22.+chordata+-+aves

A male superb lyrebird (12) __**The Superb Lyrebird **__ //Menura novaehollandiae // by Hasan Khan toc

=1. Classification/Diagnostic characteristics=

(495-496) There are two major types of birds: the flightless //palaeognaths// and the mostly flying //neognaths//. The latter is more species rich. These birds can mimic different kinds of sound like car alarm, a chainsaw and a camera shutter. They also mimic other bird sounds. They have a distinctive tail. They are also one of the largest perching birds. (4)

 Classfication:  Kingdom: Animalia Phyla: Chordata Class: Sarcopterygii Order: Passeriformes Family: Menuridae Genus: Menura Species: novaehollandiae (5) The songbird has brownish-red coloured wings, while its feet, legs, and bill are black. A developed male bird has an elaborate tail due to its curved feathers, known to appear similar to a lyre (an instrument shaped like a small "u"). Female and child birds lack the ornate tail but retain the characteristic of long tail feathers. media type=youtube key=VjE0Kdfos4Y height=177 width=344 width="344" height="177" THE SONG OF A LYREBIRD (10)

=2. Relationship to humans=

Birds form a large part of the daily human diet in the form of poultry, which is eaten all around the world. Birds also can carry avian flu, which can cross over to humans. Birds and humans share 65% of their DNA in common. Birds also make proteins, such as interferon, that helps with human immunity to diseases. Birds and humans are both mammals. (9)

media type=file key=128_44.1_lyrebird_electronic_game.mp3 width=296 height=32 width="296" height="32"

=3. Habitat and niche=

(496) While they build nests, birds of flight migrate during the transition between seasons, following the warmth of the sun. Birds occupy all levels of the consumer food chain with some eating fruit and nuts while others hunt small rodents or scavenge carcasses.

The Superb Lyrebird is native to Australia. They usually reside in warm forests, and sleep in the trees at night. Furthermore, the Superb Lyrebird remains relatively local, as it rarely stays within 10 km of its home. (2) They live in south-eastern Australian mainland and southern Tasmania.

=4. Predator avoidance=

(496) Birds can fly, but some are flightless. These ground birds employ a variety of techniques from camouflage to evasive speed. The sexual selection in some species makes them more susceptible to predator detection.

=5. Nutrient acquisition=

Birds eat with a mouth. They all have digestive systems that allow them to harvest nutrients from this food. Some birds developed foreguts analogous to those of some mammals when digesting vegetable matter.

The Superb Lyrebird usually eats various insects, spiders, and worms. (2)

=6. Reproduction and life cycle=

Reproducing purely sexually, birds exhibit varying life tables, including those that have a stage for being a duckling versus being pushed out of the nest soon after birth. Sexual selection in birds entails the expansive variety of courtships mechanisms for the males, encompassing plumage, song, and dance.

The Female builds the nest, incubates the egg, and cares for the chick. She also builds the home. Egg colors vary, and chicks are born high up in the trees. They sing to attract one another. (6)

=7. Growth and development=

Along with reptiles, avian embryo development includes the use of a yolk. Soon, the chick emerges from the egg and often stays under the mother's care until maturity. - Superb lyrebirds breed in the depth of winter (1) - They have a promiscuous mating system. During breeding season, adult females and males defend separate territories and only females care for young. (1) - The female lays a single egg and builds a domed nest often camouflaging it with ferns or moss. (1)

=8. Integument=

Part of chordata, birds have complex organ systems much like mammals. Their tissues form muscles for flight, bones for stability, nerves for sensing, etc.

(8) The bird's skin functions to prevent the entrance of pathogens into the body, retain vital fluids and gases, and also is a sensory organ. The skin produces and supports the feathers. It also contains the dermis and epidermis; the epidermis is the most superficial skin layer that is generally thin and is flexible and smooth. The dermis skin layer is much thicker than the epidermis and contains blood vessels, fat deposits, nerves and nerve receptors, and the muscles that move the feathers. (8)

=9. Movement=

If the bird cannot fly, it can walk. Deriving from theropods, all birds possess some foot-like structure that allows them to settle on the ground evenly.

The //Menura novaehollandiae (superb lyrebird)// roosts in trees at night and spends most of its time on the ground during the day. While known for their amazing song signing and vocalization, the male superb lyrebird is also a superb dancer creating a vivid visual display during courting and mating by moving its long plumage, feet and body in synchronicity with its songs. (3)

=10. Sensing the environment=

The eyes on a bird vary from where a species finds itself on a food chain. Predator birds have forward eyes to focus in on prey. Prey birds have more side-facing eyes to expand their range of vision and spot predators faster. Birds are able to see UV light which gives an advantage when foraging for food, tracking prey, identifying mates, identifying other birds, and differentiating brood parasite eggs. (13)

=11. Gas exchange=

Birds have a unique, one-way gas exchange mechanism that allows them to continuously run new, non-stale air over the gas exchange surfaces. Parabronchi intertwine with blood capillaries to allow and facilitate such diffusion.

=12. Waste removal=

Waste is often expelled as uric acid and just as often from up high onto unsuspecting victims below.

Birds are __uricotelic organisms__, which means that they excrete toxic ammonia by converting it into __uric acid__, a water-insoluble compound that is less toxic and doesn't require the amount of water that ammonia does. Uric acid will usually form a white paste or powder. (11)

=13. Environmental physiology (temperature, water and salt regulation)=

Birds possess feathers and plumage in order that they can manage their own heat gain and loss. Puffing up of matting down feathers releases and traps heat respectively. Birds are endothermic, meaning they can regulate their internal body temperature metabolically. [|2] (15)

=14. Internal circulation=

Birds possess blood that gets pumped through the heart to all the areas require oxygen via internal bloodstreams. Very similar to a human heart. Has four chambers and the heart distributes the blood all around. (14)

=15. Chemical control (i.e. endocrine system)=

The endocrine system of aves is similar to that of humans and includes a hypothalamus-anterior pituitary system, a master gland of hormone production; gonads, sex organs; adrenal gland, where steroids are produced; thyroid and parathyroid glands, which help with metabolism and thermoregulation; and the endocrine cells in the gut. This system of organs and glands assist the bird in maintaining homeostasis through the release of hormones into the bloodstream. Endocrine dysfunction can lead to feather abnormalities. (7)

=**Review Questions:**= 1) What type of defense mechanisms do birds use to fight off pathogens, viruses or any type of illnesses?

=Sources:= -Hillis, D. M. (2015). Principles of life. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates. (book) -http://eol.org/pages/918902/overview (1) -http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Menura-novaehollandiae (2) -http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982213005721 (3) -http://what-when-how.com/birds/superb-lyrebird-birds/ (4) -http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Menura_novaehollandiae/classification/ (5) -http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/scic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Reference&currPage=&scanId=&query=&docIndex=&source=&prodId=SCIC&search_within_results=&p=SCIC&mode=view&catId=&u=mlin_s_sharonhs&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CCV2644031338&windowstate=normal&activityType=BasicSearch&failOverType=&commentary= (6) -[] (7) -http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/avian_integument.htm (8) -http://education.seattlepi.com/animals-share-human-dna-sequences-6693.html (9) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y (10) -https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-biology/chapter/nitrogenous-wastes/ (11) -https://i.pinimg.com/736x/50/0a/ac/500aac8085e0aa5178a30c003dad5855.jpg (12) -https://www.thespruce.com/how-birds-see-color-386467 (13) -http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/birdcirculatory.html (14) -Ehrlich, paul R. Temperature Regulation and Behavior, Stanford, web.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Temperature_Regulation.html. (15)