Birds: Ms. Sara Adel

BIRDS
MS. SARA ADEL

CHARACTERISTICS OF BIRDS
CHARACTERISTICS OF BIRDS
• A bird is an endothermic vertebrate that has feathers and
a four-chambered heart.
• A bird also lays eggs.
• The bodies of most birds are adapted for flight, Many of a

bird's bones are nearly hollow, making the bird
lightweight.
• In addition, the bones of a bird's forelimbs form wings.
Flying birds have large chest muscles that move the
wings. Finally, feathers help birds fly.
ADAPTATION FOR FLIGHT
• Birds are the only animals with feathers.
• Feathers are not all the same. A contour feather is one of the large feathers that give
shape to a bird's body.
• The long contour feathers that extend beyond the body on the wings and tail are called
flight feathers.
• When a bird flies, these feathers help it balance and steer.
• A contour feather consists of a central shaft and many small hairlike projections, called
barbs. Hooks hold the barbs together.
• In addition to contour feathers, birds have short, fluffy down feathers that are
specialized to trap heat and keep the bird warm.
• Down feathers are found right next to the bird's skin, at the base of the contour
feathers. Down feathers are soft and flexible, unlike contour feathers.
RESPIRATION AND CIRCULATION
RESPIRATION AND CIRCULATION
• Air sacs and a four-chambered heart help birds obtain oxygen and move it to their
cells.
• Flying uses a lot of energy. Therefore, cells must receive plenty of oxygen to release
the energy contained in food.
• Birds have a highly efficient way to get oxygen into their bodies and to their cells.
• Birds have a system of air sacs in their bodies. This system connects to the lungs. The
air sacs enable birds to obtain more oxygen from each breath of air than other animals
can.
• The circulatory systems of birds are also efficient at getting oxygen to the cells. Birds
have hearts with four chambers—two atria and two ventricles.
• The advantage of a four-chambered heart over a three chambered heart is that
oxygen-rich blood does not mix with oxygen-poor blood.
OBTAINING FOOD
• Birds must obtain a lot of food to provide the energy needed for flight.
• To capture, grip, and handle food, birds mainly use their bills.
• Bills are shaped to help birds feed quickly and efficiently.
• After a bird eats its food, digestion begins. Each organ in a bird's digestive system is adapted to
process food.
• Many birds have an internal storage tank, or crop, for storing food inside the body after
swallowing it.
• The crop is connected to the stomach.
• The stomach has two parts. In the first part, food is bathed in chemicals that begin to break it
down. Then the food moves to a thick-walled, muscular part of the stomach called the gizzard.
• The gizzard squeezes and grinds the partially digested food.
• Remember that birds do not have teeth.
• The gizzard does the same grinding function for birds that your teeth do for you. The gizzard may
contain small stones that the bird has swallowed.
• These stones help grind the food by rubbing against it and crushing it
KEEPING CONDITIONS STABLE
• Because birds are endotherms, they also need a lot of energy to maintain their body
temperature.
• Each day, an average bird eats food equal to about a quarter of its body weight.
• To maintain their body temperature, birds use feathers as well as energy from food.
• Down feathers are specialized to trap heat.
• They are found right next to a bird's skin. So, they mingle and overlap, trapping air.
• Air is a good insulator—a material that does not conduct heat well and therefore helps
prevent heat from escaping.
• By trapping a blanket of warm air next to the bird's skin, down feathers slow the rate at
which the skin loses heat.
• In effect, down feathers cover a bird in lightweight long underwear.
• Humans use down feathers from the eider duck to insulate jackets, sleeping bags, and
bedding.
REPRODUCTION AND CARING FOR YOUNG
• Like reptiles, birds have internal fertilization and lay eggs.
• Bird eggs are similar to reptile eggs except that their shells are harder.
• In most bird species, the female lays the eggs in a nest that has been prepared by one
or both parents.
• Bird eggs will only develop at a temperature close to the body temperature of the
parent bird.
• Thus, a parent bird usually incubates the eggs by sitting on them to keep them warm.
In some species, incubating the eggs is the job of just one parent.
• Chicks may take from 12 to 80 days to develop, depending on the species.
• When it is ready to hatch, a chick pecks its way out of the eggshell
• Most parent birds feed and protect their young at least until they are able to fly.
BIRDS IN THE ENVIRONMENT
• With almost 10,000 species, birds are the most diverse land-dwelling vertebrates.
• Birds are adapted for living in diverse environments.
• You can see some of these adaptations in the shapes of their legs, claws, and bills. For example,
the long legs and toes of wading birds, such as herons, cranes, and spoonbills, make wading easy.
• The claws of perching birds, such as goldfinches and mockingbirds, can lock onto a branch or other
perch.
• The bills of woodpeckers are tools for chipping into the wood of trees.
• Birds also have adaptations for finding mates and caring for their young.
• Birds play an important role in the environment. Nectar-eating birds, like hummingbirds, are
pollinators.
• Seed-eating birds, like sparrows, carry the seeds of plants to new places. This happens when the
birds eat the fruits or seeds of a plant, fly to a new location, and then eliminate some of the seeds
in digestive wastes.
• In addition, birds are some of the chief predators of animals that may be pests. Hawks and owls eat
rats and mice, while many perching birds feed on insect pests.
• 1. a. What characteristics do birds share?
• b. How is a bird's body adapted for flight?
• c. Why do birds need so much oxygen? What adaptation
helps them obtain oxygen?
• 2. a. What are three types of adaptations that allow birds to
survive in diverse environments?
• b. What are three roles birds play in the environment?
• c. Compare and contrast the adaptations of an eagle owl and
a roseate spoonbill for obtaining food.

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BIRDS

MS. SARA ADEL

• The bodies of most birds are adapted for flight, Many of a

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