Birds

Birds

• Evolved from reptiles• Some groups are: waterfowl, shorebirds,

birds of prey, game birds, songbirds, and penguins

• Feathers are modified from scales• Feet are covered in scales• Hollow bones – some fused b/c tendons

weigh more (penguins don’t have hollow bones – why?)

Birds

• Very strong pectoral muscles

• Endothermic

• No bladder (makes them lighter) and urine is very concentrated

• Put a lot of energy into attracting mates and reproduction

• Beaks are adapted to gather food – varies depending on what it eats

Seabirds!

• birds that spend a significant part of their lives at sea

• waterproof feathers – due to oil from gland above base of tail – rub into feathers w/ beak

• eggs more resistant to water loss

Seabirds!

• nest on land

• feed at sea (at least some)

• 3% of 8600 species of birds are seabirds

• all over globe

• many are predators of fish, squid and invertebrates

• eat lots to maintain body temp.

Penguins

• flightless – wings more like flippers• heavier bones – makes diving easier• good swimmers – awkward on land• cold temps. – layer of fat + feathers to trap air• 17 species live at Antarctica – 1 at Galapagos Islands

(equator)• food varies – krill to fish and squid• strong beaks• breed in pairs – male incubates eggs while mom goes to

eat – after hatching, mom and dad feed (leave babies w/ babysitters – identify by voice when return)

Emperor Penguin

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/aqua/emperor-penguin

http://www.theanimalfiles.com/birds/penguins/galapagos_penguin.html

Galapagos penguin

http://www.tnaqua.org/Newsroom/PenguinPressKit.asp

Macaronipenguin

Gentoo penguin

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,278692,00.html

Humboldt penguin

http://blather.net/abroad/archives/2008/04/

Adelie penguin

http://www.absc.usgs.gov/research/seabird_foragefish/photogallery/Picture_of_Month/Jun04-YE_Penguin/Jun04-YE_Penguin.htm

Yellow-eyed penguin

http://www.worldbirder.com/photonew/xpages/photo.asp?PhotoID=276

Fiordland penguin

Why don’t penguins’ feet freeze?

• Controls blood flow to feet – decreased in cold conditions, increased in warmer conditions

• Countercurrent system– arteries taking blood to feet give some heat to veins

passing by (this keeps penguin from sending blood that is too cold back to the body)

– but not all, keeps enough to keep feet a few degrees above freezing to avoid frostbite

– also keeps too warm blood from going to feet (feet lose a lot of heat but not if there’s not a lot there!)

Tubenoses

• large group• tube-like nostrils• heavy beaks – curved at tip• salt glands in nostrils get rid of

excess salt• good flyers – catch fish at surface• males and females faithful• 8+ months to incubate and care

for chick• ex. albatross, shearwaters,

petrels

http://www.mvtimes.com/2008/06/26/calendar/birds.php

Albatross

• Graceful flyer, clumsy on land (big feet)

• Uses air currents as flies• Prefers cephalopods for food• Breeds late in life, mates for life –

alternates incubating (2-3 weeks at a time)

• Make take 10 years to get adult plummage

• “albatross” comes from Portuguese word “alcatraz” = any large bird

• Some live up to 80 yearshttp://www.landfall-learning.org/envirBirds.htm

Pelicans and Allies

• webbing b/n all 4 toes

• Nest in colonies along coast

• Excrement = guano

• Guano deposits thick in dry coastal regions and islands – mined for fertilizer

Pelicans

– Pouch below beak – can hold up to 2 gallons of water

– Brown pelican was endangered – pop. numbers lowered by pesticide pollution

– Beak full of water is too heavy – have to sit and wait for it to drain before can fly

– Feed only their young– Air pockets beneath skin

cushion chest and protect pelican from injury when diving

http://www.worldbirdingcenter.org/bird_info/brown_pelican.phtml

Cormorants

• Black w/ long necks• Dive and pursue prey - mainly

eats fish• Float low in water – only

necks above water• Tail used as a rudder,

webbed toes• Fly low • No waterproof oil so has to

spread wings to dry them after diving

http://www.haryana-online.com/Fauna/Birds/great_cormorant.htm

Frigate birds• Used to be used to carry

messages• Narrow wings - has

largest wingspan – to – weight ratio

• Forked tail – uses as rudders

• Steal food from other birds

http://www.opentravelinfo.com/south_america/ecuador/galapagos_islands/frigate_bird_galapagos_islands

Male during breeding season

Gulls and Allies

• Largest variety

• Predators and scavengers (eat almost anything)

• Jaegers and skuas – gull-like – steal food from other birds (and will eat other birds!)

http://www.oceanwanderers.com/BrwnSkua.htmlhttp://blog.thomaslaupstad.com/2007/07/10/photo-of-arctic-skua-parasitic-jaeger-bird/

Gulls

• Scavengers – will eat whatever they can find

• Mates for life – will only find a new mate when old one has died – take turns incubating and feeding

• Takes 3 years (molting each year) to get to adult plummage

• Rarely allow whole body to go under water

http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/common-gull:larus-canus-photo-99.html

Terns

• Graceful in flight

• hover over prey before plunging for it – small fish = main diet

• Both incubate but females do most

• 43 species

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/northwest/Ecosys/section/birdreport.htm

Auk family

• Short-tailed, short-necked diving birds

• 23 species – including puffins and razorbills

• Most are dark on top, white bellies

• One = great auk even more like penguin – now extinct (last one died in 1844)

http://www.birdcheck.co.uk/main/previewpages/previewpage112.htm

Puffins

• heavy beaks – change colors during breeding season

• Crash lands b/c feet are so far back on body

• Mate for life – dig a burrow (or take over abandoned rabbit burrows), put baby in back and take turns incubating egg and then feeding baby

• Gulls like to eat their babies – often go out at night to avoid this

http://www.fairislebirdobs.co.uk/seabird_studies.htm

Razorbill• black and white• resembles penguins - fill role of

penguin in N. Hemisphere• Awkward on land – feet are for

rudders when flying/swimming• Molts all at once = flightless

while growing feathers back• Spends majority of life at sea• use wings to swim underwater

http://www.neseabirds.com/razorbill.htm

Shorebirds

• Wading – don’t swim much

• More common in estuaries and marshes

• Ex. plovers, sandpipers, rails, coots, herons, egrets, and ducks

http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/common-sandpiper:actitis-hypoleucos-photo-197.html

sandpiper