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How many species of birds are known today?
About 10,000 spp.
Describe the diversity of bird mating systems.
Polygamy - any form of multiple mating,
Monogamy - Monogamy refers to the more general state of having only one mate at any one time.
Polygynandry - occurs when two or more males have an exclusive relationship with two or more females.
Polyandry - a type of breeding adaptation in which one female mates with many males.
Polygyny - one male mates with many females.
Give the taxonomy of birds.
Zoological class Aves, subphylum Vertebrata, phylum Chordata.
What is the earliest and most primitive bird from fossil record?
Archaeopteryx.
Describe Archaeopteryx.
Earliest bird in fossil records, lived 155-150 mya - late Jurassic period. Not capable of long sustained flight. Lots of reptilian characters (toothed beak, wing claws, long tail with many vertebrae) and avian (feathers).
What is plumage?
Distinctive outer covering.
What are feathers made from?
Protein keratin.
What are the characteristics of feathers?
Light, strong, waterproof, flexible.
Do all the birds have the same number of feathers?
No. The number is roughly constant within a species though.
Name 5 types of feathers.
1. Contour
2. Down
3. Semiplume
4. Filoplume
5. Bristle.
Characterise contour feathers.
If we see a bird, we see these feathers.
Outer covering of the bird.
Give a smooth, round shape to a bird.
Serves a a first level of defence.
Gives visual colouring.
Minimizes the cost of flight.
What are the names of contour feathers that are specialised for the flight?
Remiges.
What is the name of contour feathers of the tail?
Retrices.
Name types of beaks that can be found in birds.
Probing, crushing (finch), shredding (eagle), sifting, extracting (sword-billed hummingbird), hammering (woodpecker).
Name two mechanisms of colouration of the feathers.
Pigments and structures.
Which two types of pigments are used in bird feather coloration?
Melanins (made by bird): black/grey/tan;
Carotenoids (in diet): red/orange/yellow.
Which mechanisms are used in feathers for colouration?
• Reflectance: blue/green;
• Interference: iridescence.
What is the function of barbules & hooks in feathers?
Create stiffness & flexibility; fasten feathers to one another.
Which structure provides backbone to a feather?
Rachis.
Which structure of the feather is a site for most pigments?
Barbs.
Which type of feathers is closest to the body of the birds to keep it warm?
Down.
What is the name of type of feathers that in shape are intermediate between dawn and contour?
Semiplume.
What are the functions of semiplume feathers and where are they located?
Located between the contour feathers, helps in insulation and helps to keep warm.
Which type of feathers helps to keep other feathers in order?
Filoplume.
Which type of feather works as Pressure and vibration receptors?
Filoplume.
How do the bristle feathers look like?
Stiff, with few barbs.
Name functions of feathers.
- Isolation
- Flight
- Camouflage
- Attraction.
What is the primary force driving evolutions of feathers?
Insulation.
Are birds ecto- or endothermic?
Endothermic.
What is the name of the most basic care for feathers?
Preening.
What do birds do during preening that help them to survive rainy weather?
Apply oils from uropygial gland for waterproofing.
What is Allopreening?
When birds have too long beaks and they cannot care for their feathers for themselves, other birds help.
Name bird strategies for feather care and replacement.
Preening,
bathing,
sunning,
anting,
moulting.
What is moulting?
Replace old feathers with new ones.
Name some of the avian features.
- Forelimbs modified as wings.
- Feathered tail with no bones in it.
- Toothless beak (so there is a gizzard in the stomach that helps to chunk up food).
- Incubation of eggs.
- Not flight! Because there are birds that do not fly.
- Endothermy (constant body temp., high metabolic rate, need for good isolation, can live in extreme environments).
How birds evolve to become light for being able to fly better?
Skeleton:
– Reduced number of bones
– Bones hollow and lack bone marrow
– Skull lost heavy jaw
Beak:
– Toothless
Reproduction:
– Organs enlarged seasonally
– Oviparous.
What are the adaptations of birds' skeleton and muscles to flight?
Skeleton
– Fusion of bones to make stronger structure
– Wishbone
– Keel to hold flight muscles
Muscles
– Pectoralis (up to 35% total weight) - powers the down stroke
– Supracoracoideus - getting wings up
– 48 other wing muscles
Which muscles are used for the upstroke of wings?
Supracoracoideus.
Which muscles are used by birds to make a down stroke?
Pectoralis.
Which special shape does the wing of a bird have that is crucial for generating lift?
Airfoil shape.
Name two sets of opposing forces when thinking about the flight of a bird.
Weight vs. lift;
Drag vs. propulsion.
What is lift generated by in flight?
Generated by flow of air over wings.
Why do wings have airfoil shape? And how this mechanism works?
To generate lift: upper surface of the wing has larger surface area than lower one. So across the upper surface of the wing: further to travel, air speeds up, pressure reduced, wing sucked upwards. From the lower surface of the wing: shorter distance, air slower, pressure increased, wing pushed upwards.
More curved the airfoil, greater the lift.
How is friction drag generated during flight?
Consequence of air flow over body. Resistance to anything passing through air.
Name two types of drag.
Friction drag and Induced drag.
What is induced drag and how is it generated?
It is a drag force that occurs whenever a moving object redirects the airflow coming at it.
Lift is produced by the changing direction of the flow around a wing. Consequence of lift.
• Swirling vortices created at wingtips
• Produces downwash
Why do birds fly together in V shape pattern?
They minimise energy by flying inside tip vortices of bird in front.
How is propulsion of flight created?
Created when wings flapped. Majority of force in powered downstroke. Simple recovery upstroke.
Name types of flight.
1. Gliding and soaring.
2. Flapping
3. Hovering.
How does the mechanism of slope soaring flight works?
Slope soaring: wind deflected upwards by side of objects.
Why gliding is generally used by large birds?
Weight used to overcome air resistance to forward motion. So heavier the bird is, further it glides for the same loss of attitude.
How does the mechanism of dynamic soaring flight works?
Dynamic soaring: local updrafts when wind meets waves.
What is soaring?
Maintaining or increasing attitude in flight without flapping wings.
Explain thermal soaring.
Uneven heating of air near ground creates convective currents that cause air to circulate. Birds in thermals typically fly in circles.
What is hovering?
Maintaining steady position in the air.
What are the largest species that hovers in still air?
Pied kingfisher.
What are two types of hovering?
Windhovering and hovering in still air.
What is wing loading?
Wing loading: Body weight/Wing area.
What is low wing loading?
Large wing area for a particular body weight.
What is high wing loading?
Small wing area for a particular body weight.
Why do swans need to "run" on water before they take out to fly?
Because they have high wing loading.
What is the formula for aspect ratio?
Aspect ratio: Wing area2/Wing breadth.
Name bird wing shapes.
- Elliptical
- High-speed
- Soaring
- High-lift.
Large wing slots, short, rounded wings, low aspect ratio - This is the description of which type of wings?
Elliptical ones.
Which type of wings is the best for manoeuvring?
Elliptical.
Elliptical wings produce big amount of induced drag. How do birds cope with it?
The reduce drag by separating first feathers.
Which type of wings have highest aspect ratio?
Soaring wings.
Name flight functions.
- Feeding (hummingbird)
- Courtship
- Migration.
What adaptations do penguins need to 'fly' under water effectively?
Increased weight, reduced buoyancy, smaller wings.
Name some of the ways the sound can be produced.
Clacking mandibles,
Special feathers,
Drumming on a tree barks,
Bang stick on branches,
Vocalisations.
What anatomical structure do most birds use for producing sound?
Syrinx.
Does larynx produce sound in birds?
No, syrinx does (there are some exeptions).
Where is syrinx located in birds?
Where trachea branches into two bronchi.
What are two types of vocalisations?
Calls and songs.
Songs are limited to which type of birds?
Limited to the Passeriformes (perching birds).
Producing songs in birds is primarily under influence of what?
Sex hormones.
What are the reasons for dawn chorus?
Air still, so sound transmission good;
Fewer predators;
Insects less easy to see/find.
What are the functions of the calls?
Temperature information of the chicks inside the unhitched eggs (pelicans);
Synchronise hatching (quail);
Indication of hunger by chicks;
Mate attraction;
Warning of danger;
Recruitment;
Territory defence;
Duetting;
Chorusing.