Ornithology

by Gill, Frank B.

• ISBN13: 9780716749837
• ISBN10: 0716749831
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-10-06
• Publisher: W. H. Freeman

Summary

Ornithologyis the classic text for the undergraduate ornithology course, long admired for its biological/evolutionary approach to bird science. The new editionthe first revision in 10 yearsmaintains the scope and expertise that made the book so popular while incorporating a tremendous amount of new research and updating its exquisite program of drawings and photographs.

Table of Contents

Preface	xv
Acknowledgments	xix
Omithology: A Short History	xxi
PART 1 Origins
The Diversity of Birds	3	(22)
Basic Characters of Birds	4	(5)
Adaptive Radiation of Form and Function	9	(9)
Life Histories	18	(1)
Natural Selection and Convergence	19	(1)
Biogeography	20	(5)
History	25	(26)
Birds As Reptiles	26	(1)
Archaeopteryx: The Original Link Between Birds and Reptiles	27	(4)
Birds As Dinosaurs	31	(6)
Early Evolution of Birds	37	(2)
Evolution of Feathers	39	(1)
Evolution of Flight	40	(1)
Modern Birds	41
Box 2--1 The Avian Genome: One Billion DNA Base Pairs Strong	36	(15)
Systematics	51	(28)
Species and Speciation	51	(2)
Scientific Names	53	(4)
Classification and Phylogeny	57	(1)
Taxonomic Characters	58	(3)
Cladistics	61	(2)
Biochemical Systematics	63	(1)
Box 3--1 DNA-DNA Hybridization Compares Total Genetic Divergence	64	(15)
PART 2 Form and Function
Feathers	79	(36)
Feather Structure	79	(10)
Feather Growth	89	(2)
Evolution of Feathers	91	(3)
Feather Colors	94	(6)
The Feather Coat	100	(2)
Feather Care	102	(3)
Plumage Color Patterns	105	(3)
Molts and Plumages	108
Box 4--1 Desert Sandgrouse Carry Water in Modified Feathers	82	(3)
Box 4--2 The Bird That Calls Like a Cricket	85	(2)
Box 4--3 The Display Plumes of Egrets Nearly Caused Their Extinction	87	(8)
Box 4--4 Bright Red Marks the Best Male House Finches	95	(2)
Box 4--5 Structural Colors of Bird Skin and Eyes	97	(18)
Flight	115	(26)
Elementary Aerodynamics	116	(6)
Kinds of Flight	122	(9)
Wing Sizes and Shapes	131	(2)
The Skeleton	133	(3)
Flight Muscles	136	(1)
Muscle-Fiber Metabolism	136	(1)
Flightless Birds	137
Box 5--1 Peregrine Falcons: Speed Stooping	122	(1)
Box 5--2 Flying in Formation	123	(11)
Box 5--3 The Furcula Is a Flexible, Elastic Spring	134	(7)
Physiology	141	(42)
The High Body Temperatures of Birds	142	(1)
The Respiratory System	143	(5)
The Circulatory System	148	(2)
Metabolism	150	(2)
Temperature Regulation	152	(12)
Feeding and Digestion	164	(7)
Energy Balance and Reserves	171	(2)
Water Economy	173
Box 6--1 Birds Hyperventilate Without Severe Penalty	147	(10)
Box 6--2 Global Warming	157	(4)
Box 6--3 Selection for Larger House Sparrows	161	(22)
PART 3 Behavior and Communication
Senses, Brains, and Intelligence	183	(32)
Vision	184	(6)
Detection of Magnetic Fields	190	(1)
Hearing	191	(4)
Mechanoreception	195	(2)
Chemical Senses: Taste and Smell	197	(3)
Bird Brains	200	(6)
Cognition and Intelligence	206
Box 7--1 How Robins Find Worms	184	(13)
Box 7--2 Birds Like Chili Peppers	197	(1)
Box 7--3 New Zealand Kiwis Sniff for Their Food	198	(1)
Box 7--4 Auklets Use Perfume	199	(10)
Box 7--5 Conversations with a Parrot Explore Avian Intelligence	209	(6)
Vocalizations	215	(30)
Physical Attributes	215	(6)
Vocabularies and Communication	221	(1)
Sound Production by the Syrinx	222	(5)
Roles of the Central Nervous System	227	(2)
Learning to Sing	229	(6)
Dialects	235	(2)
Vocal Mimicry	237	(1)
Songs and Mates	238
Box 8--1 A Vocabulary for Sounds and Vocalizations	216	(7)
Box 8--2 Chickadees Tell Flock Mates Which Predator Is Lurking	223	(3)
Box 8--3 Birds Have Two Independent Voices	226	(6)
Box 8--4 Birds with Fixed Repertoires Learn Songs in Four Stages	232	(6)
Box 8--5 Both Bird Vocalists and Human Fiddlers Have Technical Duels	238	(2)
Box 8--6 Bush Shrikes Duet with Precision	240	(5)
PART 4 Behavior and the Environment
The Annual Cycles of Birds	245	(28)
Basic Annual Cycles	246	(2)
Annual Cycles of the White-crowned Sparrow	248	(2)
Circadian Rhythms and the Photoperiod	250	(5)
Master Hormones	255	(3)
Breeding Seasons	258	(1)
Timing of Migration	259	(3)
Scheduling High-Cost Efforts	262	(3)
Nonannual Cycles	265	(4)
Climate Change	269
Box 9--1 Precisely When Do American Robins Nest?	260	(3)
Box 9--2 Molt by White-crowned Sparrows Requires Energy and Special Nutrition	263	(3)
Box 9--3 Late Molts in the American Redstart Incur Costs	266	(7)
Migration and Navigation	273	(34)
Migration	274	(21)
Navigation	295
Box 10--1 Radar Records Document the Decline of Migrant Birds	278	(5)
Box 10--2 A Migrating Thrush Outperforms Ornithologists	283	(9)
Box 10--3 The Black-necked Grebe Reorganizes Its Whole Body	292	(12)
Box 10--4 Baby Buntings Learn the Night Sky	304	(3)
Social Behavior	307	(28)
Individual Space	308	(1)
Territorial Behavior	309	(5)
Social Rank	314	(4)
Agonistic Behavior	318	(2)
Flocks	320	(11)
Communal Roosts	331
Box 11--1 Territory Defense by Sunbirds Depends on Economics	310	(5)
Box 11--2 Dominant Blue Tits Are More Cautious Than Their Subordinates	315	(6)
Box 11--3 Harris's Hawks Hunt in Teams	321	(3)
Box 11--4 Optimal Size of a Quail Covey	324	(1)
Box 11--5 Wanted: Experienced Parrot Flocks for Conservation	325	(4)
Box 11--6 Coloniality in Yellow-rumped Caciques Reduces Predation	329	(6)
PART 5 Avian Life Histories
Mates	335	(32)
Life-History Strategies	336	(2)
Mate Choice and Sexual Selection	338	(6)
Evolution of Displays	344	(15)
Monogamy	359	(2)
Cuckoldry and Promiscuity	361
Box 12--1 Blue Tits Choose Mates in the Ultraviolet	341	(26)
Breeding Systems	367	(32)
Diversity	368	(2)
Polygyny	370	(3)
Polyandry	373	(4)
Brood Parasitism	377	(8)
Cooperative Breeding	385	(7)
Bee-eaters and Families	392
Box 13--1 Coots Count	378	(11)
Box 13--2 Altruism Bypasses Infidelity in an Endangered Island Warbler	389	(6)
Box 13--3 Knowing Kin by Their Calls	395	(4)
Bird Sex	399	(32)
The Sexes	400	(5)
Ovary and Ovum	405	(4)
Testes and Sperm	409	(3)
Copulation	412	(4)
Fertilization and Sperm Competition	416	(2)
The Complete Egg	418	(5)
Egg Formation in the Oviduct	423	(2)
The Embryo	425	(2)
Clutch Size	427
Box 14--1 Manipulating Egg Quality and Brood Mates	407	(5)
Box 14--2 Prolonged Copulation	412	(6)
Box 14--3 Sperm Competition Among Smith's Longspurs	418	(9)
Box 14--4 Determinate versus Indeterminate Egg Layers	427	(4)
Nests and Incubation	431	(36)
Nests	432	(15)
Incubation	447	(13)
Hatching	460	(2)
Moundbuilders	462
Box 15--1 Fragrance Helps	436	(2)
Box 15--2 Kittiwakes Adapt to Cliff Nesting	438	(16)
Box 15--3 Bone-Making Protein Changes Finch Bills	454	(13)
Parents and Their Offspring	467	(36)
Altricial Compared with Precocial Modes of Development	468	(10)
Begging for Food	478	(1)
Sibling Rivalry	479	(3)
Parenting	482	(8)
Fledging	490	(3)
Behavioral Growth and Development	493
Box 16--1 Development Categories of Hatchlings	471	(9)
Box 16--2 Laughing Kookaburras: Last to Hatch Loses	480	(4)
Box 16--3 Feeding Nestlings	484	(11)
Box 16--4 Endangered-Species Projects Accommodate the Sexual Preferences of Hand-Reared Birds	495	(4)
Box 16--5 Password Access to Cowbird Society	499	(4)
Lifetime Reproductive Success	503	(30)
Life-History Patterns	504	(2)
Life Tables	506	(4)
Longevity and Life Span	510	(4)
Fecundity	514	(6)
Annual Reproductive Effort	520	(4)
Evolution of Clutch Size	524
Box 17--1 Physiological Constraints Shape Avian Life-History Traits	507	(4)
Box 17--2 Anti-aging Mechanisms in Birds?	511	(8)
Box 17--3 Young Female Tree Swallows Delay Breeding	519	(14)
PART 6 Population Dynamics and Conservation
Populations	533	(38)
Growth	533	(5)
Control	538	(2)
Limitation	540	(10)
Regulation	550	(8)
Long-Term Population Trends	558
Box 18--1 Rebound of the Short-tailed Albatross	534	(14)
Box 18--2 Avian Flu	548	(14)
Box 18--3 The Breeding Bird Survey	562	(2)
Box 18--4 Global Warming and Seabirds	564	(7)
Species	571	(32)
What Is a Species?	571	(4)
Allopatric Speciation	575	(8)
The Phylogenetic Species Concept	583	(2)
Population Size and Structure	585	(5)
Hybrids	590	(2)
Hybrid Zones	592	(5)
Behavior and Speciation	597
Box 19--1 Population Cohesion of Cuckoos	573	(4)
Box 19--2 Character Heritability	577	(1)
Box 19--3 Seven Rules of Speciation in Birds	578	(6)
Box 19--4 A Ring Species in Siberia	584	(19)
Communities	603	(32)
The Dynamics of Communities	603	(14)
Species Diversity	617	(9)
Competition	626
Box 20--1 Stable Isotopes Clarify Seabird Food Webs	605	(2)
Box 20--2 Character Displacement Evolved Rapidly in Supertramps	607	(14)
Box 20--3 Distance to Cover Defines the Niches of Sparrows	621	(11)
Box 20--4 Competition Affects the Use of Foraging Sites by Tits	632	(3)
Conservation	635	(50)
The State of Birds	636	(3)
Threats	639	(6)
Past Excesses	645	(5)
Hope	650	(10)
Conservation by Design	660	(15)
Site-Based Conservation	675	(3)
The Conservation Movement	678
Box 21--1 Symbol of Extinction: The Dodo	646	(5)
Box 21--2 Saving the Whooping Crane	651	(7)
Box 21--3 Loons and Lead	658	(16)
Box 21--4 A Seabird of the Old-Growth Forest	674	(9)
Box 21--5 Birding Ethics: American Birding Association	683	(2)
Bibliography	685	(40)
Index	725