Birds : Still Remarkable For Their Ability To Fly
A bird is an animal belonging to the phylum tetrapod vertebrates
. If there are nearly 10,000 species of birds, both in their very different ecology than by their behavior, each of which presents a common set of characteristics obvious to the group. Birds have such a beak, feathers, wings and lay eggs.
Birds are remarkable for their ability to fly, with few exceptions (ratites, penguins). Especially since this feature is especially rare in vertebrates. They inhabit all walks of ice from the Antarctic to equatorial forests and deserts. This was made possible through anatomical adaptations, physiological and behavioral (particularly migration) varied. All these characteristics are studied by ornithologists.
Initially, the French language had to designate the birds, generic names based solely on morphology as rapacious, vulture, stork, duck, parrot, dove, goose, swan, etc.. or their use as poultry or waterfowl, some of these terms to designate the same birds from one region to another, as "Royalist". Then with the advent of systematic ornithologists have created more names based on the anatomy to be adapted to a grouping of taxonomic classification. These are passed into everyday language, but many have proved polyphyletic, eg waterfowl.
During the twentieth century, the classification has evolved by combining the different species according to bonds more subtle. Another revolution in the taxonomy occurred during the 1990s with the emergence of a classification based on genetics, namely the techniques of DNA hybridization. It is generally accepted in America while the resistance is more important in Europe.
Unlike most other animals, each species of bird has a single standard French name assigned by the International Commission of the French names of birds.
A bird is an animal with four members, the body covered with feathers, with a horny beak without teeth. His hind legs are and his forelegs wings allowing most of them fly. The type of flight performance and that these species can be achieved are very different. Their weight ranges from a few grams for hummingbirds to over 100 kg for ostriches.
The morphology of birds is adapted to their habitat and their lifestyle. The birds on the beaches or in the marsh, for example, long legs. From the beak shape, any observer can easily deduce the diet. From the study of the wings, it is easy to deduce, for example, if the bird can fly. If migrating, its wings have a more tapered end, the wings more rounded at the ends show a more sedentary.
The morphology of the head also contains many elements that identify specific species such as the presence of a crest, a comb, wattles, vibrissa, of wattle wax mouthpiece. Plumage color and may also be ways to recognize a species. Some have surprising decorative feathers as the feathers of the tail tails of straw, or the lyre bird-male peacocks.
Some anatomical features resemble those of birds than reptiles or mammals. They are warm-blooded and oviparous. The anatomy of birds shows many unusual adaptations in the animal kingdom, many of which aims to facilitate the flight of these adaptations are available even in species of birds can not fly.
The anatomical adaptations for flight are found naturally in the morphology of the skeleton of the bird but also that of his bones.
Several of them are hollow and fuse with air bags which are organs of the respiratory system . In fact, the skeleton of birds is very light (about 15% of the total weight of the bird). The respiratory system of birds is one of the most complex and most effective of the animal kingdom . At the base of the trachea is the vocal organ of birds, the syrinx.
by: Anna Kerry
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