Aviculture Test 1

Struthioniformes

Ostrich

Rheiformes

Rheas

Tinamiformes

Tinamous

Cassuariiformes

Cassowary

Emu

Apterygiformes

Kiwi

Features of Ratites

* Flightless or very poor flight
* Strong legs, most long legs
* used for running and defense
* Precocial chicks, males incubate eggs
* Most lay many eggs
* exceptions are tinamou and kiwi

Anseriformes

Water Fowl

Geese

Ducks

Swans

Screamers

Magpie Goose

Features of Anseriformes

Feet adapted for use in water, strong swimmers

Strong wings

Form pairs or flocks

Both parents incubate eggs, precocial chicks

Galliformes

Pheasants, Grouse

New World Quail

Peafowl

Partridges

Megapods

Guans, Chachalacas, Curassows

Guineafowl

Features of Galliformes

Long legs, spend most time on ground

Flight is for escaping or roosting

Pheasant-like body shape

Precocial chicks, female typically incubates eggs

Territorial

Phoneicopteriformes

Flamingos

Features of Phoneicopteriformes

Long legs, necks

Pink color comes from diet

Both parents incubate eggs

Specialized bill for filter feeding

Podicipediformes

Grebes

Features of Podicipediformes

Legs positioned far back on body

Lobated feet, divers, live in freshwater habitats

Specialized bill for eating aquatic plants

Precocial chicks, both parents care for young, elaborate courtship displays

Taxononic Orders represent what?

the evolutionary relationships between groups of birds

What are Taxonomic Orders based off of? (5)

DNA

Physical Features

where the bird first appears in the fossil record

ecology

social structure

Taxonomic Orders are subject to change due to new\____ \_____.

DNA evidence

Birds and Culture

Music

Migration signals change of seasons

down used for blankets/jackets

canaries in the coal mines

Pets/companions

released for sport hunting

birdwatching and ecotourism

Similarities between Birds and Reptiles

Single occipital condylesingle middle ear bonelower jaw made up of 5 fused bones

ankle is located between tarsal bones

Nucleated erythrocytes

excrete waste primarily as urates

What can cause taxonomy to change? (3)

New species discovered

New DNA evidence

New research

Anisodactyl Feet

3-1 (passerines)

Zygodactyl

2-2 (owls)

Tridactyl

3 toes (emu)

Didactyl

2 toes (ostrich)

Pamprodactyl

Toes face same direction (swifts)

Sindactyl

3rd and 4th toes are fused together (kingfishers)

Lobate

Lobed toes (Grebe)

Semipalmate

some webbing between toes

Palmate

Webbed toes (Duck)

Why are feathers important?

* Flight
* Camouflage
* Insulation
* Display/Courtship
* Predator deterrent

Preening

how a bird cleans their feathers

Feather tracts

Where the feather follicles grow

Separated by patches of bare skin

Easy to see on altricial chicks

Issues with feathers can be caused by

Parasites

Nutrition

Stress

Disease

Poor Husbandry

Perching

No opportunities to bathe

What causes plucking

Stress

Nutrition

Mites

May pluck themselves or others

Cause of broken feathers

Stress

Nutrition

Poor Husbandry

Disease

Molting

Shedding and replacing feathers

Related to growth and seasons

birds molt in different patterns

happens multiple times throughout life

requires a lot of energy

What birds drop all flight feathers at once?

Waterfowl

What birds drop 1-2 feathers at a time?

Birds of prey

They can still fly when they drop some feathers

Plumage

Refers to feathers between molts

Walking Birds

Spend more time on the ground

Hopping Birds

Generally spend more time in the trees hopping from branch to branch.

What to consider when perching

* Size of feet
* webbing
* Purpose of perching?
* Roosting

Needs for perches?

Vary in size

Vary in texture

What size is the ideal perch?

Allows the bird to close toes almost completely around it, but they should not all be exactly this size.

Considerations for perching placement?

Flight ability

Don’t place one perch directly above another directly above food/water dishes

Be careful of angles, make sure birds can get to them

Think about keeper accessibility

If exhibit is a walk-through, perches can be out of reach of guests.

What can poor perching cause?

Callouses

Sores on feet

Types of substrate

Pool bottoms should be smooth but not uniform

Mulch

Sand

Dirt

Coconut fiber

Mats

Pododermatitis

Bumblefootdue to poor perching or substrate

Perching considerations for wing shapes

* How much space does the bird need to get from place to place.
* Do they need a lot of room to take off or land?
* peacock, swan
* Can they make tight corners?
* Do they have space to use a perch?
* corner perches
* too close to mesh or other object
* If they come after you, where will they come from?
* Will you hear them?

Slotted High-lift Wing

Eagle

Stork

High-Aspect-Ratio Wing

Albatross

Gannet

Gull

Elliptical Wing

Sparrow

Crow

Grouse

Blackbird

Thrush

High-Speed Wing

Swift

Falcon

Duck

Tern

Sandpiper

Beak Morphology

Food presentation

Extra exhibit “furniture” for cleaning

Cleaning inside and outside of beak

Types of exhibit-mates

What was the earliest unambiguous fossil bird found?

Archaeopteryx

Types of feathers

Contour feathers

Down feathers

Powder Down Feathers

Never molted

Feathers grow continuously, tips break off and form powder

Helps with waterproofing

Herons, parrots, tinamous, and bustards

Hooded Pitohui

Has poisonous feathers

New Guinea

Skin and feathers contain powerful batrachotoxins, probably developed from the beetles in its diet.

Some individuals or populations may not be toxic

Structural colors

White

Green

Blue

Reflection of light off the feathers

Pigments in the feather

Brown

Black

Yellow

Red

Melanin synthesized by birds

Black

Brown

Grey

Darker feathers have more melanin than lighter ones

Reds and greens in turacos are produced by

their liver

Yellow and Bright red comes from

their diet

Eclipse Plumage refers to

feathers outside of breeding season

Cranial

Head

Cervical

Neck

Carpal

Wrist

Digital

Digits (toes and end of wing bones)

Sternal

Sternum

Tarsal

Tarsus (between foot and ankle)

Vertebral

Spine

Understanding beak morphology allows us to determine

what to feed

how to present food

type of exhibit furniture for beak cleaning

(T/F) Feather follicles are evenly distributed throughout the body.

False