Class Aves – the birds

1. Class Aves – the birds • Examples: gulls, penguins, cranes, cormorants • Body Plan: • Ectoderm modified into feathers • For flight and warmth • Composed of keratin – high in protein • two legs covered in dermal scales • front limbs modified into wings, • thin hollow bones (lightweight are helpful for flying) • Skeleton Type: hollow bone • 4 chambered

2. Aves continued… • Temperature control: endotherm • Respiration: lungs • Respiration includes passageways through skeleton • Sexual Reproduction • internal fertilization • oviparous • Importance: control insect populations, food (meat and eggs), clothing, outdoor sporting (birdwatching/hunting)

3. Aquatic Birds have special adaptations… • Their feathers are highly resistant to being wetted • They usually have higher oil production than other birds from glands at the base of the tail • The oil is applied to the feathers during preening • Preening is birds grooming activity; they run their beak through their feathers to straighten and comb them • During preening oil is spread lightly over feathers to help keep them water resistant • Dry feathers • Keep birds warm when in aquatic sites • Are easier to use for flight (think about a paper airplane that is dry vs. one that is wet!)

4. Aquatic Birds have special adaptations… • Aquatic birds also have special appendages… • Feet are webbed for swimming • Legs may be longer to wade in water • Long toes spread out to distribute weight in mud • And their beaks are modified for grasping wet, slippery prey • Hooked tips, the huge “baskets” of pelicans, spear-like points in herons, cranes and egrets; filters of flamingos • Beaks modified into bills for duck- and goose-like creatures • For sifting worms and arthropods from mud, or for catching fish underwater