Endangered Animals: Birds

Endangered Animals: Birds book cover — FACTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS ENDANGERED ANIMALS BIRDS BROWN BEAR BOOKS

Endangered Animals: Birds — page 1 — What is a Bird Birds are among the most successful of all groups of animals found everywhere from the bleak icy wastes of the Arctic and Antarctic and the tops of the highest mountains to baking-hot deserts and from the most remote oceanic islands and the interior of vast jungles to farmland and city streets Crucial to this success has been their mastery of flight The whole body of a bird is adapted to this end Its forearms have become modified to form wings the bony tail has been replaced by a fan of feathers many of the bones are hollow and light in weight the jaws are modified into a lightweight horny beak instead of heavy tooth-filled jaws and there is a system of air filled sacs within much of the body Laying large yolk rich eggs enables birds to avoid carrying around a heavy embryo within the body and they have well developed brains and acute senses Birds also have superbly efficient blood-circulatory and respiratory systems enabling many species to fly far fast or high as their needs dictate It is birds that hold the record for long-distance migration many Arctic terns regularly make a round trip of 25,000 miles 40,200 km between the Arctic and the Antarctic each year They also hold records for flight speed the peregrine falcon is the fastest-moving living thing under its own power reaching speeds of 117 miles per hour 188 km h And birds can fly at considerable altitudes a Rüppell’s griffon vulture collided with an aircraft at 37,000 feet 11,300 m The key to their superb powers of flight is the evolution of feathers which distinguish birds from all other animals These structures made of keratin a material similar to that found in your hair and nails form the plumage of the bird which helps it fly and provides insulation colors for camouflage or communication waterproofing and other uses Considering the limitations imposed on them by acquiring the power of flight birds are remarkably 4 The house sparrow is one of the world’s most successful birds yet even this adaptable species has declined in places varied in appearance and lifestyle They have a much greater species diversity than other groups of vertebrates apart from fish with almost 9,800 species over twice as many species as mammals Flightlessness Although the great majority of birds can fly certain groups or individual species have abandoned flight during their evolutionary history Examples include the ratites flightless running birds whose living representatives include the ostrich and kiwis the penguins the kakapo pp 36 37 and extinct birds such as the great auk and dodo Originally this strategy was a neat way of saving energy for birds that lived on islands or other places where there were no land predators and so no need to fly to escape them But flightlessness also meant that many species succumbed to predators such as cats and rats introduced by settlers The History of Birds Birds evolved from reptiles over 160 million years ago These two great groups or classes of animals share

Endangered Animals: Birds

Endangered Animals: Birds

Describes various birds that are endangered and at risk of becoming extinct. Data Sheet sidebars and maps accompany the text"--Provided by publisher.

About This Book

By: Tim Harris

Illustrated by:

Published by: Brown Bear Books by Black Rabbit Books

9-12Age Range

7.5+AR

62Pages

Wild ThingsSubject

1230LLexile

1-2 hoursReading Time

ZGuided Reading

ZFountas & Pinnell

80DRA

0

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