The Diversity of Birds
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Class Aves How many species of Bird are there?
Ever fluid, but around 10,000 Comprises some 300 billion birds falling into 40 orders, 237 families & 2,278 genera All avian orders are completed by the term ‘formes’ which means “taking the form of”
Order Passeriformes
“sparrow-like” More than 50% of all bird species known as perching birds and “songbirds” includes • swallows • wagtails • wrens • robins • thrushes • warblers • tits • nuthatches • shrikes • crows • starlings • sparrows • finches • buntings
Order Struthioniformes
“Ostrich-like” Ostriches, emus, rheas, cassowaries & kiwis
Order Pelecaniformes
Pelecans, gannets and cormorants
Order Ciconiiformes
“stork-like” Herons, storks & ibises
Order Anseriformes
“goose-like” Ducks, geese and swans
Order Falconiformes
“sickle-like” Falcons, Hawks, Eagles and Vultures
Order Galliformes
“chicken-like” includes chickens, turkeys, pheasants, grouses, and some others
Order Gruiformes
“crane-like” Includes cranes, coots and rails
Order Charadriiformes
“plover-like” Ostercatchers, plovers, auks, terns and gulls
Order Columbiformes
“pigeon-like” Pigeons and doves
Orders Strigiformes
“screech owl-like” Owls
Order Coraciiformes
“crow-like” Bee-Eaters, Kingfishers, and Hornbills
Order Piciformes
“woodpecker-like” Woodpeckers, Honeyguides and Toucans
Anatomy and physiology
Highly conserved Skeletal elements fused • Long bones air-filled • Medullary bone • No teeth but gizzard grinds food instead • Large flight muscles • Air sacs as well as lungs • Most body weight near centre of gravity • Feathers • Calcified eggshells
body mass reduction
driven by need for flight • Lost teeth • Lost structural bone • Lost skeletal elements • Not viviparous but lay eggs • Only one functional ovary at any one time • Massive diurnal fluctuation in fat reserves
Skeleton
Digestive System
Respiratory System
Reproductive System
Anatomy of the Egg
