Birds and Mammals

Birds
• Ornithology is the study of birds
Characteristics of Birds:
• Forelimbs modified into wings
• Feathers
• Hollow, lightweight bones
• Endothermic
• Efficient respiration
• Scaly feet (birds are related to reptiles)
• furculum (wishbone)
 Form and Function in Birds
Feathers
• Types of feathers
• Down feathers - provide insulation
Contour feathers - cover head and body, provide coloration
Flight feathers - on wings and tail, provide lift
• Feathers are covered in oil to keep them water proof - "like water off
a duck's back" - this oil is secreted froma preen gland
• Preening is a behavior that replaces the oil on feathers, and repairs
broken links on the vanes
Bird Digestion
• Birds digest food quickly, they can't afford the extra weight.
They have no teeth, the breakdown of food occurs in the gizzard -
sometimes birds swallow rocks to assist this
The crop stores food...mother birds regurgitate food stored in the
crop to their babies
Waste exits through the cloaca - and so do eggs
Birds Beak
 Mammals
• Characteristics of Mammals
• 1. Hair (some marine mammals have very
little)
2. Specialized Teeth
3. Endothermic
4. Mammary Glands
5. Placenta (most)
6. Diaphragm - muscle that aids breathing
 Mammals
Specialized Teeth
• Incisors - biting
Canines - stabbing, holding
molars - crushing, grinding
• Different types of mammals have different
types of teeth - depending on their diet
• Predators have large canines
Herbivores have large flat molars
• Mammals have a four chambered heart and a double
loop circulatory system
• Mammary Glands - used to nurse young, produce milk
 Types of Mammals
Order Monotremata
• Egg laying mammals found only in Australia
Have reptilian characteristics (cloaca & egg laying)
Have mammalian features (hair, mammary gland)
• Examples: Duck Billed Platypus and the Echidna (also called a Spiny
Anteater)
Order Marsupiala
• Mammals bear their young in am immature state, babies develop in a pouch
Majority are found on Australia, opossums are found on other continents
Examples: Kangaroo, wallaby, tasmanian devil, koala
Placental Mammals
• Placental Mammals have a gestation period (length of time in uterus)
Placenta- membrane that allows nutrients to pass thru from mom to baby
• Domesticated animals have been kept and bred by people - cows, dogs,
pigs, horses..etc
• Rodents, Bats, Primates, etc