Aviculture test 1

What are some ways birds are used in our culture

Symbolism
Music
Migration signals in the changing of the seasons
Downs are used for blankets/jackets
Canaries in the coal mines
Pets/companions
Released for sport hunting
Bird watching and ecotourism

What do birds of prey equal

War or Power

what do doves equal

Peace or love

what does the common raven equal

betrayal/guidance/death

what do storks equal

childbirth

Why were humans first interested in birds

first as a source of food
There were legends, folklore, myths concerning birds
the first human references were in cave drawings

What does the bald eagle equal

USA

What significance did the southern ground hornbill hold

it was believed to be protection from lighting, drought, and evil and it signified death, also consuming parts of the bird like placing it under our tongue can allow humans to harness powers such as seeing the future or hard-to-locate food items, the feathers could also bring rain

What does canary in the coal mine mean

canaries were used to detect carbon monoxide in mines before they hurt other people because they were affected first due to their small size

Where did birds come from

Dinosaurs

What are some things all birds have in common

feathers
no teeth
bipedal
Digitigrade feet (walk on toes)
Fusion and reduction of bones (platform for flight muscles)
Pneumatic bones (direct connections to air sacs)
small size
forelimbs specialized for flight
centralized body mass
high metabolism
highly developed central nervous system/vision

What is the taxonomy of birds

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves

How many bird orders are there

41

How many bird tags are there

14

What are some good places to look at information on birds

Cornell birds of the world
AZA
ASAG

Anseriformes TAG

Ducks (waterfowl)

Charadriiformers TAG

Shorebirds

Ciconiiformer/pheonicopteriformes/pelicaniformes (c/p&p) TAG

Storks
Flamingos
Ibis
Spoonbills
Herons
Hamerkop
Shoebill
Pelicans

Columbiformes TAG

Pigeons and Doves

Coraciiformes TAG

Motmots
Bee-eaters
Rollers
Kingfishers
Hornbills

Galliformes TAG (julie's baby)

Pheasants
Qual
Partridges

Gruiformes/eurypygiformes/cariamiformes/otidiformes TAG

Cranes
Rails
Sunbittern
Bustards

Passerine TAG

Perching birds
Hummingbirds
Mousebirds
frogmouths
trogons

Parrot TAG

Parrots

Penguin TAG

Penguins

Piciformes TAG

Toucans
Aracaris
Toucanets
Woodpeckers
Barbets

Raptor TAG

Eagles
Vultures
Owls
Hawks
Falcons

Struthioniformes TAG

Tinamou
Ostrich
Rhea
Emu
Cassowary

Turaco and Cuckoo TAG

Turaco and cuckoo

What was the earliest unambiguous fossil bird

the Archaeopteryx (the feathers are indistinguishable from modern feathers)

Where was the Archaeopteryx found

Limestone beds in Germany

Did feathers evolve from scales

yes

Did feathers evolve quickly

No they evolved very slowly after many many decades

Where did feathers evolve from

it developed from passive gliding flight in early bird-like animals

Where feathers also developed for a means of insulation

Yes

What is the bottom part of the feather called

the Shaft/calamus

What are feathers made of

Keratin

what is the upper part of the feather called

Rachis

What are the feathers closest to the shaft and don't zip called

Down feathers

What are the parts of the feather that cause the zip

the barb and the barbules with hooklets on them

What are the two types of feathers

Contour feathers and down feathers

How do you tell the difference between tail feathers and flight feathers

the placement of the rachis in the feather

What are powder down feathers

they are never molted and grow continuously and then the tips break off forming powder
they help with waterproofing
Its found in herons/parrots/tinamous/bustards

Do birds have hair

no

What are feather tracts

Feathers don't grow around the body equally they are grown in specific patterns on the body through the tracts
There are no feather tracts of ratites and pheasants

What are the importance of feathers

Flight
Camouflage
Insulation
Display/courtship
Predator deterrent

What is special about the Hooded pitohui

They have poisonous feathers that are developed from the beetles that form part of its diet

What does plumage refer to

The feathers collectively

What colors are structural colors

White, green, and blue
It comes from the reflection of light off the feathers

what colors come from pigments in the feathers

brown, black, yellow, and red

What colors are produced by Melanin

Black, brown, grey
the darker the color the more melanin

What type of birds have different red, red-brown, and green

turacos its caused by the porphyrins produced by the liver
yellows and bright red have to come from the diet

What is molting

shedding and replacing feathers that is related to growth and seasons
Some drop all flight feathers at once (waterfowl) and down from 1-2 at a time (birds of prey)

What is eclipse in birds

When the male has its feathers molt and change into dull colors that look like the female outside of breeding season

Is juvenile plumage different from adults

yes they are different in colors and types of feathers

How long do juveniles have to develop adult plumage

the next migration season they have to be ready
Birds will also molt during chick rearing because they don't have to go anywhere

What are some issues with feathers

Parasites
Nutrition
Stress
Disease
Poor husbandry

What could cause plucking

Stress, nutrition, and mites
They can pluck themselves or others

What are stress bars

a bar that shows across feathers due to lack of nutrition, stress, etc while growing that portion of feathers

What is preening

It keeps feathers in good condition by setting them back on track and zipping them back
It also coats with oil out of their preening gland that helps with waterproofing

Evolution of birds

single fossilized feather found in germany
almost complete feathered skeleton found in the same region and that was the predicted "missing link" predicted by Darwin
Vegavis iaai (modern Anseriformes) was found in vega island that suggested modern birds survived extinction event

What are some features of the archaeopteryx

Feathers consistent with flight but more of a glider
claws meant for climbing
toes like modern perching birds so it perched
strong lets for running
bird like skeleton aka no keel and reduced pelvis and enlarged furcular
Teeth and large eyes suggest carnivorous
Habitat was scrubby islands in shallow lagoons

Is the archaeopteryx the ancestor of modern birds

No the branch died out before the end of the jurassic

What was the vegavis iaai

a bird fossil from vega island
the "modern" anseriformes

Is the phylogeny of birds complicated

Very no definitive agreement on how to classify because morphology is not enough

When did modern birds diverge from each other

123 mya

What is adaptive radiation

diversification of a group of organisms into new forms that fulfill different ecological niches
members relocate and colonize new areas and become separated from original population and evolve into a new species

what were darwins finches

14 species on galapagos islands and 1 on cocos
they evolved from the same ancestor and each population evolved to fill a specific niche and exploiting a certain resource and eventually diverged into separate species

What is the closest living relative to darwin's finches

the dull-colored grassquit

if a bird hops instead of walks where does it generally spend most of its time

trees

What do you have to think about when creating perching for birds

The size of their feet
if they have webbing
The purpose of their perching (roosting or all the time)
the size of the bird and perch
the texture of the perch
an ideal perch allows the bird to close toes almost completely around the perch

What can poor perching cause

callouses and sores on feet

What are different substrates that can be found in aviaries

mulch
sand
dirt
coconut fiber
mats

Slotted high lift wing

Passive soaring wings
Long broad wings ending in long primary feathers with wide gaps in between allowing it to soar without reliable wind currents
Eagle and stork

High aspect Ratio wing

Active soaring wing
long and narrow excellent for soaring over water
albatross and gull

Elliptical wing

Perfect for bursts of fast and tightly controlled flight but ordinary flight is slow and requires a lot of flapping
sparrow and crow

High speed wing

Medium long and narrow optimized for sustained speed
Falcons and terns

What part of the wings are the primaries, secondaries, and covets

What is the carpal

the wrist

What is the cervical

the neck

What is the cranial

the head

What is the tarsal/tarsus

the place between the ankle and digits

Anisodactyl

one toe faces the rear, other three face forward (pigeons)

Zygodactyl

having the toes arranged two in front and two behind (owls)

Tridactyl

having 3 digits (emu)

Didactyl

Two digits (ostrich)

Sindactyl

digits 2 and 3 are almost fused together but they have 4 toes (kingfishers)

Pamprodactyl

all toes forward (1st toe and hallux can pivot from front to back) Ex: most swifts

Lobate

Having lobes on each digit (grebes)

Semipalmate

Incomplete webbing between front three toes (spoonbills)

Palmate

Almost full webbing but does not include the hallux (ducks)

Totipalmate

all four toes webbed (pelicans)

Do primaries shafts go off to the side while secondaries are centered

yes

What is the most common foot arrangement

Anisodactyl

Why are all beaks different

each beak is shaped to what kind of food they have to eat

what are tertials

the innermost flight feathers on the wing

Where is the humerus

Closest to the shoulder

Where is the radius

Below the carpal (the thinner one, the thicker one is the ulna)

What are metacarpals

The upper part of the digits

what is the alula

Basically the thumb