Pigeon Lab

Question 1

Bird skin is __

Answer 1

very thin and fragile

Question 2

The only gland present on bird skin

Answer 2

uropygial gland at the base of the tail; it produces oils for preening feathers

Question 3

Cere

Answer 3

waxy protuberance on the beak

Question 4

What is the cere for?

Answer 4

Unknown. Possibly:

• amplifies smell
• helps filter air

Question 5

What is special about bird bones?

Answer 5

hollow, often fused, contain air spaces

Question 6

The air sacs all connect to ____

Answer 6

the lungs

Question 7

When the bird inhales…

Answer 7

all the air sacs expand (inhaled air fills the posterior air sacs, air from the lungs moves into the anterior air sacs)

Question 8

When the bird exhales…

Answer 8

air moves from the posterior air sacs through the lungs and from the anterior air sacs out through the trachea

Question 9

How many chambers in bird hearts?

Answer 9

four

Question 10

crop

Answer 10

food is temporarily stored there before being digested

Question 11

gizzard

Answer 11

where mastication of food occurs

Question 12

baby pigeons

Answer 12

squabs

Question 13

Only pigeons, male emperor penguins, and flamingos do this

Answer 13

cells lining the crop produce “milk”

Question 14

How much fat is in pigeon milk?

Answer 14

35% (in cows, it is only 3-5%)

Question 15

Two main areas of a pigeon stomach

Answer 15

proventriculus (anterior) and gizzard (posterior)

Question 16

The ____ and ________ absorb water.

Answer 16

caeca

large intestine

Question 17

Only the ___ ovary remains in adults.

Answer 17

left

Question 18

produces shell

Answer 18

oviduct

Question 19

secretes shell membrane

Answer 19

isthmus

Question 20

produces shell gland

Answer 20

uterus

Question 21

creates shell pigment

Answer 21

vagina

Question 22

Three regions of the cloaca

Answer 22

1. proctodaeum
2. coprodaeum
3. urodaeum

Question 23

proctodaeum

Answer 23

opens externally

Question 24

coprodaeum

Answer 24

receives waste from the rectum

Question 25

urodaeum

Answer 25

dorsal to the coprodaeum, receives wastes from the ureters and contents from the genital ducts

Question 26

___ change in size based on the season

Answer 26

testes

Question 27

Which birds have copulatory organs?

Answer 27

Male ducks and geese

Question 28

Do birds have a bladder?

Answer 28

no

Question 29

What do birds excrete as waste?

Answer 29

uric acid as a semi-solid (uricoteles)