BirdsClass: Aves

Information on Birds

• About 10,000 species of birds

• Smallest is a 5 cm bee hummingbird

• Largest is a 2.7 m ostrich

• Come in all colors

• Some can even mimic human speech

• Live from Arctic to Antarctica

• Migrate to take advantage of food sources.

Bird StatusBird Status

• Many species are declining worldwide.• 125 species have become extinct.• 1200 species are threatened.• Habitat loss, overhunting, accidents,

pollution, climate change and non-native invasive species are the reasons for decline.

• California Condor – success story were only 22 in 1987 to now over 300

Information on California Condor

• The massive California Condor is one of America's largest and rarest birds.

• The adult is mostly black with large white wing patches and a featherless head.

• The color of the head can vary from white, to pink, to orange, depending on the condor's emotional state.

• The male condor has a tuft of black feathers extending from the base of the neck.

• The condor's wingspan can exceed nine feet and the average adult weighs in excess of 20 pounds.

Characteristics of Birds

• All lay eggs to incubate young.• Have a beak with no teeth (has an egg tooth when baby

hatches from the egg)• Light weight strong skeleton• 4 chambered heart• High metabolic rate• Feathers• Social – flocking equals safety• Warm blooded vertebrae• Poor sense of smell – only vultures have good sense of

smell• Plumage is usually molted 1 time a year after breeding.

Evolution

• Wings are evolutionary adaptation of ancient forelimbs.

• Fossil record indicates birds evolved from Theropod dinosaurs during Jurassic period.

• Some birds have learned to use tools.

• Most birds stay with their mate only one season.

Economy

• Around 76 million tons of poultry are eaten worldwide every year.

• Chicken is the number one type of poultry followed by turkey, duck and geese.

• Around 61 million eggs are eaten worldwide every year.

• Down feathers are used in bedding.

• Hunted for sport