The Diversity of Birds Flashcards
Class Aves
How many species of Bird are there?
Ever fluid, but around 10,000
Comprises some 300 billion birds falling
into 40 orders, 237 families & 2,278 genera
All avian orders are completed by the term
‘formes’ which means “taking the form of”
Order Passeriformes
“sparrow-like”
More than 50% of all bird species
known as perching birds and “songbirds”
includes
- swallows
- wagtails
- wrens
- robins
- thrushes
- warblers
- tits
- nuthatches
- shrikes
- crows
- starlings
- sparrows
- finches
- buntings
Order Struthioniformes
“Ostrich-like”
Ostriches, emus, rheas, cassowaries & kiwis
Order Pelecaniformes
Pelecans, gannets and cormorants
Order Ciconiiformes
“stork-like”
Herons, storks & ibises
Order Anseriformes
“goose-like”
Ducks, geese and swans
Order Falconiformes
“sickle-like”
Falcons, Hawks, Eagles and Vultures
Order Galliformes
“chicken-like”
includes chickens, turkeys, pheasants, grouses, and some others
Order Gruiformes
“crane-like”
Includes cranes, coots and rails
Order Charadriiformes
“plover-like”
Ostercatchers, plovers, auks, terns and gulls
Order Columbiformes
“pigeon-like”
Pigeons and doves
Orders Strigiformes
“screech owl-like”
Owls
Order Coraciiformes
“crow-like”
Bee-Eaters, Kingfishers, and Hornbills
Order Piciformes
“woodpecker-like”
Woodpeckers, Honeyguides and Toucans
Anatomy and physiology
Highly conserved
Skeletal elements
fused
• Long bones air-filled
• Medullary bone
• No teeth but gizzard
grinds food instead
• Large flight muscles
• Air sacs as well as
lungs
• Most body weight
near centre of
gravity
• Feathers
• Calcified eggshells
Skeleton
Digestive System
Respiratory System
Reproductive System
Anatomy of the Egg
