Bird Characteristics Feathers Endothermic Eggs with hard shell

Bird Characteristics • Feathers • Endothermic • Eggs with hard shell • Lack of teeth, bony beak • Pneumatic bones • Excellent vision and hearing, poor sense of smell

Adaptations for flight § Low body weight § Streamlined form § Wing shape provides lift § Specialized respiration and circulation § Efficient metabolism § Furcula and keeled sternum § High body temperature § Rapid digestion, constant elimination of waste § Major development of brain

Importance of Feathers § Modified reptilian scales § More effective for flight than patagium § Conserve body heat § Help “waterproof” birds § Aid in courtship or camouflage displays Snowy owls Humboldt penguins

Importance of Feathers Malayan great argus pheasant Bald eagle

Two main types of feathers Great horned owl feathers Contour feather 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Vane or blade Rachis Barb Afterfeather or aftershaft Calamus (hollow shaft) Down feather

Breeding Peacock pheasant

Songs and Calls American robins

Colonies King penguins

Egyptian geese Mating Systems • Monogamy—over 90 percent of birds • Polygamy – Polygyny (one male, many females) – Polyandry (one female, many males) Winter wrens Cassowary

Nests Northern flicker Masked weaver bird Chilean flamingo

Reproduction Ostrich egg • Eggs range in size: – 0. 25 inch long (hummingbirds) to 6 inches long (ostriches) • Female lays eggs in a clutch –Size varies from one to 20 eggs –Varies by latitude, egg size, nest characteristics, food availability, etc. Humboldt penguin egg 5 inches Robin eggs

Parental Care • Altricial: hatchlings blind, naked and helpless, must be fed by their parents – Most species, including common songbirds • Precocial: hatchlings born eyes open, covered in down, able to walk or swim and feed on own shortly after hatching Hummingbird family – Ducks and chickens have precocial chicks • Precocial and altricial chicks grow rapidly, reach adult size within one year Ducklings

Chilean flamingo stages of development

Feeding Adaptations • Birds lack teeth • Jaws covered by a horny beak usually adapted to the bird's diet: – long, slender beaks for probing for insects – flat or paddle-shaped beaks for sieving food out of the water – heavy beaks for cracking and crushing seeds – sharp, hooked beaks for tearing flesh

Feeding Diversity • Insectivores: – birds that mainly eat insects or spiders • Granivores: – birds that mainly eat seeds • Nectarivores: – birds that mainly eat nectar from flowers • Piscivores: – birds that mainly eat fish • Frugivores: – birds that mainly eat fruit • Carnivores: – birds that mainly catch and eat other animals • Scavengers: – birds that mainly eat dead animals

Hornbill Habitats Ostriches Emperor penguins (NSF) Western bluebird

Rufous hummingbird Migration • Regular, seasonal movements from one place to another and back – Vary from short distance to 1000 s of miles • Purpose: take advantage of best conditions to meet basic needs Western tanager Arctic tern (USFWS)

Taxonomy § Kingdom – Animalia § Phylum – Chordata § Class – Aves § Order ~ 30 § Family ~ 180 § Genus ~ 2, 000 § Species ~ 10, 000 Crested screamers – 489 in Washington state Great blue heron

Two major groups: Black-capped chickadee passerines/non-passerines • Passerines (also called perching birds or songbirds): – one Order (Passeriformes) = 60% of all bird species • Non-passerines include many different groups of Orders: – – – – – Large flightless birds (ostriches, penguins) Seabirds (albatrosses, pelicans) Wading birds (herons, storks, flamingos) Waterfowl (ducks, geese, swans) Raptors (falcons, hawks, eagles) Game birds (pheasants, turkeys) Shorebirds (plovers, sandpipers) Parrots Hummingbirds Turkey vulture Eastern Rosella

Evolution and History 150 -200 million years ago (mya): Birds arose from reptilian (likely dinosaur) ancestors §Bird feathers and scales similar to reptile scales §Similarities in reptile and bird bone structure (middle ear bone, jaw, ankle), circulatory systems, urogenital and reproductive systems: different from mammals §Bird eggs similar to reptile eggs §Archaeopteryx (discovered in 1861): characteristics of both reptiles and birds – Bird-like pelvis, legs, feathers, furcula (wishbone), 4 toes (3 digits forward, 1 back) – Reptile-like tail, small teeth, abdominal ribs, short and stout wing and leg bones, sternum with no keel (where flight muscles attach) Archaeopteryx fossil

Evolution and History 65 -150 mya: Greatest diversity of dinosaurs, angiosperms (flowering plants) appeared – food supply/coevolution for birds 65 mya: Mass extinction of dinosaurs and toothed birds 37 -65 mya: Great radiation and evolution of birds 1. 5 mya: climatic instability – bird species declined from 21, 000 to 10, 000 1500 s to present day: 133 species extinct – could be as many as 152 species – primarily due to habitat destruction and over-hunting Future: 12% of all bird species (1, 227 of 9, 865 species) threatened with extinction according to World Conservation Union, 2009

Threats to Birds Hyacinth macaw Oil palm plantation in Borneo Surf scoter covered in oil Brown tree snake

What can YOU do? • Get to know birds and appreciate them – Join a local naturalist club, birding group – Participate in a citizen science project • Write letters of concern to government officials • Educate others!

What can YOU do? Create habitat for birds in your backyard, schoolyard or community garden – Provide for basic needs of birds: food, water, shelter and places to raise young – Remove invasive plants – Plant native species – Avoid pesticides – Keep cats indoors!

What can YOU do? Purchase shade-grown coffee • Grown under intact tree canopy • Provides habitat for residential and migratory species • Reduces need for fertilizers and pesticides • Grounds for Change fundraiser “Sun” coffee plantation “Shade” coffee plantation

What can YOU do? Support local and global conservation efforts Raptor Ecology of the Shrub Steppe Cranes of Asia: Muraviovka Park

What can YOU do? Support local and global conservation efforts Hornbill Research Foundation: adopt a hornbill nest!

Photo credits All WPZ photos property of Woodland Park Zoo except those noted below. All rights reserved. All other photos used with permission. All rights reserved. • Taken from public domain (wikipedia. org): feather illustration, bird skeleton, contour and down feathers, king penguin colony, winter wren with hatchlings, flicker in nest, flamingo on nest, ostrich egg, robin nest, hummingbirds on nest, ducklings, flamingo in water, illustration of bird beaks, western bluebird leaving nestbox, rufous hummingbird, western tanager, Archaeopteryx, hyacinth macaw, brown tree snake, oil-coated surf scoter • National Science Foundation, U. S. Antarctic Program Photo Library: emperor penguins • US Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Image Library (Tim Bowman): Arctic tern • Hutan Asian Elephant Conservation: palm oil plantation • Seattle Audubon: sun and shade-coffee plantations • Hornbill Research Foundation hornbill being measured (Eric Kowalczyk), hornbill on nest