Birds



Introduction:

Birds are winged vertebrates specifically adapted for flight, although some, like penguins have lost this ability. With adaptations to different environments birds fly, run, jump, swim and dive across land, sea and sky. 

They are the most widely studied group of animals - attributed to their widespread distribution and popular nature due to interesting behaviour, astonishing colours and diverse body forms. 

Key features of birds:

Other characteristics of birds include feet covered in scales, hollow bones, a bill covered in keratin, gizzard in their digestive system, air sacs attached to lungs to aid breathing, and an oil gland for dressing the plumage to keep feathers clean and for some birds, provide a layer of waterproofing. 

The birds can be found in central cabinet 4 in the museum 

Classification: 

Birds are split into two major groups: Paleognathae and Neognathae.
With the majority of modern birds belonging to Neognathae. This groups are distinguished by the structure of the bird skull- specifically the jaw.

Paleognathae

Ostriches, emus, kiwis, allies and tinamou

These birds have a more 'primitive and reptilian' jaw- in fact the name 'Paleognathae' is derived from paleognath, the ancient Greek for "old jaws" 

Neognathae

All other living bird groups 

The Neognathae consist of a huge range of diversity owing to <adaptive radiation> resulting in unique bills, feet and behaviours

Bird Orders

Below is a detailed list of the different bird orders from a 2019 review with the bird species listed next to the order.

If you want to discover more, all groups are hyperlinked to their respective page on Encyclopaedia Britannica or Bird Families of the World.

Within Paleognathae:

Within Neognathae:

Waterbirds: 

Land birds: 

Explore the different taxonomic groups of Birds using this interactive phylogenetic tree from OneZoom. 

Learn more about OneZoom here

Highlights






Superb bird-of-paradise, Lophorina superba, male (top left) and female (bottom right)
Common ostrich, Struthio camelus, skeleton

Gallery: