BirdsBy Michelle Anderson and Carly Poesch
Phylum ChordataSubphylum Vertebrata
Class Aves
Habitat • In time, birds have
adapted to live in diverse regions including: Forests, mountains, deserts, oceans, marshes, and many more
Food Source• Early in earth’s
history, birds ate animal food, but seed eating came later
• They now eat almost everything including: Nectar, roots, grass, and seeds
Importance to Humans and Environment • Birds that eat other
animals or, predator birds, have an important role in the food chain.
• They keep rodents under control, helping farmers.
• Birds help stop the spread of some diseases.
• Birds spread pollen and seed to help reproduction of plants.
Unique Characteristics• For a 170 lb. man to exert
as much energy as a bird, he would have to eat 285 lbs of hamburger or double his weight in potatoes.
• Some birds have hollow bones to make them lighter, so they can fly.
• Some birds can maintain a body temp of 40 degrees Celsius even on cold winter days
Skeletal/Support System
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Respiration• Birds need a steady stream of oxygen to fly, and to be able to release large amounts of CO2
• The respiration cycle of a bird is much more effective than a mammals, transferring more air with each breath
• Basically, birds breath in and out at the same time
Reproductive System• 95% of birds are socially
monogamous, they pair with one mate for at least the length of the breeding season.
• Cloaca is the reproductive organ in birds.
• Eggs are fertilized and given nutrients inside the female before the hard shell forms.
Sensory/Nervous system• Birds are very
intelligent, they must fly at high speeds, catch prey from long distances, and migrate thousands of miles.
• This demands lots of gathering and processing information
• Bird senses are more advanced than humans.
• Birds have great vision, but taste and smell are not as well developed.
Sensory System-Migration• Birds have a sixth
sense-to migrate• It is a magnetic
sense; like an internal compass
•Some few birds, do not have this sense and have learned to use the stars for migration
Circulatory System• Birds have a closed
circulatory system.• A Closed Circulatory
system is a blood circulation system in which blood moves through the body in closed vessels.
Excretory System• Bird’s waste systems
are much like reptiles• Waste is removed
from blood from the kidney
• Then converted to uric acid and put in the cloaca
• There water is absorbed and bird droppings are formed
ExamplesFlamingo
Toucan
Humming Bird
King Penguin
Bird Flight
Feathers• Feathers are an
adaptation that has enabled them to become successful.
• Birds have been around since the time of the dinosaurs
• http://www.natureswonderland.biz/peacockinframe.jpg
Beak Adaptations• The beaks are
adapted to the kind of food the bird eats.
• The toucan has a large, strong beak to slice food
• The long beak of a pelican is ideal for getting fish
Bird Feet• Birds have hind limbs
used for walking, swimming, running, or perching
• Front limbs have modified into wings
Endotherms• Definition of
Endotherms: The heat from within
• The bird’s body is insulated enough to conserve most of its metabolic energy.
• They can maintain a constant high body temp
Orders
• There are 27 orders of birds
• More than ½ are Passeriformes, which include house sparrows and perching birds
• Struthionifrmes- Ostriches
• Casuariiforms- Emus
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Works Cited• Anatomy. 1 Apr. 2008 <http://www.life.uiuc.edu/clayton/>. • Anatomy and Physiology of Birds. 2 Apr. 2008. • Bird Anatomy. Anatomy of Animals. 7 Apr. 2008 <http://universe-review.ca/R10-33-
anatomy.htm#birds>. • Bird Beaks Names.
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/debnes_dfw_tx_1190919093_599.jpg. 3 Apr. 2008. • Birds. 1 Apr. 2008
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/graphics/2008/03/26/eabirds126.jpg>. • Birds Feet. Children's Page. 4 Apr. 2008
<http://www.janetemarshall.co.nz/nonamechildren's%20page.htm>. • Brown Thrasher. 4 Apr. 2008
<http://picasaweb.google.com/gilbertson.scott/BirdsGenerally/photo#5084965977216247394>.
• Digestive System. Dkimages. 2 Apr. 2008 <http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Home/Animals/Birds/Anatomy/Internal-Anatomy/Digestive-System/Digestive-System-1.html>.
• Excretory System. 4 Apr. 2008 <http://www.noahsarkzoofarm.co.uk/visiting//noahs-ark-collage-2/>.
• Grasse, Pierre P. "The Digestive System." Larousse Encyclopedia of the Animal World. 1969th ed. 1 vols. 1969.
• Greater Flamingos At the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. National Geographic. 5 Apr. 2008 <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/printable/greater-flamingo.html>.
• Humming Bird. 5 Apr. 2008 <http://www.cssplay.co.uk/menu/slides/hummingbird.jpg>.
• Internal Anatomy. Dkimages. 1 Apr. 2008 <http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Home/Animals/Birds/Anatomy/Internal-Anatomy/Brain/Brain-1.html>.
• The King Penguin: Coming Soon. 5 Apr. 2008 <king-penguins.com/>. • Miller, and Levine. Biology the Living Science. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall,
Inc, 1998. 483. • Perterson, Roger. The Birds. 1963. • "Skelatal System." 21 Mar. 2008. 30 Mar. 2008 <wikipedia.org>. • Tucan. Wikipedia. 5 Apr. 2008
<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Tucan.jpg>. • Urban Hawks. NYC. Urban Hawks. 1 Apr. 2008
<http://urbanhawks.blogs.com/urban_hawks/2007/02/index.html>. • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 3 Apr. 2008
<http://www.mmoca.org/starrytransit/bird_migration.php>. • Why Birds Migrate. 1 Apr. 2008 <http://animalbase.blogspot.com/2007/03/why-
birds-migrate.html>. • Wilson's Warbler September 2006. 7 Apr. 2008
<http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/debnes_dfw_tx_1190919093_599.jpg>. • World's 2nd Biggest Bird: the Emu. 5 Apr. 2008
<http://www.fenichel.com/emu.shtml>.