Basic Avian Morphology

1. Basic Avian Morphology Dr. Sanjay Kharat Principal Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Ganeshkhind Pune.

2. Basic Avian Morphology • Birds Diversity • Morphology, Anatomy, Physiology Exhibits remarkable basic uniformity • For aerial mode of life- • Various modifications • Light but strong skeleton • Powerful flight muscles • Body covering by feathers • Sharp Eyes Certificate Course in Basic Ornithology

10. Body Birds occupied all possible habitats in every continent including polar region. • Body • Spindle shaped- Offers least resistance to the air during flight • Divisible in to Head, Neck, Trunk and Tail • Body compact and covered by backwardly directed overlapping feathers constituting plumage Certificate Course in Basic Ornithology

12. Head • Pointed beak without teeth • At base of upper beak two slit like nostrils • Pair of large rounded eyes lateral in position • Each eye is guarded by an upper and lower eyelid and transparent nictitating membrane • Behind each eye is external ear opening covered by auricular feathers Certificate Course in Basic Ornithology

14. Forehead. • Crown. • Lore. • Supercilium and superciliary line. • Eye ring. • Eyeline. • Narial feathers.

26. Neck • Neck - • Cylindrical and flexible • Demarcated from head and trunk • Used for efficiently handling food Certificate Course in Basic Ornithology

29. Trunk • Trunk- • Compact stout spindle shaped • Bares two pairs of limbs • Anterior pair modified in to wings and posterior pair is legs • on mid-ventral side a prominent bossy ridge called keel is present • At junction of trunk and tail a large cloacal aperture present where digestive, excretory and reproductive system opens. Certificate Course in Basic Ornithology

30. Throat. The throat is the ventral region extending from just under and below the lower mandible to the anterior margins of the sternum. Nape. The nape refers to the dorsal surface of the neck extending from the mid back of the skull to the beginning of the thoracic vertebrae.

31. Back. The back is roughly the area between the wings. Rump. The rump overlies the pelvic bones anterior to the tail and is bounded by the flanks. Breast. The breast extends over the breast musculature nearly to the posterior end of the sternum.

32. Abdomen or belly. The abdomen extends from the posterior sternum to the vent. Crural feathers. The crural feathers cover the tibial portion of the leg and are continuous with the feathers of the abdomen. In some species (i.e. the Rough-legged Hawk, family Accipitridae) these feathers extend all the way to the top of the foot.

33. Wings • Wings- • Each wing is flattened distinctly pointed with its longitudinal axes at right angle to that of trunk. • It is extended only during the flight. • At rest it remains folded against the side of the body in the form of letter ‘Z’ • Wings shows three divisions 1. Upper arm (Brachium) 2. Lower arm (Anti-brachial) 3. Hand (Manus) Certificate Course in Basic Ornithology

38. TAIL

39. Tail • Tail- • Conical projection of trunk beyond the cloacal aperture forms the true tail or uropygium • Covered by fan like group of elongated tail feathers or retrices • Dorsally the tail has knob like papilla which bares the opening of oil gland or preen gland • It’s secretion useful for lubricating the feathers. Certificate Course in Basic Ornithology

40. Feather • Feathers • Most conspicuous integumental derivative • Keratin • Function • Flight • - Characteristic colouaration • Heat Conservation • Reduced convective and evaporative heat loss • Increased insulation Powdery down feathers helps in keeping the plumage clean and free from ecto-parasite Certificate Course in Basic Ornithology

41. Flight Feather Feathers have a basic form of a central hollow supporting shaft called a 'rachis' and a number of fine side branches. These side branches have even finer sub-branches in contour feathers. Certificate Course in Basic Ornithology

42. Flight Feather A bird has many different sorts of feathers which perform different jobs. The largest feathers are contour feathers. These give the bird its shape and colour and include both the flight feathers, called remiges, and the tail feathers called retrices. Certificate Course in Basic Ornithology

44. Flight Feather The side branches- barbs and are linked together by a set of barbules and their hooklets sometimes called 'Hamuli'. Barbs have side branches of their own called barbules. The upper ones containing a series of hooklets and the lower ones without hooks but slightly convex in form to catch the hooklets of the barbules from the next barb along the shaft. The base of the feather - where their are no side branches - is called the calamus or quill and at the base of this is the hollow entrance that was used by blood veins to carry nutrients to the growing feather when it was alive, this is called the Inferior umbilicus. Certificate Course in Basic Ornithology

47. Contour Feather The rest of the feathers you see when looking at a bird are the ordinary body 'contour feathers'. These give the bird its characteristic smooth round shape. They also give the bird its visual colouring and provide a first level of defence against physical objects, sunlight, wind and rain. They are very important. Certificate Course in Basic Ornithology

48. Down Feather The next most important feathers on a bird are the down feathers. These are smaller and lack the barbules and their accompanying hooklets so they are not zipped together and do not look so neat. In fact hey are soft and fluffy. They provide most of the insulation and are so good at this that mankind for many years used to collect the 'down' from various birds to put into sleeping bags and eiderdowns to help keep us warm at night. Certificate Course in Basic Ornithology

50. Semiplume Semiplumes are half-way between a contour feather and a down feather. These occur between the contour feathers and help to supply insulation and a certain amount of form as well. Filoplumes and bristles are much smaller. Filoplumes hove only a very few barbs at their tips and are believed to have a sensory function, helping birds keep their feathers in order Certificate Course in Basic Ornithology