Ornithology Introduction

What is a Bird?

  • Bi-pedal vertebrate animals:

    • Kingdom: Animalia

    • Phylum: Chordata

    • Class: Aves

  • Evolutionary origins:

    • Feathers derived from dinosaurs.

    • Technically, birds are living dinosaurs.

What Makes a Bird a Bird?

  • Not simply the ability to fly:

    • Although their bodies are greatly modified for flight.

  • Feathers!

    • Birds are the only modern animals with feathers.

    • New evidence shows that a great many dinosaurs also had feathers.

Why Do People Study Birds?

  • Fascination with flight:

    • Birds are not the only flying vertebrates, but they are the most successful.

    • Diversity of flight: forwards, backwards, upside down, gliding, flapping, and hovering.

  • Diversity:

    • Second highest diversity for a vertebrate group, after only fish.

    • Approximately 10,00010,000 species across approximately 190190 families.

    • Flight is a key limiting factor on body form; diversity is expressed in mouthparts, plumage, etc.

  • Remarkable characteristics:

    • Extinct species: Moa of New Zealand grew up to 12 ft12\,\text{ft} tall; went extinct after Polynesian (Maori) arrival.

    • Ostrich eggs represent the largest single cell in the world (also notable for relative size as the smallest egg relative to body size due to surface-to-volume ratio).

    • Astounding range of vocalizations and visual behaviors.

Conspicuous Nature of Birds

  • Activity patterns:

    • Most birds are active during daylight hours (diurnal), whereas mammals and amphibians are most often active at night.

    • Easy to detect and observe.

  • Global distribution:

    • Found almost everywhere: all 77 continents, all oceans, deserts, mountains, and polar ice/water.

  • Aesthetic and scientific appeal:

    • Attractive to look at and listen to.

    • All of these factors combine to make studying birds straightforward, contributing to modern ideas of behavior and ecology.

Economic Importance
Food

  • Red jungle fowl (chickens): Domesticated by humans 50005000 years ago.

  • Eggs: Part of the human diet likely forever.

  • Turkey industry in Minnesota:

    • 400400 farmers with 600600 total farms.

    • Approximately 45 million45\text{ million} turkeys per year.

    • Generated \
      $600\text{ million} in income and \
      $800\text{ million} in economic impact.

Clothing and Bedding

  • Eiderdown sleeping bags and jackets

  • Goose down jackets

  • Feather pillows

  • Duck and goose down comforters and blankets

  • Historically: Women’s fashion in the 1800s used bird feathers and whole birds.

  • Now: Natural plumage used for decoration.

Domesticated Pets and Wildlife Trade

  • Parrots:

    • Numerous species; origins of many are unknown.

    • Most common bird pet in the US; USFWS legally imported 601,156601,156 parrots (many more imported illegally).

    • Illegal trade continues and threatens many species with endangerment worldwide.

  • Other popular pets: Doves, finches, and waterfowl.

Hunting and Conservation

  • Anatidae (waterfowl):

    • Represents the most harvested/hunted wild bird species in the world.

    • Mallard is the most studied species in the world.

  • Economic impact:

    • 2011: Approximately 2.6 million2.6\text{ million} migratory bird hunters spent \
      $1.8\text{ billion}.

    • 2014/2015: Approximately 1 million1\text{ million} duck hunters shot 13 million13\text{ million} ducks.

    • Minnesota: Approximately 57,00057,000 duck hunters shot 500,000500,000 ducks.

  • Conservation funding: License fees and taxes pay for most conservation efforts by state and federal agencies.

Birdwatching

  • 2012 National Survey of Birding:

    • 46.7 million46.7\text{ million} bird observers (averaging 7878 days in the field per year).

    • Spent over \
      $40\text{ billion} on trips and equipment.

    • Accounts for 660,000660,000 jobs.