Birds

Dingal. Lim. Limbago. Nicdao. Pulanco

BIRDS (endothermic saurischian dinosaurs with feathers)

8, 700 species Endothermic (has the ability to maintain relatively stable body temperature; warm blooded) Descendants of a bipedal archosaur (may have been a saurischian dinosaur) Only unique characteristic: feathers (a synapomorphy of birds in most hypotheses) Recent discovery of fossils in China provides new insight on feather origin (Sinosauropteryx, Caudipteryx, and Protarchaeopteryx). But it is unclear whether they are birds (larger monophyletic group) or not (feathers with wider phylogenetic distribution among dinosaurs) Oviparous

BODY MODIFICATIONS (overview, mostly external anatomy)

reduced energy expenditure when in flight
Forelimbs modified into wings Single occipital condyle Reptilian scale where feathers are absent Free quadrate Teeth lacking modern forms instead a horny rhamphotheca over bill Heart with two ventricles (no sinus venosus) Urinary bladder absent

Adaptation for flight

Long, hollow bones (lighter body weight) Air sacs (increased respiratory capacity) Huge eyes and cerebellum Feathers as airfoil and insulator against seasonal heat and high-altitude cold

Minor differences in skeletal, muscular and visceral anatomy

no urinary bladder large intestine shortened

Long, hollow bones

lacking central marrow (air-filled extension of air sacs from the lungs) skull (thinning of compact layers of membrane bones) --spongy bone architecturally strong , suture eliminated in adults bones in wrist, palms and, digits lessened no teeth

Taxonomy

Subclass Archaeornithest
Ancestral (earliest known birds), very reptile-like birds, with teeth, unfused metacarpals and long tails Archaeopteryx (Jurassic), Protoavis, and the Chinese fossil birds Sinosauropteryx, Caudipteryx, and Protarchaeopteryx

Subclass Neornithes
All other modern birds Teeth lacking (except in one Creataceous group, the Hesperornithiformes) Metacarpals fused; caudal/posterior vertebrae shortened into pygostyle

Subclass Neornithes
Superorder Odontognathae
Toothed Cretaceous marine birds Hesperornis, Ichthyyornis

Superorder Paleognathae
Ratites (any of a diverse group of large, flightless birds having a flat breastbone without the keel-like prominence characteristic of most flying birdsflat breastbone) Ostriches, emus, rheas, cassowaries

Superorder Neognathae
Carinates (all flying birds with a pronounced keel in the sternum)

Superorder Neognathae

Order Sphenisciformes
Penguins 17 species Flightless diving birds; wings used as paddles; dense scalelike plumage Cold marine waters of the southern hemisphere

Order Rheiformes
Rheas 2 species Large, flightless walking birds (ratites) with three toes; plumage lax, wings and tail degenerate; without keel on sternum South America

Order Struthioniformes
Ostrich 1 species Largest living bird; like rhea, but with two toes Africa

Order Casuariiformes
Emus and cassowaries 5 species Ratites with three toes; feathers with long aftershafts Australia, New Guinea

Order Dinornithiformes
Kiwis 3 species Ratites with four toes; nostrils at the tip of the bill; feathers hair-like New Zealand

Order Tinamiformes
Tinamous 42 species Chicken-like but with primitive (ratite) palatal structure; keeled sternum and functional wings and tail Tropical America

Order Podicipediformes
Grebes 18 species Dicing birds with pointed bill; legs far back on body; tarsus and toes compressed, even nails flattened; feet lobed; tail rudimentary

Order Procellariiformes
Albatrosses, shearwaters, petrels 95 species Seabirds with tubular nostrils, through which oil is secreted; bill hooked; wings long and narrow, humerus very long; feet webbed

Order Pelecaniformes
Pelicans, boobies, cormorants, darters, frigate birds, tropicbirds 57 species Marine (some freshwater) birds; bill pointed or hooked, external nostrils rudimentary or absent; with gular pouch (except tropicbirds); all four toes connected by webs (totipalmate)

Order Ciconiiformes
Herons, ibises, storks, flamingos 123 species Wading birds with long bill, neck and legg Great variation in bill shape for feeding different modes

Order Anseriformes
Waterfowl (ducks, geese, swans) and screamers 153 species Waterfowl, swimming birds with broad lamellate bills, webbed feet Screamers, ground birds of South America , bill pointed, feet not webbed, internal anatomy as in waterfowl

Order Falconiformes
Hawks, vultures 287 species Birds of prey, bill hooked, most naked cere (membrane that covers the base of an eagle's beak) at base Wings long in most; feet raptorial, with long sharp claws

Order Galliformes
Gallinaceous birds (heavy-bodied largely ground-feeding domestic or game birds) 274 species Chicken-like birds; feathers with prominent aftershaft (an accessory, plumelike feather near the upper umbilicus on the feathers of some birds) Wings short and rounded; bill short and stout; feet heavy, with short, broad claws; hind toe (hallux) elevated

Order Columbiformes
Pigeons 306 species Feathers very loosely attached; bill slender with operculum (a membraneous, horny or cartilaginous flap which covers the nares) at base

Order Psittaciformes
Parrots 339 species Bill hooked, with prehensile maxilla Tongue fleshy; feet zygodactyl; fourth toe reversible Tropical zygodactyl: the toes are arranged in pairs, the second and third toes in front, the fourth and hallux behind, as in a woodpecker

Order Passeriformes
Perching birds 5, 048 species This group is uniform in basic anatomy but very diverse in size, color, shape and habits All possess a well-developed incumbent hind toe for perching

External Anatomy and Adaptive Radiation of Birds

Body Form
Body Proportion
Compact trunk, long neck, short tail called uropygium (turtle) Neck: highly flexible

Body Proportion (with feathers)

Wings and tail are prominent features Neck is less obvious

Feathers
Contour Feathers all small feathers of the body
Arranged in clearly defined tracts : pterylae Apteria: spaces between pterylae

Filoplumes hairlike feathers Flight feathers

Large and stiff

 Skin is thin as an adaptation to lower the weight for flying

Head
Large, with prominent toothless beak
Earliest birds: with teeth Development of horny sheath that encases the upper and lower jaws; worn and continually replaced

External nares: prominent to absent

Eyes : very prominent

Visual perception: extremely well-developed

External auditory meatus: prominent

Hearing is well-developed

*olfactory sense is poor compared with that of other vertebrates

Trunk
Compact Fusion of underlying skeleton = structural rigidity Keel of sternum: attachment of large flight muscles; obvious on ventral midline

Forelimbs
Modified into wings Wrist and hand are fused, elongated and directed caudad Only three digits
First digit: supports the alula, prevents stalling during low-speed flight Second digit: forms tip of the hand Third digit: reduced, cannot be seen externally

Forelimbs
Outermost remiges (quill feathers) / Primaries
Important for propulsion

Secondaries Tertiaries

Hindlimbs
Bipedal More distal parts (lower leg, ankle, foot) covered with scales homologous to those of reptiles Tarsometatarsus tarsals + metatarsals Fifth digit is lacking First digit: directed backward; adaptation for perching

Hind Parts
Vent - beneath uropygium Uropygium - the hindmost part of a bird's body, from which the tail feathers grow Uropygial gland on top of uropygium; contains the oil the bird uses for preening its feathers.

OTHER BIRD ADAPTATIONS

Bills
Bills of birds are specialized for their particular feeding modes
The great range of bill sizes within taxonomic groups is indicative of and correlated with the sizes of food items taken by each species

Feet
Bird feet have become modified for several modes of nonaerial locomotion, with the length and arangement of toes greatly variable

Tail
Stabilizers and rudders in flight Brakes in landing Balance while perched