Portal:Birds
The Birds Portal
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves /ˈeɪviːz/, characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the 5.5 cm (2.2 in) bee hummingbird to the 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) ostrich. There are about ten thousand living species, more than half of which are passerine, or "perching" birds. Birds have wings whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which evolved from forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimming.
Birds are a group of feathered theropod dinosaurs and constitute the only living dinosaurs. Likewise, birds are considered reptiles in the modern cladistic sense of the term, and their closest living relatives are the crocodilians. Birds are descendants of the primitive avialans (whose members include Archaeopteryx) which first appeared about 160 million years ago (mya) in China. According to DNA evidence, modern birds (Neornithes) evolved in the Middle to Late Cretaceous, and diversified dramatically around the time of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 mya, which killed off the pterosaurs and all non-avian dinosaurs.
Many social species pass on knowledge across generations, which is considered a form of culture. Birds are social, communicating with visual signals, calls, and songs, and participating in such behaviours as cooperative breeding and hunting, flocking, and mobbing of predators. The vast majority of bird species are socially (but not necessarily sexually) monogamous, usually for one breeding season at a time, sometimes for years, but rarely for life. Other species have breeding systems that are polygynous (one male with many females) or, rarely, polyandrous (one female with many males). Birds produce offspring by laying eggs which are fertilised through sexual reproduction. They are usually laid in a nest and incubated by the parents. Most birds have an extended period of parental care after hatching.
Many species of birds are economically important as food for human consumption and raw material in manufacturing, with domesticated and undomesticated birds being important sources of eggs, meat, and feathers. Songbirds, parrots, and other species are popular as pets. Guano (bird excrement) is harvested for use as a fertiliser. Birds figure throughout human culture. About 120 to 130 species have become extinct due to human activity since the 17th century, and hundreds more before then. Human activity threatens about 1,200 bird species with extinction, though efforts are underway to protect them. Recreational birdwatching is an important part of the ecotourism industry. (Full article...)
Featured articles
Selected general bird topic
The difficulty of defining or measuring intelligence in non-human animals makes the subject difficult to study scientifically in birds. In general, birds have relatively large brains compared to their head size. The visual and auditory senses are well developed in most species, though the tactile and olfactory senses are well realized only in a few groups. Birds communicate using visual signals as well as through the use of calls and song. The testing of intelligence in birds is therefore usually based on studying responses to sensory stimuli.
The corvids (ravens, crows, jays, magpies, etc.) and psittacines (parrots, macaws, and cockatoos) are often considered the most intelligent birds, and among the most intelligent animals in general; pigeons, finches, domestic fowl, and birds of prey have also been common subjects of intelligence studies. (Full article...)Selected taxon
Northern storm petrels are seabirds in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. The family was once lumped with the similar austral storm petrels in the combined storm petrels, but have been split, as they were not closely related. These smallest of seabirds feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. Their flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.
The northern storm petrels are found in the Northern Hemisphere, although some species around the Equator dip into the south. They are strictly pelagic, coming to land only when breeding. In the case of most species, little is known of their behaviour and distribution at sea, where they can be hard to find and harder to identify. They are colonial nesters, displaying strong philopatry to their natal colonies and nesting sites. Most species nest in crevices or burrows, and all but one species attend the breeding colonies nocturnally. Pairs form long-term, monogamous bonds and share incubation and chick-feeding duties. Like many species of seabirds, nesting is highly protracted, with incubation taking up to 50 days and fledging another 70 days after that.
Several species of storm petrel are threatened by human activities. One species, the Guadalupe storm petrel, is thought to have gone extinct. The principal threats to storm petrels are introduced species, particularly mammals, in their breeding colonies; many storm petrels habitually nest on isolated mammal-free islands and are unable to cope with predators such as rats and feral cats. (Full article...)Topics
Anatomy: Anatomy • Skeleton • Flight • Eggs • Feathers • Plumage
Evolution and extinction: Evolution • Archaeopteryx • Hybridisation • Late Quaternary prehistoric birds • Fossils • Taxonomy • Extinction
Behaviour: Singing • Intelligence • Migration • Reproduction • Nesting • Incubation • Brood parasites
Bird orders: Struthioniformes • Tinamiformes • Anseriformes • Accipitriformes • Galliformes • Gaviiformes • Podicipediformes • Procellariiformes • Sphenisciformes • Pelecaniformes • Ciconiiformes • Phoenicopteriformes • Falconiformes • Gruiformes • Charadriiformes • Pteroclidiformes • Columbiformes • Psittaciformes • Cuculiformes • Strigiformes • Caprimulgiformes • Apodiformes • Coraciiformes • Piciformes • Trogoniformes • Coliiformes • Passeriformes
Bird lists: Families and orders • Lists by region
Birds and humans: Ringing • Ornithology • Bird collections • Birdwatching • Birdfeeding • Conservation • Aviculture
Quotes
| “ | It is better to be a young June bug than an old bird of paradise. | ” |
Resources
Free online resources:
- SORA: The Searchable Online Research Archive (SORA) has decades worth of archives of the following journals: The Auk, The Condor, Journal of Field Ornithology, North American Bird Bander, Studies in Avian Biology, Pacific Coast Avifauna, and The Wilson Bulletin. Coverage ends around 2000. The ability to search all journals or browse exists on the front page.
- Notornis: The Journal of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand covers New Zealand and the South Pacific.
- New Zealand Journal of Ecology: This journal often publishes bird-related articles. Like Notornis, this journal is concerned with New Zealand and surrounding areas.
- Marine Ornithology: Published by the numerous seabird research groups, Marine Ornithology is specific and goes back many years.
- BirdLife International: The Data Zone has species accounts for every species, although threatened species and some key groups have greater detail with others only having status and evaluation.
- Author Index: This is a good source for binomial authorities for taxoboxes.
There is also Birds of North America, Cornell University's massive project collecting information on every breeding bird in the ABA area. It is available for US$40 a year.
For more sources, including printed sources, see WikiProject Birds.
WikiProjects
Selected images
Selected bird anatomy topic
Notarium or os dorsale is a bone consisting of the fused vertebra of the shoulder in birds and some pterosaurs. The structure helps brace the chest against the forces generated by the wings. In birds, the vertebrae are only in contact with adjacent vertebrae and ribs, while in some pterosaurs the notarium articulates with the scapula. This joint is unique among tetrapods, as in no other taxa is there a direct connection between the pectoral girdle and vertebral column (though in species with clavicles, the clavicle articulates with the sternum, which in turn is connected to the vertebrae via the ribs, allowing an indirect connection).
Among birds, notarium is found among Galliformes, Columbidae, Tinamidae, Podicipedidae, Phalacrocoracidae, Threskiornithidae, Phoenicopteridae, Falconidae, Gruidae, Aramidae, Psophiidae, Rhinochetidae, Eurypygidae, Mesitornithidae, Pteroclididae, Opisthocomidae and Steatornithidae. It contains 2-6 vertebrae. It probably evolved at least 10 times independently in birds. (Full article...)Selected species
Did you know
- ...that the bar-tailed godwit undertakes the longest non-stop migration flight of any bird?
- ...that the black-rumped flameback is a common woodpecker from South Asia?
- ...that the extinction of the Laysan rail was caused by a US Navy landing craft accidentally breaking free and drifting ashore at Midway Atoll, enabling onboard rats to colonize the islands?
Categories
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Things you can do
Create requested articles (WikiProject Birds – Article requests):
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More outstanding tasks at the project's cleanup listing, Category:Birds articles needing attention, and Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds/Todo.
Taxonomy of Aves
| Class Aves, divided into superorders, orders, suborders (where indicated), and families. | ||||
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Associated Wikimedia
Sources
- ^ kleiser, G. (2005). Dictionary of Proverbs. APH Publishing Corporation. p. 283. ISBN 978-81-7648-814-3. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
