| A | B |
|---|
| What are the chief characteristics of a bird? | They include: reptilelike animal, endothermic, hollow bones, feathers, two legs, wings. |
| Describe feathers. | They're made of protein & develop from pits in the birds' skin; they help birds fly & keep them warm. There are contour and down feathers. Water birds also have powder down that releases a fine powder down that repels water. |
| How do paleontologists know that birds evolved from extinct reptiles? | Evidence from embryological, anatomical, and physiological characteristics shared by modern birds and living reptiles. (Examples on pg. 807) |
| Why do most paleontologists think birds evolved directly from dinosaurs? | The first birdlike fossil discovered, the Archaeopteryx, looked like a dinosaur, but it had well-developed feathers on most of its body. |
| What is an Archaeopteryx? | It's a transitional species that had characteristics of dinosaurs AND bird. |
| What adaptations allow birds to fly? | A highly efficient digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems; aerodynamic feathers and wings; strong, lightweight bones; and strong chest muscles. |
| How is the temperature control of a bird different from that of a reptile? | Reptiles draw body heat from their environment; bird generate their own body heat. |
| What is an endotherm? | It's an animal that can generate its own heat...like birds. |
| What is the relationship between food and heat generation in a bird? | The more food a bird eats, the more heat energy its metabolism can generate. |
| Name the purposes of different types of bills. | 1) short, fine bills: insect eating; 2) short thick ones: seed-eaters; 3) strong hooked bills: carnivorous birds; 4) long-thin bills: gather nectar or probe mud for worms & shellfish; 5) large, long bills: pick fruit from branches; 6) long, flat bills: grasp fish. |
| Know the digestive system of the bird. | See page 809. |
| How does the one-way flow of oxygen-rich air help birds? | It helps them maintain high metabolic rates. It also helps them fly at high altitudes where there's thin air. See picture on 810. |
| How does the double-loop circulation system help birds? | It ensures that oxygen collected by the lungs is distributed to the body tissue with maximum efficiency. |
| Describe the excretory system of a bird. | Nitrogenous wastes are removed from the blood by kidneys, converted to uric acid, deposited in the cloaca; most water is reabsorbed, leaving uric acid crystalos in a white, pasty form (bird dropping). |
| Which senses are most acutely developed in a bird? | Sight and hearing are very acute. Taste and smell are not so well developed in most birds; olfactory bulbs in the bird's brain are small, too. (See 811) |
| Name 2 birds that cannot fly. | Ostrich and penguin. |
| Describe adaptations of the bird's skeletal system that help it fly. | Fused bones provide sturdy attachments for muscles; cross-bracing and air spaces in the bones make them strong and lightweight. (see 812) |
| Bird eggs are amniotic eggs; how do chicks get out of the shell? | The chick uses a small tooth on its bill to make a hole in the shell. |
| So birds have external or internal fertilization? | It's internal (see pg. 812) |
| How many orders of birds are there? How many species of perching birds? | 1) nearly 30 different orders; 2) over 5000 species. |
| Give examples of how birds help ecology. | 1) hummingbirds: pollinate flowers in tropical and temperate zones; 2) swallows & chimney swifts catch mosquitoes & other insects; 3) fruit-eating birds swallow seeds, and their droppings disperse seeds over great distances. |
| How do birds know where to migrate? | 1) using stars & other celestial bodies as guides; 2) use a combination of landmarks & cues from Earth's magnetic field. |
| Who is Rachel Carson? | She wrote SILENT SPRING;she shows how pesticides that stay in the environment can accumulate in food chains and cause harm to animals other than those targeted by the pesticide. |
