Chapter 6

What is the main function of a bird's bill and mouth (p.164)? What is the role of the bill in food processing (p.164)? What are the functions of the esophagus (p.164-166)? What is the crop & what is(are) its function(s) (p.166)? What are the 2 chambers of the avian stomach (p.166)? In which groups is the proventriculus most developed (p.166)? What occurs in the proventriculus (p.166)? How does relative intestine length vary with food habits (p.167)? What are ceca and what is their function (p.167-168)? In general, how does passage time of food through the digestive tract vary with the nature of the food ingested (p.168)? What are the advantages and disadvantages of passive absorption of nutrients (p.168)? Why do many parrots eat clay (p.168-169)? How does the assimilation of digested food vary with the nature of the food ingested (p.169)? Why do most birds maintain minimal fat reserves (p.172)?

Why do birds maintain high body temperatures (p.142)? How "expensive" is the maintenance of high body temperatures (p.142)? How do birds inhale, exhale (p.144)? Which birds have a flap, or operculum, covering the nares (p.144)? What is the function of the concha (p.144)? What branches from the primary bronchi, secondary bronchi (p.144)? What is most of the lung tissue comprised of (p.144; Fig. 6-4, p.145)? What are the four 'steps' in the avian respiratory cycle (p.144-145)? Be familiar with Figure 6-5 (p.146). Why are birds able to achieve a more efficient rate of gas exchange than mammals (p.145)? How many air sacs to most birds have (p.147)? What are air sacs (p.147)? What do air sacs connect with (p.147)? What are the functions of air sacs (p.147)? What is the relationship between rate of breathing and body size in birds (p.147-148)? How large are avian hearts compared to those of mammals (p.148-149)? What is cardiac output (p.149)? What happens to cardiac output allocations when a bird flies or swims (p.149)? How do the heart rates, stroke volumes, and cardiac outputs of birds compare to those of mammals (p.149)? How do avian ventricles compare to mammalian ventricles in terms of the number of muscle fibers (p.149)? Why do avian cardiac muscle fibers have a greater capacity for aerobic work (p.149-150)? What is basal metabolism (p.151)? What is the relationship between mass and basal metabolism (p.151; Figure 6-8, p. 150)? How does the ability of small birds to operate at high metabolic rates compare with that of small mammals (p.152)? How does flight metabolism compare to BMR (p.152)? How do some birds enhance their insulation during cold seasons (p.153)? How can adjusting feather position enhance either heat loss or heat conservation (p.154)? What is the thermoneutral zone, the LCT, the UCT (p.155; Figure 6-12)? Why don't most birds have to change their rates of heat production to maintain their body temperature in the thermoneutral zone (p.155)? What is the lower critical temperature (p.156)? Which muscles are the major source of heat produced by shivering (p.156)? What's the relationship between a bird's thermoneutral zone and the average environmental temperature where it lives (p.156-157)? What is acclimitization (p.157)? What are some other means by which birds can reduce heat loss (p.158)? What do some birds exhibit facultative hypothermia (p.158)? What is torpor (p.158)? Torpor is characteristic of which six families of birds (p.160)? How can hypothermia be useful beyond just saving energy when a bird is hungry (p.160)? What is the main challenge of hypothermia (p.160)? Why is full torpor neither practical nor economical for short periods in larger birds (p.160)? What group of birds is an exception to that rule (p.160)? What characteristics allow nightjars to exploit an unpredictable food source (temperature-dependent aerial insects) (p.160)? How do birds generally respond to externally imposed heat loads (p.160)? What is hyperthermia (p.160)? What are the advantages and risks of controlled hyperthermia (p.161)? What is the relationship between body size and geographical gradients in temperature and humidity (p.161-162)? Know the material in Box 6-3 (p.161). Why does metabolism increase about the UCT (p.162)? What is the function of panting (p.162)? What is gular fluttering (p.162)? How does evaporative water loss occur in birds (p.162)? How can the legs and feet of birds be useful in regulating body temperature (p.163)? Know the material in Figure 6-17 (p.163).

Chapter 11 (pp. 314 - 327)

How do dominant birds assert their status (p.314)? What are the advantages of high rank (p.314-315)? What does stable flock composition facilitate (p.315)? What is a peck right hierarchy (p.315)? What factors influence a bird's social status (p.315)? How do birds distinguish among members of their own species (p.315)? What is the function of the varied plumage colors of Harris's Sparrows (p.316)? How do Pinyon Jays infer their social rank relative to others (p.317)? What are the benefits and costs of flock formation (p.320)? What are the advantages and disadvantages of feeding in flocks (p.320-322)? Know the material in Boxes 11-3, 11-4, and 11-5 (p.321-325). How does joining a flock decrease the risk of being captured by a predator (p.323-325)? What are nuclear species (p.327)? Why do birds of diverse species assemble to feed together (p.327)?
 

Chapter 10

Know the material in Box 10-1 (p.278). Why are the main migratory routes of North American land birds oriented north-south (p.279)? What are austral migrants (p.279)? When do migrants fly (p.279)? What are the advantages of diurnal flight and nocturnal flights (p.280)? At what altitudes do most migrants fly (p.281)? Why do migrants take potentially dangerous routes across open ocean (p.282)? Why do birds migrate (p.283)? What is differential migration (p.285)? Why do Dark-eyed Juncos in different age and sex classes migrate different distances (p.285; Figure 10-8, p. 285)?What is zugunruhe (p. 286)? Why do birds store energy as fat (rather than carbohydrate or protein) (p.288)? How much fat do migrants store (p.289)? What happens if long-distance migrants need more fuel than is available in their fat deposits (p.290)? What are stopover sites (p.291)? Know the material in Box 10-3 (p.292).

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