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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??OSDCPTJKPgN 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. Some species of birds, particularly penguins and members o f the Anatidae family, are adapted to swim. Birds also have unique digestive and respiratory systems that are highly adapted for flight. Some birds, especially corvids and parrots, are among the most intelligent animal species; a number of bird species have been observed manufacturing and using tools, and many social s pecies exhibit cultural 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 [hide] 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 classification Main article: Evolution of birds Slab of stone with fossil bones and feather impressions Archaeopteryx 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 Avifilopluma) Aves can mean those that fly (alternately Avialae) Aves can mean all reptiles closer to birds than to crocodiles (alternately Aveme tatarsalia [=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] Dinosaurs and the origin of birds Main article: Origin of birds Paraves Scansoriopterygidae

Eosinopteryx Eumaniraptora Dromaeosauridae

Troodontidae

Avialae

Cladogram following a phylogenetic study by Godefroit et al., 2013.[1] Based on fossil and biological evidence, most scientists accept that birds are a specialized subgroup of theropod dinosaurs.[12] More specifically, they are mem bers of Maniraptora, a group of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and ovirap torids, among others.[13] As scientists have discovered more nonavian theropods closely related to birds, the previously clear distinction between nonbirds and birds has become blurred. Recent discoveries in the Liaoning Province of northea st China, which demonstrate many small theropod dinosaurs had feathers, contribu te to this ambiguity.[14] The consensus view in contemporary paleontology is that the birds, or avialans, are the closest relatives of the deinonychosaurs, which include dromaeosaurids a nd troodontids.[15] Together, these form a group called Paraves. Some basal memb ers of this group, such as Microraptor, have features which may have enabled the m to glide or fly. The most basal deinonychosaurs were very small. This evidence raises the possibility that the ancestor of all paravians may have been arborea l, have been able to glide, or both.[16][17] Unlike Archaeopteryx and the non-av ian feathered dinosaurs, who primarily ate meat, recent studies suggest that the first birds were herbivores.[18] White slab of rock left with cracks and impression of bird feathers and bone, i ncluding long paired tail feathers Confuciusornis sanctus, a Cretaceous bird from China The Late Jurassic Archaeopteryx is well known as one of the first transitional f ossils to be found, and it provided support for the theory of evolution in the l ate 19th century. Archaeopteryx was the first fossil to display both clearly tra ditional reptilian characteristics: teeth, clawed fingers, and a long, lizard-li ke tail, as well as wings with flight feathers identical to those of modern bird s. It is not considered a direct ancestor of modern birds, though it is possibly closely related to the real ancestor.[19] Alternative scientific theories and controversies Early disagreements on the origins of birds included whether birds evolved from dinosaurs or more primitive archosaurs. Within the dinosaur camp, there were dis agreements as to whether ornithischian or theropod dinosaurs were the more likel y ancestors.[20] Although ornithischian (bird-hipped) dinosaurs share the hip st ructure of modern birds, birds are thought to have originated from the saurischi an (lizard-hipped) dinosaurs, and therefore evolved their hip structure independ ently.[21] In fact, a bird-like hip structure evolved a third time among a pecul iar group of theropods known as the Therizinosauridae. A small minority of researchers, such as paleornithologist Alan Feduccia of the University of North Carolina, challenge the majority view, contending that birds are not dinosaurs, but evolved from early reptiles like Longisquama.[22][23] Early evolution of birds See also: List of fossil birds Avialae Aurornis

Anchiornis

Archaeopteryx

Xiaotingia

Shenzhouraptor Rahonavis

Balaur Avebrevicauda Sapeornis Pygostylia Confuciusornithiformes Ornithothoraces

Cladogram following the results of a phylogenetic study by Godefroit et al., 201 3.[1] The earliest known bird (avialan) fossils currently known hail from the Tiaojish an Formation of China, which has been dated to the late Jurassic period (Oxfordi an stage), about 160 million years ago.[1] The aviala

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