This course outline corresponds to the
outline you will see during lecture. The course topics and their
organizational relationships are shown in black. Readings from the textbook (Ornithology
by Gill) are shown in red. A brief summary of each topic is given in blue.
- I. INTRODUCTION (pp. 3-20)
- A. The class Aves
- 1. definition - birds are feathered,
endothermic, oviparous vertebrates; birds are the only extant
organisms with feathers
- 2. distribution - birds occupy virtually
every terrestrial and aquatic habitat on the planet
- 3. general characteristics - however,
birds are relatively uniform in design because of the strict
constraints imposed by an aerial lifestyle
- a. flight
- b. physiology
- c. sensory systems
- d. ecology
- e. behavior
- B. Overview of course
- 1. lecture - lecture will
cover all major aspects of bird biology
- 2. lab - lab will be strongly
field-oriented with an emphasis on identification and field techniques
-
- II. ORIGIN OF BIRDS
(pp.
21-36)
- A. Archaeopteryx
lithographica
- 1. discovery - Archaeopteryx was described in the 1860s from the
Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria
- 2. characteristics - it is
a remarkable combination of reptilian and avian features
- a. reptilian
- b. avian
- 3. significance - as the
oldest known bird, Archaeopteryx is often a focal point
for discussions on the evolutionary transition from reptiles
to birds
- 4. Is it the earliest bird? - Archaeopteryx remains the oldest confirmed bird
despite challengers such as Protoavis
- B. Potential ancestors
- 1. alternative scenarios - there
are five basic scenarios for which groups of archosaurs is directly
ancestral to birds
- 2. evidence - evidence best
supports theropod dinosaurs as the direct ancestors of birds
- C. Evolution of flight
- 1. flight capabilities of Archaeopteryx - Archaeopteryx was probably arboreal and capable of flapping flight
- 2. scenarios - although there
are two scenarios for the evolution of flight, feathers predate
the evolution of birds and flight
- a. from the trees down
- b. from the ground up
- D. Diversification
- 1. Mesozoic - Archaeopteryx remains the only Jurassic bird, but
birds diversified rapidly in the Cretaceous into two major lineages
- a. Jurassic
- b. Cretaceous
- 2. Cenozoic - after the KT
boundary (and the extinction of toothed birds and dinosaurs),
modern orders diversify rapidly while experimenting with a variety
of ecological lifestyles
- a. patterns of extinction
- b. experimentation
- c. the appearance of modern birds
-
- III. DESIGN OF BIRDS
- A. Avian design requirements - an
aerial lifestyle imposes strong design constraints
- B. Support
- 1. axial skeleton
- 2. appendicular skeleton
- C. Power
- 1. musculature
- 2. metabolism
- a. fuel
- b. waste
- D. Gas exchange
- 1. respiration
- 2. circulation
- E. Control
- 1. nervous system
- 2. sensory system
- a. visual
- b. auditory
- c. others
-
- IV. FEATHERS AND FLIGHT
- A. Feathers
- 1. function
- 2. structure
- 3. feather types
- a. flight
- b. contour
- c. semiplume
- d. down
- e. filoplume
- f. bristle
- g. powder down
- 4. maintenance and molt
- 5. coloration
- B. Flight
- 1. wing design
- a. lift
- b. thrust
- 2. problems
- a. induced drag
- b. boundary layer
- 3. ecology of flight
-
- V. SYSTEMATICS AND CLASSIFICATION
- A. Background
- B. Methods
- 1. philosophical
- 2. empirical
- C. A Classification of Birds
- 1. Paleoganthae
- a. Tinamiformes
- b. Rheiformes
- c. Struthioniformes
- d. Casuariuformes
- e. Dinornithiformes
- 2. Neognathae
- a. Podicipediformes
- b. Sphenisciformes
- c. Procellariiformes
-
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