Birds - 1

Class Aves Birds

Birds (class Aves) are archosaurs but almost every feature of their reptilian anatomy has undergone modification in their adaptation to flight.

Class Aves Birds

Birds are found in most every habitat from forests to deserts, even in caves.
Some birds dive in the ocean to 45 m to catch prey. Birds have visited both the North & South poles. The bee hummingbird of Cuba weighs 1.8 g and is one of the smallest vertebrate endotherms.

Derived Characters of Birds

A birds most obvious adaptations for flight are its wings and feathers. Feathers are the feature that set birds apart from other vertebrates.

Derived Characters of Birds

Some other theropod dinosaurs had feathers, but they were not capable of supporting flight.
Insulation provides support for the idea that some dinosaurs were endotherms. Bright colors may have been used to attract mates.

Characteristics of Birds

All birds also have hindlimbs adapted for walking, swimming, or perching.

Foot structure in bird feet shows considerable variation.

All have keratinized beaks. All lay shelled amniotic eggs.

The Origin of Birds

Birds descended from theropods a group of small, carnivorous dinosaurs. By 147 million years ago, feathered theropods had evolved into birds.

The Origin of Birds

Archaeopteryx

The oldest bird known. Skull similar to modern birds but with thecodont teeth. Wings with feathers were present.

The Origin of Birds

Much of the skeleton was that of a theropod dinosaur.

Long bony tail Clawed fingers Abdominal ribs S-shaped, mobile neck

This fossil demonstrated the connection between theropods & birds.

The Origin of Birds

Archaeopteryx arose from the theropod lineage. Closely related to Dromaeosaurs.

More shared derived characters. Many had feathers used for insulation and/or social display.

Living Birds

The ratites, superorder Paleognathae, are all flightless.

Primitive archosaur palate. Ostriches, emus, rheas, kiwis, tinamous. Flat sternum, poorly developed pectoral muscles.

Living Birds

All other birds are superorder Neognathae, having a flexible palate. The demands of flight have rendered the general body form of many flying birds similar to one another. Flying birds have a keeled sternum with well developed pectoral muscles.

Living Birds

Flightlessness has evolved in many groups of birds.

Penguins (use wings to swim through water). Many fossil forms including flightless owls, pigeons, parrots, cranes, ducks, & auks. Usually occurs on islands with few predators.

Form & Function Feathers

Feathers are lightweight, yet tough, consisting of:

A hollow quill emerges from the skin. This becomes the shaft which bears numerous barbs that form a flat, webbed surface, the vane.

Each barb contains many barbules.

Form & Function Feathers

Contour feathers are vaned feathers that cover and streamline a birds body.

Called flight feathers if they extend beyond the body.

Down feathers are soft and have no hooks on barbules. Filoplume feathers are hairlike function unknown. Powder-down feathers disintegrate as they grow, releasing powder that aids in waterproofing.

Form & Function Feathers

Feathers are homologous to reptiles scales. It develops from an epidermal elevation overlying a nourishing dermal core.

In reptiles, this elevation flattens into a scale. In birds, it rolls into a cylinder and sinks into the follicle from which it will grow.

Form & Function Feathers

As a feather nears the end of its growth, keratin is deposited to make some of the structures hard. The protective sheath surrounding the new feather splits open, and the feather unfurls.

Form & Function Feathers

When fully grown, feathers are dead like mammalian hair. Birds molt to replace worn out feathers.

Usually feathers are discarded gradually to avoid bare spots. Flight feathers & tail feathers are lost in pairs to maintain balance. Many water birds lose all their primary feathers at once and are grounded during the molt.

Form & Function Feathers

Colors in birds may be pigmentary or structural.

Red, orange, & yellow are colored by pigments called lipochromes. Black, brown, & gray are produced by the pigment melanin. Blue is created structurally by the scattering of shorter wavelengths of light by particles within the feather.

Form & Function Skeleton

A light, yet still strong skeleton is a requirement for flight.

Bird bones are laced with air cavities.

Form & Function Skeleton

Birds are archosaurs, and had ancestors with diapsid skulls.

Bird skulls are highly specialized mostly fused into one piece.

Leg bones in birds are heavier this helps lower the center of gravity giving aerodynamic stability.

Form & Function Skeleton

Modern birds are toothless.

Instead they have a keratinized beak.

Most birds have kinetic skulls.

They have a wide gape. Upper jaw is attached loosely increasing the gape.

Form & Function Skeleton

All birds that can fly have a large, thin keel on their sternum that provides area for the large flight muscles to attach.

Food & Feeding

Early birds were carnivorous, feeding mostly on insects.

Many birds are still insectivores. Other foods include nectar, seeds, berries, worms, crustaceans, molluscs, fish, frogs, small birds & mammals.

Food & Feeding

Some birds are generalists, feeding on a wide range of food items.

Perhaps more competition for food, but less danger of something happening to the food source.

Others are specialists, only feeding on one type of food.

Less competition, more danger of losing the food source.