Download Down feathers

BIRD CLASSIFICATION:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrate
Class: Birds (Aves)
Over 9700 different species divided into 29
different orders.
CHARACTERISICS OF BIRDS:
Feathers: (modified scales)
Flight
Insulation
Made of keratin
Four different types of feathers:
1. Down feathers:
 Soft and Fluffy
 Entire body of young
 Adult: Lies closest to
body for insulation
Down feather
2. Contour feathers:
 Streamline shape
 Bottom part similar to Down
 Coloration

Camouflage

Identifies species/sex
Contour Feather
(insulation)
3. Flight feathers: (modified Contour)
 Wings & tail
 Helps provide lift for flight
4. Bristle feathers:
 Located on Eyes, Nostrils & Around Face
 Filter dirt
 Similar to eyelashes/nose hair
PARTS OF A FEATHER:
Follicle: Tiny pit
in skin where
feathers develop
Shaft or quill:
Develops from
follicle & runs up
center of feather
Vanes: 2 vanes
per feather on
each side of
shaft
Barbs: Many
make up a
vane
Hooks
Hold barbules
together
Barbules: Have
hooks on ends
to hold barbs
together
VANE
(deep)
Similar Structures…Amphibians…Reptiles…
Preening: Use beak to spread oil from
preening gland, helps repel water
Preening Gland: Base of tail, contains oil
Molting: Shed feathers (once a year)
Skeletal System:
 Light & Strong
Thin, hollow, air
filled, & rigid
bones
Humerus,
radius, ulna,
pectoral girdle, &
sternum (keel)
support wings
Many
fused bones
Muscular System:
Large filament muscles for strength
Flight muscles = 50% weight
Metabolism:
 Very fast metabolism
 Temperature: 104-105º F
 Endothermic metabolism:
 Rapid breathing
 Generate heat to warm body internally
 Need large quantities of food
Can’t go long periods of time w/o eating
 Layer of fat for insulation
Digestive System:
Passage of food:
Mouth
Esophagus
Crop
Two-part stomach
Small intestines
Proventriculus
Gizzard
Large Intestines (Caeca)
Cloaca
Esophagus
S
t
o
m
a
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Large Intestine
Crop: Storage for food; where it’s moistened
Proventriculus: First part of stomach; where
digestion starts
Gizzard: Helps kneed the food (eat pebbles to
help crush food)
Small Intestines: Where most food is
digested, absorbed and broken down by
enzymes and bile
Large Intestines: (Caeca/um) Water
absorbed, waste separated from nutrients
Cloaca: Where everything comes together
45 MINUTES TO DIGEST & REMOVE!!!
**Crop Has
Been Removed
Gizzard with Pebbles
Lower Digestive System
Excretory System:
Filters nitrogenous wastes from blood
with kidney
Urine contains uric acid (white)
 NO URINARY BLADDER=LIGHTER FOR FLIGHT
Respiratory System:
Elaborate and highly efficient
Needs lots of oxygen continuously
High metabolic rate
Passage of air:
Pair of nostrils
Located near base of beak
Trachea
Where air passes after entering nostrils
Bronchi
2 bronchi, air goes in second; lead to air sacs
Lungs
75% bypasses lungs
Air Sacs
9 air sacs, extend from lungs; reduces density; stores air
Esophagus
TRACHEA
Circulatory System:
 4 Chambered Heart
2-A
2-V (THICK)
 Septum-Divides
Ventricles…NO MIXING
A
V
Humming Bird – 600 times/minute
Chickadee – 1000 times/minute
Oxygenated blood (red) is pumped from the
lungs to various parts of the body;
Deoxygenated blood (blue) is returned for
recycling.
Nervous System:
 Very Large Brains
 Coordinated movement
 Contains large optic lobes
(very good color)
 Wide field of vision
 Excellent depth perception
Reproduction:
Males:
 Sperm is produced in 2 testes
 Sperm passes through small tubes called vasa
deferntia into the phallus to the cloaca
 Mating – male presses his cloaca to the
female cloaca and releases sperm
Retracted and Erect phallus of a male
Females:
 Single ovary on left side of body
 Ovary releases eggs into oviduct where they’re
fertilized
 Fertilized eggs move down the oviduct where
they receive a protective covering and shell
 Egg passes out cloaca
•For most birds, copulation involves a “cloacal kiss”,
with the male on the female's back & twisting his tail
under the female's
-Copulation typically lasts just a few seconds
Oviparity:
Lay eggs in nest which conceals
young from predators & provides
shelter
Parental Care:
 Both parents incubate eggs by sitting
on them
 Feathered patch of skin (brood patch)
for covering
Migration:
 When cold and food is scarce-fly
south
Diversity of the species:
 Use beak, feet, plumage & DNA to
classify
Navigation:
 Use stars & sun; earths magnetic
field; changes in air pressure; low
frequency sounds; topographical
landmarks