From the Outside In

Bird bones are considered to be very strong for their weight and size, and they are also hollow. Review the following images to learn more about bird body parts, bones, and wing anatomy.   Bird bones are hollow, and it might be hard to understand how a hollow bone can be strong enough to support […]

Bird Anatomy

Despite their amazing differences in shape, size and lifestyle, all birds have the same basic plan. However, different lifestyles have involved some distinctive variations on the central theme. Birds such as swans have more vertebrae in their necks than the short-necked parrots: swans have 25 vertebrae, parrots have 9. Necks are useful for getting your […]

Bird Classification

Birds belong to the biological class Aves and live virtually everywhere on Earth. Birds are amniotes, animals whose eggs are protected from drying out (a group that includes the mammals, birds, dinosaurs, and reptiles). There are about 9,000 different species of birds, divided into 24 orders and 146 families. Most birds alive today are Neognathae […]

What Is a Bird?

Everyone knows what birds are – even the smallest child can tell the difference between a bird and, well, a non-bird! But what distinctive features are exclusive to birds? Is it the presence of wings, feathers, or the ability to fly? Is it the ability to lay eggs? Is it the presence of a beak […]

Bird Identification

There are between 9,000 and 10,000 different species of birds currently living on the face of the earth. Approximately 3,200 different bird species can be found in South America, 1,700 in Australia and the surrounding islands, 2,900 in Asia, 2,300 in Africa, 1,000 in Europe, and 2,000 in North America. Even Antarctica has 65 different […]

Module 6:
Birds

After completing this module, you will be knowledgeable about: Certain distinctive features that make birds unique as living organisms; Specific morphological features that can separate animals into different taxonomic groupings even when they appear similar; Birds different morphologies that have evolved to help them attain food; Not all birds fly and that not all flying […]