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Ornithology > Test 1 > Flashcards

Test 1 Flashcards

1
Q

What characteristics of birds allow them to weigh less

A
  • Thin skin and feathers
  • Loss of teeth reducing of heavy jaws
  • Fusion and loss of skeletal elements throughout, and hollowing of remaining bones
  • No bladder
  • Centralization of weight through gizzard, ventral flight muscle, and retractable feet
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2
Q

What is the use of a pygostyle in birds

A

Fused tail vertebrae that allows birds to be lighter and have something for feathers to attach to

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3
Q

Carpometacarpus

A

Fused and lost wrist and hand bones; birds have only 3 digits and feathers attach only to the radius and ulna

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4
Q

What is the use of the carina in birds

A

Keeled sternum is what flight muscles are attached to

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5
Q

What are uncinate processes and what is thier function

A

Bone coming off the ribs joining two rib bones together so that forces are spread across two bones (makes ribs stronger)

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6
Q

What is the archaeopteryx

A

Considered first bird but not true since it is a reptile that learned to fly but has a common ancestor with birds

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7
Q

Label the feathers of a bird wing

A

See study guide

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8
Q

What does it mean for a wing to be slotted

A

Wing tips can spread out such that air is sucked into flaps, allowing it faster movement

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9
Q

What is the camber of wing

A

Curvature of the wing from front to back

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10
Q

What is wing loading and what does it mean to have low wing loading

A

Mass divided by the area of the wing. Low wing loading is when the bird had a low weight but large wings (like a barn owl)

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11
Q

What is aspect ratio and what does it mean to have a low ratio?

A

length of wing dividded by the width; low ratio means wings are short but have long width (like an albatross)

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12
Q

What are elliptical wings and what are the advantages/disadvantages of them?

A

High camber, low aspect-ratio, and slotting; seen in birds that walk a lot and fly only to get away from predators (chickens). Takes a lot of energy to fly due to short wings but short wings allow them to take off and not hit anything

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13
Q

What are high speed wings and what are the advantages/disadvantages of them?

A

low camber and high aspect ratio (falcons). Extremely efficient but not much lift

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14
Q

What are slotted wings and what are the advantages/disadvantages of them?

A

high camber, broad, and slotted primaries (hawks). Allow easy lift from warm air and soaring without much work

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15
Q

What are extreme high-aspect wings and what are the advantages/disadvantages of them

A

long and thin wings (albatross). Not much turbulence but has to fly in open areas and in order to take off has to have a long fall

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16
Q

What are the 5 types of feathers and their uses

A
  1. Contour: give bird its shape and used in flight
  2. Down: insulates birds and contributes to buoyancy of waterbirds
  3. Semiplumes: extra insulation
  4. Filoplumes: senses where other feathers are
  5. Bristles: protect the birds eye and face and helps during foraging to feel grass
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17
Q

What are the parts of the umbilicus of a feather

A

Inferior: entryway for blood when feather is alive
Superior: hold that feather grows from and seals up once done growing

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18
Q

What are the use of bibicels in a feather

A

catches on barbules so that feathers stay together unlike down feathers

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19
Q

How does airfoil work

A

Air has more distance to travel when going over a wing but meets air from under the wing at the same time implying air moves faster over than under the wing

20
Q

What is the Bernoulli effect

A

There is lower air pressur on top of wings due to faster speed which leads to a vaccum that produces lift

21
Q

What is the name of the force occuring during flight that requires thrust to overcome?

A

Drag

22
Q

How does angle of attack affect drag

A

Higher angle of attack leads to more drag (takes longer for air to move over wing thus, won’t meet the air under the wing at the same time thus, no lift)

23
Q

What is profile drag

A

Surface friction of air molecules agaisnt feathers;Get worse with increasing air speed and bigger surface area, bigger profile drag

24
Q

What is induced drag

A

turbulence caused by air swirling into a vortex as it flows off of the wing; worst near the tips of the wings. Get less bad at higher speeds since fast airflow wipes out the eddies

25
Q

How do vultures overcome gravity

A

Use thermals to rise and have virutally no drag and have a slow drop out of them so that they don’t have to flap when going into another thermal

26
Q

How do migratory birds overcome gravity

A

Use the wind deflected off of cliffs, boats, and mountain ranges for lift. Really important for birds with high wingloading

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26
Q

What is dynamic soaring

A

when there are differences in wind speeds over the ocean, and birds can get lift from this by flying into increasing wind speeds and down into decreasing speeds. Have to go with the wind thus not the most direct but can move without using any energy

26
Q

How is flapping done to use as little energy as possible

A

Wings get folded in during the upstroke to reduce drag and then stretch out during the downstroke

27
Q

Explain the process of bird respiration

A
  • On the first inhalation air goes to the posterior air sacs and inside the bones to act as a cooling system
  • On the first exhalation air goes from posterior air sacs to the lungs
  • On the sexond inhalation air goes from lungs to anterior air sacs
  • On the second exhalation air goes from the anterior airsacs to the bronchi
28
Q

What makes avian respiration better than human respiration

A

Air flows opposite blood allowing diffusion of O2 since there is less O2 in the blood compared to the air (counter current exchange)

29
Q

what does the avian heart look like and what are the benefits of it

A

4 chambered heart; keeps oxygenated blood separate from non oxygenated blood

30
Q

How does countercurrent exchange work when birds are sitting on ice

A

Heat from warm veins goes to cold vein meaning blood going to the foot is cooled down so no heat is being lost

31
Q

What are ways that birds cool themselves down

A

Panting (moisiture in mouth can be evaporated causing energy to be taken up resulting in cooling), elevating feathers (lifted feathers allows air to escape), divert blood to feet (only place they can loose heat), expose bill/feet to wing, and evaporative cooling

32
Q

How do birds warm themselves

A

Shivering pectoralis muscles, huddling with others, windless shelter

33
Q

What is the use of the crop when birds are eating

A

Expands to take in food, preventing choking, and makes it so food moves slowly to stomach so that it has time to digest all the food the bird injested

34
Q

What is the use of the proventriculus when bird are eating

A

chemically breaks down food

35
Q

What is the use of the gizzard when a bird eats

A

coated with keratin surface to grind up food, stones are stored there to act as teeth, and feathers/scales are vomitied up as a pellet since they can’t be digested

36
Q

How does the shape of an Owl’s head help it hear sounds better

A

Ears are located on the side of head and head is shaped like two parabolas to funnel sound to ears; ears are also lower/higher than the other to allow them to know vertical difference between noises

37
Q

What is the advantage of a large eye

A

Allows light to be pulled apart more, thus more of the retina can be engaged making a better image

38
Q

What does a hawk fovea look like compared to a human one

A

Hawk foveas are more indented giving them a higher surface area allowing more receptors thus, a better resolution

39
Q

What is the use of the tapetum lucidum

A

reflective layer in the back of the eye which gives light another pass through the eye

40
Q

What are the main points of the Edible Swiftlet articles?

A

Native swiftlets nest in caves however, their nests were being taken out for people to eat as a stauts symbol. Eventually people were making swiflet houses so that they could harvest nests faster however, there were concerns that they were hybridizing since it’s easier to have other types of swiflets foster edible-nest swiftlet babies.

41
Q

What are the main points of the Double-crested Cormorant article

A

Cormorants are being hunted/killed under permissions from governments despite being protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Many people see them as ugly and don’t like them because they eat fish from the fisheries.

42
Q

What are the main points of the ruddy duck articles

A

Ruddy duck is native to America but was induced to the UK. Ruddy ducks started to hybridize with the declining white-headed duck species. International action was taken to ensure that the ruddy duck did not further hybridize with the white-headed duck and that the white-headed duck remained a separate species.

43
Q

What are the main points of the Citizen Science articles

A

Highlight the importance of citizen science in long term trends. Found that heavy declines in North American birds can be applied to bird populations across the world.

44
Q

What are the main points of the articles about bird hunting and watching

A

Found that hunters and watchers tended to care more for the environment than non hunters/watchers and that hunter-watchers tend to have more care for the environment than just hunter/watchers

Ornithology (3 decks)

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