Jump to content

Portal:Birds

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Birds Portal

Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (Latin: [ˈaveːs]), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the 5.5 cm (2.2 in) bee hummingbird to the 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) common ostrich. There are over 11,000 living species and they are split into 44 orders. More than half are passerine or "perching" birds. Birds have wings whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimming. The study of birds is called ornithology.

Birds are feathered theropod dinosaurs and constitute the only known living dinosaurs. Likewise, birds are considered reptiles in the modern cladistic sense of the term, and their closest living relatives are the crocodilians. Birds are descendants of the primitive avialans (whose members include Archaeopteryx) which first appeared during the Late Jurassic. According to recent estimates, modern birds (Neornithes) evolved in the Late Cretaceous and diversified dramatically around the time of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago, which killed off the pterosaurs and all non-ornithuran dinosaurs.

Many social species preserve knowledge across generations (culture). Birds are social, communicating with visual signals, calls, and songs, and participating in such behaviour as cooperative breeding and hunting, flocking, and mobbing of predators. The vast majority of bird species are socially (but not necessarily sexually) monogamous, usually for one breeding season at a time, sometimes for years, and rarely for life. Other species have breeding systems that are polygynous (one male with many females) or, rarely, polyandrous (one female with many males). Birds produce offspring by laying eggs which are fertilised through sexual reproduction. They are usually laid in a nest and incubated by the parents. Most birds have an extended period of parental care after hatching.

Many species of birds are economically important as food for human consumption and raw material in manufacturing, with domesticated and undomesticated birds being important sources of eggs, meat, and feathers. Songbirds, parrots, and other species are popular as pets. Guano (bird excrement) is harvested for use as a fertiliser. Birds figure throughout human culture. About 120 to 130 species have become extinct due to human activity since the 17th century, and hundreds more before then. Human activity threatens about 1,200 bird species with extinction, though efforts are underway to protect them. Recreational birdwatching is an important part of the ecotourism industry. (Full article...)

Selected general bird topic

Bird control spikes on a rooftop in Denmark

Bird control or bird abatement involves the methods to eliminate or deter pest birds from landing, roosting and nesting.

Bird control is important because pest birds can create health-related problems through their feces, including histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, and psittacosis. Bird droppings may also cause damage to property and equipment. Birds also frequently steal from crops and fruit orchards. (Full article...)

List of selected general topics

Selected taxon

A female red-headed barbet
(Eubucco bourcierii) in Peru

The New World barbets are a family, Capitonidae, of 15 birds in the order Piciformes, which inhabit humid forests in Central and South America. They are closely related to the toucans.

The New World barbets are plump birds, with short necks and large heads. They get their name from the bristles that fringe their heavy bills. Most species are brightly coloured and live in tropical forest.

These barbets are mostly arboreal birds, which nest in tree holes dug by breeding pairs, laying two to four eggs. They eat fruit and insects. These birds do not migrate. (Full article...)

List of selected taxon articles

Topics

Quotes

...All quotes
...Show another quote

Resources

Free online resources:

There is also Birds of North America, Cornell University's massive project collecting information on every breeding bird in the ABA area. It is available for US$40 a year.

For more sources, including printed sources, see WikiProject Birds.

WikiProjects

Selected images

Selected bird anatomy topic

The barn owl, Tyto alba, has a prominent heart-shaped facial disc that aids it during hunting.

In ornithology, the facial disc is the concave collection of feathers on the face of some birds—most notably owls—surrounding the eyes. The concavity of the facial disc forms a circular paraboloid that collects sound waves and directs those waves towards the owl's ears. The feathers making up this disc can be adjusted by the bird to alter the focal length of this sound collector, enabling the bird to focus at different distances and allowing it to locate prey by sound alone under snow, grass, and plant cover.

Other bird species, such as harriers, have less prominent facial discs. In harriers, the related term facial ruff refers to feathers around the neck that are raised in response to noise, essentially enlarging the facial disc and improving hearing. (Full article...)

List of selected anatomy articles

Selected species

Adult of subspecies pealei or tundrius, Alaska
The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), also known simply as the peregrine, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is a medium to large-sized falcon, females being larger and about the size of a large crow, with a blue-gray back, barred white underside, and a black head and "mustache". There are seventeen subspecies. Essentially, this species can be found everywhere on Earth, except in the polar regions, on very high mountains, in deserts, and most tropical rainforests, making it one of the world's most widespread falcons. Both the English and scientific names of this species mean "wandering falcon" and refer to the species' wide range and its highly migratory habits. It feeds almost exclusively on medium sized birds, but will very rarely hunt small mammals. It mates for life and nests in a scrape. The peregrine falcon became an endangered species due to the overuse of pesticides such as DDT. Wildlife services bred the species in captivity, and the use of DDT ceased; with this the peregrine falcon has made a recovery.


Did you know

Categories

Things you can do

Create requested articles (WikiProject Birds – Article requests):

Do these tasks:


Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

More outstanding tasks at the project's cleanup listing, Category:Birds articles needing attention, and Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds/Todo.

Taxonomy of Aves

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Sources

  1. ^ Commons, T.K. (2012). Instant Genius: Smart Mouths: The Best Quotations Ever Collected. Portable Press. p. pt56. ISBN 978-1-60710-684-5. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
Discover Wikipedia using portals

Purge server cache