1. Groups of Birds

2. Bird Groups
Bird species are often categorized into six groups based on the bird’s lifestyle
Perching birds
Birds of prey
Flightless birds
Water birds
Wading birds
Diving birds

3. Terrestrial (land) Birds
Most perching birds, birds of prey, and flightless birds are terrestrial birds
They live mainly on dry land
Terrestrial birds have feet adapted to running, perching, or hunting and beaks adapted to eating fruits, seed, insects, or small animals

4. Perching Birds Are the most common group of birds
In order to perch and grip onto branches:
One toe points backwards
All other toes point forwards
The beaks of perching birds are:
Strong for cracking open seeds and nuts
Ex. Goldfinches
Long thin beaks for catching insects in the air or digging them out of the ground or tree trunks
Ex. Warbler

5. Birds of Prey Most Birds of prey are hunters with keen vision
Eagles, hawks, and smaller birds of prey hunt during the day
Owls have huge eyes and hunt for small prey during the night
Some birds do not use vision to hunt
Vultures rely on their incredible sense of smell to find dead animals

6. Birds of Prey Most birds of prey have sharp talons and curved beaks
Talons are used to grasp prey
Curved beaks are used for tearing flesh
Most birds of prey hunt alone
However, some birds of prey hunt in groups and flush prey towards their waiting partners

7. Flightless Birds Flightless birds are the largest birds
The biggest flightless birds are ostriches, emus, rheas, and cassowaries
There are some small flightless birds
Example: Flightless Kiwi is the size of a chicken
They have small wings and are built to run on land
Ostriches can run up to 55 km/h

8. Flightless Bird Legs Many flightless birds have long, strong legs
Ostriches have two large, clawed toes on each foot
Cassowary has powerful legs it uses to deliver blows and uses its claws to tear at attackers

9. Aquatic Birds
Diving birds, water birds, and wading birds are aquatic birds
Live mainly in water
Aquatic birds have feet adapted to paddling and wading
Aquatic birds have beaks adapted to eating aquatic organisms

10. Diving Birds Not all flightless birds live on land
Penguins are flightless, and their wings and feet have been adapted for swimming
All 17 species of penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere
Some diving birds are found in the Northern Hemisphere
Their wings can still be used for flight, so they CANNOT dive as well as penguins can

11. Diving Birds – Penguins
Their wedge-shaped wings work as flippers
Webbed feet can be used as paddles
Have a thick coat of feathers and a layer of fat beneath their skin that allows them to live in freezing temperatures
A rich diet of krill and fish help penguins maintain the fat layer

12. Water Birds
Swan, Geese, and Ducks are water birds, or birds found in or near the water
Water birds have webbed feet for paddling
Have long, flattened beaks with rounded tips
Beaks are ideal for a variety of food such as small insects, fish, and grass

13. Seabirds
Seabirds are an unrelated group of birds that also live near open waters, but they are found in oceans
They have webbed feet like water birds
However, their beaks are longer
Beaks are made for catching their typical meal of fish or squid

14. Wading Birds Herons, storks, flamingos, and egrets are wading birds
Wading birds feed in shallow waters that are rich with fish and invertebrates
Wading birds have long, slender legs to feed in a range of depths
Have long toes to keep them from sinking into the mud

15. Wading Birds Many wading birds have spear-shaped beaks for fishing
Fishing waders stand motionless as they wait for fish
When they see a fish they quickly snatch it in their beak or may even spear it
Waders that feed on invertebrates in the mud may have beaks that are built for stabbing into the mud to find prey

16. Review Questions:
1. Relate the bald eagle’s methods of hunting and feeding to its external body features
2. Compare and Contrast the foot structure of water birds and wading birds
3. Classify a bird that has delicate, curved feet with slender toes and a small, pointed beak (DO NOT just write terrestrial/aquatic bird). Explain how you know
4. Like most birds penguins have large, keel-shaped sternums, but ostriches do not. Provide an explanation for this difference