Download Ornithology – ENWC 418/618 Index Card Info: Human Fascination

Ornithology – ENWC 418/618
Greg Shriver, Ph.D.
257 Townsend Hall
831-1300
[email protected]
Office Hours:
9-10 am Monday and
Wednesday
Index Card Info:
Course: Ornithology
Year: 2009
Name: (your preference)
Major:
Home state / town:
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)
Human Fascination with Birds
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)
Human Fascination with Birds
Waterbird Rock Carving
Since earliest
human kind bird
symbols are
prevalent and serve
as art work, symbols
of war and peace,
and as objects as
early as 30,000 ybp.
Storks have symbolized birth
in Europe since the middle
ages
Apache cave painting
Human Fascination with Birds
•The eagle appeared as a symbol as early as 300 BC
•The Raven was Apollo’s messenger
•The Red Jungle Fowl was domesticated in India 3000 BC
•Falconry originated 4000 BC
•Mayas, Aztecs, and Native Americans all used feathers in works of art
•The earliest secular music is about the cuckoo welcoming the summer
•Birds appear in operas - Madama Butterfly
•American Jazz musician wrote “Ornithology” – Charlie “Bird” Parker
•Birds are ubiquitous in literature – Shakespeare, Keats, Yeats
•Bird illustration books appeared as earlier as 15th century
With all this interest in birds it is little wonder that many of us have chosen to
study them and the science of ornithology evolved.
Eagles symbolize strength
and power since the time of
the Roman Empire
In Africa, the Black-throated
honeyguide leads humans to
bee’s nests in exchange for
wax combs from the nest
Ornithology – the study of birds
Aristotle’s 4th century BC History of Animals
- first western account of birds
Gilbert White, 1789 London
Clergyman - first English
naturalist
Ornithology – evolution and ecology
SPECIATION— ideas regarding speciation (ALLOPATRIC,
SYMPATRIC) are rooted in bird studies
NATURAL SELECTION—Studies of Darwin’s Finches on the
Ornithology – population biology
COMPETITION THEORY— David Lack, Robert MacArthur,
Evelyn Hutchinson and others were among the founding fathers of
modern ecology and competition theory – they all studied birds
Galapagos Islands provided insight into theory of natural
selection
ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY— A major component of
HERITABILITY—Major contributions to the ideas of geneotype
biogeography and conservation biology was developed by
Macarthur and Wilson studies of Caribbean Island birds
and phenotype came from study of Darwin’s Finches
PHYLOGENY AND SYSTEMATICS—The process of
determining evolutionary relationships among species has been
advanced using DNA-DNA hybridization with bird species of the
world
Ornithology – behavioral ecology
TERRITORIALITY — Most of the theoretical advance in territoriality came
from ornithologists like Fretwell, Brown, and Nice
So who are these birds?
9,700+ Bird species, in 30 orders, 195 families, 2,029
genera occupy all continents and habitats
MATING SYSTEMS — Studies of marked birds were a major contribution
to mating system dynamics
COOPERATIVE BREEDING — Major studies on Scrub Jays and Acorn
Woodpeckers contributed to the concept of kin selection and altruism
ANIMAL COMMUNICATION — Ethologists like Konrad Lorenz made
substantial contributions to the study of animal behavior using birds
Of these the most common or
populous wild bird in the world is the
Red-billed Quelea (Quelea quelea)
from south of the Sahara in Africa.
ORIENTATION AND NAVIGATION — Bird migration has always
fascinated scientists and many aspects of migration are still unclear
The Most Abundant - extinct
Rarest Birds
•The Sudanese Red Sea Cliff Swallow (Hirundo perdita) is known
only from a single type specimen found dead on the Red Sea coast
of Sudan – never seen again.
ƒNorth America’
America’s
Passenger Pigeon
population was
estimated at 9
billion individuals
ƒThe last bird died
in the Cincinnati
Zoo in 1914
•Orange-necked Partridge (Arborophila davidi) seen once in 1927
•Spix's Macaw (Cyanopsitta spiscii) hunted to the brink of extinction
for the pet trade
Rarest Birds
Since the 1600s at least 115 bird species are
known to have gone extinct, mostly as a result
of human interference
Some have been saved like:
the Mauritius Kestrel (Falco punctatus) once
down to 4 wild individuals, but now there are
more than 300
The Californian Condor (Gymnogyps
californianus) which after the last wild male was
caught in 1987 was down to 27 individuals in
captivity
By 2004 captive breeding had brought the
population up to 246 with 111 in the wild
OTHERS?...maybe…
The Most Common Birds
•The most common bird in the world is the Red
Junglefowl (Gallus gallus) most regularly seen
as the common domestic chicken.
•The most widespread commonly seen wild bird
in the world is probably the European House
Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
The Largest – heaviest
The heaviest bird ever was
probably the extinct Dromornis
stirtoni from Australia. This
flightless giant lived between 1
and 15 million years ago and
probably stood nearly 3m/10ft
tall and weighed in at a
massive 500kg/1100lb.
Dromornis stirtoni
The Largest – tallest
The tallest bird ever was, as far as
we know, Dinornus maximus, a
Giant Moa from New Zealand
This giant though only half as
heavy as the Australian Dromornis
stood an incredible 4 m / 12 ft tall
Dinornus maximus
The Largest – greatest wingspan
The Giant Teratorn (Argentavis
magnificens) had a wingspan of at
least 6 m (19 ft) and could possibly
have been as large as 7.5 m (25 ft)
Heaviest - living
The heaviest flying bird is the Kori
Bustard of Africa (Ardeotis kori), a
number of specimens have been
recorded weighing 19 kg (42 lbs)
and heavier specimens have been
reported but not confirmed
Greatest Wingspan - living
Wandering Albatross
The Wandering Albatross has a wing
span of 3 m (11-12 ft)
Albatross use long wings to glide over
the ocean and can remain airborne
for hours without flapping
Over its lifespan, a Wandering Albatross
may cover 4 million miles of ocean!
The Largest – living
The Largest – carnivorous
Titanis walleri from the early
Pleistocene of Florida was a
member of a group of
flightless, predatory birds
(Phorusrhacidae - Terror
Birds) that evolved after the
demise of the dinosaurs
The largest living bird is the
Ostrich (Struthio camelus).
This popular bird stands a
magnificent 3 m (9 ft) high
and can weigh as much as
160 kg (353 lbs)
Struthio camelus
Highest G - Forces
The bill of the Redheaded woodpecker
strikes the bark of a tree
at 13 mph subjecting the
brain to a decelerating
force of 10 Gs when the
head snaps back!
Titanis walleri
Best Vision and Fastest Flyer
The Peregrine Falcon,
under ideal conditions,
can spot a pigeon at
distance greater than 5
miles
The Peregrine is also the
fastest flying bird and can
dive up to 200 mph
Largest Nest
• The Mallee Fowl of
Australia builds a nest
of vegetation and sand
on the ground that can
be up to 15 ft tall, 35 ft
wide and weigh 330 tons
• The female lays eggs in
the nest and the male
tends the vegetation to
create the optimal
temperature for
incubation
Highest Flying Bird
• The Ruppell’s Vulture
(Gyps rueppellii) regularly
reaches altitudes of 15,00020,000 ft
• In 1973, one struck a
commercial airline over the
ivory coast at 27,000 ft
Smallest Nest and smallest egg
• The Vervian
Hummingbird (Mellisuga
minima) builds a nest
about the size of half of a
walnut shell
• The egg is 0.365 grams
• The Bee Hummingbird
nest is deeper but
narrower – about the
size of a thimble
Longest Migration
• The Arctic Tern migrates
from the breeding grounds
in the arctic to the winter in
the Antarctic, a roundtrip
distance of 22,000 miles
• A Common Tern banded in
Finland in 1996 was
recaptured alive on
Rotamah Island, Australia
in January 1997
• It had traveled 16,250
miles!
Longest Bill
Fastest Swimmer
• The longest bill in
relation to its body
belongs to the Swordbilled hummingbird of
the Andes
The Gentoo Penguin of
Antarctica can swim 40
km/hr
• The 4-inch long bill is
longer than the body
Gentoo Penguins lay 2
eggs during the Antarctic
winter while in large
breeding colonies
Longest Period Without Food
The male emperor penguin
incubates a single egg for 62-67
days without food after walking
for days to the breeding colony
Including travel time, these
males go without food for 134
days, living on fat reserves but
never leaving the egg which
sits on the males feet
Summary
• Birds have fascinated
humans since before
recorded history
• Birds are conspicuous and
have adapted to every
ecosystem on the planet
• The study of birds has
contributed to major
breakthroughs in ecological,
behavioral, and evolutionary
theories
• Birds are cool!