1. Class Aves (Birds)

2. Class Aves (Birds)
Ornithologist – Zoologists that study birds

3. Characteristics of Birds
Vertebrate
Feathers
Wings (but not all fly)
Scale-covered legs
Homoeothermic (Keeps their body temperature at one temperature)
Endothermic (Warm blooded)

4. Designed For Flight.
The following characteristics equip birds for flying:
Compact, lightweight, and very strong skeleton

5. Designed For Flight.
Lightweight beaks and skulls.

6. Designed For Flight.
A nearly rigid backbone that gives a solid support for the strenuous muscle activity required for flying

7. Designed For Flight.
Hollow spaces in the skeleton that provide room for air sacs, which contribute to the efficiency of the respiratory system and make the bird lighter.

8. Designed For Flight.
Bipedal (“two-footed”) anatomy, which leaves the wings free for flying.

9. Designed For Flight.
A prominent ridge, or keel, on the breastbone to allow for the attachment of flight muscles by strong tendons.

10. Designed For Flight.
Three bones in the shoulder to support each wing.

11. Designed For Flight.
An efficient circulatory system, including a four-chambered heart.

12. Designed For Flight.
Powerful muscles to power the wings during flight.

13. Perching Birds –
Three toes pointing forward and one toe pointing backward.
Leg has a special design that allows the bird to stay on their perch even if they are sleeping.

14. Diagram of Perching Bird’s Leg

15. Thrushes

16. Robins

17. Bluebird

18. Goldfinch

19. House Sparrow

20. Humming Bird

21. Woodpecker

22. Birds of Prey - Especially acute eyesight
Sharp, Powerful talons (grasping and killing their prey)
Hooked Beak

23. Vultures

24. California Condor

25. Sea Eagle

26. Bald Eagle

27. Golden Eagle

28. Hawks

29. Osprey

31. Falcons

32. Owls

33. Swimming and Wading Birds –
Many have water repellent feathers
Webbed or Lobed feet for swimming
Some Birds have very long legs designed for wading

34. Ducks

35. Geese

36. Storks

37. Herons

38. Flamingos

39. Cranes

40. Egrets

41. Game Birds – Have been hunted for food and sport
Large flight muscles (Breast meat) allow them to burst into flight

42. Quail

43. Pheasant

44. Partridge

45. Grouse

46. Doves

47. Turkey

48. Tropical Birds – Live in the world’s tropical forests Brightly colored
Many have large unusual beaks

49. Parakeets

50. Toucans

51. Macaw

52. Flightless Birds Have wings or wing-like structures
Usually equipped with powerful legs for running

53. Ostrich

54. Emu

55. Kiwi

56. Penguins

57. Extinct Birds
Some became extinct because of the pressures put on their habitat
Some have been extinct for thousands of years

58. Dodo

59. Moa

60. Great Auk

61. Passenger Pigeon

62. Archaeopteryx

63. Diatryma

64. Avian Anatomy and Physiology

65. Function of Feathers
Lightweight body covering that is an excellent insulator
Smoothly tapered,
streamlined shape
Broad surface area
of wings allow for lift

66. Types of Feathers Contour Feather – Strong feathers found on the
bird’s body, wings,
and tail

67. Types of Feathers
Flight Feather – A special contour feather that provides the necessary wing shape for flight

68. Types of Feathers
Down Feather – Soft fluffy feathers close to the birds body to provide great insulation without adding much weight

69. Types of Feathers
All feathers are pointed to the bird’s tail to aid in streamlining

70. Parts of the Feather
Calamus – The shaft in the middle of the feather that attaches to the bird.

71. Parts of the Feather
Rachis – The long shaft in the middle of the feather that the barbs attach to.

72. Parts of the Feather
Barbs – Small projections coming off the rachis which have barbules with hooks or flanges coming off of them

73. Parts of the Feather
Barbules – Small projections coming off the barb that hook together with the barbules of the next barb

74. Parts of the Feather
Vane – All of the Barbs on one side of the rachis

75. The Incredible Feather
By design, a feather can change shape during flight in response to different pressures in the air

76. The Incredible Feather
Most of the feathers are designed to give lift
Some feathers are designed as ailerons and flaps to control direction and give extra lift.

77. The Incredible Feather
The tail feathers serve as a rudder and elevator to control flight direction.

78. The Incredible Feather
There are nerve endings near the end of each feather that turn the feathers into sensory receptors

79. Flight Patterns
Powered Flight – Flap with a downward stroke of the wings to produce lift

81. Flight Patterns
Gliding – Use of the air movement to “fall” slowly and gracefully

83. Flight Patterns
Soaring – Use of the thermal up-currents to rise in a circular pattern. Birds can dive and start climbing again

85. Flight Patterns
Special Flight Patterns – Complicated motion of the wings produce a vertical, reverse or hovering flight. (Hummingbird and Skylark)

89. Specially Designed Skeletal System
Many bones are hollow and filled with air instead of marrow

90. Specially Designed Skeletal System
The hollow bones are strengthened with internal cross bracing

93. Specially Designed Skeletal System
Birds have a blade-like sternum or breastbone that the large muscles responsible for flight attach to

96. Specially Designed Muscular System
Very large pectoralis major muscle powers the downward stroke that gives the bird lift

97. Specially Designed Nervous System
Usually have a poor sense of taste and smell

98. Specially Designed Nervous System
Their sense of hearing is very good.
Because of the need to distinguish between the differences of different bird calls the bird needs to be able to distinguish differences in intensity and rapid fluctuations in pitch

99. Specially Designed Nervous System
Most birds have very good eyesight
Instead of moving their eyes in their head they will move their whole head

100. Specially Designed Nervous System
They have a third eyelid called a nictitating membrane that is transparent and allows the bird to blink to moisten its eyes in flight.

101. Nictitating Membrane

102. Nictitating Membrane

103. Nictitating Membrane

104. Specially Designed Nervous System
Nocturnal birds have extraordinary night vision.

105. Specially Designed Digestive System
Relative small size and great activity requires a great deal of fuel

106. Specially Designed Digestive System
Birds absorb a very high percentage of the food they eat.

107. Specially Designed Digestive System
Different birds have different bills designed for what they eat

109. Specially Designed Digestive System
Birds are able to eat and digest their food quickly

110. Special Parts of the Digestive System
Crop – Many birds have a special sac in their esophagus that serves as a storage chamber.

111. Special Parts of the Digestive System
Gizzard – A chamber of the digestive system found after the stomach that is muscular, has horny plates, and sometimes contains grit to help grind the food up.

112. Special Parts of the Digestive System
Cloaca – Area of the digestive system where the waste is expelled. Also where the sperm is received for reproduction, where the eggs are released and where the wastes from the kidneys are released.

113. Specially Designed Excretory System
Birds produce uric acid instead of urea. This does not have to be dissolved in water and keeps water in the bird.

114. Specially Designed Excretory System
Birds release their uric acid through the cloaca

115. Specially Designed Excretory System
Some birds have a salt gland, which takes salt out of their body and puts it into a salty solution that runs through a duct in the nostril.

116. Specially Designed Excretory System
The salt gland allows marine birds to get the water they need by drinking seawater

117. Specially Designed Circulatory System
Have a four-chambered heart
Have a high metabolism to keep the body at a constant temperature, so they have a rapid heartbeat

118. Specially Designed Respiratory System
The respiratory system is completely different from every other living vertebrate.

119. Specially Designed Respiratory System
Breathes “through” their lungs instead of “into” their lungs
Lungs do not expand or contract

120. Specially Designed Respiratory System
With this different way of breathing, birds are able to take more oxygen out of the air

121. Specially Designed Respiratory System
Respiratory system allows birds to fly at high altitudes and have enough oxygen

122. Specially Designed Respiratory System
The air sacs of birds are used to cool the body during flight.

123. Specially Designed Respiratory System
The bird’s “voice box” (syrinx) has a membrane that vibrates when air passes over it.

124. Family Life of Birds

125. Migration
Migration – the annual movement to a different region

126. What we know about Migration
1. Migrating birds follow the same route each year (These are called Flyways)

127. What we know about Migration
2. A keen sense of direction and recognition of landmarks seems to be involved

128. What we know about Migration
3. The position of stars and constellations guide many migrating birds.

129. What we know about Migration
4. The earth’s magnetic field helps guide certain birds

130. What we know about Migration
5. The length of the day has a bearing on the migratory instinct

131. What we know about Migration
6. The urge to migrate may be related to breeding and development of sex organs

132. What we know about Migration
7. Migration generally occurs in the spring and fall

133. What we know about Migration
8. Most migration is north and south

134. North American Blue Grouse
Migrates about 300 miles, one of the shortest

135. Arctic Tern
Migrates 11,000 miles each time from Antarctica to the Arctic

136. Courtship
Depending on the species, males display some form of behavior that attracts the female.

137. Color (Frigate Bird)

138. Plumage (Superb Bird of Paradise)

139. Plumage (Peacock)

140. Song

141. Nesting Most birds build a new nest for every new brood
There are about as many different nests as there are species of birds

142. Robin nest
Made of twigs and grass

143. Barn Swallow nest
Made of mud

144. Killdeer nest
Made of stones

145. Oriole nest
Nest hangs from branches

146. Osprey nest
High, built near water

147. Nesting (Sparrow Eggs)
Nesting is done for the protection of eggs

148. Parts of the Egg Yolk – A food source rich in fat
Embryo – Living part of the egg
Germinal Spot – Special area where the embryo develops

149. Parts of the Egg
Shell – Protective covering of the egg with tiny pores that allow for diffusion of oxygen, water vapor, and carbon dioxide.

150. Parts of the Egg
Chalaza – Twisted cord that supports the yolk and makes sure that the germination spot is always facing up.

151. Parts of the Egg Albumen – Egg white. Surrounds the yolk.
Air Chamber – Small amount of air inside the shell

152. Diagram of an Egg

153. Diagram of an Egg

154. Incubation
Incubation –keeps eggs warm so the young will develop properly

155. Incubation
Brood Patch – a patch of skin where an adult loses feathers on its belly to transfer heat to the egg

156. Incubation
The bird instinctively senses the temperature within the egg and adjusts it accordingly

157. Emperor Penguin
Emperor penguin keeps the egg at 93 degrees for 8-9 weeks with air temperatures at 77 below 0

158. Hatching
Altricial – Birds are naked and helpless at birth (Robins, Blue Jays, Cardinals)

159. Hatching
Precocial – Birds that are covered with down and are able to run or swim immediately after hatching (Ducks, Geese, Killdeer)

160. Feeding
Some birds will wait with their mouths open.

161. Feeding
Parents will store food in their crop and “regurgitate” it for the birds

162. Feeding
Some young birds reach into their parent’s mouth to eat

163. Feeding Doves and pigeons produce crop milk rich in protein and fat
The flamingo produces an oily fluid in their digestive tracts to feed their young

164. Flamingo about to receive crop milk