Population Ecology

Two subjects will be discussed here: Competition and Bird Species Diversity


Virginia Rail

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Ornithology

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 Song Sparrow What can ornithology do for you? Why study it? In no other branch of science have amateurs played such an important role: Margaret Nice's Life History of the Song Sparrow is a classic example. My students have written papers in their state bird journal . But I don't mean to make you all into scientists. Bird watching (birding) is a hobby for many and a passion for some. Housewives (and even househusbands) trapped at home find an outlet by keeping track of the varieties of birds at outdoor feeders. You'll never get bored traveling between cities to--you may even enjoy the trip. Trips across the country become down-right exciting as you search for and find new and different species. You become more in tune with the world, our ecosystem.
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What is a Bird?

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Write down an answer and see how it compares to my 6 attributes birds. Most birds fly, but flight is not exclusive. Can you list the 4 groups of animals that are capable of TRUE FLIGHT? (Hint: gliders don't count.)  See answer at the end of this post. Bats also fly but birds are far more modified for flight than bats. Indeed, because of flight and the modifications to it (the aerodynamic demands of flight), birds are remarkably similar. There is far less difference between an albatross and a hummingbird than an elephant and a shrew or monkey. TO RECAPITULATE: A bird is a flying vertebrate with feathers. (Cursorial birds (= ratites ) are believed to have evolved from flying ancestor.) Black-footed Albatross Black-chinned Hummingbird Answer to question above--This is kind of a trick question, since one group is extinct. 1. Birds 2. Bats 3. Insects 4. Pterosaurs
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This ornithology course originated from lecture notes that I developed over the years. I have retired from teaching and see little reason to have this resouce, such as it is, gather dust in some drawer. In this blog format, I offer it to you as a free, non-credit, self-study exercise.  As such, you many expect little or no interaction from me (although I will be glad to hear about possible editorial improvements). This blog is not intended as an all-inclusive course. For example, I also taught courses in Ecology and Evolution, so many fundamental aspects of those courses are not found here. It would be wise, then, to have a General Biology textbook, in case something is not fully explained here. I expected students taking this course to purchase an ornithology textbook. Later, students bought Thayer's CD-ROM disk, Birds of North America, that has a brief textbook embedded within it. Either way, you can go into various subjects in more depth or check out areas that may be neglected...
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