BIRDS

Question 1

Birds taxonomy

Answer 1

1. Kingdom: Animalia
2. Phylum: Chordata
3. Class: Aves
4. How many orders: 40
5. Families: 239
6. Species: 10,500 which changes regularly

Question 2

Which birds are you most likely to see in practise

Answer 2

1. Passerines (song bird/ perching bird)
2. Psittacines
3. Raptors
4. Poultry and waterfowl

Question 3

Give examples of:

1. Passerines (song bird/ perching bird)
2. Psittacines
3. Raptors
4. Poultry and waterfowl

Answer 3

1. Passerines (song bird/ perching bird) - finch, canarie, blue tit, robin
2. Psittacines - parrot (amazon and grey), budgie, cockatiels
3. Raptors - birds of prey, owls, falcons, hawks, buzzards owners often very knowledgeable
4. Poultry and waterfowl - chicken, geese, pheasants, quail, swan

Question 4

What are birds you might see but are more often farmed.

Answer 4

ostrich, rhea, emu: high protein low fat.

Large flightless birds

Question 5

How many toes to passerines have

Answer 5

4

Question 6

Orders of raptor

Answer 6

Accipitriformes – diurnal birds of prey: Hawks, Buzzards
o Falconiformes – diurnal birds of prey: Falcons
o Strigiformes – nocturnal birds of prey: Owls

Question 7

Orders of poultry and waterfowl

Answer 7

1. Anseriformes - ducks, geese, swans

2. Galliformes - chickens, turkeys

Question 8

Difference between anseriformes and gallifrorms

Answer 8

A - family Anatidae

G - family phasianidae

Question 9

Name of the socked bird eye fits into

Answer 9

sclerotic rings

Question 10

Birds and blinking

Answer 10

1. Rarely ever blink
2. eyelids only closed when sleeping
3. Have nictitating membrane (3rd eyelid) which functions like blinking
4. No meibomium gland (harderian and lacrimal main source of tear production
5. Retina doesn’t have a blood supple like mammals

Question 11

Major differences in birds eye

Answer 11

1. cornea thinner and lens softer

2. Retina thick and avascular

Question 12

Bird integument

Answer 12

1. skin is thin and inelastic, esp order strigiformes (owls)
2. Reduced glands compared with mammals:
   No sweat glands
   No sebaceous glands
   Uropygial Gland (preen) - largest on birds that require waterproofing, not present in all

Question 13

Uropygial gland

Answer 13

1. base of tail dorsum
2. Variation in size, shape and number of openings
3. Not present in ostrich, emu, some pigeons and some parrots
4. Produced lipid rich secretion for feather waterproofing and maintenance

Question 14

Name of where feather follicles are and aren’t found

Answer 14

1. Feather follicles confined to well defined areas called pterylae
2. Between these the skin has no follicles: apteriae

Question 15

Anatomy of feather

Answer 15

1. Rachis - line up middle of whole feather.
   Contains capillaries during growth, becomes hollow as matures
2. Vane - either side of central rachis. Consists of a series of barbs with interlocking barbules to keep shape and maintain waterproofing
3. Calamus - bottom of Rachis, anchors feather into follicle. HOLLOW
4. Feather shaft - combination of calamus and central rachis

Question 16

Different feather types

Answer 16

1. Plumulaceous
2. Pennaceous
3. Contour feathers
4. Semiplumes
5. Down feathers
6. Powder down feathers

Question 17

PLUMULACEOUS
Pennaceous
Contour

Answer 17

1. Plumulaceous - soft and downy
2. Pennaceous - stiff and closely knit
3. COntour - outermost feathers, give shape, colour and “contour” protect from elements

Question 18

Semiplumes
Down feathers
Powder down feathers

Answer 18

Semiplumes - under contour feathers, loose structure, provide insulation
Down feathers - Very loose structure with no barbs, provides insulation
Powder down feathers - Specialised down feather where tips of barbules disintegrate during preening. Seen mostly in birds with reduced or absent preen gland like pigeon.

Question 19

Types of contour feather

Answer 19

o Coverts – small contour feathers of the wing
o Remiges – large contour ‘flight feathers’ of the wing
o Retrices – ‘tail feathers’

Question 20

List all the wing feathers. Bottom up, middle up, closest to body up

Answer 20

1. Primary remiges
2. Greater primary coverts
3. Alula
4. Secondary regimes
5. Greater secondary coverts
6. Median secondary coverts
7. lesser secondary coverts
8. tertiary regime
9. Scapulares

Question 21

Bird “armpit”

Answer 21

Axillaries!

Question 22

Feather growth

Answer 22

1. when growing - blood feathers
2. Shaft blood supply
3. huge blood supply
4. Nerve supply

Question 23

What happens if break a blood (growing) feather

Answer 23

bleed profusely and only way to stop is to pluck the feather and put pressure on follicle where it came from. It is very sore

Question 24

Moulting. Damages feathers?

Answer 24

1. Generally occurs once a year

2. Damaged feathers WILL NOT be replaced until next mouth BUT plucked feathers will grow back

Question 25

Skeletal system function

Answer 25

1. Support flight 2. Support Egg Production 3. Support respiration

Question 26

How does the skeleton support flight?

Answer 26

1. reducing weight - fused bones - lightweight structure - Small skull relative to body size - no teeth 2. Providing attachment points for flight muscles - Keel (absent in flightless birds) - Coracoid (supports wing and counteracts action of flight muscles, preventing chest compression

Question 27

Spine

Answer 27

1. flexible and lightweight 2. Cervical vertebrae variable number 11-25! 3. Thoracic vertebrae are all fused whihc forms the NOTARIUM 4. Synsacrum 5. Pygostyle

Question 28

Why is the thoracic vertebrae fused?

Answer 28

o Notarium (fused to resist twisting forces of flight)

Question 29

What are the Synsacrum and Pygostyle

Answer 29

1. Synsacrum - Comprised of fused lumbar, sacral and some caudal vertebrae 2. Pygostyle - final few caudal vertebrae. Allow attachment of tail feathers and musculature

Question 30

Pneumatic bone and medullary bone

Answer 30

1. Pneumatic - hollow, house extensions of the air sacs. Strengthened by internal struts 2. Medullary - provide source of stored calcium during times of peak egg production

Question 31

Forelimb

Answer 31

1. Humerus - pneumatic bone (contains extension of cervical air sacs) 2. Ulna and radius - U diameter > R 3. Carpus and metacarpus fuse to form Carpometacarpus. Alula given to the first digit 4. Phalanges

Question 32

Hindlimb

Answer 32

1. Pelvis - ilium, ischium and pubis 2. Femur 3. PAtella 4. Fibula, reduced 5. Tibiotarsus - fused tibia and upper tarsus 6. Tarsometatarsus 7. Metatatsus 8. digits 4 - different anatomy depending on lifestyle

Question 33

Name the diff anatomies of foot

Answer 33

1. Anisodactyl 2. Zygodactyl 3. Heterodactyl 4. Syndactyl 5. Pamprodactyl

Question 34

Pectoral girdle comprised of:

Answer 34

o Scapula (backwards facing!) o Clavicle paired (fused = furcula – ‘wishbone’) o Coracoid – helps support flights and reduce risk of compressing thoracic cavity o Sternum

Question 35

Pelvic girdle

Answer 35

* Innominate bone – comprises of fused ileum, ischium and pubis * Fused dorsally with synsacrum, making a single ‘unit’ * Pelvis is one unit!

Question 36

What are the main muscles involved in flight?

Answer 36

The large pectoral muscles 1. Pectoralis major - largest = wing depressor 2. Supracoracoideus (tiny muscle, 1/5th size pectoralis) = wing elevator. contraction pulls wing up

Question 37

How much wing muscle mass do the main muscles of flight make up?

Answer 37

1. 20-25% | 2. Pectoralis major and Supracoracoideus

Question 38

Difference in muscles of galliformes

Answer 38

1. flight less frequently 2. have more powerful leg muscles for standing and walking 3. slightly reduced pectoral muscles 4. Chickens

Question 39

Where to inject IM?

Answer 39

1. Use pectoral muscles, except: - Ratites (flightless birds so under developed) - Nestlings (young so bone still cartilage so can accidently put needle into sternum) 2. Can affect flight if get wrong!

Question 40

Where to avoid when giving IM injection and why

Answer 40

1. thigh/ leg muscles 2. because birds have renal portal system 3. blood draining from hindlimb goes straight to kidney without going through circulation first. 4. So concern if inject in thigh can cause damage or drug filtered out before enters circulation.