Ornithology Lecture 17

Front 1

Krushinsky lab experiment

Back 1

Small opening in the wall, 2 food dishes on the other side. One empty an done full.

Birds decide which way to go to get to the food. Cats and rabbits cannot do it but crows and dogs can.

Front 2

Alex the grey parrot

Back 2

Has emotional and intelligence makeup of a 3 year old

Could recognize and learn concepts and words

Front 3

Corvidae, sittidae and paridae have larger....

Back 3

Hippocampus than other passerines

Front 4

Plasticity of hippocampus demonstrated by...

Back 4

Chickadees growing them 30 percent for food cacge

Front 5

A non passerines example of hippocampal capability for spatial memory

Back 5

Leachs storm petrel

Nest in burrows or wooded habitat

Since wooded habitat requires navigation, the petrel that lived there had more hippocampal volume than meadow nesting ones

Front 6

Episodic memory of birds example (episodic like)

Back 6

Tracing our steps

Western scrub Jay cached various food items like was worms and nuts

Wax worms are favorable but perishable

Birds knew initially where they were cached. Then researchers switched them.

They were consciously aware of personal experience tied to time and place.

Front 7

Insight learning deemed to be one of the most advanced types. Example?

Back 7

It is learning by observation and imitation.

Titmice learned to open milkd bottle lids to access the milk and cream. The behaviour spread through Britain. Cultural transmission.

They also bark tear for nesting and food cache

Front 8

Red Robin population could not access the milk that the Titmice got because...

Back 8

Robin's are territorial and Titmice are in flocks. They are alone so cultural transmission does not take place.

Front 9

Stages of breeding cycle

Back 9

Find and defend territory

Find mate

Build nest and kay

Incubate

Feed and raise

Fledge

Front 10

Timing of breeding is coordinated with....

Back 10

Food availability. Ie passerines time their hatching just prior to peak insect abundance. Climate change can influence this due to insect emergence and food availability

Front 11

American goldfinch

Back 11

Live near many insectivorous but they eat thistles. Their hatching time is different even though its the same habitat

Front 12

Feeding and raising nestling phase

Back 12

Remove fetal sacs, clean and feed

Front 13

Primary function of egg is to

Back 13

Protect the embryo

Front 14

Benefits of external egg

Back 14

Parental care can be both male and female

Can abandon young if food is short

Front 15

Yellow warblers and cowbird

Back 15

Will build nest over the cowbirds egg

Front 16

Cleidoic

Back 16

Type of egg, avian

Front 17

The unfertilized egg contains

Back 17

A single cell along with everything the embryo would need. Porous so there is bresthability

Front 18

Egg anatomy

Back 18

Front 19

CHORIOALLANTOIC MEMBRANE CAM

Back 19

Forms the embryonic membrane

Allows for co2 and O2 exchange

Shrinks for more air space in top of egg

Front 20

Clutch

Back 20

A complete set of eggs laid in uninterrupted series

Front 21

Typical songbird clutch size

Back 21

5 eggs but varies by species and latitude

Front 22

Bob white clutch

Back 22

20 or more

Front 23

Penguin clutch

Back 23

1

Front 24

Doves pigeons and hummingbird clutch

Back 24

2

Front 25

Precocial eggs VS altricial

Back 25

Precocial are larger

Front 26

Birds that lay more eggs per clutch...

Back 26

Lay smaller individuals

Front 27

Size of egg reflects....

Back 27

The energy content

Metrics include volume, surface area, length and width

Front 28

Egg shape is a compromise between...

Back 28

The structure, clutch volume and contents

Front 29

Egg shapes--elliptical, sub elliptical, oval and pyriform

Back 29

Front 30

Pyriform means

Back 30

Pointed at one end

Plover and murres

Shore birds and Clift nesters

Less likely to roll

Front 31

Shape can also depend on muscle...

Back 31

Tension in the oviduct

Front 32

Assymetry

Back 32

How pointy eggs are

Front 33

Ellipticity

Back 33

How much eggs deviate from a perfect sphere

Front 34

Most common egg shape

Back 34

That if the graceful prinia- not quite like a chicken egg

Front 35

What correlations were found in the assigned egg reading

Back 35

Length of egg correlates with bird body size

Shape of egg and how asymmetrical it is relates to flying habits

Stronger birds flight means more asymmetrical eggs

Front 36

Hand wing index

Back 36

Proxy for flight capability

High HWI linked to better flight performance