Birds Classification Flashcards

Classification of Birds

• Kingdom: Animalia, encompassing all animal life.
• Phylum: Chordata, indicating animals with a notochord (spinal structure).
• Subphylum: Vertebrata, referring to animals with a backbone.
• Class: Aves, representing the class of birds.

Subclasses and Superorders

• Subclasses of Aves:
  • Archaeornithes ("Old Birds"): Extinct group.
  • Neornithes ("New Birds"): The surviving lineage of birds.

Superorders of Neornithes

• Odontognathae ("Toothed Jaw"): An extinct superorder.
• Palaeognathae ("Ancient Jaw"): Characterized by a primitive palate; mostly flightless, with all but tinamous incapable of flight.
• Neognathae ("New Jaw"): Comprises modern birds with a flexible palate.

Key Features of Superorders

• Palaeognathae:

  • Consists of cursorial landbirds.
  • Distinctive palate morphology and reproductive behaviors.
  • Includes five orders with a total of 60 species.

• Neognathae:

  • Divided into clades:
    • Galloanseres (Fowl): Comprises Galliformes (pheasants and allies) and Anseriformes (ducks and screamers).
    • Neoaves (New Birds): Contains three supra-ordinal clades.
      • Basal unresolved (9 groups).
      • Aequornithes: Core waterbirds.
      • Telluraves: Core landbirds.

Noteworthy Bird Orders and Families

• Palaeognathae includes:

  • Struthioniformes (Ostriches)
  • Rheiformes (Rheas)
  • Casuariiformes (Cassowaries & Emus)
  • Apterygiformes (Kiwis)
  • Tinamiformes (Tinamous)

• Unique Order:

  • Opisthocomiformes (Hoatzin): Only one species, currently indeterminate in classification.

Passeriformes Subgroups

• Two major subgroups:
  • Suboscines (Suborder Tyranni): Simple syrinx structure, less complex song production through external muscles.
  • Oscines (Suborder Passeres): Complex syrinx with internal muscle control, includes relatives like crows and thrushes.

Additional Facts

• North American Subfamily of Suboscines: Tyrannidae.
• Notable Fossil: Archaeopteryx, significant to the study of bird evolution.
• Total bird families: Over 250.
• Number of bird species: Approximately 10,315 to 10,725, plus 158 extinct species, exceeding a total estimate of 10,000 species.