Chapter 42
Birds
Section 3
Classification
Diversity
• Hawks & eagles- powerful beaks &
clawed talons that help them capture
& eat prey
• Swifts have tiny beaks that open wide
to capture insects in mid-air
• Swifts spend most of their life in flight
and have tiny feet
• Feet of flightless birds are modified for
running and walking
Order Anseriformes
• Swans, geese, and duckswaterfowl
• Aquatic, webbed-feet for swimming
• Feed on invertebrates, fish, grass,
etc
• Bill is typically flattened
• Young are precocial & parental
care is provided by female
Swan
Canada Geese
Mallard Ducks
Order Strigiformes
• Owls
• Sharp, curved beak with sharp
talons or claws
• Large, forward-facing eyes
• Keen eyesight and hearing
Barn Owls
Great-horned Owl
Order Apodiformes
• Hummingbirds & swifts
• Hummingbirds eat nectar and
have a very long tongue
• Swifts eat insects in mid-air
Hummingbird
Swifts
Order Psittaciformes
• Parrots, parakeets, macaws,
cockatoos, & cockatiels
• Live in tropics
• Eat seeds and fruit
• Vocal birds
Parakeet
Macaw
Cockatoo
Cockatiel
Order Piciformes
• Tree-dwelling birds- woodpeckers,
honey-guides, & toucans
• Chisel-like bills
Woodpecker
Honey-guide
Toucan
Order Passeriformes
• Over 5,900 species Robins, blue
jays, and wrens
• Perching birds
• Feed on nectar, insects, seeds &
fruits
• Song-birds- males produce song
• Syrinx- song is produced in this
structure
Robin
Blue Jay
Wren
Order Columbiformes
• Pigeons & doves
• Feed on fruits and grain
• Crop secretes a nutritious milk-like
fluid called crop milk
Pigeon
Dove
Order Ciconiiformes
• Herons, storks, ibises, egrets,
raptors (ospreys, hawks, falcons,
vultures & eagles), & penguins
• Long, flexible neck, long legs, long
bill
• Feed on fish, frogs, small prey in
shallow water
• Diurnal species
Heron
Stork
Ibis
Egret
Osprey
Hawk
Falcon
Vulture
Eagle
Penguin
Order Galliformes
• Turkeys, pheasants, chickens,
grouse, and quails- fowl
• Terrestrial birds- limited flying
ability
• Strong gizzard
• Important part of human diet
Turkey
Pheasant
Chicken
Grouse
Quail
Order Struthioniformes
• Ostriches, rheas, emus, and
cassowaries
• Ostriches cannot fly and can reach
speeds of over 30 mph on land!
Ostrich
Rheas
Emu
Cassowaries
REVIEW!!!
• Explain how a bird’s beak and feet
can provide information about the
bird’s lifestyle.
• Identify the function of the syrinx.