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Vertebrates Quiz 1 > Birds 2 > Flashcards

Birds 2 Flashcards

(87 cards)

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1
Q

3 points of bird metabolism

A

high basal metabolic rate (songbirds highest)
rate increases 10x during flight
flight still more energetically efficient than walking same distance

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2
Q

What has a higher metabolic rate, big or small birds?

A

smaller birds

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3
Q

Why are birds, particularly passerines, more susceptable to dieing of shock?

A

higher oxygen consumption than most other animals

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4
Q

What are 4 points of birds and air/lungs?

A

lung tissue is denser and more efficient
one-way flow of air over lungs so always oxygenated (efficiency)
Conchae warm up and clean air on intake and retain moisture on exhalation
air sacs occupy up to 20% of body cavity

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5
Q

What is Conchae?

A

hollow area on bill that warms and cleans are on intake and retains moisture on exhale

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6
Q

How many chambers are in a bird heart?

A

4

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7
Q

What are what are 3 features of bird hearts?

A

largest hearts relative to body size of vertebrates
efficient blood pumping
high blood pressure (subject to heart failure in times of shock)

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8
Q

Describe part one of digestion for birds

A

enters mouth - horny tongue, few salivary glands
short pharynx
esophagus - long and elastic

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9
Q

Describe part 2 of digestion for birds

A

crop - storage chamber

stomach - proventriculus has enzymes and connects crop to gizzard where food is ground

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10
Q

Describe a gizzard

A

muscular chamber lined with rough keratin

contains tiny rocks and grit (purposefully ingested) to grind and mill food

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11
Q

Where are pellets formed and what kinds of birds do this?

A

formed in proventriculus by owls, hawks and kingfishers out of bones, fur and feathers of prey

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12
Q

Describe part 3 of digestion for birds

A

duodenum
small intestine
large intestine - has caeca that are sacs or fermentation chambers off the intestine

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13
Q

What is the function of the cloaca in birds?

A

receives ureters, reabsorbs water (less waste), waste from large intestine, genetal ducts

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14
Q

How is nitrogenous waste excreted?

A

as uric acid that is excreted into cloaca
excess water is absorbed
forms white paste and mixes w/ feces

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15
Q

How is excess salt excreted?

A

special salt glands abouve each eye
via internal or external nostrils
water is retained

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16
Q

Describe endothermic

A

use metabolic heat to maintain a warm, constant, body temp

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17
Q

What are 6 methods of thermoregulation?

A

Heat production - shivering
Evaporation - gular flutter and panting (2 surfaces, pharynx and cloaca
Feathers - number (varies seasonally) and position (controlled by dermal muscles, sometimes behavioral)
Posture - reduce heat loss (withdraw feet and tuck head under wing) - increase heat loss (extend wings)
Legs and Feet - thermal counter-current, increased blood flow in hot weather
Social behavior - communal roosts, huddling

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18
Q

Describe 5 points of bird vision

A

dominant sense
colour vision well developed in diurnal birds (many cones)
Nocturnal birds have few cones and many rods
Most see UV
Some see polarized light

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19
Q

What is important about the amount of frequencies birds can differentiate?

A

mocking

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20
Q

What is important about hearing for hunting owls?

A

note differences in intensity and timing of sounds btwn 2 ears (placed asymmetrically sometimes) to estimate source of sound (prey)

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21
Q

Why are owl ear openings sometimes symmetrical?

A

allow them to accurately note differences in the intensity and timing of sounds in both horizontal and vertical directions

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22
Q

What do woodpeckes use their hearing for?

A

detecting grub below bark and low-frequency sounds preceding earthquakes

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23
Q

What do birds have in place of conspicuos external ear openings?

A

specialized feathers called auriculars or ear coverts

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24
Q

What is the olfactory sensing of birds like?

A

poor except in flightless, ducks and vultures

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25
Name 2 conspicuous extinct birds? What was likely cause of extinction?
Dodo and great auk (northern penguin) | easy pickings and hunted to extinction b/c hadn't adapted to humans as invasive predator
26
What is special about bird brains?
large and complex with large motor-control areas and optical centers and song control centers
27
What is intelligence?
ability to learn how to learn, to solve problems and solve future similar problems with increasing speed
28
What is insight?
ability to envision one's actions and their consequences
29
What order of birds has shown remarkable ability to solve problems and use tools?
corvids - crows and ravens
30
Describe a few cases where birds exhibit great intellectual capacity?
chickadees and nuthatches distinguish empty from full seed husks from weight alone crows and parrots perform reasoning tests as well as dogs parrots can learn 1000's of calls blue jays learned to avoid toxic butterflies by watching others die from eating them blue jays locate food better than cats and monkeys great tits learned to open milk bottles birds dropping nuts on road for cars to crush
31
What are 4 modes of communication?
Signal - behavior that alters the behavior of the receiver in a way that benefits the sender Display - ritualized signal that conveys a specific message Passive - plumage patterns Active
32
What are 3 features of passive communication?
plumage patterns: colours, shape (outline/silhouette), pattern
33
What can happen if the songs of 2 similar birds are very different?
separation of gene pool from behavioral barrier to mating that results in species differentiation
34
What are 2 features of active communication?
Courtship displays - visual and vocal | Territorial displays - attract females, detract other males
35
What are 3 types of sound from birds?
calls, songs, non-vocal sounds
36
Describe calls
short stereotyped vocalizations, innate
37
What are 3 types of calls and what are they for?
Alarm - signal danger to other conspecifics Contact - locate males and young Flight - keep flock together
38
Describe songs
complex, often learned (not innate) territorial attract females species identification based on unique
39
Describe types of non-vocal sounds
stork bill clattering in courtship rituals mute swans hiss and grunt woodpeckes peck to defend and attract mates male grouse beats wings hummingbirds trill with wings - territorial
40
What are 2 defining characteristics of migration?
seasonal and predictable, large numbers of individuals
41
What are 2 types of long-distance non-migration?
Dispersal: movement from natal area, solitary, new location unpredictable, juvenilles leaving Irruptions: movement away from food-poor areas, not annual, unpredictable
42
What percentage of N. A. birds migrate? | What percentage of Canadian birds migrate outside of Canadian borders?
75% | 90%
43
What is migratory restlessness controlled by?
hormones activated by changing daylengths
44
What are flyways?
migratory patterns that birds use | major north south lines
45
What are 4 major flyways?
East coast, West coast, Rocky mountains, Mississippi river
46
Why do birds migrate? 3 reasons
when benefits are higher than costs (energy, mortality) of using well separated breeding and wintering areas food availability is greater in south for winter higher reproductive success in temperate regions north
47
Advantage and disadvantage of temperate zone
abundant food and longer days to forage in spring/summer | food shortage in cold winter
48
Advantage and disadvantage of tropical zone
mild temperatures and food availability in winter | high density of nest parasites and predators in summer
49
What are 5 major importances of migration?
Flight pattern, time of day, flight mode, lenght of migration, completeness
50
Name and describe 2 types of flight patterns
Non-stop - over oceans, deserts, mountains (bad weather can cause long term groundings - fallouts) Hops - 250-300km
51
Name and describe 2 types of time of day migration features
Diurnal - depends on winds/ updrafts, food resources | Nocturnal - start after sunset, cooler air less turbulent, avoid diurnal predators
52
Name and describe 2 types of flight mode
Soarers - flight concentrated mid-day when thermals occur (hawks) Powered flight - often just before dawn (crepuscular), and nocturnal migrants
53
Name and describe 2 types of length of migration for birds
long-distance - between continents | short-distance - within continents, elevational changes
54
Name and describe 2 types of completeness for migration
complete - entire population migrates | partial - some individuals over winter on breeding grounds
55
What are 2 things birds use to migrate?
Orientation - ability to align in an appropriate direction when released into unfamiliar surroundings (internal compass) Navigation - ability to find a specific geo location from a known starting point
56
Name and describe 3 features birds use for migration orientation
Sun compass - tell direction from position of sun b/c of internal circadian clock, some birds detect the polarization pattern used on days w/ cloud cover Star compass - north star gives absolute point of reference Magnetic compass - can detect the earth's magnetic field (still under study)
57
What are 3 main navigational features birds use for migration
Navigational landmarks - coasts, mnts, rivers Magnetic anomalies Local landmarks (hummingbirds return to same feeder every year
58
Name and describe 2 types of dispersal
Natal - 1st movement away from nest area (high mortality) | Breeding - movements of adults btwn breeding locations
59
What are 4 reproductive features of male birds?
testes small, bean shaped most of time testes enlarge 300x at breeding season sperm stored in seminal sack most males lack a penis (cloaca to cloaca instead)
60
What are 3 features of the female bird reproductive system?
only 1 ovary and oviduct develop (left side) egg fertilized at top of oviduct albumin, shell membrane and shell added during passage down oviduct
61
What might be one reason female birds have only one ovary?
weight reduction
62
What are 2 kinds of reproductive monogamy?
Social - male and female cooperate to raise young (may not be genetic father of young) 90% of birds Genetic monogamy - male and female are sole genetic parents of all the young - rare
63
What is the difference between social and genetic monogamy?
social may have extra-pair copulations
64
Why might birds have extra-pair copulations?
``` females seek because: hedge against infertility w/ primary partner increase genetic diversity of young produce young by higher quality male forced copulations in waterfowl ```
65
Why are extra-pair copulations risky for females?
if primary male finds out he may desert female and the nest with already laid eggs or offspring and the female can't raise them all on her own
66
How is lack of genetic monogamy detected?
DNA of putative (care-giving) father don't match young
67
What could be the reason that the DNA of young and the mother do not match?
nest parasitism - egg dumping by other female intraspecies or interspecies (brown-headed cowbirds don't care for own young)
68
What are 4 features of reproductive behavior relating to individually defended territories?
most territories containg food and nest sites some territories contain only nesting sites boundaries are dynamic males defend territory
69
What are 3 ways male birds defend territory of nests and/or food?
song, visual display, active defense (rarer - behavioral disadvantage if wounded)
70
What are 4 advantages to colonial breeding?
favored by scarcity of sites safe from predators favored by scarcity of sites near abundant food cooperative protection from predators enhances foraging on ephemeral food supplies
71
What are 3 disadvantages of colonial breeding?
colony may attract predators increase spread of nest parasites (lice, mites) increased competition for food
72
Describe cooperative breeding
breeders defend group territories nest helpers of young birds that feed and defend nest helpers benefit by raising close relatives (kinship selection) and creating large territories for themselves to breed
73
What are 7 features of reproductive behavior
monogamy non-monogamous breeding - <3% brood parasitism courtship ritual - both sexes participate
74
What is promiscuity?
no stable social relationship - hummingbirds otherwise rare
75
What is brood parasitism? what are the 2 types?
females lay eggs in nests of other birds intraspecific egg dumping parasitism - very common interspecific parasitism - less common
76
What are 4 features of polygyny (one male, several females)?
2% of all birds males provide little to no care of young young are typically precocial lekking
77
What is the difference between altricial and precocial?
altricial hatch undeveloped, blind, naked, helpless (songbirds, hawks, herons) Precocial - hatch well developed, eyes open, downy feathers (waterbirds, grouse)
78
What is lekking?
males gather at the lek and display females choose males; high status males have multiple females no parental care by males (sage grouse)
79
Describe polyandry and the 3 types
one female and several males 1% of all birds Classic: female lays eggs in separate nests and males incubate and rear Cooperative: female lays eggs in one nest and several males care for young Reversed sexual dimorphism: females larger and more colourful
80
What is polygnandry?
both males and females have multiple mates | rare (smith's longspur)
81
What are 4 types of non-monogamous breeding?
promiscuity - no stable social relationship polygyny - one male, several females polyandry - one female, several males polygnandry - both males and females have several mates
82
What are 2 things included in the courtship ritual of the western grebe?
rushing and weed dancing
83
What are 6 examples of nesting sites?
trees, cliff ledges, shrubs, crevices, ground, treeholes
84
What are 8 catagories for identifying birds?
swimmers, aerialists, long-legged waders, small waders, fowl-like, birds of prey, nonpasserine land birds, passerines
85
How is relative size of a bird identified?
using sizes of common birds as a yardstick
86
What are 11 features used for field identification?
``` shape of tail shape of bill shape of wings behavior does it climb trees? How, jerks, down, spiral how does it fly does it swim does it dive? or dip? does it wade field marks - colour patterns relative size ```
87
What are some indicators using field markings?
``` colour patterns tail patterns rump patches eyestripes and eyerings wing bars wing patterns ```

Vertebrates Quiz 1 (16 decks)

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