Vert Bio Lab Herps & Birds

anisodactyly

3 toes forward 1 toe back

zygodactyle

2 toes forward 2 toes back

Palmate

3 digits connected with webbing and 1 digit extends back

totipalmate

all 4 digits are webbed

semipalmate

partial webbing between 3 front digits

lobate

flat fleshy protrusions from each toe

syndactyl

toes that have been fused or partially fused (in hornbills)

Palaeognathae

Contains raitites and tinamous

Neognathae

contains the rest of the birds

Struthioniformes

Ortriches (2 species)

Apterygiformes (wingless-shape)

Kiwi (5 species), endemic to New Zealand

Casuariiformes

Cassowary (3 species) and Emu (1 species), have large keratonious ridge on upper mandible

Rheiformes

Rhea (2 species), large, flightless and keel-less, only 3 toes

Anseriformes

Swans, geese, and ducks; nail tip at bill, feet palmate, lamellated or serrated tomia (cutting part of beak)

Galliformes

Turkey, quail, grouse, pheasant, ptarmigan; short curved bill, semipalmate feet, strong legs

Gaviiformes

Loons; legs posterior, 3 toes, palmate feet, bill is pointed

Podicipediformes (feet on the rump form)

Grebes; short-bodied, sleek plumage, lobed feet

Phoenicopteriformes (crimson wing form)

flamingoes (4 American, 2 African species); tall, long legs, pink

Sphenisciformes (wedge-shaped)

penguins; flippers, body densely covered with hair-like feathers

Procellariiformes (sea-storm form)

albatross, petrels, shearwaters; look like gulls but have fleshy nares

Pelecaniformes

pelicans, bitterns, herons, egrets, ibis, spoonbills; pelicans have long bill with gular sac and totipalmate feet, others have featherless area between eye and bill and semipalmate feet

Suliformes (booby-like)

cormorants, frigatebirds, boobies, anhingas; marine and aquatic, totipalmate feet

Accipitriformes (hawk-like)

Kites, osprey, eagles, hawks, old-world vultures; hooked bills, nostrils located in basal cere, feet raptorial, short-broad wings

Cathartiformes (purifier form)

New world vultures and condors; broad wings, stiff tail, excellet soaring ability, all species have featherless head

Falconiformes

Kesterel, merlin, peregrine falcon, other falcons; hooked bills, nostrils located in basal cere, feet raptorial, very long and pointed wings

Gruiformes (crane shaped)

cranes, rails, gallinules, coots, limpkins, bustards; live and feed near water, bill/neck/legs usually long, wings squarish

Charadiiformes (plover shaped)

Plovers, sandpipers, gulls, terns, snipe, auks, murres (shorebirds); bill often long and heavy, wings are long and narrow, legs and feet small, hind toe is rudimentary or absent

Columbiformes (diver form)

pigeons and doves; small slender bill constricted in middle with prominent cere

Psittaciformes (parrot shaped)

parrots, parakeets, macaws; short, stout, decurved bill with cere, zygodactyl feet

Cuculiformes

cuckoos and roadrunners; bills fairly long, somewhat decurved and compressed laterally, zygodactyl feet

Strigiformes (owl shaped)

Owls; raptorial feet with zygodactyl toe pattern

Caprimulgiformes (goat milker form)

“goatsuckers”, nighthawks, whip-poor-will, frogmouth, swifts, hummingbirds; nocturnal or diurnal, insectivorous and nectivorous

Coraciiformes

kingfishers, motmot, bee-eaters, rollers; long straight bills, wings long and pointed, syndactyly

Bucerotiformes (horned like an ox)

hornbills and hoopoes; long curved bills, syndactyly, large with large heads and powerful necks

Piciformes (woodpecker shaped)

Woodpeckers, sapsuckers, toucans; long straight chisel-like bills, zygodactyl feet

Passeriformes (sparrow shaped)

flycatchers, swallows, crows, thrashers, warblers, sparrows, blackbirds, finches; ansiodactyl feet, bills variable