Taxonomy and Keying

• 10–100mil species on earth today
• classification of humans
  • Domain – Eukarya
    • Organisms with a nucleus in each cell enclosing the genetic material, as well as additional membrane-bound organelles, including mitochondria; cells averaging about 100 micrometers in diameter. May be unicellular, filamentous, colonial, or multicellular.
  • Kingdom - Animalia
    • Multicellular organisms requiring complex organic substances for food; food usually ingested.
  • Phylum - Chordata
    • Animals with notochord, dorsal hollow nerve chord, pharyngeal “gill” pouches in pharynx (similar to the throat area in human embryos) at some stage of life cycle.
  • Class - Mammalia
    • Young nourished by milk glands, skin with hair, body cavity divided by a muscular diaphragm, red blood cells without nuclei, three ear bones, high body temperature.
  • Order - Primates
    • Tree dwellers or their descendants, usually with fingers and flat nails, sense of smell reduced.
  • Family - Hominidae
    • Flat face, eyes forward, color vision, upright, bipedal locomotion.
  • Genus - Homo
    • Large brain, speech, long childhood
  • Species - Homo sapiens
    • Prominent chin, high forehead, sparse body hair.
• Dichotomous keys:
  • couplets: series of choices for two alternatives
  • must be appropriately matched to area or taxon
  • making keys:
    • examine similarities/differences in characteristics
    • must be dichotomous, not trichotomous
    • don’t use vague statements; quantity and detail
    • make couplets refer to differences in the same characteristic
    • begin couplet choices with the same word
    • use obvious characteristics
    • use positive statements/include them

Nomenclature and Domains

• first attempt at nomenclature: 1700, Carl von Linne/Carolus Linnaeus
  • hierarchal classification
  • kingdom, family, species
• systematics
• phylogenetic relationships and dna sequencing
• 1950s: Robert Whittaker
  • broad classification for all forms until 21st century
  • Monera kingdom for prokaryotes
  • Protista
• late 20th: Carl Woese
  • microbiological discovery of bacteria and archaea
  • rRNA sequencing
  • three domain system: Archaea, Bacteria, Eukarya
  • phased out kingdom level
• protists are a “group”

Three Domains

• all life has cells bound by a cell membrane and filled with cytoplasm, DNA
  • prokaryotes lack a nucleus, eukaryotes have one
  • “true” nucleus

Bacteria

• most ancient group of organisms; ancestral organism
  • 4 billion years ago, likely living off of hydrogen in hot environments
  • fossil evidence of cyanobacteria stromatolite colonies goes back 3.7 million years
  • LUCA
    • 4.543 bya planet; fossils can be observed at 3.7mya in microbial mats on W. Greenland rocks
    • only took 400my for unicellular life to exist
    • 355 genes connected; likely a small unicellular organism with ring-shaped DNA
    • living on hydrogen in undersea vents; “warm little pond”
  • bacterial symbionts
• 30 phyla known to be growable as lab cultures
• Gram stains based on cell wall composition
  • Gram-positive: stains purple, thick peptidoglycan cell wall
  • Gram-negative: stains pink, thin peptidoglycan cell wall
  • Acid-fast: stains pink, thin cell wall with a thick wax layer
  • Cyanobacteria: gram-negative composition, but with a thick cell wall (gram-positive) and green chlorophyll
• no cell membrane with a phospholipid bilayer
• spores that can remain dormant for years
• unicellular, prokaryotic, peptidoglycan
• a small percentage of bacterial species are pathogenic
  • Streptococcus pneumoniae: bacterial pneumonia, bronchitis, strep throat; high contagion
  • Staphylococcus aureus: wound infections, impetigo skin infection
  • Escherichia coli: opportunistic digestive infections if external
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis
• various forms are autotrophic cyanobacteria
  • photosynthetic
  • heterocystic: heterocysts perform nitrogen fixation
  • present and living for the first 2 million years; waste products created a partial oxygen atmosphere
• all habitats/lives: soil, water, hot springs, frozen lakes, symbiosis on all levels including parasitism
  • 100t bacterial cells in human host; 10 bacterial cells for each of body cells
• small; 40 billion bacterial cells in a gram of soil
  • biomass exceeds that of plants/animals on Earth
• examples: gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, cyanobacteria, ancestral mitochondria and chloroplasts
  • Streptococcus lactis

Archaea

• extremely tiny, uniceullar, prokaryotic organisms
• no peptidoglycan or fatty acids
• cell membrane contains Isoprene chains and a backwards glycerol
• no spores
• includes various that live in diverse, extreme environments:
  • methanogenic: wetlands, rice fields, mammalian gut/mouth
    • outgassing
    • up to 25% global methane emissions
    • some can consume methane; found in deep-sea sediments
  • halophilic: salt-loving, halide environments, extremophile; salt evaporation ponds in Bay Area
    • Halobacterium
  • thermoacidophiles: heat and acid loving extremophile; boiling hot springs, hydrothermal vents
• some may be in normal environments; soil, skin, symbiotic relationships with other cells
• no pathogenic archaea

Eukarya

Protists

• protozoa: animal-like unicellular organisms without a cell wall
  • majority motile via flagella, cilia, pseudopodia (amoeboid)
  • free-living in aquatic habitats and soil fauna, or parasitic (Plasmodium, malaria)
  • grazers, decomposers, predators, parasites
  • Paramecium
• slime-molds: fungus-like
  • amoeboid cells without cell walls
  • free-living in soils; decomposers
  • resemble molds with spore-producing structures (sporangia)
    • water mold filaments
  • plasmodial slime molds begin as unicellular amoebae and fuse into plasmodium
    • reproductive structure of stalk with ball of spores
• algae: plant-like, with chloroplasts/chlorophyll
  • diverse: microscopic unicellular filamentous/colonial organisms and macroscopic seaweeds and kelps
  • photosynthetic, aquatic, autotrophic organisms
  • free-living
  • Prototheca: does not photosynthesize; detritivores that feed on dead/decaying organic materials (infectious)
  • dinoflagellates causing paralytic shellfish poisoning: produce neurotoxins
    • neurotoxins can concentrate in shellfish during red tides
  • Euglena, Spirogyra

Fungi

• multicellular except for yeasts
• heterotrophic decomposers
  • secrete enzymes that allow to feed on nutrients
• cell walls are made from chitin
• unicellular yeast and multicellular mycelia forms: threadlike structures
  • fleshy fungi produce large reproductive structures in mycelial form: mushrooms, puffballs, earthstars, shelf fungi or conks, morels, and truffles
  • molds: “microscopic” mycelial fungi with smaller spore-producing structures
• Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Penicillium, Rhizopus

Plantae

• autotrophic via chlorophyll/chloroplasts
• mostly conduct/transport via vascular tissues
  • not mosses and liverworts (external absorption)
  • spore reproduction or seeds

Animalia

• no cell walls or chloroplasts
• heterotrophic
• multicellular
• some soft-bodied (cnidaria)
• some have exoskeletons; most (chordates) have internal skeletons
• “vinegar eels”: invertebrate roundworm (found in “scoby”)
• hydra, insects

Plants

• conifers — seeds are enveloped in cones — Coniferophyta
  • vs. Anthophyta
• spores: unicellular haploid like sperm/egg
  • sorus is full of sporangium and indusium that produce spores
• origin of plants: Paleozoic period
  • 450mya
  • early vascular tissue 400mya
  • seeded soon after
  • flowering plants 150-130mya; dinosaur age

Bryophytes

• Bryophyta
  • moss
  • damp, shaded areas
  • one-cell thick leaves
  • branched or unbranched stems
  • few cm tall
  • absorb nutrients through leaves
  • rhizoids at “root”; seta “stem” connecting gametophyte to sporophyte capsules
• Hepatica
  • liverworts
  • flat, lobed leaves
  • unicellular rhizoids in leaves
  • no distinct stem
  • less than 10cm long
  • gemma cups with gemmae used in reproduction

Seedless Vascular Plants

• Pterophyta
  • ferns
  • sori: reproductive sections
    • sporangia sacs
  • rhizomes (horizontal stems)
  • fronded leaves; undersides have sori
  • pinnae and stipe pinnate leaves
• Sphenophyta
  • horsetails/horsetail brush/scouring brush
  • underground creeping rhizomes
  • jointed, hollow stems; vegetative and spore-producing
  • embedded with tiny pieces of silica; sand and glass-like
  • spores produce cones at the ends of horsetail stems
  • leaves sheath nodes
• Lycophyta + Psilophyta

Gymnosperms

• conifers: pines (Pinus), larch (Larix), firs (Abies), hemlocks (Tsuga), false-hemlocks/Douglas firs (Pseudotsuga)
• cycads: fern trees
  • “Old World” areas
• Ginkgo: G. biloba
• Genetophytes: ephedra and welwitschia
  • Mormon tea
  • South Africa

Pinaceae

• conifers
  • most well-known
  • pinecones
    • seeds develop in closed pines
    • bracks, spines, and wind wings; allows to bounce away from mother tree to find sperm
  • male and female cones
    • female produce seeds: spiral, winged scales
    • male produce pollen
• family of pines
  • includes pines, cedars, spruces, and hemlocks
• monoecious
• woody, spiraled cones without stalks; cones point backwards
• twisted, needle-like leaves in bundles or pinnate, compound

Cupressaceae

• junipers, cypress, redwoods, cedars
  • Sequoia sempervirens: tallest trees (379ft)
    • sempervirens → “always green”
  • Sequoiadendron giganteum: largest trees (26ft/8M diameter)
  • Pinus longaeva (Ancient Bristlecone Pine): oldest trees (5,066 yrs)
  • Western Cypress, Incense Cedar, Junipers, and Arbor Vitae
  • Dawn Redwood
• redwoods formerly in Taxodiaceae family
• mostly monoecious; some are dioecious
• woody, leathery, or berry-like cones with tiny seeds
  • 100,000 seeds = 1 pound
  • “seed fruits”
• needle and scale-like leaves
• grow erect and low to ground (prostrate) or large, giant trees
• evergreen scale-like/awl-shaped leaves or needle-like
• globe-shaped woody/fleshy cones
• redwood adaptations
  • thick, fire-resistant bark
  • insulation from soil allows for “stump sprout”
    • basal burl buds on soil line sprout new shoots
    • “rings” of redwood trees formed from central parent death

Taxaceae

• yews and nutmegs
  • Taxus brevifolia
    • southernmost limit of Calaveras
    • extract anti-cancer drug taxol from bark
  • Torreya californica
• mostly dioecious; some are monoecious
• red, fruitlike droops/arils protect seeds
• needle-like spiral pinnate whorled leaves

Ginkgoaceae

• ornamental male plants; female produce seedless fruit
• fan-shaped leaves with notches
• fleshy seeds on ends of branches
• gymnosperms but not conifers
• terminal malodorous ovules
• male reproductive parts resemble catkins in pine
• single species in China; widely cultivated for oil, timber, and food

Ephedraceae

• ephedra
  • Ephedra viridis: “Mormon tea”
• dioecious
• needle-like, stem-like leaves; small and brown
• branched shrubs and jointed twigs
• green, photosynthetic stems
• generally small structures

Angiosperms

• one of the most diverse groups of plants on earth while also the newest plant group in evolution: 200 mya and dominating around 100mya
• flowers depict type of pollination
  • wind pollinators → small flowers with extruding organs
  • animal pollinators → colorful/UV petals, produce nectar or odors
• alternate anatomical names for the perianth section
  • petal: corolla
  • sepal: calyx
• receptacle and peduncle (pedicel)
• ovule inside the ovary; seeds
• the ovary may be placed in the flower superior or inferior to the attachment sites of the petals and sepals (nodes)
  • hypogynous: superior
  • perigynous: semi-inferior
  • epigynous: inferior
• radial and bilateral symmetry
  • regular, actinomorphic: radial
  • irregular, zygomorphic: bilateral
    • defined as symmetrical along a medial cut that passes through the central axis
• perfect flowers are bisexual; imperfect are unisexual
  • as such, all monoecious plants are plants that only have one type of flower which is perfect, or both sexes of imperfect flowers; plants with only one set of imperfect flowers are dioecious and only have one or the other set of sexual organs
  • monoecious: corn, squash, melons, pumpkins, Easter lily, pea, dandelions, roses, Cucurbita, begonias
  • dioecious: strawberries, gourds, Bradford pears, date palms
• petals may be separate or fused together on the receptacle

Fabaceae

• pea family
  • 3rd largest plant family in the world
  • herbs, shrubs, vines, and trees
• irregular eudicots with organs in 5’s
  • bilaterally symmetric
  • banner: the large, topmost petal
  • wings: sets of 2, found on the sides
  • keel: a petal fused from 2 petals found at the bottom, enclosing the stamen and pistil
• alternate, compound leaves
• monoecious, with distinct perfect flowers and fruits
  • fruit is a legume or a dry pod
• terminal leaflet is replaced by a tendril
• examples: redbuds (Cercis sp.), lupines (Lupinus sp.), peanuts

Brassicaceae

• mustard family
  • herbs and small shrubs
  • typically annuals or perennials
• flowers are in the shape of an urn or a Maltese cross
• eudicots with organs in 4’s
  • 6 stamens: 2 are inferior to the remaining 4
• perfect flowers with superior ovaries
  • fruits are made from two-part capsules, ie mustard siliques
• alternate, simple leaves
  • sometimes fronded
• examples: mustard (Brassica rapa), radish (Raphanus sativus), broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, sea rocket

Asteraceae

• sunflower family
  • herbs and small trees
  • typically annuals or perennials
• eudicots made of many small, radial flowers (composite)
  • ray flowers: the larger “petals” with one flattened, fused corolla/ligule
  • disk flowers: the central “head” with a round, tubular corolla and many smaller petals
  • composite with many layers of bracts
• specialized fruit known as an achene
• inferior ovaries
• alternate, simple leaves
• examples: sunflowers, daisies, chrysanthemums, ragweeds, asters, thistles (artichokes), tidy tips (Layia fremontii)
  • 21,000+ species
  • largest family of eudicots worldwide
  • largest family in California

Lamiaceae

• mint family
  • herbs and shrubs
• eudicots with organs in 4 and 5’s
  • 5 fused irregular petals
    • 2 up, 3 down
    • two-lipped
  • 4 stamens
  • 5 fused sepals
  • 2-4 nutlets contained in mature seed capsule
• bilaterally symmetric flowers
• square stems
• opposite leaves
• strong, aromatic, mint odor from leaves and vegetative growth
• examples: sage (Salvia sp.), rosemary, thyme, mint, Horehound, Self Heal

Poaceae

• grass family
  • large economic importance: produce supermarket grains
  • thousands of sp.
• monocots
  • linear leaves
• specialized wind-pollination flowers; spikelets with glume
• single-seeded fruit; the seed is fused onto the fruit wall
• examples: oat, barley, wheat, rye, rice, corn, needlegrass, saltgrass

Rosaceae

• rose family
  • herbs, shrubs, trees
• eudicots with radially symmetric organs in 5’s
  • separate flowers
  • many stamens and many arrangements of pistil(s)
  • all parts are joined on a short tube
• fruits are achenes, pomes, drupes, rose hips
• alternate, compound, toothed leaves with stipules
• prickly stems
• examples: roses (Rosa sp.), apples, Himalaya berry (Rubus armeniacus), cherries, strawberries, blackberries

Iridaceae

• iris family
  • greatest diversity found in South Africa
  • notable CA plants: Douglas iris, blue-eyed grass
• monocots with radially symmetric organs in 3’s
  • 3 sepals, petals, and stamens
  • petaloid petals
  • colorful sepals
  • anther and a stigma lip
• fruits are capsules
• inferior ovaries
• basal, equitant leaves with leaf sheaths and folded-over leaves
• examples: irises (Iris sp.), blue-eyed grass, gladiolus, freesia

Ericaceae

• heath family
  • trees, shrubs
  • perennials
• eudicots with bisexual, fused organs
  • vase or urn-shaped flowers
  • stamens are x2, with holes and slits on the anthers to release pollen
• fruits are capsules, berries, or drupes
• examples: blueberries, cranberries, azaleas/rhododendrons (Rhododendron sp.), manzanita (Arcostaphylos sp.), madrones (Arbutus sp.)

Aves

• Archaeopteryx lithographica
  • Transitional fossil from the late Jurassic period (~150 mya)
  • 1’8” long; size of a raven
  • Archaeopteryx sp. possessed:
    • Jaws with sharp teeth;
    • Fingers with claws;
    • Toes, with the 2nd toe possessing an extensible killing claw;
    • Long, bony tails;
    • & feathers on the body and flight feathers on their arms;
• Evolution from Theropods: Bipedal, carnivorous dinosaurs
  • Evidence that many kinds of dinosaurs had feathers regardless of the ability of flight; all other extant animal groups lack feathers
  • Ancestral fossils were also bipedal
• Aves is a taxonomic class of animals that:
  • Develop feathers and a beak;
  • Do not develop teeth (gnitooth)
  • Have high metabolism levels;
  • Develop a four-chambered heart;
  • Develop in hard-shelled amniotic eggs;
  • & develop a lightweight, strong skeleton.
• Many of Aves’s characteristics are convergent but are consistent across groups, such as:
  • A homogenous body plan;
  • Small body size: The mass limit for flying birds is ~16kg, and most birds average at less than 1kg heavy and 50cm long;
  • Light weight;
  • And a streamlined, aerodynamic body.
• ~10,000+ defined as birds
  • Largely successful due to mobility via flight/swimming
• Several adaptations for flight:
  1. Lightweight, rigid, strong skeleton: loss of the teeth and tail, unnecessary, among other notable modifications:
     • Enlarged, keeled sternum
     • Beak lacks teeth;
     • Parts of the spine, especially the pelvis, fused;
     • Fused skull;
     • A fused and reduced tail known as a pygostyle;
  2. Streamlined, fused bodies:
     • Large, powerful flight muscles;
     • Reduced body weight: Pneumatic bones with struts and air spaces that connect to the respiratory system;
     • Asymmetrical reproductive organs, etc.;
  3. Highly modified forelimbs/pectoral limbs:
     • A highly modified manus (hand)
     • Fused carpals, metacarpals, and phalanges
  4. Wings with specialized flight feathers;
     • Asymmetrical flight feathers can utilize lift.

General Characteristics

Bird Feathers

Feather Anatomy

Shaft/Rachis

• Shaft: A hollow, tubical attachment for the feather to the follicle of the body
  • Calamus: The base of the shaft, without vanes attacheed
  • Rachis: The attachment for the barbules and barbs of the vane

Vanes

• A vane is a surface made from the interlocking of barbs and barbules
  • The major vane is the greater side, the minor vane is the lesser side
• Barbs are the larger branches attached to the shaft and rachis that subdivide into barbules
• Barbule branches have hooklets that lock within one another

Wing Anatomy

Motion of Flight

• Upwards motion/stroke: The feather rotates in its follicle
  • Rotation/twist is possible due to asymmetry; reduces air resistance
• Upwards movement: the major vane points downwards, allowing air to slip through the wing; “broken” integrity of wing
• Downwards movement/stroke: the wing strokes downward; the integrity is reformed, adding lift and pulling the bird upwards
  • Air pressure pushes the major vane back upwards, repairing integrity

Bird Feet

• Avian bipedalism is unique among vertebrates that can fly or glide
• Aves is digitigrade: birds walk on their toes with a unique tetrapodal leg anatomy formed from fused bones:
  • Lowest leg bone: the tarsometatarsus, and connected to a tibiotaurus by an intratarsal joint
  • Fused ankle and feet bones;
  • Three phalanges pointed forwards, and one pointed backwards

Anisodactyl

• Three toes forward, one toe back
  • Hallux: The backward toe, and the first digit
  • Digits are numbered clockwise from the hallux and possess respective number of phalanges
• Songbirds, eagles, hawks, falcons; Passerine order
• “Normal” arrangement

Zygodactyl

• Two toes forward, two toes back
  • 2nd and 3rd digits are forward, 1st and 4th are backward
  • Digits are numbered clockwise from the hallux and possess respective number of phalanges
• Woodpeckers, parrots, roadrunners, some owls

Syndactyl

• Anisodactyl, with partial fusing: Three toes forward, one toe back, two digits fused
  • 2nd and 3rd digits are fused, 1st toe is backward
• Kingfishers, hornbills, bee-eaters (Coraciiformes)

Pamprodactyl

• Zygodactyl, with rotatable digits: Four digits, with the outermost two rotatable forward and backward
• Swifts

Palmate

• Anisodactyl, with partial webbing: Three toes forward, one toe back, three digits webbed
  • 1st toe is backward
  • Webs may reach to the edges of the digits
• Ducks, geese, swans, gulls

Semipalmate

• Anisodactyl, with partial webbing: Three toes forward, one toe back, three digits webbed
  • 1st toe is backward
  • Webs are smaller, only reaching halfway through the digits
• Plovers, sandpipers, grouse, chicken

Totipalmate

• Four digits webbed
• Cormorants and pelicans

Lobate

• Anisodactyl, with partial lobing: Three toes forward, one toe back, three digits edged with lobes
• Grebes and coots

Raptorial

• Long, strong digits with talons
  • Talons are heavy claws
• Hawks, eagles, falcons

Bird Rostrum

• Also known as bills and beaks
  • Horned;
  • Multipurpose, and comparable to use of human hands and fingers:
    • Grooming;
    • Feeding young;
    • Probing for food, catching and killing prey, and preparing food (cracking nuts, filtering particles, scooping fish, etc.);
    • Ripping and tearing flesh, chiseling, and manipulating objects;
    • Fighting and communicating.
• Shapes are dependent on diet, with variations for nectar, seeds, fish, insects, invertebrates, different habitats for prey, etc. Various phenotypes are extant:
  • Crackers
  • Shredders
  • Tweezers
  • Raptorial
  • Probe
  • Spear
  • Strainers
  • Hummers
  • Chisels

Raptorial

• Curved;
• Used to cut and tear flesh;
• Hawks, owls

Probe

• Thin and long;
• Able to sense pressure changes and detect movement of prey;
• Curlews

Cracker

• Wide, large; short and stout;
• Cracks open seed coats;
• Finches, Black-headed Grosbeak, White-crowned Sparrow

Spear

• Medium length, wider than probes;
• May have backward-pointed serrations
• Pierces fish
• Herons, Belted Kingfishers

Tweezers

• Medium length, thin, with large ability to separate
• Picks up seeds and/or insects;
• Tending to have “whiskers”/“bristles” around the bases of bills that catch and capture prey; “rictal bristles”
• Blackbirds, Black Phoebes, Mountain Bluebird

Strainer

• Large and flat;
• Water passes through beaks and is collected in lamellae;
• Ducks, water birds

Hummers

• “Dip and sip”
• Medium length, thin;
• Bills sheath tongues;
• Hummingbirds

Chisels

• Medium, with medium thickness;
• Cuts and gouges into wood and collects prey within wood;
• Woodpeckers

Bird Vision

• Extraordinary; many birds active in day or night
  • Sensitive to UV and magnetic fields;
  • Night birds rely on sound and light (moon/starlight); discerning shapes and movement;
  • High numbers of rods and cones; able to perceive smaller, imperceptible movements and figures with twice the number of rods and cones in humans;
  • Sensitive to magnetic fields due to cryptochrome pigments;
  • Maintain clear vision at high speeds.
  • Flat, not spherical, eyes, similar to reptiles
  • Specialized muscles can change eyeshape quickly
• Pecten: A specialized collection of blood vessels that replenish the retina
• Eyes are relative to size of head
  • Sclerotic ring: a circle of bony plates around the eye that embeds it rigidly on the skull of the bird
  • Nictitating membrane: a clear membrane/third eyelid across thee eye that lubricates and cleans the eye

Nesting Behavior

• Nests are created by either one or both parents
• Purpose: protects eggs and juveniles; sometimes used for roosting
• Externally made from… mud, sticks and twigs, grass, rushes, reeds, moss, leaves, and lichens
• Internally made from… down feeathers, hair, moss, and spiderweb silk
• Different nest shapes/types are made by different groups:
  • Raptors make platform nests;
  • Passerines make cup-shaped nests;
  • Wrens and magpies make domicile, ball-shaped nests;
  • Swallows and martins make mud nests;
  • Blackbirds and bushtits make hanging nests;

Migratory Behavior

• Migration: The ability to fly across great distances for food and shelter; may involve flight across hemispheres, across land/sea, across altitudes, or across habitats
• Many birds have breeding ranges for the spring/summer and another range in the winter
• Observed via range maps

Clades & Phyla

Raptors

• Name derives from raptus: “one who seizes”
• Diurnal predators; birds of prey
  • Keen senses:
    • Excellent hearing and reliance on sound and vision to pinpoint prey and alarm calls
    • Binocular vision with eyes specifically rotated towards the front of their head
    • Eyes are large and relative to head size
      • Lenses are flattened and placed far away from retina; produces a large “focal length” and image resultant
      • Vision is a minimum 3, up to 6 times more detailed than human eye
    • Increased number of “cones” or “rods” (dependent on day orr night behavior), as well as color pigments
      • UV sensitivity and greater color perception
  • Strong feet with talons; feet are specialized for grasping prey
  • Hooked bills.
• Sexual communication via the cere: a brightly-colored, waxy structure with nares on the base of the bill
• Predates many forms of prey: worms, insects, crustacean, fish, frogs, reptiles, mammals, and other birds; some specialize in prey
  • Most regurgitate pellets made from hair and bones of prey, which are inedible; helps identify prey of raptors
    • Reverse peristalsis: produced by raptors, owls, grouse, kingfishers, waders, gulls, nightjars, swifts, shrikes, Corvids, and passerines
  • Environmental sentinels: sensitive to bioaccumulation as end consumers
• Nests in… every continent except Antarctica in various places; tundras, tropics, high mountains, and deserts;
  • Years-long nests are built from sticks
  • Platform shape nests
  • Nesting on cliffs, tall trees, the tops of dead snags, old woodpecker holes, ground, or burrows
• Two large groups/orders are unrelated, but connected: Accipitrriformes + Falconiformes, and Strigiformes
• All are protected by law; many are endangered, threatened, or of special concern, resulting of:
  • Habitat destruction via urbanization, deforestation, and mining;
  • Environmental contamination;
  • Collision with urban objects, or electrocution;
  • Shooting and trapping;
  • Nest disturbance.

Accipitriformes

• Eagles, buteo, accipiters
• Eagles are a polyphyletic grouping; accipiters and buteos have specific genera and shared characteristics

Eagles

Golden Eagle

• 40” long
• 5-7” wingspan
• Colored golden, brown, grey, and yellow:
  • Golden on… Back, nape, and crown;
  • Brown on… Outer wings and tail;
  • Grey on… Inner wings and bill;
  • Yellow on… Cere;
  • Tail is faintly banded;
  • Hooked bill.
• Predate mammals and birds, including prey larger than itself;
  • Coyotes, deer, pronghorn, fox, bighorn sheep.
• Nests on… mostly cliffs, very rarely on trees
• Declining due to habitat loss and shooting

Buteo

• Large hawks with broad wings and tails
• “Soaring” hawks that circle high in the air
• Widely distributed in most habitats in California
• Associated with buzzards and hawks

Red-tailed Hawk

• 17-22” long
• 43-52” wingspan
• Variable colors and banding:
  • Distinguish via dark patagial marks on the underwing and “belly-band”;
  • Rufous tail.
• Predates rodents, insects, carrion, and rarely birds;
  • Hunts by folding wings and diving down, then pinning and piercing prey
• Nests in… open grasslands and woodlands.
• Spends hours mid-air, stationary or gliding watching for prey

Accipiters

• Hawks with short, rounded wings and long tails
• Rounded wings allow the ability to dart through wooded habitats to pursue birds
• Low flight with rapid wingbeats
• Nests in… wooded and forested habitats
• Associated with hawks and goshawks

Falconiformes

• Streamlined bodies with long, pointed wings and long tails
• High-speed flight for overtaking and hunting birds
• Nests in… grasslands and praries; open country lands
• Associated with kestrels, merlins, falcons

American Kestrel

• 8-10” long
  • The smallest falcon in the world.
• 20-22” wingspan
• Sexually dimorphic coloration:
  • Unisexually… colored grey, brown, white, black, orange, and blue-gray:
    • Grey on… most of head
      • Brown patch on head
    • White on… most of cheeks
      • Black “mustache marks” underneath eyes; paired
    • Orange on… cere and legs
    • Blue-gray on… upperwing coverts of wings
    • Rufous patches are on the head and back
    • Two false eyespots on back of head create the illusion of a face; deterring predators
  • Crowns are dimorphic:
    • Brown crown in females;
    • Blue-gray crown in males.
• Predates small mammals and birds; behavior of hovering and perching
  • Predated on by larger hawks and falcons
• Nests in… tree cavities and woodpecker holes in open grassland habitats

Hunting Peregrine Falcon

• Movement consists of plunging downward with partially closed wings;
• Speeds exceed 150 mi/hr
• Hunting involves striking from above with extended talons

Strigiformes (Owls)

• Nocturnal birds of prey
• Intense senses and adaptations regarding:
  • Sound →
    • Binaural hearing: asymmetric ear placement for sound localization
    • Flat facial disks to focus sounds
  • Vision –>
    • Forward-facing binocular vision: increases depth perception
    • Rotate neck 270 degrees
• Adapted as nocturnal birds of prey:
  • Serrations on leading edge of flight feathers: reduces noise and gives ability for silent flight
  • Hawk-like beaks
  • Anisodactyl-pamprodactyl-like talons with a flexible joint that can rotate the outer front toe to the rear
• Regurgitate concentrated hair, chitin, and bone pellets as a result of carnivorous, insectivorous diet

Barn Owls

• 16” long
• 31-37” wingspan
• Colored brown, white, black:
  • White in… face and lower crest;
  • Black in… eyes;
  • Brown in… back and sides;
  • Heart-shaped face.
• Predates on bats, frogs, insects, and small mammals;
  • Reliance on hearing to hunt;
• Nests in… cavities and barns in open nests
• Hisses and screams

Burrowing Owl

• 9” long
• Colored brown and white, with a barred and spotted plumage:
  • Brown in… plumage;
  • White in… eyebrow, throat, and spots/bars.
  • Long legs
• Predates on insects and small rodents;
• Nests in… rodent burrows in open grasslands
• Unique behavior:
  • Ground dwelling, diurnal
  • Bobbing behavior
• Endangered in many locations

Western Screech Owl

• ~8” long
• 22” wingspan
• Gray plumage
  • Small ear tufts
  • Bright yellow eyes
  • Round head
• Predates on insects, small mammals, and small birds;
• Nests in… open woodlands
• Calls via a series of whistles and high-pitched screeches

Water/Ocean Birds

Coastal Birds

• Lives on the shores/coasts of oceans
• Gulls, terns, cormorants, phalaropes, and pelicans

Cormorants

• Lives in coastal waters and inland waterways: rivers, lakes, and swamps
• Swims through water; diving bird
• Uses spread-wing postures to dry wings, not for thermoregulation
• Historically declined due to use of DDT in 1960’s

Double-Crested Cormorant

• Black plumage with black-white nuptial crests, a bare, orange-yellow loral and gural skin (dark lore)
• Stocky builds
• Totipalmate; able to dive and swim at deep depths

Gulls/Terns

• Worldwide distribution of family
• Predates on different foods depending on type:
  • Gulls have variety: Small vertebrates, invertebrates, fish, seeds, and fruit
  • Terns almost-exclusively eat fish: Also consume small invertebrates (Squid, crustaceans, snails)
• Nests in… coastal and inland habitats; few species are pelagic
• Social birds; colonial breeding and hunting

Glaucous-winged Gull

• White, gray, yellow, and reddish coloration:
  • White on… head and body
  • Gray on… mantle and primary feathers
  • Bill is yellow with red spots
  • Pink legs
• Hybridizes with several other large gull species

Heermann’s Gull

• Primarily colored gray and black
  • Dark gray body
  • Black on… primary feathers, the tip of the bill, and the tail
  • Red bill
  • White terminal band on the tail
• Coastal-exclusive
• Extremely aggressive and steal food from other birds, including pelicans

Forster’s Tern

• “Bandit’s mask”: Dark mask on eyes and crest; black bill

Caspian tern

• Dark crown or streaked
• Thick red bill with a dark tip

Avocets

American Avocet

• 18” long
• Black and white plumage; black on back and striped on wings
• Head and neck change plumage colors seasonally
  • Rusty cinnamon color in summer
  • White otherwise
  • Long, pale blue legs
• Dimorphic differences in bill
  • Unisexual long bill up-turned slightly at the ending
  • Male bill is longer and straighter
• Prey by foraging with a side-sweeping bill
• Nests on… small islands
  • Limits predation
• Migratory, colonial species for breeding and movement
• Chicks are never fed by parents

Stilts

Black-necked Stilts

• ~14”
• Long, pink legs
• Black and white coloration
  • Black on… bill, back, and the cap of the head crossing into the eyes
  • White on… lower plumage, tail, and a white spot above the eyes like eyebrows
  • Female back is a little more brown than black
• Predates via probing mudflats and shorelines
• Nests… semi-colonially on islands

Curlew

Long-billed Curlew

• 2’ long
• Cinnamon-brown plumage that is darker on top and more orange on bottom
  • No dark head stripes (whimbrel); head stripes are washed out
• Long, strongly down-curved bill: four times the size of the head
  • Forages by probing in soil

Killdeer

• 10” long
• Colored brown, red, black, white, orange-red
  • Black in… double breast bands, bands on tail and head
  • Rusty red… on rump
  • Bright orange-red eye ring
• Nests on open ground in gravel of open grasslands, near wetlands
  • Cryptic eggs; camouflaged
• Broken wing act

Pelagic/True Seabirds

• Lives via the ocean for all or most of the year
• Penguins, puffins, auklets, petrels, albatrosses, skuas, and frigatebirds

Loons

• BR-En “Divers”
• Shorebirds and aquatic birds: marine, brackish, and fresh habitats
• Posterior feet with totipalmate toes
  • Strong legs add leverage to feet
  • Strong fliers challenged by high wing load during take-off
  • Unable to walk
  • Majority of life is spent swimming and diving
• Predate fish, crustaceans, frogs, salamanders
• Nests exclusively to Western Hemisphere
• Swallow pebbles for gizzard

Common Loon

• Dark nape and neck with a vague white collar
• Light colored bill with a dark culmen

Wading Birds

• Feet adapted to walk on mud

Herons

Great Blue Heron

• 3-4’ tall
• Maximum 7’ wingspan
• Largest and most widespread heron in North America
• Colored blue-gray, white, and black
  • Blue-gray on… majority
  • White on… crown of head and sides of head and neck
  • Black on… long plumes above the eye
  • Plumes of feathers on chest and back
  • Yellow, dagger-like bill
• Predates on fish and frogs in shallow water, or mice and gophers in dry fields
• Nests in… Marshes and the coasts of rivers and lakes in the Sacramento area year round

Bitterns

American Bittern

• 2-3’ long
• 3’ wingspan
• Brown and black plumage
  • Rusty brown on top
  • Brown-tan white streaks on bottom breast and belly
  • Black stripes on the sides of throat
• Predates fish, snakes, frogs, small mammals, insects
• Nests in… reed-cattail platforms within the American continent
  • Lays 2-6 eggs in nests
• Camouflages in reeds: freezes, stretches neck upward, and sways
• “Pump-per-lunk” call; distinctive, sounding like water going down a drain

Anatidae

Ducks

• Aquatic birds
• Small stout bodies, short necks, and long, broad bills
• Male coloration dimorphism
• Reliance on one of two foraging strategies:
  • Diving ducks: Dive down and swim underwater to pursue prey
    • Invertebrates, fish, and vegetation
    • Hind-placed feet;
    • Submarine-like behavior;
    • Found in deeper water, but open with runway space;
    • Must run along the water surface to become airborne
  • Dabbling ducks: Filtering prey from shallow mud and water
    • Plants, algae, seeds, and invertebrates
    • Forward, smaller feet;
    • Shallow water;
    • Slow flight; more precise landings in small areas;

Mallards

• Dabbling ducks

Northern Shoveler

• Long, spatula/shovel-like bill with well-developed lamellae
• Predates on small crustaceans ie Daphnia
  • Sieves out food particles
  • May feed for over an hour non-stop without moving over a meter through water
  • Swims with bill pointed downward
• Nests in… marshlands

Northern Pintail

• Dabbling duck
  • Long neck that constantly sits upended (up to 6 seconds non-stop underwater)
• Brown, white, and black coloration
  • Chocolate brown on… head
  • White on… neck, with a stripe extending from neck upwards to head
  • Black on… tail feathers
  • Tail feathers extend into a point/pin; “pintail”
• Predates on vegetation, seeds, tubers, snails
• Nests in… shallow marshes and ponds worldwide

Common Merganser

• Diving duck
• Also known as “Goosander”
• Dimorphism in head coloration
  • Unisex narrow red saw-billed beak
  • Male head is brown
  • Female head is rusty red
• Predates on fish, crayfish, and insects
• Nests in… the tree holes and crevices in freshwater rivers, lakes, and estuaries worldwide
  • Breeds in streams and rivers

Ruddy Ducks

• Diving duck
• Small ducks with blue, rust red, and black-white coloration
  • Distinctive broad blue bill and stiff tails
  • Rusty plumage
  • Black cap with white cheeks
• Predates on aquatic insect larvae, as well as snails, crustaceans, and aquatic vegetation
• Dives and sieves for food from mud up to 3’ deep
• Nests in… grass debris and tufts in dense, vegetated freshwater marshes, open lakes, and ponds
  • Native to Americas; introduced to England

Redheads

• Diving duck
• Multicolored coloration:
  • Tricolored bill: Mostly pale blue, with a narrow white ring and a black tip
  • Distinctive red head
  • Black breast and gray back
• Predates on aquatic vegetation, crustaceans, snails, and insects
• Nests in… concealed rushes and cattails in shallow waters of large, vegetated marshes, lagoons, and bays exclusive to North America
• Parasitic behavior; will lay eggs in other Redheads’ nests

Bufflehead

• ~1’ long
• Smallest diving duck
• White, iridescent, and black coloration
  • Large puffy head that is iridescent green and blue
  • Large white patch on back of head
• Predates on insects as well as invertebrates and aquatic vegetation
• Nests in… tree cavities and woodpecker holes exclusive to North America
  • Prefers lakes or ponds nearby mixed conifer and deciduous woodlands

Wood Ducks

• Perching duck
• Widespread duck in North America; cross-coast and on American continent
  • Sometimes migrates to Cuba in winter
• Nests in hollows, tree cavities, and old woodpecker holes as high as 65’ in air, without risking damage; small ponds and rivers in dense woodland area
• Unisexual features
  • Bright white throat and curves of cheeks
  • Pointed tail
• Male dimorphism
  • Bright green crest onto the neck
  • Yellow flanks
  • Iridescent colored back
  • Females are brown with a teardrop-shaped eye patch
• Highly precocious ducklings

Geese

• Large, thin bodies white lengthy necks and short bills
• Only found with brown, black, or white plumage

Swans

• Large bodies and long necks
• Short legs
• White, with some black coloration

Coots

American Coots

• Closer related to rails and cranes than to ducks
• Lobate; more efficiently walk on mud, swim, and release heat in summer
• Predates on aquatic vegetation, fish, frogs, crustaceans, snails, worms, and aquatic insects
• Nests in… similar habitats to ducks: freshwater lakes, ponds, rivers, and marshes
• Found in large flocks with up to hundreds of individuals

Perching Birds

• Anisodactyl feet adapted to perching on branches
  • Sit and sleep while perching; clutch to perch with tendons
• Commonly known as Passerines
• Represents more than half of all bird species (over 6,000 of 10,000 extant bird species)
• Most are singers, are brightly colored, and/or highly migratory
• Nests in… cup-shaped nests

Passeriformes

• Corvids

Steller’s Jay

• Black and blue coloration
  • Black on… head, back, crest, bars on the tail
  • Blue on… bars on the forehead, wings, tail, belly, flanks, and undertail
  • Variance: Southern Rockies Steller’s Jays have white forehead streaks
• Nests in… preferably moist mixed oak/conifer forests on the Sierra Nevada and coastal range, or Rockies range to Pacific Coast; considerably higher range/elevation

California Scrub-Jay

• A part of Western scrub-jays: vs. the Woodhouse scrub-jay (darker breast with blue undertail coverts, and living on the east interior region)
• Blue and white coloration
  • Blue on… head, wings, tail, breast band
  • White on… supercilium, throat, belly
    • Northern Californian white undertail coverts
  • Black on… face and auriculars
• Predates on insects and oak acorns; sometimes takes eggs
  • Caches acorns for winter
• Nests in… woodlands and chaparral from West (Washington through California)

Yellow-billed Magpies

• Black and white, iridescent, and yellow colorations
  • Black on… bodies, head, backs, wings, and tail
  • Iridescent green on… tail and wings
  • White on… large patch of wings and belly
  • Yellow on bill, and on a patch of bare skin around the eyes
• Colonial, communal behavior; collectively retribute against predators via mobbing; highly social
• Endemic to California; restricted to foothills and Central Valley
• Domicile, cup-shaped nests

American Crows

• 17-20’ long
• Dark, glossy black plumage
  • Straight bills and square tails in flight
    • Ravens have a wedge-shaped tail in flight
• Predates omnivorously: fruits, seeds, insects, eggs, small vertebrates
• Nests in… Roosts in US through Canada, and forages across high distances
• Tends to flap wings in flight
• Intelligent, inquisitive, and complex vernacular

Woodpeckers

• Zygodactyl feet adapted to grip onto bark
• Chisel beaks
• Diurnal and early evening predators; roost during the night in nests
• Large diversities;
  • Different communal behaviors: some species are solitary or asocial, and some species form large communal groups
  • California has 14 species of woodpeckers
• Keystone species: Provides nest cavities for over 40 species of birds in North America
• Predates on mostly tree insects
  • Gathers with wedged bill, muscles, and long barbed tongue
• Characteristic woodpecker tongue
  • Long, extensible tongue that is rigid
  • Framed on the base of a cartilage-bone structure known as the Hyoid Apparatus
    • Y-shaped apparatus with two fork ends known as horns connected to the muscles and ligaments from the tongue to the head/eye/nasal cavity
    • Horns wrap around the skull
    • Horns are used to extend rigid tongue and buffer impacts

Acorn Woodpecker

• Communal species
  • Members of a group are in an extended family related to the females except for the breeding males
  • Members are responsible for territorial defense, feeding young, and storing/protecting/creating acorn granaries in tree trunks, telephone poles, and old fence posts
• Predates mainly on acorns, sometimes on other nuts/seeds and on insects
  • Protective of acorns; smaller sizes of acorns are moved to smaller holes and embedded by pounding so they are not stolen by squirrels

California Quail

• Callipepla californica
  • State Bird as of June 1931
• Unisexual: grey and brown plumages on top, brown flanks with white streaks
  • Male dimorphism: black face outlined by a white stripee
  • Teardrop-shape plume/topknot that is larger and more distinct on males
  • Scaled underparts
• Predates on seeds, buds, and grasses; also insects, spiders, and snails
• Nests in… Scrub, chaparral, and grassland habitats from Oregon down to Baja California
• Ground-based prey birds
• Communal families:
  • Explode in flight and scatter when surprised by predators
  • Call back together once safe via assembly calls; “Chicago” birdcall
• Able to fly 58 mph and run 12mph