Orno Study Cards

Front 1

Ocular Lens

Back 1

the lens where your eyes goes,

Front 2

Objective Lens

Back 2

lens at front of binochs

Front 3

numbers on binochs

Back 3

binos have two numbers printed on the main body of the binoch

the first number refers to the magnification (ex. 7x)

the second number refers to the diameter in millimeters of the front lens, or objective lens (ex. 35) this lens will regulate the brightness of the image.

Front 4

Theory of Natural Selection

Back 4

1. there is variation in a population.
2. some variations give organizism better chance of surviing in their environments.
3. Organisms tend to produce more offspring than can possibly survive.
4. Those organisisms with the best variations are likely to leave the most offspring, who in turn have the beneficial variations/
5. Mother Nature thus determines ("selectS") which variations are best

Front 5

What is a species?

Back 5

A "species" is defined as a population whose members can interbreed in nature and produce fertile offspring, but who cannot produce viable offspring with members of other species.

Front 6

How is a new species formed?

Back 6

1. Isolation 2. Different Habitats 3. time

1. Isolation: For a new species to form, a portion of a population must become isolated from the rest of the population.
2. Different Habitats: The isolated portion of the opoulation must be exposed to different 'selection pressures' (the environment must be different_ than the population it left
3. Time: Enough time must pas to allow for genetic differences to occur between the two populations./ How much time??? The answer is unclear but evidence suggests that it is thousands, if not millions, of years.

Front 7

Mechanisms that might isolate a species

Back 7

1. Geographical isolation: species are unabel to contact one another due to physical barriers.
2. Temporal Isolation: Species aeer ready for breeedding at different times, therefore their reporductive "clocks" are out of synch.
3. Behavioral isolation: Species come into contact, but their courtship routines are different, so they don't "appeal" to one another

Front 8

Eastern Bluebird

Back 8

"sexually dimorphic"
look different.

both have calls, only male sings

nests are construced from dried grasses

seasonal bonds, male declares boundaries of the territory by singing from prominent locations

CLUTCH: 3-5 eggs, which are sky blue, like many olf their thrush relatives

in winter, travel in small flocks

Front 9

House Sparrow and EUropean startling

Back 9

importanted from england in the 1860s

compete with bluebirds for nesting cavities

house sparrows arevery aggressive and will secure the nesting site nearly every time

European Starling: imported to Central Park in 1890s.

Approximately 200 birds were imported

Today, in NOrth AMerica alone they number of 300,000,000

they are cavity nesters, and are extremely aggressive

Front 10

WHy has the Eastern bluebird disappeared?

Back 10

Competition with House Sparrows and Starlings coupled with habitat destrubction and food contamination has devasted the eastern bluebird population.

so.....

1. House sparrows
2. Starlings
3. habitat destruction
4. Food contamination

Front 11

Forms of ANimal Communication

Back 11

sounds
ordors
colors
displays
touch
taste

Front 12

Major senses of birds

Back 12

eye and ears (Birds rely heavily on visual and acoustical stimuli to communicate with outher birds)

Front 13

Bird Sounds

Back 13

`Birds produce three different noises:

1. Songs
2. Calls
3. Non-vocal sounds

Front 14

Bird Song

Back 14

is 4 things:

1. An organized succession of notes
2. with a few exeptions, songs are produced by males
3. songs are controlled by the ex hormones, which are in turn controlled by day length
4. 50% of all bird species belong to Order PAsseriformes...the "Perching, or Song Birds"

Front 15

How Bird Song is Produced

Back 15

Song is produced by the Syrinx:

air being forced fro mthe bronchi cauuse the tympanic membranes to vibrate. Pitch is controlled by muscles that strectch or relax the memebrances the clavicular air sac controls the intensity of the sound into the environment. The more sophisticated the syrinx, the more sophisticated the song.

Front 16

Why singing makes sense

Back 16

Because song can travel farther and requires less engery than a courtship dance

Dancing is often screeened by vegetation, thus viewed by very few potential mates

Front 17

The Function of Songg in Birds

Back 17

1. To establish territories, thus spreading out the species
2. To create and secure pair bonds
3. To synchronize reporductive cycles
4. To identify idividual to mate and/or to offspring
5. To promote species isolation
6. To proclaim the sex of the individual
7. To cause another bird to sing, thereby revealing its sex
8. To sifnical change in domestic duties

Front 18

How does song mature?

Back 18

In the spring, baby birds hatch. Young are 'altricial,' meaning naked, blind and helpless

Thoughout their first spring and summer they listen to songs of conspecfic adults

During the fall, hormones drope off, and singing decreases among adults. Migration follows.

Singing burns energy, so during the winter birds rarley if ever sing

the following spring the one year old birds return to their breeeding brounds. they are now able to sing, but their song is a bit "off". They spend the spring comparing their song to what they know an adult should sound like. By the time they refine their song, most, if not all, territorties have beeen taken by older, more mature birds. Hence, many small male passerines don't breed until the age of two.

Front 19

Song is....

Back 19

a combination of learned behavior and inherited information

Front 20

Bird Calls

Back 20

1. Completyely genetic
2. Brief and simple notes
3. functions:
-keep a social group together
- may announce 'time to feed'
- often saerves as a warning...signals birds to flee or take cover
- may announce a stationairy predator, and signial other small birds to 'mob' the owl or hawk

Front 21

Chnks vs. Seeeeets

Back 21

Chnks: These are short, low frequency soudns that are easy to locate. They are emitted to signal a stationary predator, like a hawk on a tree branch. It signials other small birds to gather and "mob".

Seeeeets: These are long, high frequency sounds that are difficult to locate. They are emitted to signical a mobile predator, likke a hawk soaring overheard. It signals other small birds to take cover.

Front 22

Non-Vocal Sounds

Back 22

-drumming in the ruffed grouse
- wing=whistling in the American Woodcock and the Mourning Dove
-Woodpeckers advertise for mates by tapping
-Storks clattering their bills together during courtship

Front 23

Taxonomy of Archaeopteryx

Back 23

Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus: Archaeopteryz, Species: lithographica

Binomial name: Archaeopteryx lithographica

Front 24

Where was Archaeoptrx

Back 24

discovered in Barvaria, Germany 1861

Front 25

Archy was dated to when?

Back 25

The Jurassic Period (150 mya).

Front 26

Size of Archy?

Back 26

pigeon or crow

Front 27

How did archy's feathers develop?

Back 27

evolved from a modified scale

Front 28

how did archy fly?

Back 28

archy was more likely a 'glider' than a 'flyer'. Feathers made gliding more efficient than scales. Also, the long tail and lack of breast muscloes would have hindered flight.

Front 29

when did most Passerines evolve?

Back 29

between 65 mya and 38 mya

Front 30

Archy characteristics

Back 30

Reptile Like:

-long, bony tail
-toothed jaw
-winges with claws
-small sternum
-non-hollow bones
-vertebraw are separate and flexible

Bird-like Traits:
-feathers
-large eye sockets
-fused clavicle (wish bone)