The inner bird : anatomy and evolution

401 Pages·2007·6.58 MB·English

by  Kaiser, Gary W

The Inner Bir d

GARY W. KAISER
T h e I n n e r B i r d
Anatomy and Evolution
UBCPress . Vancouver . Toronto
© UBC Press 2007
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Printed in Canada on ancient-forest free paper (100% postconsumer recycled)
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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Kaiser, Gary W.
The inner bird: anatomy and evolution / Gary W. Kaiser.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7748-1343-3
1. Birds – Anatomy. 2. Birds – Evolution. I. Title.
QL697.K24 2007 571.3’18 C2007-900240-4
Canada
UBC Press gratefully acknowledges the financial support
for our publishing program of the Government of Canada
through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP),
and of the Canada Council for the Arts,
and the British Columbia Arts Council.
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For Dr. Alice Wilson,
Dr. Donald C. Maddox, Mr. Herb Groh,
and all the other adult mentors
of the Macoun Field Club,
the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ program
for young people
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Contents
Figures and Tables / ix
Acknowledgments / xiii
Introduction / 1
Part 1: What Is a Bird?
1 The Bird beneath the Feathers / 15
How adaptations for flight allow a bird to earn a living on the ground
2 A Bird Is an Animal with Hollow Bones / 40
Special features of avian bones and their assembly as a skeleton
3 A Bird Is Like a Dinosaur / 86
Features shared by birds and their reptilian ancestors
4 A Bird Is Not So Like a Dinosaur / 108
Features that distinguish birds from their reptilian ancestors
Part 2: What Kind of Bird Is It?
5 The Kinds of Birds / 133
Classification and taxonomy
6 That Bird Is Different from the Other One / 169
Evolutionary relationships among families of birds
Part 3: How Does a Bird Fly?
7 Feathers and Feathered Dinosaurs / 205
Flight in early birds and birdlike animals
8 Birds with a Modern Shape / 235
Birds cease to look like feathered dinosaurs and become skilled fliers
9 Birds on Land / 275
A robust design helps birds compete with mammals
10 Birds at Sea / 305
Sophisticated aerodynamics take birds onto oceans
Conclusion / 344
Appendices
1 Birds in Relation to Other Vertebrate Animals / 346
2 Geological Time Scale / 347
Glossary of Ornithological Terms / 349
Literature Cited / 360
Index / 372
Figures and Tables
Figures
1.1 Major elements in the avian skeleton / 18
1.2 Dorsal view of the skull of a Pacific Loon / 19
1.3 The flattened disc of the avian eye in cross-section / 22
1.4 The specialized eyes of an owl / 23
1.5 The hyoid apparatus of the Chattering Lory, a parrot / 26
1.6 Relationship of the brain and eye in the skull of a Yellow-billed
Hornbill / 28
1.7 Caudal or posterior views of the skulls in four birds, showing the positions
of the foramen magnum and occipital condyle / 29
1.8 Two extremes in the shapes of the tarsometatarsus / 32
1.9 The basic arrangements of toes in birds / 34
1.10 Variations in the proportions of the major skeletal elements in the wings
of three aerial specialists among small forest birds / 36
2.1 Sagittal section through the upper humerus of a Common Murre / 49
2.2 Sagittal section through the skull of a Helmeted Hornbill / 49
2.3 Movement of the upper jaw in parrots / 58
2.4 Neck vertebrae supported by a sling of neck ligaments in a chicken / 61
2.5 Two different methods of lowering the head in extremely long-necked
birds / 62
2.6 The first two cervical vertebrae in a Brandt’s Cormorant / 63
2.7 Thoracic vertebra from a Common Loon / 68
2.8 Skeleton of the thoracic and sacral regions in the Hoatzin and Common
Murre / 70
2.9 Lateral and ventral views of vertebrae in the Cassin’s Auklet near the
meeting of the thoracic and sacral regions / 72
2.10 The lumbar interface in a Double-crested Cormorant / 73
2.11 The lumbar interface in a Turkey Vulture and a Great Horned Owl / 74
2.12 Cross-section through the hipbones of a Bald Eagle / 75
2.13 The hypotarsus in a Common Raven / 84