1. Ornithology
Communication Unit

2. Avian Senses
Birds have highly developed sight - they see into the near ultraviolet spectrum
Birds hear better than mammals - they hear ultra-low frequencies
They navigate by using the earth’s magnetism

3. Avian Intelligence
Avian learning is equal to or better than most mammals
They master complex problems better than most mammals in advanced learning experiments

4. Avian Intelligence Cont’d
Explain bird experiment
Cats, rabbits, chickens and pigeons do poorly
Dogs and crows solve it immediately

5. Avian Intelligence Cont’d
Mammals count poorly - 21,000 trials on average to teach a monkey to count
Birds master counting quickly
Ravens and parakeets easily learn to count to 7

6. Insight Learning
Insight learning is using learned information in a new situation
Egyptian Vultures use rocks to break ostrich eggs

7. Insight Learning Cont’d
Woodpecker finches in the Galapagos Islands use sticks to dig insects out of trees, logs and stumps

8. Avian Memory Birds have a good memory
This is due to a well developed hippocampus

9. Avian Memory Cont’d
They remember food sources, nest sites and locations of remote wintering grounds
Titmice cache up to 50,000 seeds
Birds may remember as many as 2,000 cache sites up to 9 months

10. Avian Vision
They see much better than mammals, in some cases they see details 2.5 to 3 times farther than mammals
Their eyes are large - Eagles and owls have eyes as large as humans

11. Avian Vision Cont’d
Their eyes can be round to flat in shape but have limited movement abilities
They have to move their heads to see different things

12. Avian Eyes Eyes are on the sides of their head
They see better to the side than in front of them
They view close objects with one eye at a time

13. Avian Eyes Cont’d Using one eye creates a flatter image
The image lacks good depth perception
To counter this they bob their heads rapidly to view the object from two different angles

14. Color Vision Birds have very good color vision
It’s probably better than ours because they have cones (color sensitive cells) and colored oil droplets in their eyes that we don’t have

15. Hearing Similar to that of mammals
Have special features to protect the inner in diving birds
Have no external ear- some have a funnel depending on their hearing abilities
Some owls have a muscle around the funnel that amplifies sounds

16. Taste They probably don’t taste as well as we do
They usually have taste buds on their tongue
We have roughly 10,000 taste buds

17. Smell Probably not as good as most mammals
Exceptions are turkey vultures and night hunters

18. Communication Birds communicate in various ways
Use displays for mating and territorial defenses
Have specific means for species recognition, locating each other and warning each other of danger

19. Visual Communication Color patterns can communicate several things
Drab colors are great for concealment (think woodcock)
Bright colors are for gaining attention, which could mean various things

20. Visual Identity Often use head and face color patterns
Imprinting of species identification takes place early, as a chick in the nest

21. Colors and Contrast Solid colors are more conspicuous
Contrasting edges make noticeable signals
Regular repetition of shapes gain attention also

22. Species Recognition Head patterns seem to be a key for most species
They learn to identify species at an early age, usually in the nest

23. Species Recognition Determines mate selection
Offspring of white snow geese choose white mates and offspring of blue geese choose blue mates

24. Human Imprinting
Wild birds raised by humans will associate them as their family
Often young are raised with puppets to avoid this

25. Individual Recognition
Use plumage patterns, size, voice and behavior

26. Displays
Repetitive behaviors that usually are a combination of visual and vocal communication

27. Displays
Displays seem to be inherited behaviors. The closer the relation, the more similar the behavior
Ex: Throat kinking of anhingas and cormorants

28. Ritualized Behavior Repeated behaviors specific to a species
Ritualized feeding is a good example
Males bow, spread wings and give a food call

29. Precision These behaviors are usually very precise
Ex: Common goldeneyes “head throw” lasts 1.3 sec with a standard deviation of 0.08 sec

30. Indication of Intent
Ritualized behavior can indicate the intentions of a bird
Ex: When stellars jays raise their crest, they warn enemies that they are about to attack

31. Variety of Displays Many species have more than one display
Great blue herons have 15 that mean everything from breeding intent, territorial marking, switching incubation shifts and pair bonding

32. Agonistic Behavior
A complex mixture of aggression and escape behaviors
Two birds are interacting, both have a selfish interest
It can lead to hostility or cooperation
They use these to avoid contact and injury

33. Agonistic Behaviors
They emphasize the bill and wings as weapons

34. Vocal Communication
Birds have the greatest sound producing abilities of all vertebrates
Work well for communicating over long distances, at night and in dense cover

35. Recognition
Distinct calls and songs allow birds to determine the senders species and individual recognition