BirdsBy Michelle Anderson and Carly Poesch

Phylum ChordataSubphylum Vertebrata

Class Aves

Habitat • In time, birds have

adapted to live in diverse regions including: Forests, mountains, deserts, oceans, marshes, and many more

Food Source• Early in earth’s

history, birds ate animal food, but seed eating came later

• They now eat almost everything including: Nectar, roots, grass, and seeds

Importance to Humans and Environment • Birds that eat other

animals or, predator birds, have an important role in the food chain.

• They keep rodents under control, helping farmers.

• Birds help stop the spread of some diseases.

• Birds spread pollen and seed to help reproduction of plants.

Unique Characteristics• For a 170 lb. man to exert

as much energy as a bird, he would have to eat 285 lbs of hamburger or double his weight in potatoes.

• Some birds have hollow bones to make them lighter, so they can fly.

• Some birds can maintain a body temp of 40 degrees Celsius even on cold winter days

Skeletal/Support System

Click here

Respiration

Click Here

Respiration• Birds need a steady stream of oxygen to fly, and to be able to release large amounts of CO2

• The respiration cycle of a bird is much more effective than a mammals, transferring more air with each breath

• Basically, birds breath in and out at the same time

Reproductive System• 95% of birds are socially

monogamous, they pair with one mate for at least the length of the breeding season.

• Cloaca is the reproductive organ in birds.

• Eggs are fertilized and given nutrients inside the female before the hard shell forms.

Sensory/Nervous system• Birds are very

intelligent, they must fly at high speeds, catch prey from long distances, and migrate thousands of miles.

• This demands lots of gathering and processing information

• Bird senses are more advanced than humans.

• Birds have great vision, but taste and smell are not as well developed.

Sensory System-Migration• Birds have a sixth

sense-to migrate• It is a magnetic

sense; like an internal compass

•Some few birds, do not have this sense and have learned to use the stars for migration

Circulatory System• Birds have a closed

circulatory system.• A Closed Circulatory

system is a blood circulation system in which blood moves through the body in closed vessels.

Excretory System• Bird’s waste systems

are much like reptiles• Waste is removed

from blood from the kidney

• Then converted to uric acid and put in the cloaca

• There water is absorbed and bird droppings are formed

Digestive System

• Click Here

ExamplesFlamingo

Toucan

Humming Bird

King Penguin

Bird Flight

Feathers• Feathers are an

adaptation that has enabled them to become successful.

• Birds have been around since the time of the dinosaurs

• http://www.natureswonderland.biz/peacockinframe.jpg

Beak Adaptations• The beaks are

adapted to the kind of food the bird eats.

• The toucan has a large, strong beak to slice food

• The long beak of a pelican is ideal for getting fish

Bird Feet• Birds have hind limbs

used for walking, swimming, running, or perching

• Front limbs have modified into wings

Endotherms• Definition of

Endotherms: The heat from within

• The bird’s body is insulated enough to conserve most of its metabolic energy.

• They can maintain a constant high body temp

Orders

• There are 27 orders of birds

• More than ½ are Passeriformes, which include house sparrows and perching birds

• Struthionifrmes- Ostriches

• Casuariiforms- Emus

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<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/graphics/2008/03/26/eabirds126.jpg>. • Birds Feet. Children's Page. 4 Apr. 2008

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• Digestive System. Dkimages. 2 Apr. 2008 <http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Home/Animals/Birds/Anatomy/Internal-Anatomy/Digestive-System/Digestive-System-1.html>.

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• Grasse, Pierre P. "The Digestive System." Larousse Encyclopedia of the Animal World. 1969th ed. 1 vols. 1969.

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<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Tucan.jpg>. • Urban Hawks. NYC. Urban Hawks. 1 Apr. 2008

<http://urbanhawks.blogs.com/urban_hawks/2007/02/index.html>. • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 3 Apr. 2008

<http://www.mmoca.org/starrytransit/bird_migration.php>. • Why Birds Migrate. 1 Apr. 2008 <http://animalbase.blogspot.com/2007/03/why-

birds-migrate.html>. • Wilson's Warbler September 2006. 7 Apr. 2008

<http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/debnes_dfw_tx_1190919093_599.jpg>. • World's 2nd Biggest Bird: the Emu. 5 Apr. 2008

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