Bird

qas: question: What is a group of endothermic vertebrates characterised by feathers and toothless beaked jaws?
answers: text: Birds

question: What is the smallest bird?
answers: text: bee hummingbird

question: What is the largest bird?
answers: text: ostrich

question: What is the size of the smallest bird?
answers: text: 5 cm (2 in)

question: What is the size of the largest bird?
answers: text: 2.75 m (9 ft)
context: Birds (Aves) are a group of endothermic vertebrates, characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a lightweight but strong skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the 5 cm (2 in) bee hummingbird to the 2.75 m (9 ft) ostrich. They rank as the class of tetrapods with the most living species, at approximately ten thousand, with more than half of these being passerines, sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds.

qas: question: What are the last surviving dinosaurs, according o the fossil record?
answers: text: birds

question: When did true birds first appear?
answers: text: Cretaceous period

question: Name an example of an early stem-bird.
answers: text: Archaeopteryx
context: The fossil record indicates that birds are the last surviving dinosaurs, having evolved from feathered ancestors within the theropod group of saurischian dinosaurs. True birds first appeared during the Cretaceous period, around 100 million years ago. DNA-based evidence finds that birds diversified dramatically around the time of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event that killed off all other dinosaurs. Birds in South America survived this event and then migrated to other parts of the world via multiple land bridges while diversifying during periods of global cooling. Primitive bird-like dinosaurs that lie outside class Aves proper, in the broader group Avialae, have been found dating back to the mid-Jurassic period. Many of these early "stem-birds", such as Archaeopteryx, were not yet capable of fully powered flight, and many retained primitive characteristics like toothy jaws in place of beaks, and long bony tails.

qas: question: What makes birds uniquely adapted for flight?
answers: text: digestive and respiratory systems

question: What type of bird particularly played an important part in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection?
answers: text: Darwin's finches

question: Which part of the bird developed from forelimbs?
answers: text: Wings
context: Birds have wings which are more or less developed depending on the species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moas and elephant birds. Wings, which evolved from forelimbs, give most birds the ability to fly, although further speciation has led to some flightless birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species of birds. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly the aforementioned flightless penguins, and also members of the duck family, have also evolved for swimming. Birds, specifically Darwin's finches, played an important part in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.

qas: question: Which type of birds are among the most intelligent animals?
answers: text: corvids and parrots

question: How to birds produce offspring?
answers: text: by laying eggs which are fertilized through sexual reproduction

question: Where are eggs usually laid?
answers: text: nest
context: Some birds, especially corvids and parrots, are among the most intelligent animals; several bird species make and use tools, and many social species pass on knowledge across generations, which is considered a form of culture. Many species annually migrate great distances. Birds are social, communicating with visual signals, calls, and bird songs, and participating in such social behaviours as cooperative breeding and hunting, flocking, and mobbing of predators. The vast majority of bird species are socially monogamous, usually for one breeding season at a time, sometimes for years, but rarely for life. Other species have polygynous ("many females") or, rarely, polyandrous ("many males") breeding systems. Birds produce offspring by laying eggs which are fertilized through sexual reproduction. They are usually laid in a nest and incubated by the parents. Most birds have an extended period of parental care after hatching. Some birds, such as hens, lay eggs even when not fertilized, though unfertilized eggs do not produce offspring.

qas: question: Which birds are popular as pets?
answers: text: Songbirds, parrots

question: What is guano?
answers: text: bird excrement

question: What is the name of bird excrement?
answers: text: Guano

question: What is harvested for use as fertilizer?
answers: text: Guano

question: How many species of birds have become extinct as a result of human activity?
answers: text: 120–130
context: Many species of birds are economically important. Domesticated and undomesticated birds (poultry and game) are important sources of eggs, meat, and feathers. Songbirds, parrots, and other species are popular as pets. Guano (bird excrement) is harvested for use as a fertilizer. Birds prominently figure throughout human culture. About 120–130 species have become extinct due to human activity since the 17th century, and hundreds more before then. Human activity threatens about 1,200 bird species with extinction, though efforts are underway to protect them. Recreational birdwatching is an important part of the ecotourism industry.

qas: question: Besides Aves, what group contains the only living representatives of the reptile clade Archosauria?
answers: text: clade Crocodilia

question: Who defined Aves to include only the crown group of the set of modern birds?
answers: text: Gauthier

question: What is a sister group to Aves?
answers: text: clade Crocodilia
context: Aves and a sister group, the clade Crocodilia, contain the only living representatives of the reptile clade Archosauria. During the late 1990s, Aves was most commonly defined phylogenetically as all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of modern birds and Archaeopteryx lithographica. However, an earlier definition proposed by Jacques Gauthier gained wide currency in the 21st century, and is used by many scientists including adherents of the Phylocode system. Gauthier defined Aves to include only the crown group of the set of modern birds. This was done by excluding most groups known only from fossils, and assigning them, instead, to the Avialae, in part to avoid the uncertainties about the placement of Archaeopteryx in relation to animals traditionally thought of as theropod dinosaurs.

qas: question: What evidence leads most scientists to accept that birds are a specialized subgroup of theropod dinosaurs?
answers: text: fossil and biological evidence

question: What is a group of theropods which include dromaeosaurs and oviraptorids?
answers: text: Maniraptora

question: Recent discoveries in what country demonstrate many small theropod feathered dinosaurs.
answers: text: China
context: Based on fossil and biological evidence, most scientists accept that birds are a specialized subgroup of theropod dinosaurs, and more specifically, they are members of Maniraptora, a group of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and oviraptorids, among others. As scientists have discovered more theropods closely related to birds, the previously clear distinction between non-birds and birds has become blurred. Recent discoveries in the Liaoning Province of northeast China, which demonstrate many small theropod feathered dinosaurs, contribute to this ambiguity.

qas: question: What are the closest relatives of the deinonychosaurs?
answers: text: flying theropods

question: What are the closest relatives of flying theropods?
answers: text: deinonychosaurs

question: Dromaeosaurids and troodontids are members of what group?
answers: text: deinonychosaurs
context: The consensus view in contemporary paleontology is that the flying theropods, or avialans, are the closest relatives of the deinonychosaurs, which include dromaeosaurids and troodontids. Together, these form a group called Paraves. Some basal members of this group, such as Microraptor, have features which may have enabled them to glide or fly. The most basal deinonychosaurs were very small. This evidence raises the possibility that the ancestor of all paravians may have been arboreal, have been able to glide, or both. Unlike Archaeopteryx and the non-avialan feathered dinosaurs, who primarily ate meat, recent studies suggest that the first avialans were omnivores.

qas: question: What is known as one of the first transitional fossils to be found?
answers: text: Late Jurassic Archaeopteryx

question: What was the first fossil to display both clearly traditional reptilian characteristics?
answers: text: Archaeopteryx

question: Fossils with teeth, clawed fingers and a long lizard-like tail have what type of characteristics?
answers: text: reptilian
context: The Late Jurassic Archaeopteryx is well known as one of the first transitional fossils to be found, and it provided support for the theory of evolution in the late 19th century. Archaeopteryx was the first fossil to display both clearly traditional reptilian characteristics: teeth, clawed fingers, and a long, lizard-like tail, as well as wings with flight feathers similar to those of modern birds. It is not considered a direct ancestor of birds, though it is possibly closely related to the true ancestor.

qas: question: The Oxfordian stage is also known as what?
answers: text: late Jurassic period

question: How long ago was the late Jurassic period?
answers: text: about 160 million years ago

question: Avian species such as Anchiornis huxleyi and Xiaotingia zhengi are from which time period?
answers: text: late Jurassic period

question: What may have been used in aerial maneuvering?
answers: text: hind wings
context: The earliest known avialan fossils come from the Tiaojishan Formation of China, which has been dated to the late Jurassic period (Oxfordian stage), about 160 million years ago. The avialan species from this time period include Anchiornis huxleyi, Xiaotingia zhengi, and Aurornis xui. The well-known early avialan, Archaeopteryx, dates from slightly later Jurassic rocks (about 155 million years old) from Germany. Many of these early avialans shared unusual anatomical features that may be ancestral to modern birds, but were later lost during bird evolution. These features include enlarged claws on the second toe which may have been held clear of the ground in life, and long feathers or "hind wings" covering the hind limbs and feet, which may have been used in aerial maneuvering.

qas: question: During which time period did avialans diversify into a wide variety of forms?
answers: text: Cretaceous Period

question: Which forms retained the long bony tails of their ancestors?
answers: text: Archaeopteryx and Jeholornis

question: When did the ancestor of all modern birds evolve a better sense of smell?
answers: text: late Cretaceous

question: How long ago was the late Cretaceous period?
answers: text: around 95 million years ago
context: Avialans diversified into a wide variety of forms during the Cretaceous Period. Many groups retained primitive characteristics, such as clawed wings and teeth, though the latter were lost independently in a number of avialan groups, including modern birds (Aves). While the earliest forms, such as Archaeopteryx and Jeholornis, retained the long bony tails of their ancestors, the tails of more advanced avialans were shortened with the advent of the pygostyle bone in the group Pygostylia. In the late Cretaceous, around 95 million years ago, the ancestor of all modern birds also evolved a better sense of smell.

qas: question: What were the first large, diverse lineage of short-tailed avialans to evolve?
answers: text: enantiornithes

question: Because of the construction of their shoulder bones, what were the enantiornithes called?
answers: text: opposite birds

question: What was the dominant group of avialans during the Cretaceous period?
answers: text: enantiornithes

question: When did enantiornithes become extinct?
answers: text: end of the Mesozoic era
context: The first large, diverse lineage of short-tailed avialans to evolve were the enantiornithes, or "opposite birds", so named because the construction of their shoulder bones was in reverse to that of modern birds. Enantiornithes occupied a wide array of ecological niches, from sand-probing shorebirds and fish-eaters to tree-dwelling forms and seed-eaters. While they were the dominant group of avialans during the Cretaceous period, enantiornithes became extinct along with many other dinosaur groups at the end of the Mesozoic era.

qas: question: What does Euornithes mean?
answers: text: true birds

question: Why does Euornithes mean "true birds?"
answers: text: because they include the ancestors of modern birds

question: What group became the first avialans to develop true pygostyle and a fully mobile fan of tail feathers?
answers: text: Euornithes

question: What may have replaced the "hind wing" as the primary mode of aerial maneuverability?
answers: text: fully mobile fan of tail feathers
context: Many species of the second major avialan lineage to diversify, the Euornithes (meaning "true birds", because they include the ancestors of modern birds), were semi-aquatic and specialized in eating fish and other small aquatic organisms. Unlike the enantiornithes, which dominated land-based and arboreal habitats, most early euornithes lacked perching adaptations and seem to have included shorebird-like species, waders, and swimming and diving species. The later included the superficially gull-like Ichthyornis, the Hesperornithiformes, which became so well adapted to hunting fish in marine environments that they lost the ability to fly and became primarily aquatic. The early euornithes also saw the development of many traits associated with modern birds, like strongly keeled breastbones, toothless, beaked portions of their jaws (though most non-avian euornithes retained teeth in other parts of the jaws). Euornithes also included the first avialans to develop true pygostyle and a fully mobile fan of tail feathers, which may have replaced the "hind wing" as the primary mode of aerial maneuverability and braking in flight.

qas: question: All modern birds lie within which crown group?
answers: text: Aves

question: What is another name for Aves?
answers: text: Neornithes

question: The two subdivisions of what group include Palaeognathae and Neognathae?
answers: text: Aves

question: What is the number range of living bird species?
answers: text: 9,800 to 10,050
context: All modern birds lie within the crown group Aves (alternately Neornithes), which has two subdivisions: the Palaeognathae, which includes the flightless ratites (such as the ostriches) and the weak-flying tinamous, and the extremely diverse Neognathae, containing all other birds. These two subdivisions are often given the rank of superorder, although Livezey and Zusi assigned them "cohort" rank. Depending on the taxonomic viewpoint, the number of known living bird species varies anywhere from 9,800 to 10,050.

qas: question: What was the earliest divergence within the Neognathes?
answers: text: Galloanserae

question: What is the superorder containing the Anseriformes?
answers: text: Galloanserae

question: Ducks, geese, swans and screamers are part of which group?
answers: text: Anseriformes

question: The pheasants, grouse and their allies form which group?
answers: text: Galliformes
context: The earliest divergence within the Neognathes was that of the Galloanserae, the superorder containing the Anseriformes (ducks, geese, swans and screamers) and the Galliformes (the pheasants, grouse, and their allies, together with the mound builders and the guans and their allies). The earliest fossil remains of true birds come from the possible galliform Austinornis lentus, dated to about 85 million years ago, but the dates for the actual splits are much debated by scientists. The Aves are agreed to have evolved in the Cretaceous, and the split between the Galloanseri from other Neognathes occurred before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, but there are different opinions about whether the radiation of the remaining Neognathes occurred before or after the extinction of the other dinosaurs. This disagreement is in part caused by a divergence in the evidence; molecular dating suggests a Cretaceous radiation, while fossil evidence supports a Cenozoic radiation. Attempts to reconcile the molecular and fossil evidence have proved controversial, but recent results show that all the extant groups of birds originated from only a small handful of species that survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction.

qas: question: Sibley and Ahlquist' Phylogeny and Classification of Birds is a landmark work on the classification of what animals?
answers: text: birds

question: What do scientists disagree about?
answers: text: relationships between the orders themselves

question: What do scientists tend to agree on?
answers: text: the assignment of orders is accurate
context: The classification of birds is a contentious issue. Sibley and Ahlquist's Phylogeny and Classification of Birds (1990) is a landmark work on the classification of birds, although it is frequently debated and constantly revised. Most evidence seems to suggest the assignment of orders is accurate, but scientists disagree about the relationships between the orders themselves; evidence from modern bird anatomy, fossils and DNA have all been brought to bear on the problem, but no strong consensus has emerged. More recently, new fossil and molecular evidence is providing an increasingly clear picture of the evolution of modern bird orders. The most recent effort is drawn above and is based on whole genome sequencing of 48 representative species.

qas: question: Birds live on how many continents?
answers: text: seven

question: Highest bird diversity occurs in which regions?
answers: text: tropical

question: Some penguins have been recording diving up to how many feet?
answers: text: 980

question: Some seabird species only come ashore for what purpose?
answers: text: to breed
context: Birds live and breed in most terrestrial habitats and on all seven continents, reaching their southern extreme in the snow petrel's breeding colonies up to 440 kilometres (270 mi) inland in Antarctica. The highest bird diversity occurs in tropical regions. It was earlier thought that this high diversity was the result of higher speciation rates in the tropics, however recent studies found higher speciation rates in the high latitudes that were offset by greater extinction rates than in the tropics. Several families of birds have adapted to life both on the world's oceans and in them, with some seabird species coming ashore only to breed and some penguins have been recorded diving up to 300 metres (980 ft).

qas: question: The ring-necked pheasant has been introduced as what kind of bird?
answers: text: game bird

question: Why have some species spread naturally far beyond their original ranges?
answers: text: agricultural practices created suitable new habitat

question: Where have many birds established breeding populations?
answers: text: in areas to which they have been introduced by humans
context: Many bird species have established breeding populations in areas to which they have been introduced by humans. Some of these introductions have been deliberate; the ring-necked pheasant, for example, has been introduced around the world as a game bird. Others have been accidental, such as the establishment of wild monk parakeets in several North American cities after their escape from captivity. Some species, including cattle egret, yellow-headed caracara and galah, have spread naturally far beyond their original ranges as agricultural practices created suitable new habitat.

qas: question: What consists of very lightweight bones?
answers: text: The skeleton

question: What does the skeleton consist of?
answers: text: very lightweight bones

question: What are pneumatic cavities?
answers: text: large air-filled cavities

question: What are large air-filled cavities that connect to the respiratory system?
answers: text: pneumatic cavities

question: What is formed when vertebrae are fused with the pelvis?
answers: text: synsacrum
context: The skeleton consists of very lightweight bones. They have large air-filled cavities (called pneumatic cavities) which connect with the respiratory system. The skull bones in adults are fused and do not show cranial sutures. The orbits are large and separated by a bony septum. The spine has cervical, thoracic, lumbar and caudal regions with the number of cervical (neck) vertebrae highly variable and especially flexible, but movement is reduced in the anterior thoracic vertebrae and absent in the later vertebrae. The last few are fused with the pelvis to form the synsacrum. The ribs are flattened and the sternum is keeled for the attachment of flight muscles except in the flightless bird orders. The forelimbs are modified into wings.

qas: question: What is it called when a bird's kidneys extract nitrogenous waste from their bloodstream and secrete it as uric acid?
answers: text: uricotelic

question: Which bid has a urinary bladder or external urethral opening?
answers: text: ostrich

question: What is a multi-purpose opening on birds?
answers: text: cloaca

question: How do most birds mate?
answers: text: by joining cloaca

question: What aids birds with flight?
answers: text: rapid digestion
context: Like the reptiles, birds are primarily uricotelic, that is, their kidneys extract nitrogenous waste from their bloodstream and excrete it as uric acid instead of urea or ammonia through the ureters into the intestine. Birds do not have a urinary bladder or external urethral opening and (with exception of the ostrich) uric acid is excreted along with feces as a semisolid waste. However, birds such as hummingbirds can be facultatively ammonotelic, excreting most of the nitrogenous wastes as ammonia. They also excrete creatine, rather than creatinine like mammals. This material, as well as the output of the intestines, emerges from the bird's cloaca. The cloaca is a multi-purpose opening: waste is expelled through it, most birds mate by joining cloaca, and females lay eggs from it. In addition, many species of birds regurgitate pellets. Males within Palaeognathae (with the exception of the kiwis), the Anseriformes (with the exception of screamers), and in rudimentary forms in Galliformes (but fully developed in Cracidae) possess a penis, which is never present in Neoaves. The length is thought to be related to sperm competition. When not copulating, it is hidden within the proctodeum compartment within the cloaca, just inside the vent. The digestive system of birds is unique, with a crop for storage and a gizzard that contains swallowed stones for grinding food to compensate for the lack of teeth. Most birds are highly adapted for rapid digestion to aid with flight. Some migratory birds have adapted to use protein from many parts of their bodies, including protein from the intestines, as additional energy during migration.

qas: question: Which animal has one of the most complex respiratory system of all animal groups?
answers: text: Birds

question: Upon inhalation, what percentage of fresh air bypasses the lungs and flows directly into a posterior air sac?
answers: text: 75%

question: Where does the other 25 percent of fresh air go?
answers: text: directly into the lungs

question: Sound production is achieved using what muscular chamber?
answers: text: syrinx

question: What is the syrinx?
answers: text: a muscular chamber incorporating multiple tympanic membranes
context: Birds have one of the most complex respiratory systems of all animal groups. Upon inhalation, 75% of the fresh air bypasses the lungs and flows directly into a posterior air sac which extends from the lungs and connects with air spaces in the bones and fills them with air. The other 25% of the air goes directly into the lungs. When the bird exhales, the used air flows out of the lung and the stored fresh air from the posterior air sac is simultaneously forced into the lungs. Thus, a bird's lungs receive a constant supply of fresh air during both inhalation and exhalation. Sound production is achieved using the syrinx, a muscular chamber incorporating multiple tympanic membranes which diverges from the lower end of the trachea; the trachea being elongated in some species, increasing the volume of vocalizations and the perception of the bird's size.

qas: question: The avian circulatory system is driven by what?
answers: text: four-chambered, myogenic heart

question: Where is the heart contained in the avian circulatory system?
answers: text: fibrous pericardial sac

question: What lubricates the pericardial sac?
answers: text: serous fluid

question: Why are Avian hearts larger than mammalian hearts when compared to body mass?
answers: text: allows more blood to be pumped
context: The avian circulatory system is driven by a four-chambered, myogenic heart contained in a fibrous pericardial sac. This pericardial sac is filled with a serous fluid for lubrication. The heart itself is divided into a right and left half, each with an atrium and ventricle. The atrium and ventricles of each side are separated by atrioventricular valves which prevent back flow from one chamber to the next during contraction. Being myogenic, the heart's pace is maintained by pacemaker cells found in the sinoatrial node, located on the right atrium. The sinoatrial node uses calcium to cause a depolarizing signal transduction pathway from the atrium through right and left atrioventricular bundle which communicates contraction to the ventricles. The avian heart also consists of muscular arches that are made up of thick bundles of muscular layers. Much like a mammalian heart, the avian heart is composed of endocardial, myocardial and epicardial layers. The atrium walls tend to be thinner than the ventricle walls, due to the intense ventricular contraction used to pump oxygenated blood throughout the body. Avian hearts are generally larger than mammalian hearts when compared to body mass. This adaptation allows more blood to be pumped to meet the high metabolic need associated with flight.

qas: question: Why are birds' arteries composed of thick elastic muscles?
answers: text: to withstand the pressure of the ventricular constriction

question: What moves through the arteries?
answers: text: Blood

question: What is organized into capillary beds in tissues?
answers: text: Capillaries

question: What is the funneling that occurs that brings blood back to the heart?
answers: text: vasodilation
context: Birds have a very efficient system for diffusing oxygen into the blood; birds have a ten times greater surface area to gas exchange volume than mammals. As a result, birds have more blood in their capillaries per unit of volume of lung than a mammal. The arteries are composed of thick elastic muscles to withstand the pressure of the ventricular constriction, and become more rigid as they move away from the heart. Blood moves through the arteries, which undergo vasoconstriction, and into arterioles which act as a transportation system to distribute primarily oxygen as well as nutrients to all tissues of the body. As the arterioles move away from the heart and into individual organs and tissues they are further divided to increase surface area and slow blood flow. Travelling through the arterioles blood moves into the capillaries where gas exchange can occur. Capillaries are organized into capillary beds in tissues, it is here that blood exchanges oxygen for carbon dioxide waste. In the capillary beds blood flow is slowed to allow maximum diffusion of oxygen into the tissues. Once the blood has become deoxygenated it travels through venules then veins and back to the heart. Veins, unlike arteries, are thin and rigid as they do not need to withstand extreme pressure. As blood travels through the venules to the veins a funneling occurs called vasodilation bringing blood back to the heart. Once the blood reaches the heart it moves first into the right atrium, then the right ventricle to be pumped through the lungs for further gas exchange of carbon dioxide waste for oxygen. Oxygenated blood then flows from the lungs through the left atrium to the left ventricle where it is pumped out to the body.

qas: question: Which bird system is large relative to a bird's size?
answers: text: nervous system

question: What is tetrachromatic?
answers: text: possessing ultraviolet (UV) sensitive cone cells in the eye as well as green, red and blue ones

question: Why do birds need to perceive ultraviolet light?
answers: text: courtship

question: What regulates breeding activities?
answers: text: photo-receptive cells in
context: The nervous system is large relative to the bird's size. The most developed part of the brain is the one that controls the flight-related functions, while the cerebellum coordinates movement and the cerebrum controls behaviour patterns, navigation, mating and nest building. Most birds have a poor sense of smell with notable exceptions including kiwis, New World vultures and tubenoses. The avian visual system is usually highly developed. Water birds have special flexible lenses, allowing accommodation for vision in air and water. Some species also have dual fovea. Birds are tetrachromatic, possessing ultraviolet (UV) sensitive cone cells in the eye as well as green, red and blue ones. This allows them to perceive ultraviolet light, which is involved in courtship. Birds have specialized light-sensing cells deep in their brains that respond to light without input from eyes or other sensory neurons. These photo-receptive cells in the hypothalamus are involved in detecting the longer days of spring, and thus regulate breeding activities.

qas: question: What covers the eye and acts as a contact lens in many aquatic birds?
answers: text: nictitating membrane

question: What is the fan shaped blood supply system in a bird's retina?
answers: text: pecten

question: Which birds have a wide visual field?
answers: text: Birds with eyes on the sides of their heads

question: What kind of vision do owls have?
answers: text: binocular vision

question: Where is a bird's cochlea located?
answers: text: inner ear
context: Many birds show plumage patterns in ultraviolet that are invisible to the human eye; some birds whose sexes appear similar to the naked eye are distinguished by the presence of ultraviolet reflective patches on their feathers. Male blue tits have an ultraviolet reflective crown patch which is displayed in courtship by posturing and raising of their nape feathers. Ultraviolet light is also used in foraging—kestrels have been shown to search for prey by detecting the UV reflective urine trail marks left on the ground by rodents. The eyelids of a bird are not used in blinking. Instead the eye is lubricated by the nictitating membrane, a third eyelid that moves horizontally. The nictitating membrane also covers the eye and acts as a contact lens in many aquatic birds. The bird retina has a fan shaped blood supply system called the pecten. Most birds cannot move their eyes, although there are exceptions, such as the great cormorant. Birds with eyes on the sides of their heads have a wide visual field, while birds with eyes on the front of their heads, such as owls, have binocular vision and can estimate the depth of field. The avian ear lacks external pinnae but is covered by feathers, although in some birds, such as the Asio, Bubo and Otus owls, these feathers form tufts which resemble ears. The inner ear has a cochlea, but it is not spiral as in mammals.

qas: question: What is known to sometimes result in injury or death?
answers: text: intraspecific conflicts

question: What is another name for Anhimidae?
answers: text: screamers

question: What is another name for steamer ducks?
answers: text: Tachyeres

question: What do stone curlews use to punch and hammer opponents?
answers: text: bony knob on the alular metacarpal
context: A dearth of field observations limit our knowledge, but intraspecific conflicts are known to sometimes result in injury or death. The screamers (Anhimidae), some jacanas (Jacana, Hydrophasianus), the spur-winged goose (Plectropterus), the torrent duck (Merganetta) and nine species of lapwing (Vanellus) use a sharp spur on the wing as a weapon. The steamer ducks (Tachyeres), geese and swans (Anserinae), the solitaire (Pezophaps), sheathbills (Chionis), some guans (Crax) and stone curlews (Burhinus) use a bony knob on the alular metacarpal to punch and hammer opponents. The jacanas Actophilornis and Irediparra have an expanded, blade-like radius. The extinct Xenicibis was unique in having an elongate forelimb and massive hand which likely functioned in combat or defence as a jointed club or flail. Swans, for instance, may strike with the bony spurs and bite when defending eggs or young.

qas: question: What is a feature characteristic of birds?
answers: text: Feathers

question: What feature of a bird facilitate flight?
answers: text: Feathers

question: What is pterylae?
answers: text: specific tracts of skin
context: Feathers are a feature characteristic of birds (though also present in some dinosaurs not currently considered to be true birds). They facilitate flight, provide insulation that aids in thermoregulation, and are used in display, camouflage, and signaling. There are several types of feathers, each serving its own set of purposes. Feathers are epidermal growths attached to the skin and arise only in specific tracts of skin called pterylae. The distribution pattern of these feather tracts (pterylosis) is used in taxonomy and systematics. The arrangement and appearance of feathers on the body, called plumage, may vary within species by age, social status, and sex.

qas: question: What is regularly moulted?
answers: text: Plumage

question: What is the standard plumage of a bird that has moulted after breeding?
answers: text: "non-breeding" plumage

question: How often does moulting occur in most species?
answers: text: annual

question: What type of birds may moult only once every few years?
answers: text: large birds of prey
context: Plumage is regularly moulted; the standard plumage of a bird that has moulted after breeding is known as the "non-breeding" plumage, or—in the Humphrey-Parkes terminology—"basic" plumage; breeding plumages or variations of the basic plumage are known under the Humphrey-Parkes system as "alternate" plumages. Moulting is annual in most species, although some may have two moults a year, and large birds of prey may moult only once every few years. Moulting patterns vary across species. In passerines, flight feathers are replaced one at a time with the innermost primary being the first. When the fifth of sixth primary is replaced, the outermost tertiaries begin to drop. After the innermost tertiaries are moulted, the secondaries starting from the innermost begin to drop and this proceeds to the outer feathers (centrifugal moult). The greater primary coverts are moulted in synchrony with the primary that they overlap. A small number of species, such as ducks and geese, lose all of their flight feathers at once, temporarily becoming flightless. As a general rule, the tail feathers are moulted and replaced starting with the innermost pair. Centripetal moults of tail feathers are however seen in the Phasianidae. The centrifugal moult is modified in the tail feathers of woodpeckers and treecreepers, in that it begins with the second innermost pair of feathers and finishes with the central pair of feathers so that the bird maintains a functional climbing tail. The general pattern seen in passerines is that the primaries are replaced outward, secondaries inward, and the tail from center outward. Before nesting, the females of most bird species gain a bare brood patch by losing feathers close to the belly. The skin there is well supplied with blood vessels and helps the bird in incubation.

qas: question: How often do birds groom their feathers?
answers: text: daily

question: What percentage of their day do birds groom their feathers?
answers: text: 9%

question: What do birds use to brush away foreign particles?
answers: text: The bill

question: What is the process of removing feather parasites?
answers: text: anting
context: Feathers require maintenance and birds preen or groom them daily, spending an average of around 9% of their daily time on this. The bill is used to brush away foreign particles and to apply waxy secretions from the uropygial gland; these secretions protect the feathers' flexibility and act as an antimicrobial agent, inhibiting the growth of feather-degrading bacteria. This may be supplemented with the secretions of formic acid from ants, which birds receive through a behaviour known as anting, to remove feather parasites.

qas: question: What distinguishes birds from almost all other vertebrate classes?
answers: text: Most birds can fly,

question: What is the primary means of locomotion for most bird species?
answers: text: Flight

question: How many large flight muscles do birds have?
answers: text: two

question: Pectoralis account for what percentage of total mass of a bird?
answers: text: 15%

question: Approximately how many extant bird species are flightless?
answers: text: 60
context: Most birds can fly, which distinguishes them from almost all other vertebrate classes. Flight is the primary means of locomotion for most bird species and is used for breeding, feeding, and predator avoidance and escape. Birds have various adaptations for flight, including a lightweight skeleton, two large flight muscles, the pectoralis (which accounts for 15% of the total mass of the bird) and the supracoracoideus, as well as a modified forelimb (wing) that serves as an aerofoil. Wing shape and size generally determine a bird species' type of flight; many birds combine powered, flapping flight with less energy-intensive soaring flight. About 60 extant bird species are flightless, as were many extinct birds. Flightlessness often arises in birds on isolated islands, probably due to limited resources and the absence of land predators. Though flightless, penguins use similar musculature and movements to "fly" through the water, as do auks, shearwaters and dippers.

qas: question: What is the term used for birds that employ many strategies to obtain food?
answers: text: generalists

question: What is the term used for birds that concentrate time and effort on specific food items?
answers: text: specialists

question: What type of birds have specially adapted brushy tongues?
answers: text: Nectar feeders
context: Birds that employ many strategies to obtain food or feed on a variety of food items are called generalists, while others that concentrate time and effort on specific food items or have a single strategy to obtain food are considered specialists. Birds' feeding strategies vary by species. Many birds glean for insects, invertebrates, fruit, or seeds. Some hunt insects by suddenly attacking from a branch. Those species that seek pest insects are considered beneficial 'biological control agents' and their presence encouraged in biological pest control programs. Nectar feeders such as hummingbirds, sunbirds, lories, and lorikeets amongst others have specially adapted brushy tongues and in many cases bills designed to fit co-adapted flowers. Kiwis and shorebirds with long bills probe for invertebrates; shorebirds' varied bill lengths and feeding methods result in the separation of ecological niches. Loons, diving ducks, penguins and auks pursue their prey underwater, using their wings or feet for propulsion, while aerial predators such as sulids, kingfishers and terns plunge dive after their prey. Flamingos, three species of prion, and some ducks are filter feeders. Geese and dabbling ducks are primarily grazers.

qas: question: What is the term for stealing food items from other birds?
answers: text: kleptoparasitism

question: What is kleptoparasitism?
answers: text: stealing food items from other birds

question: A vulture is what type of bird?
answers: text: scavengers
context: Some species, including frigatebirds, gulls, and skuas, engage in kleptoparasitism, stealing food items from other birds. Kleptoparasitism is thought to be a supplement to food obtained by hunting, rather than a significant part of any species' diet; a study of great frigatebirds stealing from masked boobies estimated that the frigatebirds stole at most 40% of their food and on average stole only 5%. Other birds are scavengers; some of these, like vultures, are specialised carrion eaters, while others, like gulls, corvids, or other birds of prey, are opportunists.

qas: question: How do nesting sandgrouse carry water to their young?
answers: text: wetting their belly feathers

question: What is one family of birds have adaptations to produce a nutritive fluid to their chicks?
answers: text: The pigeon family

question: What is a nutritive fluid that some birds provide to their chicks?
answers: text: crop milk

question: What is crop milk?
answers: text: a nutritive fluid
context: Most birds scoop water in their beaks and raise their head to let water run down the throat. Some species, especially of arid zones, belonging to the pigeon, finch, mousebird, button-quail and bustard families are capable of sucking up water without the need to tilt back their heads. Some desert birds depend on water sources and sandgrouse are particularly well known for their daily congregations at waterholes. Nesting sandgrouse and many plovers carry water to their young by wetting their belly feathers. Some birds carry water for chicks at the nest in their crop or regurgitate it along with food. The pigeon family, flamingos and penguins have adaptations to produce a nutritive fluid called crop milk that they provide to their chicks.

qas: question: Birds preen often with the application of secretions from which gland?
answers: text: preen gland

question: What do birds bathe in?
answers: text: water or dust

question: What is anting?
answers: text: bird encourages ants to run through their plumage

question: What is it called when birds encourage ants to run through their plumage?
answers: text: anting
context: Feathers being critical to the survival of a bird, require maintenance. Apart from physical wear and tear, feathers face the onslaught of fungi, ectoparasitic feather mites and birdlice. The physical condition of feathers are maintained by preening often with the application of secretions from the preen gland. Birds also bathe in water or dust themselves. While some birds dip into shallow water, more aerial species may make aerial dips into water and arboreal species often make use of dew or rain that collect on leaves. Birds of arid regions make use of loose soil to dust-bathe. A behaviour termed as anting in which the bird encourages ants to run through their plumage is also thought to help them reduce the ectoparasite load in feathers. Many species will spread out their wings and expose them to direct sunlight and this too is thought to help in reducing fungal and ectoparasitic activity that may lead to feather damage.

qas: question: When do birds substantially increase body fats and reduce the size of some of their organs?
answers: text: Before migration

question: What is the flight range of landbirds?
answers: text: 2,500 km (1,600 mi)

question: What is the flight range of shoebirds?
answers: text: 4,000 km (2,500 mi)

question: Which bird is capable of non-stop flights of up to 6,300 miles?
answers: text: bar-tailed godwit

question: Which birds often undertake circumpolar trips between breeding seasons?
answers: text: Albatrosses nesting in the Southern Ocean
context: Many bird species migrate to take advantage of global differences of seasonal temperatures, therefore optimising availability of food sources and breeding habitat. These migrations vary among the different groups. Many landbirds, shorebirds, and waterbirds undertake annual long distance migrations, usually triggered by the length of daylight as well as weather conditions. These birds are characterised by a breeding season spent in the temperate or polar regions and a non-breeding season in the tropical regions or opposite hemisphere. Before migration, birds substantially increase body fats and reserves and reduce the size of some of their organs. Migration is highly demanding energetically, particularly as birds need to cross deserts and oceans without refuelling. Landbirds have a flight range of around 2,500 km (1,600 mi) and shorebirds can fly up to 4,000 km (2,500 mi), although the bar-tailed godwit is capable of non-stop flights of up to 10,200 km (6,300 mi). Seabirds also undertake long migrations, the longest annual migration being those of sooty shearwaters, which nest in New Zealand and Chile and spend the northern summer feeding in the North Pacific off Japan, Alaska and California, an annual round trip of 64,000 km (39,800 mi). Other seabirds disperse after breeding, travelling widely but having no set migration route. Albatrosses nesting in the Southern Ocean often undertake circumpolar trips between breeding seasons.

qas: question: In Australia, what percentage of non-passerine birds were partially migratory
answers: text: 44%

question: In Australia, what percentage of passerine birds were partially migratory
answers: text: 32%

question: What is most often triggered by temperature changes?
answers: text: Altitudinal migration

question: Which family of birds are neither migratory or sedentary but considered to be dispersive, irruptive or nomadic?
answers: text: Parrots
context: Some bird species undertake shorter migrations, travelling only as far as is required to avoid bad weather or obtain food. Irruptive species such as the boreal finches are one such group and can commonly be found at a location in one year and absent the next. This type of migration is normally associated with food availability. Species may also travel shorter distances over part of their range, with individuals from higher latitudes travelling into the existing range of conspecifics; others undertake partial migrations, where only a fraction of the population, usually females and subdominant males, migrates. Partial migration can form a large percentage of the migration behaviour of birds in some regions; in Australia, surveys found that 44% of non-passerine birds and 32% of passerines were partially migratory. Altitudinal migration is a form of short distance migration in which birds spend the breeding season at higher altitudes elevations and move to lower ones during suboptimal conditions. It is most often triggered by temperature changes and usually occurs when the normal territories also become inhospitable due to lack of food. Some species may also be nomadic, holding no fixed territory and moving according to weather and food availability. Parrots as a family are overwhelmingly neither migratory nor sedentary but considered to either be dispersive, irruptive, nomadic or undertake small and irregular migrations.

qas: question: In which type of migration do birds use the sun to navigate by day and a stellar compass at night?
answers: text: diurnal migrants

question: Some species use specialised photoreceptors to sense what?
answers: text: the Earth's geomagnetism

question: What do birds to compensate for the changing position of the sun during the day?
answers: text: internal clock
context: The ability of birds to return to precise locations across vast distances has been known for some time; in an experiment conducted in the 1950s a Manx shearwater released in Boston returned to its colony in Skomer, Wales, within 13 days, a distance of 5,150 km (3,200 mi). Birds navigate during migration using a variety of methods. For diurnal migrants, the sun is used to navigate by day, and a stellar compass is used at night. Birds that use the sun compensate for the changing position of the sun during the day by the use of an internal clock. Orientation with the stellar compass depends on the position of the constellations surrounding Polaris. These are backed up in some species by their ability to sense the Earth's geomagnetism through specialised photoreceptors.

qas: question: What do birds sometimes use to assess and assert social dominance?
answers: text: plumage

question: What allows for the identification of birds, particularly between species?
answers: text: Variation in plumage

question: Visual communication among birds may involve what kind of displays?
answers: text: ritualised displays
context: Birds sometimes use plumage to assess and assert social dominance, to display breeding condition in sexually selected species, or to make threatening displays, as in the sunbittern's mimicry of a large predator to ward off hawks and protect young chicks. Variation in plumage also allows for the identification of birds, particularly between species. Visual communication among birds may also involve ritualised displays, which have developed from non-signalling actions such as preening, the adjustments of feather position, pecking, or other behaviour. These displays may signal aggression or submission or may contribute to the formation of pair-bonds. The most elaborate displays occur during courtship, where "dances" are often formed from complex combinations of many possible component movements; males' breeding success may depend on the quality of such displays.

qas: question: What do birds use for evaluation of potential mates and mate attraction?
answers: text: Calls

question: What do some birds use for auditory communication?
answers: text: mechanical sounds

question: Which type of birds use tools to drum?
answers: text: palm

question: Which birds drum territorially?
answers: text: woodpeckers
context: Calls are used for a variety of purposes, including mate attraction, evaluation of potential mates, bond formation, the claiming and maintenance of territories, the identification of other individuals (such as when parents look for chicks in colonies or when mates reunite at the start of breeding season), and the warning of other birds of potential predators, sometimes with specific information about the nature of the threat. Some birds also use mechanical sounds for auditory communication. The Coenocorypha snipes of New Zealand drive air through their feathers, woodpeckers drum territorially, and palm cockatoos use tools to drum.

qas: question: What are the principal benefits of flocking?
answers: text: safety in numbers and increased foraging efficiency

question: What is a cost of flocking?
answers: text: bullying of socially subordinate birds by more dominant birds

question: What is particularly important in closed habitats like forests?
answers: text: Defence against predators
context: While some birds are essentially territorial or live in small family groups, other birds may form large flocks. The principal benefits of flocking are safety in numbers and increased foraging efficiency. Defence against predators is particularly important in closed habitats like forests, where ambush predation is common and multiple eyes can provide a valuable early warning system. This has led to the development of many mixed-species feeding flocks, which are usually composed of small numbers of many species; these flocks provide safety in numbers but increase potential competition for resources. Costs of flocking include bullying of socially subordinate birds by more dominant birds and the reduction of feeding efficiency in certain cases.

qas: question: Sleeping birds often use a type of sleep known as what?
answers: text: vigilant sleep

question: What are believed to be able to sleep in flight?
answers: text: Swifts

question: Why is communal roosting common?
answers: text: because it lowers the loss of body heat
context: The high metabolic rates of birds during the active part of the day is supplemented by rest at other times. Sleeping birds often use a type of sleep known as vigilant sleep, where periods of rest are interspersed with quick eye-opening "peeks", allowing them to be sensitive to disturbances and enable rapid escape from threats. Swifts are believed to be able to sleep in flight and radar observations suggest that they orient themselves to face the wind in their roosting flight. It has been suggested that there may be certain kinds of sleep which are possible even when in flight. Some birds have also demonstrated the capacity to fall into slow-wave sleep one hemisphere of the brain at a time. The birds tend to exercise this ability depending upon its position relative to the outside of the flock. This may allow the eye opposite the sleeping hemisphere to remain vigilant for predators by viewing the outer margins of the flock. This adaptation is also known from marine mammals. Communal roosting is common because it lowers the loss of body heat and decreases the risks associated with predators. Roosting sites are often chosen with regard to thermoregulation and safety.

qas: question: These types of birds have a tendon locking mechanism.
answers: text: Perching birds

question: Where do many ground birds, such as quails and pheasants, roost?
answers: text: in trees

question: A few parrots of what genus roost hanging upside down?
answers: text: Loriculus

question: What type of birds go into a nightly state of torpor?
answers: text: Some hummingbirds

question: Birds do not have what type of glands:?
answers: text: sweat
context: Many sleeping birds bend their heads over their backs and tuck their bills in their back feathers, although others place their beaks among their breast feathers. Many birds rest on one leg, while some may pull up their legs into their feathers, especially in cold weather. Perching birds have a tendon locking mechanism that helps them hold on to the perch when they are asleep. Many ground birds, such as quails and pheasants, roost in trees. A few parrots of the genus Loriculus roost hanging upside down. Some hummingbirds go into a nightly state of torpor accompanied with a reduction of their metabolic rates. This physiological adaptation shows in nearly a hundred other species, including owlet-nightjars, nightjars, and woodswallows. One species, the common poorwill, even enters a state of hibernation. Birds do not have sweat glands, but they may cool themselves by moving to shade, standing in water, panting, increasing their surface area, fluttering their throat or by using special behaviours like urohidrosis to cool themselves.

qas: question: What percent of bird species are socially monogamous?
answers: text: Ninety-five percent

question: What is extra-pair copulation?
answers: text: infidelity

question: What do female birds have that allow sperm from males to remain viable long after copulation?
answers: text: sperm storage mechanisms

question: Why do males that engage in extra-pair copulation closely guard their mates?
answers: text: to ensure the parentage of the offspring that they raise
context: Ninety-five percent of bird species are socially monogamous. These species pair for at least the length of the breeding season or—in some cases—for several years or until the death of one mate. Monogamy allows for both paternal care and biparental care, which is especially important for species in which females require males' assistance for successful brood-rearing. Among many socially monogamous species, extra-pair copulation (infidelity) is common. Such behaviour typically occurs between dominant males and females paired with subordinate males, but may also be the result of forced copulation in ducks and other anatids. Female birds have sperm storage mechanisms that allow sperm from males to remain viable long after copulation, a hundred days in some species. Sperm from multiple males may compete through this mechanism. For females, possible benefits of extra-pair copulation include getting better genes for her offspring and insuring against the possibility of infertility in her mate. Males of species that engage in extra-pair copulations will closely guard their mates to ensure the parentage of the offspring that they raise.

qas: question: Which gender typically performs some form of courtship display?
answers: text: male

question: Most courtship displays involve some type of what?
answers: text: song

question: Which gender generally drive partner selection?:
answers: text: Females

question: Generally, when is courtship feeding and billing performed between partners?
answers: text: after the birds have paired and mated
context: Breeding usually involves some form of courtship display, typically performed by the male. Most displays are rather simple and involve some type of song. Some displays, however, are quite elaborate. Depending on the species, these may include wing or tail drumming, dancing, aerial flights, or communal lekking. Females are generally the ones that drive partner selection, although in the polyandrous phalaropes, this is reversed: plainer males choose brightly coloured females. Courtship feeding, billing and allopreening are commonly performed between partners, generally after the birds have paired and mated.

qas: question: What kind of eggs to all birds lay?
answers: text: amniotic eggs

question: All birds lay eggs with hard shells made mostly out of what?
answers: text: calcium carbonate

question: What kind of eggs do open nesters lay?
answers: text: camouflaged eggs

question: What type of birds lay white or pale eggs?
answers: text: Hole and burrow nesting species
context: All birds lay amniotic eggs with hard shells made mostly of calcium carbonate. Hole and burrow nesting species tend to lay white or pale eggs, while open nesters lay camouflaged eggs. There are many exceptions to this pattern, however; the ground-nesting nightjars have pale eggs, and camouflage is instead provided by their plumage. Species that are victims of brood parasites have varying egg colours to improve the chances of spotting a parasite's egg, which forces female parasites to match their eggs to those of their hosts.

qas: question: Where do birds usually lay their eggs?
answers: text: nest

question: What type of birds lay its eggs on bare rock?
answers: text: cliff-nesting common guillemot

question: Where do male emporer penguins keep eggs?
answers: text: between their body and feet

question: Which type of bird nests are no more than a scrape on the ground?
answers: text: albatross
context: Bird eggs are usually laid in a nest. Most species create somewhat elaborate nests, which can be cups, domes, plates, beds scrapes, mounds, or burrows. Some bird nests, however, are extremely primitive; albatross nests are no more than a scrape on the ground. Most birds build nests in sheltered, hidden areas to avoid predation, but large or colonial birds—which are more capable of defence—may build more open nests. During nest construction, some species seek out plant matter from plants with parasite-reducing toxins to improve chick survival, and feathers are often used for nest insulation. Some bird species have no nests; the cliff-nesting common guillemot lays its eggs on bare rock, and male emperor penguins keep eggs between their body and feet. The absence of nests is especially prevalent in ground-nesting species where the newly hatched young are precocial.

qas: question: What process optimises temperature for chick development?
answers: text: Incubation

question: When does incubation begin?
answers: text: after the last egg has been laid

question: What are areas of bare skin on the abdomen or breast of incubating birds?
answers: text: brood patches

question: How many days is the incubation period for woodpeckers?
answers: text: 10 days

question: How many days is the incubation period for kiwis?
answers: text: over 80 days
context: Incubation, which optimises temperature for chick development, usually begins after the last egg has been laid. In monogamous species incubation duties are often shared, whereas in polygamous species one parent is wholly responsible for incubation. Warmth from parents passes to the eggs through brood patches, areas of bare skin on the abdomen or breast of the incubating birds. Incubation can be an energetically demanding process; adult albatrosses, for instance, lose as much as 83 grams (2.9 oz) of body weight per day of incubation. The warmth for the incubation of the eggs of megapodes comes from the sun, decaying vegetation or volcanic sources. Incubation periods range from 10 days (in woodpeckers, cuckoos and passerine birds) to over 80 days (in albatrosses and kiwis).

qas: question: When does parental care end in megapodes?
answers: text: at hatching

question: What type of seabird has the longest period of parental care?
answers: text: frigatebird

question: What is the period of breeding during which one of the adult birds is always present at the nest?
answers: text: chick guard stage
context: The length and nature of parental care varies widely amongst different orders and species. At one extreme, parental care in megapodes ends at hatching; the newly hatched chick digs itself out of the nest mound without parental assistance and can fend for itself immediately. At the other extreme, many seabirds have extended periods of parental care, the longest being that of the great frigatebird, whose chicks take up to six months to fledge and are fed by the parents for up to an additional 14 months. The chick guard stage describes the period of breeding during which one of the adult birds is permanently present at the nest after chicks have hatched. The main purpose of the guard stage is to aid offspring to thermoregulate and protect them from predation.

qas: question: Alloparenting is particulary common with what species?
answers: text: Corvida

question: True crows belong to what group?
answers: text: Corvida

question: What is more common in birds than any other vertebrate class?
answers: text: male parental care
context: In some species, both parents care for nestlings and fledglings; in others, such care is the responsibility of only one sex. In some species, other members of the same species—usually close relatives of the breeding pair, such as offspring from previous broods—will help with the raising of the young. Such alloparenting is particularly common among the Corvida, which includes such birds as the true crows, Australian magpie and fairy-wrens, but has been observed in species as different as the rifleman and red kite. Among most groups of animals, male parental care is rare. In birds, however, it is quite common—more so than in any other vertebrate class. Though territory and nest site defence, incubation, and chick feeding are often shared tasks, there is sometimes a division of labour in which one mate undertakes all or most of a particular duty.

qas: question: Which chicks leave the nest the night after they hatch?
answers: text: chicks of the Synthliboramphus murrelets

question: Name a species which move their chicks away from the nest at an early age.
answers: text: ducks

question: When do most species of chicks leave the nest?
answers: text: just before, or soon after, they are able to fly
context: The point at which chicks fledge varies dramatically. The chicks of the Synthliboramphus murrelets, like the ancient murrelet, leave the nest the night after they hatch, following their parents out to sea, where they are raised away from terrestrial predators. Some other species, such as ducks, move their chicks away from the nest at an early age. In most species, chicks leave the nest just before, or soon after, they are able to fly. The amount of parental care after fledging varies; albatross chicks leave the nest on their own and receive no further help, while other species continue some supplementary feeding after fledging. Chicks may also follow their parents during their first migration.

qas: question: What is it called when an egg-layer leaves her eggs with another individual's brood?
answers: text: Brood parasitism

question: How many bird species are obligate parasites?
answers: text: One hundred

question: What type of birds lay eggs in the nests of conspecifics to increase their reproductive output?
answers: text: non-obligate brood parasites
context: Brood parasitism, in which an egg-layer leaves her eggs with another individual's brood, is more common among birds than any other type of organism. After a parasitic bird lays her eggs in another bird's nest, they are often accepted and raised by the host at the expense of the host's own brood. Brood parasites may be either obligate brood parasites, which must lay their eggs in the nests of other species because they are incapable of raising their own young, or non-obligate brood parasites, which sometimes lay eggs in the nests of conspecifics to increase their reproductive output even though they could have raised their own young. One hundred bird species, including honeyguides, icterids, and ducks, are obligate parasites, though the most famous are the cuckoos. Some brood parasites are adapted to hatch before their host's young, which allows them to destroy the host's eggs by pushing them out of the nest or to kill the host's chicks; this ensures that all food brought to the nest will be fed to the parasitic chicks.

qas: question: What is the most famous example of sexual selection?
answers: text: peacock tail

question: What is intersexual selection also known as?
answers: text: female choice

question: What is it called when individuals of the more abundant sex compete with each other for the privilege to mate?
answers: text: intrasexual competition
context: Birds have evolved a variety of mating behaviors, with the peacock tail being perhaps the most famous example of sexual selection and the Fisherian runaway. Commonly occurring sexual dimorphisms such as size and color differences are energetically costly attributes that signal competitive breeding situations. Many types of avian sexual selection have been identified; intersexual selection, also known as female choice; and intrasexual competition, where individuals of the more abundant sex compete with each other for the privilege to mate. Sexually selected traits often evolve to become more pronounced in competitive breeding situations until the trait begins to limit the individual’s fitness. Conflicts between an individual fitness and signaling adaptations ensure that sexually selected ornaments such as plumage coloration and courtship behavior are "honest" traits. Signals must be costly to ensure that only good-quality individuals can present these exaggerated sexual ornaments and behaviors.

qas: question: What is it called when there is greater than 30 percent reduction in hatchability of eggs?
answers: text: inbreeding depression

question: What can reduce the negative effects of inbreeding?
answers: text: Females paired with related males may undertake extra pair matings

question: What percentage of broods produced by incestuously paired females contained extra pair of young?
answers: text: 43%
context: Incestuous matings by the purple-crowned fairy wren Malurus coronatus result in severe fitness costs due to inbreeding depression (greater than 30% reduction in hatchability of eggs). Females paired with related males may undertake extra pair matings (see Promiscuity#Other animals for 90% frequency in avian species) that can reduce the negative effects of inbreeding. However, there are ecological and demographic constraints on extra pair matings. Nevertheless, 43% of broods produced by incestuously paired females contained extra pair young.

qas: question: What occurs when offspring delay dispersal from their natal group?
answers: text: Cooperative breeding

question: What leads to the masking of deleterious recesive alleles in progeny?
answers: text: Cross-fertilization between unrelated individuals

question: Why is inbreeding avoided?
answers: text: because it leads to a reduction in progeny fitness
context: Cooperative breeding in birds typically occurs when offspring, usually males, delay dispersal from their natal group in order to remain with the family to help rear younger kin. Female offspring rarely stay at home, dispersing over distances that allow them to breed independently, or to join unrelated groups. In general, inbreeding is avoided because it leads to a reduction in progeny fitness (inbreeding depression) due largely to the homozygous expression of deleterious recessive alleles. Cross-fertilization between unrelated individuals ordinarily leads to the masking of deleterious recessive alleles in progeny.

qas: question: What type of birds generally feed by fishing, plant eating or piracy?
answers: text: Aquatic birds

question: What type of birds may be either insectivores, frugivores and nectarivores?
answers: text: Forest birds

question: What type of birds specialise in hunting mammals or other birds?
answers: text: Birds of prey
context: Birds occupy a wide range of ecological positions. While some birds are generalists, others are highly specialised in their habitat or food requirements. Even within a single habitat, such as a forest, the niches occupied by different species of birds vary, with some species feeding in the forest canopy, others beneath the canopy, and still others on the forest floor. Forest birds may be insectivores, frugivores, and nectarivores. Aquatic birds generally feed by fishing, plant eating, and piracy or kleptoparasitism. Birds of prey specialise in hunting mammals or other birds, while vultures are specialised scavengers. Avivores are animals that are specialized at preying on birds.

qas: question: What are often important to island ecology?
answers: text: Birds

question: What type of birds may also affect the ecology of islands and surrounding areas?
answers: text: Nesting seabirds

question: In New Zealand, what were important browsers, as the kereru and kokako are today?
answers: text: moas
context: Birds are often important to island ecology. Birds have frequently reached islands that mammals have not; on those islands, birds may fulfill ecological roles typically played by larger animals. For example, in New Zealand the moas were important browsers, as are the kereru and kokako today. Today the plants of New Zealand retain the defensive adaptations evolved to protect them from the extinct moa. Nesting seabirds may also affect the ecology of islands and surrounding seas, principally through the concentration of large quantities of guano, which may enrich the local soil and the surrounding seas.

qas: question: Why have humans had a relationship with birds since the dawn of man?
answers: text: Since birds are highly visible and common animals

question: What is it called when the house sparrow has benefited from human activity?
answers: text: commensal

question: What have threatened numerous bird species with extinction?
answers: text: Human activities
context: Since birds are highly visible and common animals, humans have had a relationship with them since the dawn of man. Sometimes, these relationships are mutualistic, like the cooperative honey-gathering among honeyguides and African peoples such as the Borana. Other times, they may be commensal, as when species such as the house sparrow have benefited from human activities. Several bird species have become commercially significant agricultural pests, and some pose an aviation hazard. Human activities can also be detrimental, and have threatened numerous bird species with extinction (hunting, avian lead poisoning, pesticides, roadkill, and predation by pet cats and dogs are common sources of death for birds).

qas: question: What are domesticated birds raised for meat and eggs?
answers: text: poultry

question: What is the largest source of animal protein eaten by humans?
answers: text: poultry

question: In 2003, how many tons of poultry were produced worldwide?
answers: text: 76 million tons

question: What is primarily a recreational activity except in extremely underdeveloped areas?
answers: text: Bird hunting
context: Domesticated birds raised for meat and eggs, called poultry, are the largest source of animal protein eaten by humans; in 2003, 76 million tons of poultry and 61 million tons of eggs were produced worldwide. Chickens account for much of human poultry consumption, though domesticated turkeys, ducks, and geese are also relatively common. Many species of birds are also hunted for meat. Bird hunting is primarily a recreational activity except in extremely undeveloped areas. The most important birds hunted in North and South America are waterfowl; other widely hunted birds include pheasants, wild turkeys, quail, doves, partridge, grouse, snipe, and woodcock. Muttonbirding is also popular in Australia and New Zealand. Though some hunting, such as that of muttonbirds, may be sustainable, hunting has led to the extinction or endangerment of dozens of species.

qas: question: Why have birds been domesticated by humans?
answers: text: both as pets and for practical purposes

question: What type of birds are bred in captivity or kept as pets?
answers: text: Colourful birds

question: How long have messenger pigeons been used?
answers: text: since at least 1 AD
context: Birds have been domesticated by humans both as pets and for practical purposes. Colourful birds, such as parrots and mynas, are bred in captivity or kept as pets, a practice that has led to the illegal trafficking of some endangered species. Falcons and cormorants have long been used for hunting and fishing, respectively. Messenger pigeons, used since at least 1 AD, remained important as recently as World War II. Today, such activities are more common either as hobbies, for entertainment and tourism, or for sports such as pigeon racing.

qas: question: What play prominent roles in religion and mythology?
answers: text: Birds

question: The word auspicious is derived from which word?
answers: text: auspex

question: What is said to mark the existence of a portal between such worlds, and to transform itself into a llama?
answers: text: mythical chullumpi bird
context: Birds play prominent and diverse roles in religion and mythology. In religion, birds may serve as either messengers or priests and leaders for a deity, such as in the Cult of Makemake, in which the Tangata manu of Easter Island served as chiefs or as attendants, as in the case of Hugin and Munin, the two common ravens who whispered news into the ears of the Norse god Odin. In several civilizations of ancient Italy, particularly Etruscan and Roman religion, priests were involved in augury, or interpreting the words of birds while the "auspex" (from which the word "auspicious" is derived) watched their activities to foretell events. They may also serve as religious symbols, as when Jonah (Hebrew: יוֹנָה, dove) embodied the fright, passivity, mourning, and beauty traditionally associated with doves. Birds have themselves been deified, as in the case of the common peacock, which is perceived as Mother Earth by the Dravidians of India. In religious images preserved from the Inca and Tiwanaku empires, birds are depicted in the process of transgressing boundaries between earthly and underground spiritual realms. Indigenous peoples of the central Andes maintain legends of birds passing to and from metaphysical worlds. The mythical chullumpi bird is said to mark the existence of a portal between such worlds, and to transform itself into a llama.

qas: question: When were birds represented in early cave paintings?
answers: text: since prehistoric times

question: What is a mythological giant bird capable of snatching humans?
answers: text: Pouākai

question: John James Audubon later lent his name to which group?
answers: text: National Audubon Society

question: What did Homer incorporate into his Odyssey?
answers: text: nightingales

question: The relationship between an albatross and a sailor is the central theme of what book?
answers: text: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
context: Birds have featured in culture and art since prehistoric times, when they were represented in early cave paintings. Some birds have been perceived as monsters, including the mythological Roc and the Māori's legendary Pouākai, a giant bird capable of snatching humans. Birds were later used as symbols of power, as in the magnificent Peacock Throne of the Mughal and Persian emperors. With the advent of scientific interest in birds, many paintings of birds were commissioned for books. Among the most famous of these bird artists was John James Audubon, whose paintings of North American birds were a great commercial success in Europe and who later lent his name to the National Audubon Society. Birds are also important figures in poetry; for example, Homer incorporated nightingales into his Odyssey, and Catullus used a sparrow as an erotic symbol in his Catullus 2. The relationship between an albatross and a sailor is the central theme of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which led to the use of the term as a metaphor for a 'burden'. Other English metaphors derive from birds; vulture funds and vulture investors, for instance, take their name from the scavenging vulture.

qas: question: How many bird species have gone extinct in historical times?
answers: text: Over a hundred

question: How many species are listed as threatened by BirdLife International and the IUCN?
answers: text: 1,227

question: When did the most dramatic human-caused avian extinctions occur?
answers: text: during the human colonisation of Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian islands
context: Though human activities have allowed the expansion of a few species, such as the barn swallow and European starling, they have caused population decreases or extinction in many other species. Over a hundred bird species have gone extinct in historical times, although the most dramatic human-caused avian extinctions, eradicating an estimated 750–1800 species, occurred during the human colonisation of Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian islands. Many bird populations are declining worldwide, with 1,227 species listed as threatened by BirdLife International and the IUCN in 2009.