BCB705 Biodiversity: Chapter2 - Evolution of Biodiversity

Which animal is the most ancient of all feathered animals?

During which season do birds usually shed or mould their old feathers?

How many orders of bird species fall into the general category of wingless and flightless terrestrial birds at present?

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The Superb Bird (Lophorina superba) has an immense shield which it can expand until it is as as the bird is tall; the Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise (Seleucidis melanoleuca) has a shimmering bib and a huge inflatable waistcoat with bare quills, the wires of its name, curling down behind it.

Word bank: broad, emerald, green, yellow

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The of Argentina (Furnarius rufus; Furnariidae) builds its nest out of and against fence posts and bare . , also nests in holes in and incaserates using mud the incubating female and feeds both the female and the young hatchlings through a small hole in the mud wall. Cave swiftlets (Collocalia inexpectata; Apodidae) in southeast Asia construct artificial nests from glutinous spittle which is attached to the of the cave.

Word bank: Hornbills, branches, mud, oven bird, trees, walls

Fill in the missing words.

The Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisea), holds the record for long-distance . The extremes of its Arctic and Antarctic wintering ranges are 16 700 km apart. Since the routes taken are , these birds may fly 40 300 km each year. During the , many birds gather in flocks and fly southward, returning the following .

Word bank: autumn, circuitous, migration, nesting, spring

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(Picidae) excavate or enlarge holes in , (Alcedinidae) use holes in . The Tailor bird of India, (Orthotomus sutorius), a warbler, sews together the growing leaves of a tree by piercing holes in their margin and tying them together with strands of . The weaver bird weaves plant material together to form an almost basket-like structure which is attached to a and hangs upside down.

Word bank: Woodpeckers, kingfishers, plant fibre, river banks, thin twig, trees

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On the Madagscarene Islands, the (Raphus cucullatus), was a very large that adopted a terrestrial habit and was exterminated by the introduction of to the island in the seventeenth century. The bird Aepyornis was about 3m tall and possessed the largest known for any bird species (148 times the size of a hens egg by volume).

Word bank: Elephant, dodo, dogs, eggs, human, pigeon

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Highly birds; which includes swifts (Apodidae), swallows (Hemiprocnidae), terns (Laridae) and albatrosses (Diomedeidae); have long wings which enable them to soar in the air for long periods using the amount of energy. Other bird species have short wings that enable them to take off and fly rapidly for short distances (eg sparrows).

Word bank: aerial, minimum, pointed, quickly, rounded

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Most birds have an gland near the base of the tail. The bird takes this oil with its beak and coats individual feathers to them and maintain their . Other birds, including herons, parrots (Psittacidae) and toucans lack this and feathers with a fine talc like dust, powder-down, that is produced by the continuous of the tips of special feathers.

Word bank: condition, fraying, gland, insulation, oil, waterproof

Fill in the missing.

The of birds are extremely thin and hollow inside, with structural strength being created by . The heavy extension of the that supported Archaeopteryx's tail has been replaced with stout quilled . The heavy with teeth has been replaced with a beak composed of lightweight called keratin.

Word bank: bones, cross struts, feathers, jaw, protein, spine

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Two theories that flight evolved 'from up' and 'from down' have been proposed. The descendants of Archaeopteryx and other ancient birds underwent a dramatic adaptive radiation during the Cretaceous period when both aquatic and habitats were invaded. Hesperornis was a loon-like that possessed teeth, and had already lost its power of flight since the had become functionless and is the only other bird species known to have .

Word bank: diver, ground, teeth, terrestrial, trees, wings

Fill in the missing words.

These Archaeopteryx lithographica probably achieved some degree of , and are certainly the earliest known animal to possess . Anatomically these animals are much less specialized than the modern birds but does represent the earliest animal classified as a member of and is in its own subclass . All other birds were extinct or living belong to the subclass .

Word bank: Archaeornithes, Aves, Neornithes, feathers, gliding

Fill in the missing words.

The feet of birds also show adaptations to scratching for food (pheasants; ), wading (heron; ), grasping (eagles), perching (warblers; ) and swimming (ducks; ).

Word bank: Anatidae, Ardeidae, Muscicapidae, Phasianidae