Bird Respiration; The Breath of Flight Bird respiration, the breathing sort of respiration, is far more complex in birds than in mammals. Like us birds have lungs, and like us they need to breathe air in and out of their lungs. This is in order to fulfil the cycle of bringing oxygen into the body … Read more
A Bird’s Brain and Nervous System Like all animals, birds need a control center and a set of communication channels to ensure their system runs smoothly. As in most more of this world’s more complicated animals, this is usually called a brain and a nervous system. Birds have a similar basic plan to their nervous … Read more
Bird’s Eggs Bird eggs are a glorious, wondrous feat of engineering. We are all of us aware of how nutritious a hen’s egg is. And as hen’s eggs are easily available, it is worth gently cracking one into a shallow bowl in order to have a good look at it – before you cook and … Read more
The Wonder of Bird Feathers Feathers are one of the most prominent features of a bird’s anatomy… and they are unique to birds. Every bird has feathers and everything that has feathers is a bird! Bird feathers perform a number of functions. Firstly, they provide insulation, this is very important in a warm blooded animal … Read more
The Bird Bill or Beak One of the most notable things about birds is their jaws and the fact that they have prominent beaks, properly called bills. The bird’s bill is a remarkably adaptable and useful instrument. A good look at a bird guide, or a zoo, will show you some of the amazing diversity … Read more
Active flapping flight needs a lot of energy to maintain. This, in turn, necessitates an efficient and effective circulatory system. Birds have evolved such a system and it is very similar to a mammal’s. Bird blood is similar to ours, in that it contains both red (erythrocytes) and white blood cells called leucocytes. The red … Read more
Bird Flight: How Does Flying Work? The fact that birds fly is one of the most amazing things about them. The sight of crows or ravens playing in the wind, of seagulls gliding effortlessly along seashore… or of buzzards soaring silently about the countryside always inspires me. There is no doubt that if I had … Read more
The Avian Eye and Vision A bird’s eye is very similar in its basic structure to a human eye. Though with certain modifications and differences. The eyes make up a much larger percentage of the weight of the head in birds, than in man – I.e., 15% for a common Starling, but only 1% for … Read more
Digestion as a concept covers the passage of food items into and through the body and includes the elimination of wastes as well as the uptake of nutrients. Birds are often small with high energy needs – and for this reason they can digest food very quickly. This high digestive rate helps young birds grow … Read more
The Anatomy of a Bird – Bone, Blood & Guts The anatomy of birds is different to that of most mammals, in a number of immediately obvious ways. First, they walk on two legs and have two wings. Then, they have feathers instead of hair… and a beak instead of jaws with teeth. But they … Read more