BIRDS
Birds are small to large, warm-blooded, egg-laying,
feathered, bipedal vertebrates capable of powered flight (although some are
secondarily flightless). Many scientists characterize birds as dinosaurs,
but this is consequence of the physical structure of evolutionary
diagrams. Birds aren’t dinosaurs. They’re birds. The
logic & rationale that some use to justify statements such as “birds are
dinosaurs” is the same logic & rationale that results in saying “vertebrates
are echinoderms”. Well, no one says the latter. No one should say
the former, either.
However, birds are evolutionarily derived from
theropod dinosaurs. Birds first appeared in the Triassic or Jurassic,
depending on which avian paleontologist you ask. They inhabit a wide
variety of terrestrial and surface marine environments, and exhibit
considerable variation in behaviors and diets.
Representatives from several modern orders are shown
below.
PSITTACIFORMES
Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) (above & below) - the rainbow
lorikeet (“lorie”). This bird is probably the most beautifully colored
parrot on Earth (other contenders include the New World scarlet macaw,
Ara macao, and Australia’s eastern
rosella, Platycercus eximius). Rainbow lories crush flowers in
their beaks & feed on the squeezed-out juices. Natural
distribution: eastern Australia & southwestern Pacific islands.
Above:
captive, Newport Aquarium, Covington, Kentucky, USA.
Below:
captive, Columbus Zoo, Powell, Ohio, USA.
Conuropsis carolinensis (Linnaeus, 1758) - the extinct Carolina
parakeet. This was a colorful species that lived throughout much of
eastern America (unusual for a member of the parrot family - most are Southern
Hemisphere dwellers). It was principally a seed eater and took advantage
of those in orchards & farmers’ fields. Because of this, it was
perceived as a pest, and was driven to extinction by hunters for pest control,
for feathers to be used in the fashion industry, and for fun. The last
verified Carolina parakeet died in February 1918 in the Cincinnati Zoo.
Left:
mount, public display, Cleveland Museum of Natural History (Cleveland, Ohio,
USA).
Right:
mount, public display, Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago, Illinois,
USA).
COLUMBIFORMES
Ectopistes migratorius (Linnaeus, 1766) - male passenger pigeon (mount) on
public display at CMNH (Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio,
USA). The story of the passenger pigeon is famous as an example of the
idiotic destructive power of modern man & human overpopulation. The
passenger pigeon, Ectopistes migratorius, was at one time the # 1 most
abundant bird in North America, and likely the # 1 most abundant bird on
Earth. The species became extinct about 100 years ago. The last
known individual was a captive bird held at the Cincinnati Zoo. It died
at 1 PM on 1 September 1914. It is the only species whose extinction
timing is very well known.
Ectopistes migratorius occupied the central & eastern portions of
temperate North America. It was driven to extinction by professional
hunters (the birds were destined for food markets - American Indians also
killed these birds as a source of food) and clear-cutting of forests.
Passenger pigeon flocks were famously huge - they darkened skies and took hours
to fly by. Their droppings fell like snow. Individual flocks were
estimated to have contained more than three billion birds. Flock density
was so high that when two flocks flying in opposite directions collided,
numerous stunned birds fell to the ground.
Passenger pigeons nested in huge colonies, occupying
hundreds of square miles of forests. Single trees could have hundreds of
nests. Tree branches were seen to break from the weight of all the
perching birds. Late 1800s hunters targeted the nesting colony
areas. Oddly, passenger pigeons couldn’t nest alone or in small
colonies. With the destruction of the nesting colonies, the species
couldn’t make a comeback.
The passenger pigeon is the only species in the
pigeon/dove family driven to extinction by gun nerds. However, several
other birds in this family have gone extinct, usually island species.
The Lesson? Natural resources can run out. (think oil as well)
PICIFORMES
Campephilus principalis (Linnaeus, 1758) - male & female ivory-billed
woodpeckers (left: mount, Carnegie Museum of Natural History,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; right: mount, Field Museum of Natural
History, Chicago, Illinois, USA). Recorded calls & possible sightings
of the ivory-billed woodpecker in southern America in recent years have
been received with much excitement by ornithologists & the general public (listen
to a genuine 1935 recording made in Louisiana; listen
to a 2005 recording made in Arkansas - turn up your computer speaker).
The species, Campephilus principalis, has been considered extinct or
near-extinct for much of the 20th century. It originally lived in
southeastern America and Cuba (mitochondrial DNA analysis has suggested that
the extinct or near-extinct Cuban form is a distinct species, Campephilus
bairdii; the ivory-billed woodpecker, the Cuban ivory-billed woodpecker,
and the imperial woodpecker (Campephilus imperialis) diverged from each
during the late Early Pleistocene, at about 1 m.y. ago; see Fleischer et al.,
2006, Biology Letters 2: 466-469).
The ivory-bill is a very large, black-and-white
woodpecker that resembles another large bird, the still-living pileated
woodpecker (Dryocopus
pileatus). The adult male ivory-bill has a wedge of intense red
coloration at the back of the head. Juvenile and the female ivory-bills
lack the reddish-colored wedge.
Colaptes rufipileus Ridgway, 1877 (aka Colaptes cafer
rufipileus) - male Guadalupe flicker (mount, FMNH 9271, Field Museum of
Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA). The geographic distribution of
this now-extinct bird was restricted to Guadalupe Island, a couple hundred
miles offshore from the western coast of Baja California, Mexico.
Flickers are members of the woodpecker family (Picidae). Human
introduction of goats and cats to Guadalupe Island resulted in this flicker’s
extinction. The sharp, pointed beak of flickers is used to access insects
in wood via chiseling.
Ramphastos sulfuratus Lesson, 1830 - the keel-billed toucan (mount, public
display, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio, USA).
The toucans are an odd group of New World tropical to
subtropical birds having enormous bills relative to body size. Toucan
bills are brightly colored, very lightweight, strong, and have serrated biting
edges. Most species, including the keel-billed toucan shown above, are
not sexually dimorphic in body shape, body size, plumage or bill coloration
These birds are principally frugivores (fruit eaters).
Natural distribution: Central America to central South America
CAPRIMULGIFORMES
Podargus strigoides (Latham, 1802) - the tawny frogmouth of Australia and
Tasmania is an odd noctural, predatory bird. It feeds on crawling insects
& other arthropods & occasional small mammals. During the
daytime, when asleep on branches, its grayish-colored plumage well camouflages
the bird (potoos also do this). Captive specimen (Newport Aquarium
collection, Covington, Kentucky, USA).
ANSERIFORMES
Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) - male & female Canada
geese. This is a mated pair in Newark, Ohio, USA. This species is
the most widespread goose in North America. Geese (Family Anatidae) are
medium-sized, aquatic & terrestrial, and herbivorous. They generally
feed on low-growing terrestrial or aquatic vegetation. Many subspecies of
Canada goose have been proposed. They are distinguished principally by
body size, relative neck length, and subtle to obvious plumage coloration
patterns. Canada geese are moderately noisy birds, and are most
recognizable in flight by their travel in V-formations.
Aix galericulata (Linnaeus, 1758) - male mandarin duck (mount,
Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio, USA). This
multicolored bird is a perching duck (Family Anatidae, Subfamily Anatinae,
Tribe Cairirini). It is arboreal, ground-dwelling, and also occupies
ponds and lakes.
Natural distribution: eastern Russia, eastern China, Japan.
CHARADRIIFORMES
Larus
spp. - Gulls (Family Laridae) consist of over four dozen species. They
have medium-sized bodies, webbed feet, and are aquatic & terrestrial.
They are nearly omnivorous, but prefer predation and scavenging. Despite
their reputation for being seabirds (sea gulls), they remain near coastlines
and are often found far inland. Apart from a slight size difference
between the sexes, gulls are not sexually dimorphic. Juveniles differ
considerably from adults in plumage patterns and coloration.
Left:
Larus argentatus Pontoppidan, 1763 - the herring gull (Cadillac
Mountain, Mt. Desert Island, southeastern coastal Maine, USA). The
herring gull is characterized by having a yellowish beak with a lower red spot,
very pale grayish colored legs, a white & gray body, yellow eyes, and
dominantly black wingtips.
Center:
Larus novaehollandiae Stephens, 1826 - the silver gull (beach at
Port Germein jetty, Port Pirie, southern South Australia). The silver
gull has a red beak, red legs, white eyes, and differently patterned black
wingtips, compared with the herring gull.
Right:
Larus atricilla Linnaeus, 1758 - the laughing gull (Singer Bar
Point, San Salvador Island, eastern Bahamas). The laughing gull has a
black head, blackish bill, and blackish legs (the bill & legs can also be
dark reddish).
Onychoprion anaethetus (Scopoli, 1786) - bridled tern (Family Laridae) at
Green Cay, western Graham's Harbour, offshore from northwestern San Salvador
Island, eastern Bahamas. This female’s nest is below the rock upon which
she stands. It consists of one egg sitting in the shade under the rock.
The world’s 44 species of living terns (Family
Laridae, Subfamily Sterninae; a.k.a. Family Sternidae) have moderately
small, slender, streamlined bodies with long, pointed wings, a sharp-pointed
bill, and forked tails. Terns are principally piscivores (fish eaters).
Numenius borealis (Forster, 1772) - the eskimo curlew (mount, FMNH
47398, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA). The
curlews are members of Family Scolopacidae - the sandpipers and allies.
The eskimo curlew is an extinct species, wiped out by gun nerds in the late
1800s and early 1900s. The last sightings were in the 1960s. This
bird migrated seasonally from southern South America to Arctic Canada and
Alaska and the Russian Far-East.
PELECANIFORMES
Sula nebouxii Milne-Edwards, 1882 - the blue-footed booby (mount) on public display
at CM (Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
USA). The blue-footed booby has, as its name indicates, the
oddest-colored legs & feet of any bird. Blue is not a common color
among living organisms. The boobies are medium-sized, tropical to
subtropical marine birds. Many people in history have perceived these
birds as being stupid (they are awkward on land & do not have fear of
humans) - this was the inspiration for them being called “boobies”. The
blue-footed booby is a marine piscivore, as are the other species of the Family
Sulidae. It inhabits the tropical and subtropical eastern Pacific Basin.
Fregata magnificens Mathews, 1914 (above & below) - magnificent
frigatebirds (Family Fregatidae) are moderately large, tropical to subtropical
seabirds with a long, bifurcated tail and an unusually long wingspan.
They seldom land at the ocean surface, but inhabit islands and marine
coastlines. Adult plumage is mostly blackish. Adult male
frigatebirds have a red throat pouch, which they enlarge
while engaged in courtship display.
Natural distribution: tropical to subtropical Atlantic & eastern
Pacific.
Above:
nesting colony on Catto Cay in Grahams Harbour, offshore from San Salvador
Island, eastern Bahamas; black-headed individuals are adults and white-headed
individuals are juveniles.
Below:
male frigate-bird with enlarged throat pouch (mount, Cleveland Museum of
Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio, USA).
CICONIIFORMES
Phoenicopterus ruber Linnaeus, 1758 (above & below) - the greater
flamingo (mount, CM, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, USA).
Flamingos (Family Phoenicopteridae) are arguably the
oddest looking birds on Earth. The five species are characterized by the
presence of hyper-elongated legs and necks, and a strongly ventrally-directed
beak. Unique among modern birds, flamingos are filter feeders. They
feed with their head upside-down and their dorsal beak downward, straining
water or fine-grained sediment for particles of food (ranging from
photosynthetic bacteria to protists to metaphytes to small metazoans).
Flamingos range in plumage coloration from very pale
pink to pinkish red. This coloration is attributed to pigments derived
from small crustaceans in flamingo diets. Captive flamingos can be given
carrot juice to induce pink coloration in their feathers.
Flamingos prefer extreme environments. They are
known to occupy and nest in hypersaline marine settings and alkaline lacustrine
settings. These harsh environments are likely used to keep potential
predators at bay.
Phoenicopterus ruber - the greater flamingo (mount, CM, Carnegie Museum of
Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA).
Phoenicopterus ruber Linnaeus, 1758 (above & below) - greater
flamingos (captives, Columbus Zoo, Powell, Ohio, USA). The individual
shown below is in its feeding/drinking posture, with its head upside-down.
GALLIFORMES
Chrysolophus pictus (Linnaeus, 1758) - the golden pheasant (mount,
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA).
Pheasants (Family Phasianidae) are medium-sized to moderately large, generally
long-tailed, highly colorful birds. The natural distribution of the family
is tropical, subtropical, and temperate zones of parts of the Old World.
Pheasants are strongly sexually dimorphic. Males have brightly colored
plumage and long, showy tails. Female pheasants are more drab-colored
with reduced tails. The most famous species of colorful pheasants is the peacock.
Pheasants are principally granivores (seed eaters).
Natural distribution of golden pheasant: central China.
Lophophorus impejanus (Latham, 1790) - the impeyan pheasant (male captive,
Columbus Zoo, Powell, Ohio, USA). This species is native to the Himalayan
Mountains of southern Asia. Female impeyan pheasants have light and dark
brown-colored plumage.
Syrmaticus reevesii (Gray, 1829) (above & below) - Reeves' pheasant
(captive, Columbus Zoo, Powell, Ohio, USA). Natural distribution:
northern & central China highlands.
Phasianus colchicus Linnaeus, 1758 - ring-necked pheasant (male captive,
Columbus Zoo, Powell, Ohio, USA). Natural distribution: parts of
Asia.
Tympanuchus cupido cupido - female heath hen (mount, FMNH 11053, Field Museum
of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA). The heath hen is an extinct
subspecies of greater prairie chicken that lived along America's Eastern
Seaboard. As are the pheasants (see above), prairie chickens are members
of Family Phasianidae. The heath hen was abundant in its range before the
1800s and was used extensively as a food source by early American
settlers. Recent research findings lean toward distinguishing the heath
hen as a species separate from the greater prairie chicken.
Colinus virginianus (Linnaeus, 1758) - the northern bobwhite quail
(captive, Columbus Zoo, Powell, Ohio, USA) is in Family Odontophoridae, the New
World quails.
Natural distribution: eastern USA to central USA to southern Mexico
GRUIFORMES
Balearica regulorum Bennett, 1834 - gray crowned crane (captive, Columbus
Zoo, Powell, Ohio, USA). This is one of 15 species of cranes in Family
Gruidae. Cranes have medium-sized bodies, long legs, and long
necks. The gray crowned crane is a granivore (seed eater) and predator on
invertebrates and small vertebrates.
Natural distribution: parts of the sub-Saharan African savannahs
Grus vipio Pallas, 1811 - white-naped crane (captive, Columbus Zoo, Powell, Ohio,
USA). This bird is in Family Gruidae. It feeds on various plant
parts and is predatory on some small animals.
Natural distribution: parts of central & eastern Asia
CASUARIIFORMES
Casuarius casuarius (Linnaeus, 1758) - the Australian cassowary (mount,
CMC BT1582, Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA). The
casuariiform birds are a small group of large, flightless birds. The
Australian cassowary is a forest dweller in Australia, New Guinea, and some
nearby islands. It gets up to 5 feet tall and 300 pounds. The head
and neck are featherless, or nearly so. A prominent bony crest atop the
skull allows the birds to navigate through dense low-growing vegetation.
The cassowary does have wings, but they are vestigial, and cannot be used for
flying. The feathers are hair-like. The claws of its feet are large
and sharp. They can and do attack by leaping into the air, feet forward,
and slashing with their claws. Just like some dinosaurs!
PROCELLARIIFORMES
Oceanodroma macrodactyla Bryant, 1887 - male Guadalupe petrel (mount, FMNH
33449, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA). The
procellariiform birds are the albatrosses and petrels, seabirds that are
frequently over the open-ocean. The Guadalupe petrel is a
recently-extinct bird wiped out by human-introduced cats onto Guadalupe Island,
a couple hundred miles offshore from the western shore of Baja California,
Mexico. The island was the species’ only nesting locality. Petrels
are principally oceanic piscivores (fish eaters), but also feed on small
nekto-planktonic marine arthropods.
STRIGIFORMES
Left:
Otus asio (Linnaeus, 1758) (a.k.a. Megascops asio) - the
eastern screech owl (mount, CMC BT3296, Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati,
Ohio, USA).
Right:
Nyctea scandiaca (Linnaeus, 1758) (a.k.a. Bubo scandiacus)
- the snowy owl (mount, CMC, Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati, Ohio,
USA).
About 200 species of owls are known on Earth.
They are small to somewhat large, predatory, mostly nocturnal birds having
large, immobile eyes with binocular vision, flattened faces, remarkably
flexible necks, and essentially soundless flight. Owls cannot move their eyes
while watching moving objects - they must move their entire head. They
can twist their heads >180°! Owls are not sexually dimorphic in
plumage, although slight, sex-based, body size differences occur.
APODIFORMES
Calypte anna (Lesson, 1829) - male Anna’s hummingbird (mount, Field Museum of
Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA). The hummingbirds (Family
Trochilidae) are small to very small birds occurring only in the New World,
mostly in tropical habitats. Their flight involves extremely rapid wing
beats, resulting in a buzzing or humming sound. They feed on flower
nectar and insects. Nectar is obtained by hovering and inserting long,
needle-like bills into flowers. Most adult males have a set of colorful,
iridescent throat feathers called a gorget. Over 330 species of
hummingbirds are known in the Holocene. Anna’s hummingbird is a North
American species, typically occurring along the western coast of America and
parts of adjacent Canada and Mexico.
PASSERIFORMES
Piranga olivacea (Gmelin, 1789) - scarlet tanager (male with summer
plumage) (mount) on public display at CMC (Cincinnati Museum of Natural History
and Science, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA). The scarlet tanager is a brilliantly
red-colored passerine bird that summers in temperate eastern North
America. Very few of the >200 species in the tanager family
(Thraupidae) inhabit temperate North America - most tanagers are nonmigratory
tropical to subtropical forms. Breeding males in summer plumage are the
only members of this species that are brilliantly scarlet-colored. The
males gradually lose their red coloration as boreal winters arrive.
Scarlet tanagers winter in the Amazon Basin and northern South America.
They are principally insectivores and frugivores.
Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) - male red-winged blackbird (mount,
CMC TT2648, Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Science, Cincinnati, Ohio,
USA). This is one of about 100 species of icterid passerine birds.
Male red-winged blackbirds are entirely black, but have a shoulder patch of
red, generally fringed with yellow. The species is strongly sexually
dimorphic in plumage coloration. Juveniles and females have sparrow-like
feather colors & patterns, but are significantly larger than
sparrows. Red-winged blackbirds have a varied diet, but are principally
insectivores and granivores (seed eaters).
Passerina cyanea (Linnaeus, 1766) - breeding male indigo bunting
(mount, CMC TT2631, Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Science,
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA). Indigo buntings (Family Fringillidae) are small,
attractive, and intensely blue-colored. The females lack the blue
plumage, and have drab brown-colored feathers. Non-breeding males also have
significant drab brown coloration. These birds are insectivores,
frugivores, and granivores.
Natural distribution: eastern & central & southwestern America
Bombycilla cedrorum Vieillot, 1808 - cedar waxwing (mount, CMC TT2140,
Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Science, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA).
The waxwings (Family Bombycillidae) are a small group of passerine birds
characterized by head crests, yellow-tipped tail feathers, and the typical
presence of reddish, waxy tips on their secondary wing feathers. They are
principally insectivores and frugivores.
Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 - northern raven near Double Arch, Arches National
Park, eastern Utah, USA. Jays, crows, and ravens (Family Corvidae) have
the largest body sizes of any passerine bird group in the world. Corvid
passerine birds are omnivorous, aggressive, usually gregarious, have harsh
calls, powerful beaks, and no to limited sexual dimorphism. These birds
typically have bristles covering the nostrils along the upper proximal portions
of the beak. The northern raven occupies a variety of habitats in much of
North America, Eurasia, and northern Africa.
Cyanocitta stelleri macrolopha (Baird, 1854) - Steller’s jay (Family Corvidae) at
Horseshoe Park Overlook, northeastern Rocky Mountains National park, northern
Colorado, USA. Jays are in the same passerine bird family as crows and ravens
(see above). The Steller’s jay is a medium-sized bird with grayish-black
plumage on the upper body, head, and crest, and dark blue plumage on the lower
body and tail. Steller’s jays are essentially omnivorous. They’ve
been observed to be granivores (acorns/nuts/seeds), insectivores, frugivores
(berries/fruit), and carnivores (small birds/frogs). Steller’s jays
principally occupy evergreen forests in southern Alaska, western Canada,
western America, and Mexico.
Most info. from Austin & Singer (1961), Terres
(1991), Udvardy & Farrand (1994), Stokes & Stokes (1996), Flannery
& Schouten (2001), Peterson & Peterson (2002), Dunn & Alderfer
(2006).