ORNITHOLOGY LECTURE (ZOOL 4408/5308)
Professor: Dr. Ken Schmidt
Office: Room 416 – Biology
Email: Kenneth.schmdt@ttu.edu
TAs: Steve Collins (Thursday)
Elizabeth Farley-Dawson (Wed.)
Office: Room 407 - Biology Bldg.
Email: steve.collins@ttu.edu
elizabeth.farley-dawson@ttu.edu
LECTURE SCHDEULE
Room 106 Biology; Tuesday and Thursday 9:30-10:50
Jan 16 – An Introduction to Birds as flying machines
Jan 21 – Land birds – Nonpasserines: Distribution and Taxonomy
Jan 23 – Land birds - Passerines: Distribution and Taxonomy
Jan 28 – Seabirds: Distribution and Taxonomy
Feb 30 – Seabirds: Distribution and Taxonomy
Feb 4 – Flight I
Feb 6 – Flight II
Feb 11 – Avian evolution
Feb 13 – Plumage and sexual selection
Feb 18 – Exam I
Feb 20 – Sexual selection
Feb 25 – Mate Choice
Feb 27– Mating Systems
Mar 4 – Mating Systems
Mar 6 – The avian life cycle
Mar 11 – Brood Parasitism
Mar 13 – Breeding societies
Mar 25 – Avian communication and behavior I
Mar 27 – Exam II
Apr 1– Avian communication and behavior II
Apr 3 – Avian communication and behavior III
April 8 -- Migration I: Patterns
April 10 - Migration II: Navigation & Orientation
Apr 15– Migration III: Timing and stopover
Apr 17 – Birds and global change I
Apr 22 – Birds and global change II
Apr 24 – Exam III
April 29 – Avian Ecology I
May 4 – Avian Ecology II
May 6 – Corvids as feathered apes: Avian cognition & intelligence
Final: Partially cumulative and replaces lowest grade. Date to be announced
Texts: Field Guide: Sibley Guide to Birds of Western North America (REQUIRED):
http://www.amazon.com/Sibley-Field-Guide-AmericGuides/dp/0713666587/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1326228827&sr=8-4
Website: You can access the course webpage at:
http://www.faculty.biol.ttu.edu/schmidt/web_site/ORNITH%20webpage.htm
DO NOT rely on this as a substitute for the lecture/lab.
Course Outline
Birds are the coolest group of organisms … if you don’t believe this now, I hope to show
you why I at least think so. Here are a few reasons: they fly (some in fact never touch
land for up to several years), they evolved from dinosaurs, many species make annual
migration trips of 1000’s of miles – and arrive back at the precise location they departed
from 9 months earlier, they have hemispheric sleep, which means half their brain can
sleep while the other half stays alert for predators, they are tool users, they have a
diversity and complexity of songs and calls that rivals if not exceeds all primates except
man, some species can cache as many as 30,000 seeds in the fall and relocate them over
the course of the winter – and their brains grow and shrink as the need for memorizing
numerous locations varies. All of this and birds are the most conspicuous of all animals
– they are abundant, colorful and vociferous, which means they are never hard to find,
observe, or study. [Ok, avian flu is a bit of a downer, but compared to mammals –
rabies, hantavirus, HIV, Ebola, and let’s not forget the Black Death – birds win the nasty
disease comparison wings down].
Those are some facts about birds, but this course is not just about facts, but also about
concepts…with facts thrown in. That is, one goal is to teach you some cool facts to give
you both a knowledge and appreciation for the diversity of avian natural history that
hopefully compels you long after the class to ponder the world of birds, if only
occasionally. Second, armed with some facts and observations, can we explain the
what’s, why’s, and how’s about birds – in particular, avian behavior. The behaviors I
want to focus on are migration, mating and breeding strategies, and avian
communication. (For those who are interested, I teach an Animal Behavior course in
Fall 2014 that explores more the why’s of animal behavior (not just birds) in much more
detail that I can do in the current course.
Expected Learning Outcomes: After completion of the course students will:
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Have a broad knowledge and understanding of avian taxonomy, evolution,
ecology, and behavior, e.g., know the avian order, understand flight and how it
evolve, discuss the different types of avian mating systems.
Develop an appreciation for birds and be able to discuss in detail what sets them
apart from other groups of vertebrates
Be able to identify all avian orders and local species on sight, whether in the field
or laboratory
Understand avian communication, be able to “read” sonograms, and identify a
sample of local birds based on call/song
Methods of Assessing Learning Outcomes: Exams, quizzes, lab practicals, field
identification
Grade Determination (based on 1100 total points):
A: 990 pts and up
B: 880 pts and up
C: 770 pts and up
D: 660 pts and up
F: Everything else
Breakdown:
Lecture:
3 lecture exams @ 200 pts each
1 Taxonomy quiz @ 100 pts
Lab:
6 Lab quizzes @ 50 pts each (we drop your lowest score)
1 Field quiz @ 100 pts
1 Field guide assignment @ 50 pts
Your grade will be composed of the top three exam scores (600 pts) + top 5 quiz
scores (250 pts) + taxonomy quiz (100 pts) + field quiz (50 pts) and field guide
assignment (50 pts) = 1100 pts.
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Note, there will be NO EXTRA CREDIT WHATSOEVER
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However, there will we BONUS POINTS that can apply to your grade. These will
be in the form of bonus questions on exams and quizzes (there will always be 1-3
bonus questions), and bonus bird identification questions given in lecture.
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However, if you have 2 unexcused absences from lecture you will receive only
50% of all bonus points accrued through semester. If you have 4 unexcused
absences from lecture you forfeit all current and future bonus points.

Missing any exams or quizzes without a university sanctioned excuse (e.g.,
illness, funeral, religious holiday) results in a zero grade for that exam/quiz. To
be an excused absence you must present to me proof of the occasion – e.g.,
doctor’s note.
Conduct in the class and Academic Honesty: It is the student’s responsibility to
conduct him/herself in a civil manner while in the classroom or on field trips. On trips
especially we will be trying to spot or handle birds - disruptive behavior will not be
tolerated. Please consult the university policy on civility (OP) and academic honesty
(OP 34.12).
Any student who, because of a disability, may require special arrangements in order to
meet the course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make
any necessary arrangements. Students should present appropriate verification from
Student Disability Services during the instructor’s office hours. Please note instructors
are not allowed to provide classroom accommodations to a student until appropriate
verification from Student Disability Services has been provided. For additional
information, you may contact the Student Disability Services office at 335 West Hall or
806-742-2405.
Lecture schedule and grading are subject to small changes and
will be announced in class.