Birds Test Module 2
the major anatomical and physiological adaptations for flight
1)skeleton
anisodactyl feet
3 toes pointing forward and one rear pointing toes
toe arrangement in birds
most birds have anisodactyl feet
melanins
most widespread pigment coloration sen in birds, responsible for all black coloration and for most brown, rufous, grey and buff colors seen in birdsm skin color in birds too
pamprodactyl
all toes point forward
shaft
base of feather under skin up to the center feather vane
basics of feather maitennce
bathing can happen daily, dust bath when water is not avaiable feather preening; using their bills heads or feet to preen an dmanpulate feathers
the fact tha tbirds are walking on their toes rather than or equivalent feet
birds foot is the equivalent of human toes
structural colors
colors produced by the physical interaction of light waves with the structure of the feather that causes light to be scattered
porphvrins
common pigments (cholorphyll and heme) brown and rufous colors of feathers
advantages and disadvantages of flight
energy needed is tremendous; birds must be lighter weight (limited in size), small birds must eat a lot more relative to their size than large birds)
functions of feathers
flight, insulation, food collection, sensory reception, social signaling, camoflouge, sound collection in some species
filoplume feathers
hairlike feathers scattered throughout the plumage of the bird not easily visible
the need for torpor in humming birds
helps them conserve energy because they must survive the ngiht without food intake
feather use by humans
insulation for warmth, fashion, fishing lures, fletching arrows, writing instrucments and feather meal
the keel bone and the coracoid bone
keel provides location for attachment for the large breast muscles needed to power through flight; coracoid bone; elongaged and strengthened into struts that prevent the collapse of the skeletal system during the powerful downstroke of flight
semiplume
large rachis with loose pumulacaeous vanes, provide insulation, but often specialized display feathers for attracting mates
eontour feathers
major externally visable feathers covering the body;
feather pigments
melanins, carotenoids, porphyrins, psittacofulvins
barbules
microfilament projections from the side of the barbs
afterfeather
miniature version of the full-sized feather (gives bird a shaggy appearance)
torpor
nightime hibernation basically
flight muscles
pectoralis major and minor muscles - connected by a tendon that forms a rope and pulley system; on a downstroke, pectorals minor relaxes and pectorals major contracts, pulling wing down and forward, creating forward propulsion, downward stroke is most energy demanding and vice versa
psittacofulvins
pigments that are responsible for the red orange pink and yellow colors
concept of lift and anatomical structure of the wings that create lift
provided naturally by the shape of the birds win in flight; front of the wing is the thickest portion of the wing, as the wing bones and most of the musclature are located here; back of wing is thing and light weight as it only consists of a isngle thin layer of the ends of the primary, secondary and tertiary feathers; wing also gently curves downward so the back of the wing is lower than the front
the term molting
replacing old feathers with new feathers
types of feathers
retrices, eontour, semiplume, down, filoplume, bristle
syndactyl
same as anisodactyl but with 2 toes fused from base partway up their length; webbed feet to facilitate swimming
cartenoids
second most prevalent family of pigments found in birds, responsible for most of the red, orange and yellow colors of plumage
general feather structure
shaft barbs barbules and barbicels afterfeather
down feathers
soft, fluffy feathers that are underneath the contour feathers adn not visible externally
methods birds use to get into the air
springing into the air with legs providing inital thrust and velocity followed by wing flapping; for larget birds flight must be initiated by running along the ground or no water to generate enough speed to create the lift necessay for takeoff. flight can also be initated by large birds by taking off from an elevated position
retrices
tail feathers
two examples of economical flight hovering
taking advantage of the thermals by soaring into the sky in a circular motion looking for the next meal; dynamic soaring extract life energy without flapping wings by repeating a cycle of 180 degree turns at two different elevations above a large body of water; fluing in formation can save energy if birds are positioned correctly to take advantage of it
barbs
the lateral branches/ filaments that project from each side of the rachis
barbicels
tiny hooklets that help form a feather that is smooth and well held together meet the demands of flight
reasons bird migrate
to avoid severe seasons
zygodactyl
two outside toes pointed backwards and middle toes pointing forward
bristle feathers
typically located near the eyes and bill and may serve as eyelashes