ClassAvesBy Matt Glattstein

&Nick Zorn

Class Aves Around 10,000 living species Largest number of species out of all

Tetrapods Adaptations of birds:

Hollow Bones Beaks Feathers Wings

Order Sphenisciformes aquatic, flightless birds living almost

exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica.

adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers.

Between 17 and 20 species 4 chambered heart

Order Sphenisciformes

Order Anseriformes Roughly 150 living species of birds in 3

families: the Anhimidae, Anseranatidae, and the Anatidae, which includes over 140 species of ducks, geese, and swans.

Capable of flight and web footed for swimming

Earliest ancestors around since the Cretaceous period

Order Anseriformes

Order Falconiformes 290 species in this order Wings are long and fairly broad 4 families in this single order Birds of prey, eat lots of mice, rats, and

rabbits Carnivorous with a sharp beak and

talons for grasping food.

Order Falconiformes

Order Columbiformes includes the doves and pigeons 313 different species worldwide Excellent in flight Capable of drinking by sucking up water 4 families

Order Columbiformes

Order Strigiformes Mainly owls Include over 200 different species They generally have small beaks and

wide faces They are found all over the world except

Antarctica Split into two familes

Order Strigiformes

Order Passeriformes Includes more than half of all bird

species Known as perching birds Contains over 110 families Size ranges from 2.6 inches to 28 inches

Order Passeriforms

Evolution Birds evolved from ancient reptiles about 150

million year ago. They have teeth, long tails and other reptile

characteristics, the Archaeopteryx is a fossil that supports this theory of evolution from reptile to bird

The Archaeopteryx also featured feathered wings. Throughout their evolution, birds have developed other unique adaptations, such as hollow or pneumatic bones, beaks and feet of different shapes.

Evolution continued Ancestors consisting of

therizinosauroids, oviraptorosaurs, troodontids, and dromaeosaurids

Feathers Feathers are important adaptations for flight, They also provide insulation against the cold

and water. Most males species use feather displays to

attract the females during the mating season. Feathers are classified according to size and

location. Vanned or contour feathers are bigger and

form the exterior layers, while down feathers are smaller and found very close to the skin.

Wings

Wings are essential in locomotion, avoiding predators, and hunting

Each wing has a central vane to hit the wind, composed of three limb bones, the humerus, ulna, and radius

Beaks Two bony projections—the upper

and lower mandibles—are covered with a thin keratinized layer of epidermis known as the rhamphotheca.

In most species, two holes known as nares lead to the respiratory system

Used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young

Nutrition Birds have high metabolic rates Birds have different beaks and tongues

depending on where they leave and what type of food they consume

For example, a hummingbirds tongue is used to suck nectar but a woodpecker uses its heavy beak to break through wood and eat the insects inside

Birds need a constant supply of nutrients

Digestion The stomach of a bird is separated into two regions;

the Proventriculus, It does the chemical digestion half of the work and the gizzard which grinds and digests food

Their enzymes are very strong as sometimes they swallow seeds or sand whole

Birds need a constant nutrient supply Birds are grouped by their feeding habits which

sometimes conflict with human interest such as the destruction of orchards

There are also birds that eat meat and other types of animals

Circulatory system The circulatory system of a bird is similar

to that of reptile They also have a 4 chambered heart

similar to that of reptiles Their heart has differently separated

ventricles and atria Fun Fact: A Ruby Throated

Hummingbird’s heart will beat up to 1200 times per minute or 20 beats a second

Gas Exchange Because of their high metabolic rate,

they intake more oxygen The parabronchi is what make up the

lungs of the bird, from there capillaries extend and are associated with capillary beds allowing gas exchange

Temperature Regulation Birds internal temperature remains

between 38-45 degrees Celsius but depending on their environment some birds let it rise and drop due to the temperature outside

The temperature will also change frequently during flight

Nervous System and Sensory Organs The forebrain of birds is much larger than reptiles

including the corpus striatum The corpus striatum functions in visual learning, feeding,

and nesting The optic tectum also plays an important role in sensory

functions Birds eyes are much larger portioned to their body than

many other animals They have a double focusing mechanism allowing them to

catch fish or other types of food without any kind of visual distraction

Due to their good sense of vision, the hearing of a bird is also good

Excretion and Osmoregulation Urinating, unfortunately, wastes a lot of

water but birds have come up with a different way of regulating water

Instead of converting their ammonia to urea, they mostly convert it to uric acid, which is excreted as a white paste or even a dry, white powder

This way they are able to regulate the water

Fertilization All birds lay amniotic eggs with hard shells made

mostly of calcium carbonate During sexual reproduction, the male bird's

sperm passes out of the testis and into the vas deferens. The vas deferens is a duct that expands near the cloaca into a storage organ.

Once the male bird deposits his semen into the female bird's cloaca, the female birds lay sets of eggs. These eggs are referred to as clutches. The eggs are laid in distinct groupings in plainly distinct nests.

Development Once the eggs are fertilized and laid

they hatch, once the eggs hatch they are basically smaller versions of the adults and just grow larger in size as time goes on

Migration Many different birds go through the

migration process which is basically where they have 2 homes; one summer home and one home for the winter

As you can imagine the winter home is in warmer parts of the globe like Mexico or Florida while the summer home may be anywhere

Navigation It has recently been discovered that

birds know which direction is which by the placement of the sun

Many scientists believe that birds have “internal clocks” which allow birds to know approximately what time it is and then base that off of where the sun is and it’s location in the sky

Pictures you need for your worksheet

Vocabulary for your worksheet Contour feathers- usually symmetrical and line the body and

cover the base of the flight feathers Down feathers- feathers that lie beneath the contour

feathers and supply insulation for the bird Flight feathers- line the tip and trailing edge of the wing and

are asymmetrical with longer barbs on one side of the shaft Clutch- the number of eggs laid and chicks produced by a

female bird Altricial-an animal that is helpless at hatching or at birth Precocial-having developed to a high degree of

independence at the time of hatching or birth Migration- periodic round trips of animals between breeding

and nonbreeding areas or to and from feeding areas

DONE!