> good runners
Ex: ostriches, rheas, emus and elephant birds (extinct)
2. Tinamous
- can fly, but mostly ground dwelling
- keel on sternum is present, but reduced
59
Order Charadriiformes Migratory patterns
- most shorebirds migrate long distances between nesting and winter grounds
- > pacific golden plover does a non-stop trip from Hawaii to Alaska in 2-3 days (5000 miles)
- most depend heavily on stopover sites
- > predictable resources
- Red Knot
- > population declines of 70%
- > migrate 8,000 miles each way
- > stop-over site in Delaware Bay
- > depend on horseshoe crab eggs
- --> stopover is timed with crab spawning
60
Sub-Order Tyranni
- The Suboscines
- only one family of Suboscines occurs in North America
- They are the Family Tyrannidae
- > The Tyrant-Flycatchers
- Diet is flies
- bristles at the base of bills
- songs are innate, or not learned
61
Class Aves Diversity
- the most diverse class of tetrapods
- about 10,000 extant species
- exist on all 7 continents
- over half of birds are passerines, or perching birds
- 2 super-orders
- about 30 Orders
- 193 Families
- 2099 Genera
62
Family Corvidae
- "The Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays"
- many form flocks
- > flock of crows is a MURDER
- most are non-migratory
- their diet is diverse
- > seeds, insects, small vertebrates, carrion
- the most intelligent of all the birds
- we know crows can recognize individual faces
- > they associate experience with face and tell others about it
63
Family Anatidae
| - Diving Duck
- dive to forage on fish and mollusks
- legs are closer to tail which means they skitter across water at take off
- hind toe has lobe
Ex: sea ducks, Mergansers, and Stifftails
64
Neotropical Migrants
- are birds that breed in North America and spend winter in Central and South America, or the Caribbean
- Order Passeriformes, specifically the Oscines (The songbirds) make up the majority
- some shore birds and raptors
65
Species with Zygodactyl Toe
1. Order Accipitriformes: Family Pandionidae
| 2. Oder Piciformes
66
Altricial Offspring in Birds
- underdeveloped and need lots of care
- shorter incubation than precocial
- smaller eggs with lower yolk content (15-27% yolk)
- blind, naked, and virtually immobile at hatching
- > essentially helpless and cannot thermoregulate
ex: cavity nesters, most songbirds, hawks and herons
67
Pileated Woodpecker
- largest woodpecker in the easter U.S
- rectangular holes
- year round resident
68
Shrub Nesters
- Cardinal
- Brown Thrasher
- Catbird
69
Order Apodiformes Common Features
- "Hummingbirds and Swifts
- apod means no feet, but they do have feet
- common swift stays airborne for up to 10 months
- > sleeps in flight and only lands in emergencies
- special adaptations for flight includes:
1. tiny feet
2. small legs with limited function
3. long wings
70
Order Charadriiformes Common Features
- “The Shorebirds”
- Plovers, sandpipers and their allies
- Is a extremely diverse group, has many "odd balls"
- small to medium in size
- relatively thin bills
- long legs
- common on shorelines
- many feed on aquatic invertebrates
- bill shape helps with ID
- most are ground nesters
- most have precocial offspring
71
Order Galliformes Common Features
- “Fowl, or The Gallinaceous / Chicken-like / Upland Game Birds”
- Grouse, Quail and their allies
- medium to large bodied
- blunt wings
- > round tipped
- short, conical beak
- some form secretive flocks called coveys
- > quail
- most are non-migratory
- elaborate courtships
- > lekking, drumming, colorful display
- ground dwelling, or nesting
- precocial offspring
- many species are domesticated, or hunted
72
Family Apodidae
- The Swifts
- duller in color than hummingbirds
- not sexually dimorphic
- aerial feeders
- > short bill-wide gape
- nest on vertical surfaces
- > chimney, bridge support, etc
- altricial offspring
73
Clutch Size in birds
- the number of eggs per nest, produced by one female
- factors that influence clutch size include:
- > species, age, health, food availability, season, location
- species is one of the biggest determinants in clutch size
- > range is 1 to 25 eggs
- females lay one egg per day until clutch size is reached and then begins incubating
- > eggs do not start developing until incubation begins
74
Family Pelecanidae
- The pelicans
| - 4 toes, webbed
75
Order Columbiformes Common Features
- "The pigeons and doves"
- small to medium sized
- plump body, short neck and small head
- large gizzards
- > for fruit and seeds
- grey, pastel, or buff colored
- always lay 2 eggs
- altricial young
- specialized crop
- > secretes "pigeon's milk"
- > can rely on energy stores in their own body if no food source
76
Family Picidae
| - Adaptations to avoid damage
- woodpeckers
- skull composed of spongy, or mesh-like bone
- brain tucked tightly inside
- > small
- thick neck muscles to diffuse the blow
- bristly feathers over nostrils
- third eyelid
- > nictitating membrane
77
Order Columbiformes
- The Dodo of Mauritius Island
- flightless bird
- fruit eaters
- driven to extinction about 350 years ago
- few preserved artifacts
- > still little known about its ecology
78
Family Cardinalidae
- "The Cardinals and their allies (Grosbeaks and Tanagers)
79
Four main types of avian mating systems
```
MOST COMMON
1. Monogamy
- over 90% of avian species
2. Promiscuity
- about 6% of avian species
3. Polygyny
- about 2% of avian species
4. Polyandry
- about 1% of avian species
LEAST COMMON
```
80
Avian Reproduction
- ALL birds have internal fertilization
- Most (97%) lack a copulatory organ
- > mating is a brief "cloacal kiss"
- > sperm transfer on contact
- male members of a few primitive birds and some waterfowl have a phallus
81
Order Passeriformes: Two groups based on ability to sing
1. Suboscines
- relatively poor singers
2. Oscines
- the songbirds
- > anatomical differences in muscles surrounding syrinx (lower larynx, or voice box of birds)
82
Sub-Order Passeres
- The Songbirds
- Most passerines in North America are songbirds
- muscle and anatomy of syrinx is more complex
- songs are learned, not innate
- > The Lyre Bird (Australia) is one of the most impressive learners
