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(disambiguation). Aves and Avifauna redirect here. For other uses, see Aves (disambiguation) or Av ifauna (disambiguation). Page semi-protected Birds Temporal range: Late Jurassic Holocene,[1] 160 0Ma Pre? ? O S D C P T J K Pg N A composite image showing the diversity of birds; 18 biological orders are depic ted in this image (from top, left to right): Cuculiformes, Ciconiiformes, Phaeth ontiformes, Accipitriformes, Gruiformes, Galliformes, Anseriformes, Trochiliform es, Charadriiformes, Casuariiformes, Psittaciformes, Phoenicopteriformes, Spheni sciformes, Pelecaniformes, Suliformes, Coraciiformes, Strigiformes, Piciformes. Scientific classification e Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Superclass: Tetrapoda Clade: Eumaniraptora Clade: Avialae Gauthier, 1986 Class: Aves Linnaeus, 1758[2] Subclasses Archaeornithes * Enantiornithes Hesperornithes Ichthyornithes Neornithes And see text Birds (class Aves or clade Avialae) are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic (warm-blooded), egg-laying, vertebrate animals. With around 10,000 living specie s, they are the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. All present species belong to the subclass Neornithes, and inhabit ecosystems across the globe, fro m the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from the 5 cm (2 in) B ee Hummingbird to the 2.75 m (9 ft) Ostrich. The fossil record indicates that bi rds emerged within theropod dinosaurs during the Jurassic period, around 150 mil lion years ago. Birds are the only members of the clade originating with the ear liest dinosaurs to have survived the Cretaceous Paleogene extinction event 66 mill ion years ago. Modern birds are characterised by feathers, a beak with no teeth, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a lightwei ght but strong skeleton. All living species of birds have wings; the most recent

species without wings was the moa, which is generally considered to have become extinct in the 16th century. Wings are evolved forelimbs, and most bird species can fly. Flightless birds include ratites, penguins, and a number of diverse en demic island species. Birds also have unique digestive and respiratory systems t hat are highly adapted for flight. Some birds, especially corvids and parrots, a re among the most intelligent animal species; a number of bird species have been observed manufacturing and using tools, and many social species exhibit cultura l transmission of knowledge across generations. Many species undertake long distance annual migrations, and many more perform sh orter irregular movements. Birds are social; they communicate using visual signa ls and through calls and songs, and participate in social behaviours, including cooperative breeding and hunting, flocking, and mobbing of predators. The vast m ajority of bird species are socially monogamous, usually for one breeding season at a time, sometimes for years, but rarely for life. Other species have polygyn ous ("many females") or, rarely, polyandrous ("many males") breeding systems. Eg gs are usually laid in a nest and incubated by the parents. Most birds have an e xtended period of parental care after hatching. Many species are of economic importance, mostly as sources of food acquired thro ugh hunting or farming. Some species, particularly songbirds and parrots, are po pular as pets. Other uses include the harvesting of guano (droppings) for use as a fertiliser. Birds figure prominently in all aspects of human culture from rel igion to poetry to popular music. About 120 130 species have become extinct as a r esult of human activity since the 17th century, and hundreds more before then. C urrently about 1,200 species of birds are threatened with extinction by human ac tivities, though efforts are underway to protect them. Contents 1 Evolution and classification 1.1 Definition 1.2 Dinosaurs and the origin of birds 1.2.1 Alternative scientific theories and controversies 1.3 Early evolution of birds 1.4 Early diversity 1.5 Diversification of modern birds 1.6 Classification of modern bird orders 2 Distribution 3 Anatomy and physiology 3.1 Chromosomes 3.2 Feathers, plumage, and scales 3.3 Flight 4 Behaviour 4.1 Diet and feeding 4.2 Water and drinking 4.3 Feather care 4.4 Migration 4.5 Communication 4.6 Flocking and other associations 4.7 Resting and roosting 4.8 Breeding 4.8.1 Social systems 4.8.2 Territories, nesting and incubation 4.8.3 Parental care and fledging 4.8.4 Brood parasites 5 Ecology 6 Relationship with humans 6.1 Economic importance 6.2 Religion, folklore and culture 6.3 Conservation

7 Notes 8 External links Evolution and Main article: Slab of stone Archaeopteryx classification Evolution of birds with fossil bones and feather impressions lithographica is often considered the oldest known bird

The first classification of birds was developed by Francis Willughby and John Ra y in their 1676 volume Ornithologiae.[3] Carolus Linnaeus modified that work in 1758 to devise the taxonomic classification system currently in use.[4] Birds ar e categorised as the biological class Aves in Linnaean taxonomy. Phylogenetic ta xonomy places Aves in the dinosaur clade Theropoda.[5] Definition Aves and a sister group, the clade Crocodilia, contain the only living represent atives of the reptile clade Archosauria. During the late 1990s, Aves was most co mmonly defined phylogenetically as all descendants of the most recent common anc estor of modern birds and Archaeopteryx lithographica.[6] However, an earlier de finition proposed by Jacques Gauthier gained wide currency in the 21st century, and is used by many scientists including adherents of the Phylocode system. Gaut hier defined Aves to include only the modern bird groups, the crown group. This was done by excluding most groups known only from fossils, and assigning them, i nstead, to the Avialae,[7] in part to avoid the uncertainties about the placemen t of Archaeopteryx in relation to animals traditionally thought of as theropod d inosaurs. Gauthier[8] (page 34) identified four conflicting ways of defining the term "Ave s", which is a problem because the same biological name is being used four diffe rent ways. Gauthier proposed a solution, number 4 below, which is to reserve the term Aves only for the crown group, the last common ancestor of all living bird s and all of its descendants. He assigned other names to the other groups.

Crocodiles

Birds

Turtles

Lizards (including Snakes) The birds' phylogenetic relationships to major living reptile groups.

Aves can mean those advanced archosaurs with feathers (alternately Avifilopl uma) Aves can mean those that fly (alternately Avialae) Aves can mean all reptiles closer to birds than to crocodiles (alternately A vemetatarsalia [=Panaves]) Aves can mean the last common ancestor of all the currently living birds and all of its descendants (a "crown group"). (alternately Neornithes) Under the fourth definition Archaeopteryx is an avialan, and not a member of Ave s. Gauthier's proposals have been adopted by many researchers in the field of pa leontology and bird evolution, though the exact definitions applied have been in consistent. Avialae, initially proposed to replace the traditional fossil conten t of Aves, is often used synonymously with the vernacular term "bird" by these r esearchers.[1] Most researchers define Avialae as branch-based clade, though definitions vary. Many authors have used a definition similar to "all theropods closer to birds th an to Deinonychus."[9][10] Avialae is also occasionally defined as an apomorphybased clade (that is, one based on physical characteristics). Jacques Gauthier, who named Avialae in 1986, re-defined it in 2001 as all dinosaurs that possessed feathered wings used in flapping flight, and the birds that descended from them .[8][11]