What is a Bird?
Definition: are reptilelike animals that maintain a constant internal body temperature. They have an outer covering of feathers; two legs that are covered with scales and are used for walking or perching; and front limbs modified into wings.
Definition: are reptilelike animals that maintain a constant internal body temperature. They have an outer covering of feathers; two legs that are covered with scales and are used for walking or perching; and front limbs modified into wings.
Body Plan:
Birds have a number of adaptations that enable them to fly. These adaptations include highly efficient digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems; aerodynamic feathers and wings; strong, lightweight bones, and strong chest muscles. Feeding: Herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores. Circulation: Birds have four-chambered hearts and two separate circulatory loops. Respiration: They have a unique and highly efficient way of taking in oxygen and eliminating carbon dioxide. The complex system of air sacs and breathing tubes ensures that air flows into the air sacs and out through the lungs in a single direction. |
Excretion:
The excretory systems of many birds are similar to those of most living reptiles. Nitrogenous wastes are removed from the blood by the kidneys, converted to uric acid, and deposited in the cloaca. There, most of the water is reabsorbed, leaving uric acid crystals in a white, pasty form. Response: Birds have well-developed sense organs, which are adaptations that enable them to coordinate the movements required for flight. They also have a brain that can quickly interpret and respond to a lot of incoming signals. They have extraordinary well developed eyes and sizable optic lobes in the brain. The senses of taste and smell, however, are not well developed in most birds, and the olfactory bulbs in a bird's brain are small. Reproduction: In birds, both male and female reproductive tracts open into the cloaca. Bird eggs are amniotic eggs. |