Class Aves

Group 4:

Gabrielle Collado

Mozzart Petrola

Charie Mae Vila

Christine Supremido

Jennifer Calzo

Aves

There are two subclasses of birds:

Archaeornithes are, or were, primitive birds from

the Jurassic or early Cretaceous periods.

The Neornithes subclass includes all of the birds

alive today.

Characteristics:Waterproof skin covered in feathers

Endothermic, warm blooded

Hard shelled eggs that are waterproof (cleidoic - closed egg)

Beak or bill rather than teeth

Bipedal (walk on two legs only)

Forelimbs developed into wings

Most members are highly adapted for flight with forelimbs

modified as wings and many weight saving features such as

hollow bones

Kingdom - Animalia

Phylum - Chordata

Subphylum - Vertebrata

Class - Aves

ORDERS

They can be found worldwide except for Antarctica.

They have special characteristics for life in the water, like

broad bodies easier floating, medium to long necks for

catching food underwater, and shorter legs with webbed

feet for more efficient swimming.

Families:

Anhimidae (screamers)

Anatidae (geese, swans and ducks)

Anseranatidae (magpie goose),

Anseriformes (Waterfowls)

Examples ofAnseriformes (Waterfowls):

Crested Screamer

Mallard Duck

Magpie Goose

Apodiformes

There are 400 species of birds in the Apodiformes order.

The birds in this order are very small and have short legs andtiny feet, in fact the word apodiformes means "footless" inLatin.

Unlike other birds that have scales or scutes on their feet, thefeet of the birds in this order are bare skin with no scales

Their young are blind, naked, and helpless at birth.

Families:

Apodidae (swifts)

Trochilidae (hummingbirds)

Hemiprocnidae (crested swifts).

Fun Fact:

The smallest bird in the world with a mass of

approximately 1.6–2 g (0.056–0.071 oz.) and a

length of 5–6 cm (2.0–2.4 in), the bee

hummingbird of Cuba, is a member of this order.

Alcidae (auks, murres)

Burhinidae (thick-knees)

Charadriidae (plovers)

Chionidae (sheathbills)

Dromadidae (crab plover)

Glareolidae (pratincoles, coursers)

Haematopodidae (oystercatchers)

Ibidorhynchidae (ibisbill)

Jacanidae (jacanas)

Laridae (gulls, terns)

Pedionomidae (plains wanderer)

Pluvianellidae (Magellanic plover)

Recurvirostridae (avocet, stilts)

Rostratulidae (painted snipe)

Rynchopidae (skimmers)

Scolopacidae (sandpipers)

Stercorariidae (skuas)

Thinocoridae (seedsnipe)

Charadriiformes (Shorebirds)

There are about 350 species of birds in this order.

They are found in all parts of the world.

The birds in this order live near or on the water and they

range in size from small to large.

There are 18 families in the order:

Examples of Charadriiformes

(Shorebirds):

Herring Gull

Ringed PloverRazor-billed Auk

Columbiformes

The only birds capable of drinking by sucking without

having to tilt the head back, able to produce "crop milk"

to feed the young.

Families:

Raphidae (dodo and solitaires)

Columbidae (doves and pigeons)

Pteroclididae (sandgrouse)

Examples of Columbiformes

Four-banded Sandgrouse

Fantailed Dove

Townsend’s Solitaire

Falconiformes They are medium to large-sized and have strong talons; strong,

curved beaks; and excellent eyesight.

They are very good flyers and often glide overhead riding on warm

air or thermals.

They can be found in all parts of the world except Antarctica, and

live in all habitat types including the desert, tundra, taiga, wetlands,

and rainforests.

These are the birds of prey.

Families:

Accipitridae (eagles, hawks, and kites)

Cathartidae (new world vultures, condors)

Sagittariidae (secretary bird)

Falconidae (falcons)

Examples of Falconiformes

Black Kite

King Vulture

Secretary Bird

Falke

Galliformes These birds are chicken-like in shape.

They range in size from small to large; have plump, pear-shaped bodies; rounded wings; small bills; and small, round heads.

Some species, like the turkey, have wattles on their necks.

They eat a variety of foods including: plants, seeds, leaves, insects, lizards, worms, and rodents.

Many of the species in this order have been domesticated, others are hunted as game birds.

Families:

Cracidae (curassows, guans)

Megapodiidae (brush-turkeys)

Numididae (guineafowl)

Odontophoridae (quails, bobwhites)

Phasianidae (pheasants, turkeys)

Examples of Galliformes

Crested Guan Australian Brush-turkey

Helmeted

Guineafowl

Opisthocomiformes (Hoatzin)

The young possess two large claws on each wing which

are shed during growth.

It is a primitive chicken-sized bird of South American

swamps.

It is the only bird with a digestive system that ferments

vegetation as a cow does.

They feed on swamp plants, grinding foliage in a greatly

enlarged crop (not the gizzard, as in other birds).

The Hoatzin

Passeriformes

songbirds or perching birds, usually smallish birds, more than half of all bird species are in this order

the largest and most unique family of birds

containing more than half of all species

have three toes that point forward and one toe that points backward

Suborders:

Tyranni (suboscines), Passeri (oscines), and the basal Acanthisitti

Examples of Passeriformes

sparrow

drongo

crow

Pelicaniformes water birds that feed on marine life, webbed feet, some have a large throat pouch

they are some of the most easily recognized birds in the world

The feathers of the birds in this order are not very colorful

The birds in this group also have air sacs under the skin that help cushion them when they plunge into the water.

Families:

Fregatidae (frigatebirds)

Sulidae (gannets and boobies)

Phalacrocoracidae (cormorants and shags)

Anhingidae (darters)

Phaethontidae (tropicbirds)

Examples of Pelicaniformes

pelican

cormorant

frigate bird

Phoenicopteriformes

long-legged, long-necked filter-feeding waders

have oval-shaped bodies with pink or crimson-red

feathers covering their bodies

have exceptionally long legs and necks, and their large

bills curve downward in the middle

Phoenicopteriformes(flamingoes)

Piciformes Mainly tree-dwelling

Has special feature called zygodactylous feet, which have two toes in front and two toes behind

They almost always contain combinations of black and white with accents of red and yellow

They are small- to medium-sized birds

Suborder Galbuli

Family Galbulidae – jacamars (18 species)

Family Bucconidae – puffbirds, nunbirds and nunlets (some 30 species)

Suborder Pici

Unresolved and basal taxa (all fossil)

Genus Rupelramphastoides (Early Oligocene of Frauenweiler, Germany)

Genus Capitonides (Early – Middle Miocene of Europe)

Pici gen. et sp. indet. (Middle Miocene of Grive-Saint-Alban, France)[7]

Family Miopiconidae (fossil)

Family Picavidae (fossil)

Examples of Piciformes

woodpecker toucan

Procellariiformes

tubenoses, most feed in the open sea, nostrils in tubes, nasal gland to

secrete excess salt, long narrow wings, webbed feet

They are colonial, mostly nesting on remote, predator-free islands

Procellariiformes have had a long relationship with humans

They have been important food sources for many people, and continue to

be hunted as such in some parts of the world

Families:

albatrosses

petrels and shearwaters

storm petrels

diving petrels

Examples of Procellariiformes

petrel albatross

Psittaciformes

mostly tropical and subtropical, strong curved bill, upright stance, strong clawed feet, often bright or vivid colours

Have a strong, hooked beak (maxilla) which has a hinge-like flexible attachment to the skull

Occur mainly in tropical and subtropical regions although a few species inhabit temperate regions in the Southern Hemisphere

Families:

Psittacoidea ("true" parrots)

Cacatuoidea (cockatoos)

Strigopoidea (New Zealand parrots)

Examples of Psittaciformes

macaw

cockatoo

parakeet

Sphenisciformes

aquatic flightless birds found in the southern hemisphere

only as far the equator

have stiff wings and distinct coloration (black or gray

feathers on their backs and white feathers on their

bellies)

Their wing bones are fused to form flipper-like limbs and

enable the birds to dive and swim with great skill

Sphenisciformes (Penguins)

Strigiformes

sharp hooked beak, strong legs and feet with strong claws, large forward-

facing eyes in a characteristic and obvious circle of feathers, binocular

vision, the eyes can't move in the socket so the whole head moves

medium to large birds with strong talons, a downward-curved bill, acute

hearing and keen eyesight

Their eyes are large, enabling them to gather ample light under dim

conditions

Families:

true owls, Strigidae

barn-owls, Tytonidae

Strigiformes (Owls)

Struthioniformes

ratites, large flightless birds, no "keel" on the breastbone

(sternum) which is used in other birds attach their flight

muscles

weak-flying, partridge-like birds and giant

They are all primarily herbivorous to omnivorous

Examples of Struthioniformes

emu

ostrich

kiwi