1. Digestive system Pelecaniformes 8 families 65 species
Worldwide distribution
Totipalmate feet
Gular pouch (except in tropicbirds)
African White Pelicans

2. Pelecanidae
1 genus 8 species
All continents

7. Phalacrocoracidae Cormorants 1 Genus (Phalacrocorax)
38 species (57% of total)
All continents and oceans
External nostrils closed (mouth breathers)
Preen gland present

9. Anhingidae Anhingas or darters 1 Genus, 3 Species
Pursue fish under water and
spear them with their beak

11. Sulidae Boobies & gannets Mouth breathers Colonial nesters All oceans
3 Genera, 9 Species
Plunge dive for fish
Blue-footed Booby

16. Kleptoparasites (i.e. professional thieves)
Frigateidae
Frigatebirds
Tropical oceans
1 Genus, 5 species
Kleptoparasites (i.e. professional thieves)

18. Phaethonitidae Tropicbirds 1 Genus, 3 Species Tropical oceans
Young are down-covered, all other pelecaniform young are naked
No gular pouch

20. Scopidae?
1 species, the African Hammerkop

21. Balaeniciptidae?
1 species, African
Shoebill

23. Digestive system
But first
Feather video
Powder down video

26. Feather colors
Pigments &
Structure

27. Pigment Colors Melanins: blk, dull yellow, red & brown Lipochromes
Carotenoids (from diet): red, yellow, orange, violet
Porphyrins (derived from hemoglobin): unstable, fade in sunlight; red, green, brown

28. Structural feather colors
Interference
Scattering

29. Interference produces iridescence

31. Scattering produces typical blue

33. Ultraviolet Colors

37. Turkey Vulture
Tongue &
trachea

38. Well-developed in species with dry diets
Well-developed in species with dry diets. Especially large in woodpeckers and Asiatic swiftlets. Little if any amylase.

39. http://www. orientalbirdimages

46. Gizzard traps indigestible bits in many carnivores
In many carnivorous species, the gizzard is largely a trap that prevents sharp bones and indigestible fragments from proceeding down the digestive tract. Teeth, feathers, fur, cellulose, and chitin may be rolled up into an elongated "pellet" and regurgitated by mouth. Pellets are formed by owls, accipiter hawks, gulls, goatsuckers, swifts, grouse, shrikes, some sandpipers, and flycatchers, among others.
Gizzard traps indigestible bits in many carnivores

47. http://campus. murraystate. edu/academic/faculty/terry

49. Longitudinal section of the domestic fowl's stomach (from: King & McLelland Birds, their structure and function, p. 96).

50. Peptic enzymes ‑ digest proteins.
Proventriculus
Glandular stomach
Peptic enzymes ‑ digest proteins.
HCl; pH of 0.7‑2.3. Acid of many flesh‑eating species is strong enough to dissolve bones.

51. Mucous epithelium secretes koilin
Ventriculus
Gizzard
Muscular stomach
Mucous epithelium secretes koilin
Mucous epithelium secretes a keratinous fluid that hardens into plates or ridges called koilin that serve as millstones for the mechanical grinding of food. This is further aided in granivorous species such as the domestic fowl by the presence of grit. Grit is essential in some species, but not in others. Some birds have very powerful gizzards. Turkeys, for example, have been shown to be able to grind up pecans and hickory nuts, which require pressures of 124‑336 pounds to break.

53. Swan gizzard

55. Pellets formed by many carnivorous species, e. g
Pellets formed by many carnivorous species, e.g. owls, accipiter hawks, gulls, goatsuckers, swifts, grouse, shrikes, sandpipers and flycatchers

56. Bearded Tit
Winter – eats seeds, gizzard muscular, hard keratin lining, contains grit g
Summer – eats insects, gizzard smaller, softer, lacks hard lining, no grit g

57. Budgerigar
Budgerigar tract. Some birds including the budgerigar lack a gall bladder. Sm intestine is longer in species that eat foliage or grain than in meat or fruit eaters.

62. Gall bladder lacking in many species: ostrich, rhea, peregrine falcon, many doves, pigeons and parrots.

65. Digestive system