Intro

Question 1

Ecological importance of birds

Answer 1

Pollinators, fruit dispersal, carcass removal (ecosystem services), regulation of prey services, ecosystem engineers

Question 2

Economic importance of birds

Answer 2

Food
Hunting
Pest control which prevents crop damage
Tourism

Question 3

Functions of feathers:

Answer 3

Flight, insulation, coloration and display, body form and protection, waterproofing, shade, support/steering, sensory functions, prey capture, sound production, feather care, water transport.

Question 4

Flight

Answer 4

Involves the wing (remiges) and tail (rectices) feathers.

Question 5

Insulation

Answer 5

Has a denser plumage in cold climates. Thus more feathers in winter, which also changes structure. It uses muscles in order to raise and lower feathers to alter insulation properties.

Question 6

Contour feathers

Answer 6

Feathers on the surface of the body.

Question 7

Coloration and display

Answer 7

Dependent on the contour feathers.

Question 8

Body form and protection

Answer 8

General contour feathers provides body protection.

Question 9

Waterproofing

Answer 9

Aided by a secretion from the preen gland which also has antibacterial functions.

Question 10

Sensory functions

Answer 10

Filoplumes detects changes in feather angles

Question 11

Prey capture

Answer 11

Bristle baskets in aerial feeders.

Question 12

Carotenoids

Answer 12

Yellow and red pigments are created by carotenoids.

Question 13

Melanins

Answer 13

Blacks and Browns are created by melanins.

Question 14

Combinations of melanins and carotenoids

Answer 14

Olive green pigments are formed.

Question 15

Structural colors

Answer 15

Greens and blues are created by prismatic scattering. The colors are created when light enters a feather and is refracted by a complex system of vacuoles within the feather barbs.

Question 16

Iridescence

Answer 16

Another structural color effect.

A shimmering of color on some birds feathers.

Question 17

Morphological adaptations for flight

Answer 17

Hollow bones which often have internal struts or trusses that make them very strong however flightless birds have solid bones. The bones are usually thin with many of them fused together to provide increase rigidity. It has lightweight beaks and most teeth.
It has a synsacrum which is the pelvic girdle and the lower spine fused together. It has no bladder and only one ovary. The reproductive organs regress when breeding.

Question 18

Physiological adaptations for flight

Answer 18

It is energetically demanding therefore it requires a four chambered heart. It uses a lot of oxygen thus the lungs are linked to air sacs that extends through bones. There is a constant flow of air through the lungs during inhalation and exhalation.

Question 19

Vision

Answer 19

High flight speeds require good vision and swift reaction. The largest portion of the brain is allocated to flight coordination. Their vision is generally tetra chromatic. Able to detect into UV.

Question 20

Tetrachromacy

Answer 20

The condition of possessing four independent channels for conveying color information or having four types of cone cells in the eye.

Question 21

Movement/migration

Answer 21

Have built in GPS in order to translocation and find their way home. The need to migrate is genetic however they only learn on their first migration. They orientate by the stars, Suns, magnetic field and local landmarks which are learned. They can evolve rapidly to new habitats.

Question 22

Bird reproduction

Answer 22

All birds lay Cleidoic eggs. The clutch size depends on the survival rate, latitude etc. most birds are central place foragers which encourages bi-parental care and monogamy, but they have a wide range of social structures including polygyny and polyandry. They can be socially complex, including cooperative breeding. They are sometimes also brood parasites. Chicks are categorized as altricial or precocial.

Question 23

Brood parasites

Answer 23

Organisms that rely on others to raise their young.

Question 24

Altricial

Answer 24

Hatched or born in an underdeveloped state and requiring care and feeding by the parents.

Question 25

Precocial

Answer 25

Hatched or born in an advanced state and able to feed itself almost immediately.

Question 26

Song and Communication

Answer 26

Most sound is created by the syrinx. It is most developed in oscine passerines. Song is innate in most lineages but learned in some songbirds, parrots and hummingbirds. Learning requires exposure to model songs, meaning learning is better when a tutor is present.

Question 27

Syrinx

Answer 27

The muscular chamber with multiple tympanic membranes at the lower end of the trachea.

Question 28

Tympanic

Answer 28

A thin, semitransparent membrane, nearly oval in shape, that belongs to the tympanum.

Question 29

Tympanum

Answer 29

The eardrum

Question 30

Oscine passerines

Answer 30

Songbirds

Question 31

Hearing

Answer 31

They have no external ears although their inner ear has a cochlea which is not spiral. Oilbirds echo locate like bats.

Question 32

Tytonidae (Owls)

Answer 32

Have assume tribal ear openings to fix the source in the horizontal and vertical plane, which allows them to catch mice in complete darkness.

Question 33

Scent and touch

Answer 33

Although not a primary modality for most birds, scent is important for some namely new world vultures, petrels, kiwis. Their external nares are usually simple and are absent in some taxa but are more complex in some and are uniquely on the bill tip in kiwis. There are chemotactile receptors in the bill tips of probers.

Question 34

External nares are absent in

Answer 34

Cormorants and gannets.

Question 35

Chemotaxis

Answer 35

The movement of an organism in response to chemical stimulus.