Bird Characteristics Feathers Endothermic Eggs with hard shell Lack of teeth, bony beak Pneumatic bones Excellent vision and hearing, poor sense of smell

Adaptations for flight  Low body weight  Streamlined form  Wing shape provides lift  Specialized respiration and circulation  Efficient metabolism  Furcula and keeled sternum  High body temperature  Rapid digestion, constant elimination of waste  Major development of brain

Importance of Feathers  Modified reptilian scales  More effective for flight than patagium  Conserve body heat  Help “waterproof” birds  Aid in courtship or camouflage displays Humboldt penguins Snowy owls

Importance of Feathers Bald eagle Malayan great argus pheasant

Two main types of feathers 1.Vane or blade 2.Rachis 3.Barb 4.Afterfeather or aftershaft 5.Calamus (hollow shaft) Contour feather Down feather Great horned owl feathers

Breeding Peacock pheasant

Songs and Calls American robins

Colonies King penguins

Mating Systems Monogamy—over 90 percent of birds Polygamy –Polygyny (one male, many females) –Polyandry (one female, many males) Cassowary Winter wrens Egyptian geese

Nests Northern flicker Chilean flamingo Masked weaver bird

Reproduction Eggs range in size: –0.25 inch long (hummingbirds) to 6 inches long (ostriches) Female lays eggs in a clutch –Size varies from one to 20 eggs –Varies by latitude, egg size, nest characteristics, food availability, etc. Ostrich egg Robin eggs 5 inches Humboldt penguin egg

Parental Care Altricial: hatchlings blind, naked and helpless, must be fed by their parents –Most species, including common songbirds Precocial: hatchlings born eyes open, covered in down, able to walk or swim and feed on own shortly after hatching –Ducks and chickens have precocial chicks Precocial and altricial chicks grow rapidly, reach adult size within one year Hummingbird family Ducklings

Chilean flamingo stages of development

Feeding Adaptations Birds lack teeth Jaws covered by a horny beak usually adapted to the bird's diet: –long, slender beaks for probing for insects –flat or paddle-shaped beaks for sieving food out of the water –heavy beaks for cracking and crushing seeds –sharp, hooked beaks for tearing flesh

Feeding Diversity Insectivores: –birds that mainly eat insects or spiders Granivores: –birds that mainly eat seeds Nectarivores: –birds that mainly eat nectar from flowers Piscivores: –birds that mainly eat fish Frugivores: –birds that mainly eat fruit Carnivores: –birds that mainly catch and eat other animals Scavengers: –birds that mainly eat dead animals

Habitats Emperor penguins (NSF) Western bluebird Hornbill Ostriches

Migration Arctic tern (USFWS) Rufous hummingbird Western tanager Regular, seasonal movements from one place to another and back –Vary from short distance to 1000s of miles Purpose: take advantage of best conditions to meet basic needs

Taxonomy  Kingdom – Animalia  Phylum – Chordata  Class – Aves  Order ~ 30  Family ~ 180  Genus ~ 2,000  Species ~ 10,000 – 489 in Washington state Great blue heron Crested screamers

Two major groups: passerines/non-passerines Passerines (also called perching birds or songbirds): –one Order (Passeriformes) = 60% of all bird species Non-passerines include many different groups of Orders: –Large flightless birds (ostriches, penguins) –Seabirds (albatrosses, pelicans) –Wading birds (herons, storks, flamingos) –Waterfowl (ducks, geese, swans) –Raptors (falcons, hawks, eagles) –Game birds (pheasants, turkeys) –Shorebirds (plovers, sandpipers) –Parrots –Hummingbirds Eastern Rosella Turkey vulture Black-capped chickadee

million years ago (mya): Birds arose from reptilian (likely dinosaur) ancestors  Bird feathers and scales similar to reptile scales  Similarities in reptile and bird bone structure (middle ear bone, jaw, ankle), circulatory systems, urogenital and reproductive systems: different from mammals  Bird eggs similar to reptile eggs  Archaeopteryx (discovered in 1861): characteristics of both reptiles and birds –Bird-like pelvis, legs, feathers, furcula (wishbone), 4 toes (3 digits forward,1 back) –Reptile-like tail, small teeth, abdominal ribs, short and stout wing and leg bones, sternum with no keel (where flight muscles attach) Evolution and History Archaeopteryx fossil

mya: Greatest diversity of dinosaurs, angiosperms (flowering plants) appeared –food supply/coevolution for birds 65 mya: Mass extinction of dinosaurs and toothed birds mya: Great radiation and evolution of birds 1.5 mya: climatic instability –bird species declined from 21,000 to 10, s to present day: 133 species extinct –could be as many as 152 species –primarily due to habitat destruction and over-hunting Future: 12% of all bird species (1,227 of 9,865 species) threatened with extinction according to World Conservation Union, 2009 Evolution and History

Threats to Birds Surf scoter covered in oil Oil palm plantation in Borneo Brown tree snake Hyacinth macaw

What can YOU do? Get to know birds and appreciate them –Join a local naturalist club, birding group –Participate in a citizen science project Write letters of concern to government officials Educate others!

Create habitat for birds in your backyard, schoolyard or community garden –Provide for basic needs of birds: food, water, shelter and places to raise young –Remove invasive plants –Plant native species –Avoid pesticides –Keep cats indoors! What can YOU do?

Purchase shade-grown coffee Grown under intact tree canopy Provides habitat for residential and migratory species Reduces need for fertilizers and pesticides Grounds for Change fundraiser What can YOU do? “Shade” coffee plantation “Sun” coffee plantation

What can YOU do? Support local and global conservation efforts Cranes of Asia: Muraviovka Park Raptor Ecology of the Shrub Steppe

Hornbill Research Foundation: adopt a hornbill nest! What can YOU do? Support local and global conservation efforts

Photo credits All WPZ photos property of Woodland Park Zoo except those noted below. All rights reserved. All other photos used with permission. All rights reserved. Taken from public domain (wikipedia.org): feather illustration, bird skeleton, contour and down feathers, king penguin colony, winter wren with hatchlings, flicker in nest, flamingo on nest, ostrich egg, robin nest, hummingbirds on nest, ducklings, flamingo in water, illustration of bird beaks, western bluebird leaving nestbox, rufous hummingbird, western tanager, Archaeopteryx, hyacinth macaw, brown tree snake, oil-coated surf scoter National Science Foundation, U.S. Antarctic Program Photo Library: emperor penguins US Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Image Library (Tim Bowman): Arctic tern Hutan Asian Elephant Conservation: palm oil plantation Seattle Audubon: sun and shade-coffee plantations Hornbill Research Foundation hornbill being measured (Eric Kowalczyk), hornbill on nest