Misplaced Pages

#398601

95-399: Grebes ( / ˈ ɡ r iː b z / ) are aquatic diving birds in the order Podicipediformes ( / ˌ p ɒ d ɪ s ɪ ˈ p ɛ d ɪ f ɔːr m iː z / ). Grebes are widely distributed freshwater birds, with some species also found in marine habitats during migration and winter. Most grebes fly, although some flightless species exist, most notably in stable lakes. The order contains

190-461: A cohors (plural cohortes ). Some of the plant families still retain the names of Linnaean "natural orders" or even the names of pre-Linnaean natural groups recognized by Linnaeus as orders in his natural classification (e.g. Palmae or Labiatae ). Such names are known as descriptive family names. In the field of zoology , the Linnaean orders were used more consistently. That is,

285-442: A follicle in the skin . The basal part of the calamus is without vanes. This part is embedded within the skin follicle and has an opening at the base (proximal umbilicus) and a small opening on the side (distal umbilicus). Hatchling birds of some species have a special kind of natal down feathers (neossoptiles) which are pushed out when the normal feathers (teleoptiles) emerge. Flight feathers are stiffened so as to work against

380-432: A bird's head, neck and trunk. Filoplumes are entirely absent in ratites . In some passerines, filoplumes arise exposed beyond the pennaceous feathers on the neck. The remiges, or flight feathers of the wing, and rectrices, or flight feathers of the tail, are the most important feathers for flight. A typical vaned feather features a main shaft, called the rachis . Fused to the rachis are a series of branches, or barbs ;

475-478: A common ancestor of flamingos and grebes. The extinct stem-flamingo family Palaelodidae have been suggested to be the transitional linkage between the filter-feeding flamingos and the foot-propelled diving grebes. The evidence for this comes from the overall similarity between the foot and limb structure of grebes and palaeloids, suggesting the latter family of waterbirds were able to swim and dive better than flamingos. Some early grebes share similar characteristics to

570-570: A distinct rank of biological classification having its own distinctive name (and not just called a higher genus ( genus summum )) was first introduced by the German botanist Augustus Quirinus Rivinus in his classification of plants that appeared in a series of treatises in the 1690s. Carl Linnaeus was the first to apply it consistently to the division of all three kingdoms of nature (then minerals , plants , and animals ) in his Systema Naturae (1735, 1st. Ed.). For plants, Linnaeus' orders in

665-467: A high concentration of paraffin. The secretion provides a dual purpose of protecting the feathers from external parasites and fungi, as well as waterproofing them. When preening , grebes eat their own feathers and feed them to their young. The function of this behaviour is uncertain, but it is believed to assist with pellet formation, excreting out internal parasites and protecting their insides from sharp bone material during digestion. The ventral plumage

760-449: A large rachis but few barbs. Rictal bristles are found around the eyes and bill. They may serve a similar purpose to eyelashes and vibrissae in mammals . Although there is as yet no clear evidence, it has been suggested that rictal bristles have sensory functions and may help insectivorous birds to capture prey. In one study, willow flycatchers ( Empidonax traillii ) were found to catch insects equally well before and after removal of

855-467: A meal. As with fish, the top and bottom colors may be different, in order to provide camouflage during flight. Striking differences in feather patterns and colors are part of the sexual dimorphism of many bird species and are particularly important in the selection of mating pairs. In some cases, there are differences in the UV reflectivity of feathers across sexes even though no differences in color are noted in

950-559: A means for determining the evolutionary relationships of bird families. Species that incubate their own eggs often lose their feathers on a region of their belly, forming a brooding patch . The colors of feathers are produced by pigments, by microscopic structures that can refract , reflect, or scatter selected wavelengths of light, or by a combination of both. Most feather pigments are melanins (brown and beige pheomelanins , black and grey eumelanins ) and carotenoids (red, yellow, orange); other pigments occur only in certain taxa –

1045-502: A nearly cosmopolitan clade of waterbirds , found on every continent except Antarctica . They are absent from the Arctic Circle and arid environments. They have successfully colonized islands such as Madagascar and New Zealand . Some species such as the eared grebe ( Podiceps nigricollis ) and great crested grebe ( P. cristatus ) are found on multiple continents with regional subspecies or populations. A few species like

SECTION 10

#1732787416399

1140-544: A number of industrial applications as a medium for culturing microbes, biodegradable polymers, and production of enzymes. Feather proteins have been tried as an adhesive for wood board. Some groups of Native people in Alaska have used ptarmigan feathers as temper (non-plastic additives) in pottery manufacture since the first millennium BC in order to promote thermal shock resistance and strength. Eagle feathers have great cultural and spiritual value to Native Americans in

1235-462: A pennibrachium (a wing-like structure consisting of elongate feathers), while younger ones did not. This suggests that the pennibrachium was a secondary sex characteristic and likely had a sexual function. Several genes have been found to determine feather development. They will be key to understand the evolution of feathers. For instance, some genes convert scales into feathers or feather-like structures when expressed or induced in bird feet, such as

1330-710: A popular trend as a hairstyle accessory, with feathers formerly used as fishing lures now being used to provide color and style to hair. Feather products manufacturing in Europe has declined in the last 60 years, mainly due to competition from Asia. Feathers have adorned hats at many prestigious events such as weddings and Ladies Day at racecourses (Royal Ascot). The functional view on the evolution of feathers has traditionally focused on insulation, flight and display. Discoveries of non-flying Late Cretaceous feathered dinosaurs in China, however, suggest that flight could not have been

1425-450: A powder puff to apply the powder. Waterproofing can be lost by exposure to emulsifying agents due to human pollution. Feathers can then become waterlogged, causing the bird to sink. It is also very difficult to clean and rescue birds whose feathers have been fouled by oil spills . The feathers of cormorants soak up water and help to reduce buoyancy, thereby allowing the birds to swim submerged. Bristles are stiff, tapering feathers with

1520-433: A radically distinct group of birds as regards their anatomy . Accordingly, they were at first believed to be related to the loons , which are also foot-propelled diving birds, and both families were once classified together under the order Colymbiformes . However, as early as the 1930s, this was determined to be an example of convergent evolution caused by the strong selective forces encountered by unrelated birds sharing

1615-436: A role in the evolution of powered flight. The coloration of feathers is believed to have evolved primarily in response to sexual selection . In fossil specimens of the paravian Anchiornis huxleyi and the pterosaur Tupandactylus imperator , the features are so well preserved that the melanosome (pigment cells) structure can be observed. By comparing the shape of the fossil melanosomes to melanosomes from extant birds,

1710-486: A single family , the Podicipedidae , which includes 22 species in six extant genera . Although, superficially, they resemble other diving birds such as loons and coots , they are most closely related to flamingos , as supported by morphological , molecular and paleontological data. Many species are monogamous and are known for their courtship displays, with the pair performing synchronized dances across

1805-711: A waste product of poultry farming, including chickens , geese , turkeys , pheasants , and ostriches . These feathers are dyed and manipulated to enhance their appearance, as poultry feathers are naturally often dull in appearance compared to the feathers of wild birds. Feather derives from the Old English "feþer", which is of Germanic origin; related to Dutch "veer" and German "Feder", from an Indo-European root shared by Sanskrit's "patra" meaning 'wing', Latin's "penna" meaning 'feather', and Greek's "pteron", "pterux" meaning 'wing'. Because of feathers being an integral part of quills , which were early pens used for writing,

1900-427: A waterproofing agent and a feather conditioner . Powder down has evolved independently in several taxa and can be found in down as well as in pennaceous feathers. They may be scattered in plumage as in the pigeons and parrots or in localized patches on the breast, belly, or flanks, as in herons and frogmouths. Herons use their bill to break the powder down feathers and to spread them, while cockatoos may use their head as

1995-402: Is actually more closely related to Ornithischia , to which it formed the sister group within the clade Ornithoscelida . The study also suggested that if the feather-like structures of theropods and ornithischians are of common evolutionary origin then it would be possible that feathers were restricted to Ornithoscelida. If so, then the origin of feathers would have likely occurred as early as

SECTION 20

#1732787416399

2090-506: Is called by some the Dyck texture. Melanin is often involved in the absorption of light; in combination with a yellow pigment, it produces a dull olive-green. In some birds, feather colors may be created, or altered, by secretions from the uropygial gland , also called the preen gland. The yellow bill colors of many hornbills are produced by such secretions. It has been suggested that there are other color differences that may be visible only in

2185-408: Is caused by defective pigment production, though structural coloration will not be affected (as can be seen, for example, in blue-and-white budgerigars ). The blues and bright greens of many parrots are produced by constructive interference of light reflecting from different layers of structures in feathers. In the case of green plumage, in addition to yellow, the specific feather structure involved

2280-568: Is considered presumptuous. During the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, there was a booming international trade in plumes for extravagant women's hats and other headgear (including in Victorian fashion ). Frank Chapman noted in 1886 that feathers of as many as 40 species of birds were used in about three-fourths of the 700 ladies' hats that he observed in New York City. For instance, South American hummingbird feathers were used in

2375-427: Is likely that non-avian dinosaur species utilized plumage patterns for similar functions as modern birds before the origin of flight. In many cases, the physiological condition of the birds (especially males) is indicated by the quality of their feathers, and this is used (by the females) in mate choice . Additionally, when comparing different Ornithomimus edmontonicus specimens, older individuals were found to have

2470-616: Is possibly from the Breton "krib" meaning 'comb', this referring to the crests of many of the European species. However, grèbe was used to refer to gulls. The appearance of "grebe" in the English language was introduced in 1768 by the Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant when he adopted the word for the family. Some of the smaller species are often referred to as "dabchick", which originated in

2565-542: Is suppressed during embryological development of the alligator and so is not present in the scales of mature alligators. The presence of this homologous keratin in both birds and crocodilians indicates that it was inherited from a common ancestor. This may suggest that crocodilian scales, bird and dinosaur feathers, and pterosaur pycnofibres are all developmental expressions of the same primitive archosaur skin structures; suggesting that feathers and pycnofibers could be homologous. Molecular dating methods in 2011 show that

2660-523: Is the most dense, described as very fur-like. By pressing their feathers against the body, grebes can adjust their buoyancy . In the nonbreeding season, grebes are plain-coloured in dark browns and whites. However, most have ornate and distinctive breeding plumages, often developing chestnut markings on the head area, and perform elaborate display rituals. The young, particularly those of the genus Podiceps , are often striped and retain some of their juvenile plumage even after reaching full size. The grebes are

2755-533: Is usually written with a capital letter. For some groups of organisms, their orders may follow consistent naming schemes . Orders of plants , fungi , and algae use the suffix -ales (e.g. Dictyotales ). Orders of birds and fishes use the Latin suffix -iformes meaning 'having the form of' (e.g. Passeriformes ), but orders of mammals and invertebrates are not so consistent (e.g. Artiodactyla , Actiniaria , Primates ). For some clades covered by

2850-479: The Indian peacock have been used in traditional medicine for snakebite, infertility, and coughs. Members of Scotland's Clan Campbell are known to wear feathers on their bonnets to signify authority within the clan. Clan chiefs wear three, chieftains wear two and an armiger wears one. Any member of the clan who does not meet the criteria is not authorized to wear feathers as part of traditional garb and doing so

2945-528: The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature , several additional classifications are sometimes used, although not all of these are officially recognized. In their 1997 classification of mammals , McKenna and Bell used two extra levels between superorder and order: grandorder and mirorder . Michael Novacek (1986) inserted them at the same position. Michael Benton (2005) inserted them between superorder and magnorder instead. This position

Grebe - Misplaced Pages Continue

3040-450: The Junin grebe ( P. taczanowskii ) and the recently extinct Atitlán grebe ( Podilymbus gigas ) are lake endemics. During the warmer or breeding seasons, many species of grebes in the northern hemisphere reside in a variety of freshwater habitats like lakes and marshes . Once winter arrives many will migrate to marine environments along the coastlines. Grebes are most prevalent in

3135-471: The Middle Triassic , though this has been disagreed upon. The lack of feathers present in large sauropods and ankylosaurs could be that feathers were suppressed by genomic regulators. Several studies of feather development in the embryos of modern birds, coupled with the distribution of feather types among various prehistoric bird precursors, have allowed scientists to attempt a reconstruction of

3230-593: The New World with almost half of the world's species native there. Order (biology) What does and does not belong to each order is determined by a taxonomist , as is whether a particular order should be recognized at all. Often there is no exact agreement, with different taxonomists each taking a different position. There are no hard rules that a taxonomist needs to follow in describing or recognizing an order. Some taxa are accepted almost universally, while others are recognized only rarely. The name of an order

3325-815: The Systema Naturae and the Species Plantarum were strictly artificial, introduced to subdivide the artificial classes into more comprehensible smaller groups. When the word ordo was first consistently used for natural units of plants, in 19th-century works such as the Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis of Augustin Pyramus de Candolle and the Genera Plantarum of Bentham & Hooker, it indicated taxa that are now given

3420-627: The United States and First Nations peoples in Canada as religious objects. In the United States, the religious use of eagle and hawk feathers is governed by the eagle feather law , a federal law limiting the possession of eagle feathers to certified and enrolled members of federally recognized Native American tribes. In South America, brews made from the feathers of condors are used in traditional medications. In India, feathers of

3515-529: The least grebe ( Tachybaptus dominicus ), at 120 g (4.2 oz) and 23.5 cm (9.3 in), to the great grebe ( Podiceps major ), at 1.7 kg (3.7 lb) and 71 cm (28 in). Despite these size differences grebes are a homogenous family of waterbirds with very few or slight differences among the genera. On the surface of the water they swim low with just the head and neck exposed. All species have lobed toes, and are excellent swimmers and divers. The feet are always large, with broad lobes on

3610-494: The ornithischian dinosaurs Tianyulong and Psittacosaurus . The exact nature of these structures is still under study. However, it is believed that the stage-1 feathers (see Evolutionary stages section below) such as those seen in these two ornithischians likely functioned in display. In 2014, the ornithischian Kulindadromeus was reported as having structures resembling stage-3 feathers. The likelihood of scales evolving on early dinosaur ancestors are high. However, this

3705-401: The penguins , ratites and screamers. In most birds the feathers grow from specific tracts of skin called pterylae ; between the pterylae there are regions which are free of feathers called apterylae (or apteria ). Filoplumes and down may arise from the apterylae. The arrangement of these feather tracts, pterylosis or pterylography, varies across bird families and has been used in the past as

3800-421: The ulna is long and fairly weak, supporting secondary feathers. There are 11 primaries and 17 to 22 secondaries, with the inner secondaries being longer than the primaries. As such grebes are generally not strong or rapid fliers. Some species are reluctant to fly. Indeed, two South American species are completely flightless. Since grebes generally dive more than fly, the sternum can be as small or even smaller than

3895-401: The α-keratins of mammalian hair , horns and hooves . The exact signals that induce the growth of feathers on the skin are not known, but it has been found that the transcription factor cDermo-1 induces the growth of feathers on skin and scales on the leg. There are two basic types of feather: vaned feathers which cover the exterior of the body, and down feathers which are underneath

Grebe - Misplaced Pages Continue

3990-633: The Northern Hemisphere fossil record in the Early Miocene, they are likely to have originated in the Southern Hemisphere. A few more recent grebe fossils could not be assigned to modern or prehistoric genera: To date there is no complete phylogeny of grebes based on molecular work. However, there are comprehensive morphological works from Bochenski (1994), Fjeldså (2004) and Ksepka et al. (2013) that have been done on

4085-451: The ability to expand from a compressed, stored state to trap large amounts of compartmentalized, insulating air. Feathers of large birds (most often geese ) have been and are used to make quill pens. Historically, the hunting of birds for decorative and ornamental feathers has endangered some species and helped to contribute to the extinction of others. Today, feathers used in fashion and in military headdresses and clothes are obtained as

4180-445: The air in the downstroke but yield in other directions. It has been observed that the orientation pattern of β-keratin fibers in the feathers of flying birds differs from that in flightless birds: the fibers are better aligned along the shaft axis direction towards the tip, and the lateral walls of rachis region show structure of crossed fibers. Feathers insulate birds from water and cold temperatures. They may also be plucked to line

4275-416: The ancestral state of dinosaurs. In 2010, a carcharodontosaurid named Concavenator corcovatus was found to have remiges on the ulna suggesting it might have had quill-like structures on the ams. However, Foth et al. 2014 disagress with the publication where they point out that the bumps on the ulna of Concavenator are on the anterolateral which is unlike remiges which are in a posterolateral on

4370-421: The barbs themselves are also branched and form the barbules . These barbules have minute hooks called barbicels for cross-attachment. Down feathers are fluffy because they lack barbicels, so the barbules float free of each other, allowing the down to trap air and provide excellent thermal insulation. At the base of the feather, the rachis expands to form the hollow tubular calamus (or quill ) which inserts into

4465-681: The bird's body, they arise only from certain well-defined tracts on the skin. They aid in flight, thermal insulation, and waterproofing. In addition, coloration helps in communication and protection . The study of feathers is called plumology (or plumage science ). People use feathers in many ways that are practical, cultural, and religious. Feathers are both soft and excellent at trapping heat ; thus, they are sometimes used in high-class bedding , especially pillows , blankets , and mattresses . They are also used as filling for winter clothing and outdoor bedding, such as quilted coats and sleeping bags . Goose and eider down have great loft ,

4560-399: The color and pattern of the feathers on Anchiornis and Tupandactylus could be determined. Anchiornis was found to have black-and-white-patterned feathers on the forelimbs and hindlimbs, with a reddish-brown crest. This pattern is similar to the coloration of many extant bird species, which use plumage coloration for display and communication, including sexual selection and camouflage. It

4655-480: The coracoid and humerus seen in palaeloids. True grebes suddenly appear in the fossil record in the Late Oligocene or Early Miocene , around 23–25  mya . There are a few prehistoric genera that are now completely extinct. Thiornis and Pliolymbus date from a time when most if not all extant genera were already present. Because grebes are evolutionarily isolated and they only started to appear in

4750-421: The darker birds confirmed Gloger's rule . Although sexual selection plays a major role in the development of feathers, in particular, the color of the feathers it is not the only conclusion available. New studies are suggesting that the unique feathers of birds are also a large influence on many important aspects of avian behavior, such as the height at which different species build their nests. Since females are

4845-490: The evolution of feathers—theropods with highly derived bird-like characteristics occurred at a later time than Archaeopteryx —suggesting that the descendants of birds arose before the ancestor. However, the discovery of Anchiornis huxleyi in the Late Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation (160 MYA) in western Liaoning in 2009 resolved this paradox. By predating Archaeopteryx , Anchiornis proves

SECTION 50

#1732787416399

4940-614: The evolution of proto-birds like Archaeopteryx and Microraptor zhaoianus . Another theory posits that the original adaptive advantage of early feathers was their pigmentation or iridescence, contributing to sexual preference in mate selection. Dinosaurs that had feathers or protofeathers include Pedopenna daohugouensis and Dilong paradoxus , a tyrannosauroid which is 60 to 70 million years older than Tyrannosaurus rex . The majority of dinosaurs known to have had feathers or protofeathers are theropods , however featherlike "filamentous integumentary structures" are also known from

5035-512: The existence of a modernly feathered theropod ancestor, providing insight into the dinosaur-bird transition. The specimen shows distribution of large pennaceous feathers on the forelimbs and tail, implying that pennaceous feathers spread to the rest of the body at an earlier stage in theropod evolution. The development of pennaceous feathers did not replace earlier filamentous feathers. Filamentous feathers are preserved alongside modern-looking flight feathers – including some with modifications found in

5130-538: The expense of health. A bird's feathers undergo wear and tear and are replaced periodically during the bird's life through molting . New feathers, known when developing as blood, or pin feathers , depending on the stage of growth, are formed through the same follicles from which the old ones were fledged. The presence of melanin in feathers increases their resistance to abrasion. One study notes that melanin based feathers were observed to degrade more quickly under bacterial action, even compared to unpigmented feathers from

5225-419: The face that were used as tactile sensors. While feathers have been suggested as having evolved from reptilian scales , there are numerous objections to that idea, and more recent explanations have arisen from the paradigm of evolutionary developmental biology . Theories of the scale-based origins of feathers suggest that the planar scale structure was modified for development into feathers by splitting to form

5320-411: The feathers of extant diving birds – in 80 million year old amber from Alberta. Two small wings trapped in amber dating to 100 mya show plumage existed in some bird predecessors. The wings most probably belonged to enantiornithes , a diverse group of avian dinosaurs. A large phylogenetic analysis of early dinosaurs by Matthew Baron, David B. Norman and Paul Barrett (2017) found that Theropoda

5415-681: The grebe genera. Bochenski (1994) Podilymbus Poliocephalus Tachybaptus dominicus Tachybaptus novaehollandiae Tachybaptus ruficollis Rollandia Podiceps Podicephorus Aechmophorus Fjeldså (2004) Rollandia Tachybaptus Podilymbus Poliocephalus Podicephorus Aechmophorus Podiceps Ksepka et al. (2013) Dominicus Tachybaptus Poliocephalus Rollandia Podilymbus Podiceps nigricollis Podiceps occipitalis Podiceps auritus Podiceps cristatus Podiceps grisegena Podiceps major Aechmophorus Grebes are

5510-456: The grebe-flamingo clade , the taxon Mirandornithes ("miraculous birds" due to their extreme divergence and apomorphies ) has been proposed. Alternatively, they could be placed in one order, with Phoenocopteriformes taking priority. The fossil record of grebes is incomplete as there are no transitional forms between more conventional birds and grebes known from fossils. The enigmatic waterbird genus Juncitarsus , however, may be close to

5605-460: The highest among birds. The feathers are very dense and strongly curved. In the larger species feathers are more dense but shorter, while the opposite is true in smaller species where the feathers are longer but less dense. The density and length of feathers is correlated exponentially with heat-loss in cold water. For this reason grebes invest plumage maintenance the most in birds in terms of duration of time and energy. The uropygial glands secrete

5700-427: The identification of species in forensic studies, particularly in bird strikes to aircraft. The ratios of hydrogen isotopes in feathers help in determining the geographic origins of birds. Feathers may also be useful in the non-destructive sampling of pollutants. The poultry industry produces a large amount of feathers as waste, which, like other forms of keratin, are slow to decompose. Feather waste has been used in

5795-416: The mid 16th century English as they were said to be chick-like birds that dive. The clade names "Podicipediformes" and "Podicipedidae" is based on the genus Podiceps which is a combination of Latin of podex , gen. podicis ("rear-end" or "anus") and pes ("foot"), a reference to the placement of a grebe's legs towards the rear of its body. Grebes are small to medium-large in size ranging from

SECTION 60

#1732787416399

5890-483: The nest and provide insulation to the eggs and young. The individual feathers in the wings and tail play important roles in controlling flight. Some species have a crest of feathers on their heads. Although feathers are light, a bird's plumage weighs two or three times more than its skeleton, since many bones are hollow and contain air sacs. Color patterns serve as camouflage against predators for birds in their habitats, and serve as camouflage for predators looking for

5985-582: The nest. The height study found that birds that nest in the canopies of trees often have many more predator attacks due to the brighter color of feathers that the female displays. Another influence of evolution that could play a part in why feathers of birds are so colorful and display so many patterns could be due to that birds developed their bright colors from the vegetation and flowers that thrive around them. Birds develop their bright colors from living around certain colors. Most bird species often blend into their environment, due to some degree of camouflage, so if

6080-621: The nests of other species also have host-specific feather lice and these seem to be transmitted only after the young cuckoos leave the host nest. Birds maintain their feather condition by preening and bathing in water or dust . It has been suggested that a peculiar behavior of birds, anting , in which ants are introduced into the plumage, helps to reduce parasites, but no supporting evidence has been found. Bird feathers have long been used for fletching arrows . Colorful feathers such as those belonging to pheasants have been used to decorate fishing lures . Feathers are also valuable in aiding

6175-708: The orders in the zoology part of the Systema Naturae refer to natural groups. Some of his ordinal names are still in use, e.g. Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) and Diptera (flies, mosquitoes, midges, and gnats). In virology , the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses 's virus classification includes fifteen taxomomic ranks to be applied for viruses , viroids and satellite nucleic acids : realm , subrealm , kingdom , subkingdom, phylum , subphylum , class, subclass, order, suborder, family, subfamily , genus, subgenus , and species. There are currently fourteen viral orders, each ending in

6270-462: The original primary function as the feathers simply would not have been capable of providing any form of lift. There have been suggestions that feathers may have had their original function in thermoregulation, waterproofing, or even as sinks for metabolic wastes such as sulphur. Recent discoveries are argued to support a thermoregulatory function, at least in smaller dinosaurs. Some researchers even argue that thermoregulation arose from bristles on

6365-463: The parasite species being specific to the host and coevolving with the host, making them of interest in phylogenetic studies. Feather holes are chewing traces of lice (most probably Brueelia spp. lice) on the wing and tail feathers. They were described on barn swallows , and because of easy countability, many evolutionary, ecological, and behavioral publications use them to quantify the intensity of infestation. Parasitic cuckoos which grow up in

6460-492: The past to dress some of the miniature birds featured in singing bird boxes . This trade caused severe losses to bird populations (for example, egrets and whooping cranes ). Conservationists led a major campaign against the use of feathers in hats. This contributed to passage of the Lacey Act in 1900, and to changes in fashion. The ornamental feather market then largely collapsed. More recently, rooster plumage has become

6555-424: The pelvic girdle. When they do fly, they often launch themselves off from the water and must run along the surface as they flap their wings to provide a lift. Bills vary from short and thick to long and pointed depending on the diet, and are slightly larger in males than in females (though the sizes can overlap between younger males and females). Grebes have unusual plumage . On average grebes have 20,000 feathers,

6650-564: The precursor of the currently used International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants . In the first international Rules of botanical nomenclature from the International Botanical Congress of 1905, the word family ( familia ) was assigned to the rank indicated by the French famille , while order ( ordo ) was reserved for a higher rank, for what in the 19th century had often been named

6745-438: The presence of long cnemial crests in the tarsometatarsus. The patella is separate and supports the tarsometatarsus posteriorly which greatly helps with the contraction in the muscles. They swim by simultaneously spreading out the feet and bringing them inward, with the webbing expanded to produce the forward thrust in much the same way as frogs. However, due to the anatomy of the legs, grebes are not as mobile on land as they are on

6840-432: The prime caregivers, evolution has helped select females to display duller colors down so that they may blend into the nesting environment. The position of the nest and whether it has a greater chance of being under predation has exerted constraints on female birds' plumage. A species of bird that nests on the ground, rather than the canopy of the trees, will need to have much duller colors in order not to attract attention to

6935-466: The rachis and herringbone pattern of the barbs. In the clade Deinonychosauria, the continued divergence of feathers is also apparent in the families Troodontidae and Dromaeosauridae . Branched feathers with rachis, barbs, and barbules were discovered in many members including Sinornithosaurus millenii , a dromaeosaurid found in the Yixian formation (124.6 MYA). Previously, a temporal paradox existed in

7030-502: The rank of family (see ordo naturalis , ' natural order '). In French botanical publications, from Michel Adanson 's Familles naturelles des plantes (1763) and until the end of the 19th century, the word famille (plural: familles ) was used as a French equivalent for this Latin ordo . This equivalence was explicitly stated in the Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle 's Lois de la nomenclature botanique (1868),

7125-654: The recent common ancestors of birds, Oviraptorosauria and Deinonychosauria . In 1998, the discovery of a feathered oviraptorosaurian, Caudipteryx zoui , challenged the notion of feathers as a structure exclusive to Avialae. Buried in the Yixian Formation in Liaoning, China, C. zoui lived during the Early Cretaceous Period. Present on the forelimbs and tails, their integumentary structure has been accepted as pennaceous vaned feathers based on

7220-412: The rictal bristles. Grebes are peculiar in their habit of ingesting their own feathers and feeding them to their young. Observations on their diet of fish and the frequency of feather eating suggest that ingesting feathers, particularly down from their flanks, aids in forming easily ejectable pellets. Contour feathers are not uniformly distributed on the skin of the bird except in some groups such as

7315-579: The same lifestyle at different times and in different habitat. Grebes and loons are now separately classified orders of Podicipediformes and Gaviiformes, respectively. Recent molecular studies have suggested a relation with flamingos , a finding that has been backed up by morphological evidence. They hold at least eleven morphological traits in common not found in other birds. For example, both flamingoes and grebes lay eggs coated with chalky amorphous calcium phosphate. Many of these characteristics have been previously identified in flamingos, but not in grebes. For

7410-413: The same species, than those unpigmented or with carotenoid pigments. However, another study the same year compared the action of bacteria on pigmentations of two song sparrow species and observed that the darker pigmented feathers were more resistant; the authors cited other research also published in 2004 that stated increased melanin provided greater resistance. They observed that the greater resistance of

7505-433: The scale-feather converters Sox2 , Zic1 , Grem1 , Spry2 , and Sox18 . Feathers and scales are made up of two distinct forms of keratin , and it was long thought that each type of keratin was exclusive to each skin structure (feathers and scales). However, feather keratin is also present in the early stages of development of American alligator scales. This type of keratin, previously thought to be specific to feathers,

7600-535: The species habitat is full of colors and patterns, the species would eventually evolve to blend in to avoid being eaten. Birds' feathers show a large range of colors, even exceeding the variety of many plants, leaf, and flower colors. The feather surface is the home for some ectoparasites, notably feather lice ( Phthiraptera ) and feather mites. Feather lice typically live on a single host and can move only from parents to chicks, between mating birds, and, occasionally, by phoresy . This life history has resulted in most of

7695-467: The subfamily of feather β-keratins found in extant birds started to diverge 143 million years ago, suggesting the pennaceous feathers of Anchiornis were not made of the feather β-keratins present in extant birds. However, a study of fossil feathers from the dinosaur Sinosauropteryx and other fossils revealed traces of beta-sheet proteins, using infrared spectroscopy and sulfur-X-ray spectroscopy. The presence of abundant alpha-proteins in some fossil feathers

7790-476: The suffix -virales . Feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage , on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs . They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and an example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They are among the characteristics that distinguish the extant birds from other living groups. Although feathers cover most of

7885-407: The toes and small webs connecting the front three toes. The hind toe also has a small lobe as well. The claws are similar to nails and are flat. These lobate feet act as an oar, as when moving forward they provide minimum resistance and moving backwards they provide a coverage of maximum surface. The leg bones ( femur and tarsometatarsus ) are equal in length, with the femur having a large head and

7980-412: The ulna of some birds, they consider it more likely that these are attachments for interosseous ligaments. This was refuted by Cuesta Fidalgo and her colleagues, they pointed out that these bumps on the ulna are posterolateral which is unlike that of interosseous ligaments. Since the 1990s, dozens of feathered dinosaurs have been discovered in the clade Maniraptora , which includes the clade Avialae and

8075-497: The ultraviolet region, but studies have failed to find evidence. The oil secretion from the uropygial gland may also have an inhibitory effect on feather bacteria. The reds, orange and yellow colors of many feathers are caused by various carotenoids. Carotenoid-based pigments might be honest signals of fitness because they are derived from special diets and hence might be difficult to obtain, and/or because carotenoids are required for immune function and hence sexual displays come at

8170-438: The vaned feathers. The pennaceous feathers are vaned feathers. Also called contour feathers, pennaceous feathers arise from tracts and cover the entire body. A third rarer type of feather, the filoplume , is hairlike and are closely associated with pennaceous feathers and are often entirely hidden by them, with one or two filoplumes attached and sprouting from near the same point of the skin as each pennaceous feather, at least on

8265-422: The visible range. The wing feathers of male club-winged manakins Machaeropterus deliciosus have special structures that are used to produce sounds by stridulation . Some birds have a supply of powder down feathers that grow continuously, with small particles regularly breaking off from the ends of the barbules. These particles produce a powder that sifts through the feathers on the bird's body and acts as

8360-436: The water's surface. The birds build floating vegetative nests where they lay several eggs. About a third of the world's grebes are listed at various levels of conservation concerns—the biggest threats including habitat loss, the introduction of invasive predatory fish and human poaching . As such, three species have gone extinct. The word "grebe" comes from the French grèbe , which is of unknown origin and dating to 1766. It

8455-407: The water. Although they can run for a short distance, they are prone to falling over, since they have their feet placed far back on the body. The wing shape varies depending on the species, ranging from moderately long to incredibly short and rounded in shape. The wing anatomy in grebes has a relatively short and thin carpometacarpus - phalanges component which supports their primary feathers, while

8550-480: The webbing; however, that developmental process involves a tubular structure arising from a follicle and the tube splitting longitudinally to form the webbing. The number of feathers per unit area of skin is higher in smaller birds than in larger birds, and this trend points to their important role in thermal insulation, since smaller birds lose more heat due to the relatively larger surface area in proportion to their body weight. The miniaturization of birds also played

8645-675: The word pen itself is derived from the Latin penna , meaning feather. The French word plume can mean feather , quill , or pen . Feathers are among the most complex integumentary appendages found in vertebrates and are formed in tiny follicles in the epidermis , or outer skin layer, that produce keratin proteins . The β-keratins in feathers, beaks and claws – and the claws, scales and shells of reptiles – are composed of protein strands hydrogen-bonded into β-pleated sheets , which are then further twisted and crosslinked by disulfide bridges into structures even tougher than

8740-490: The yellow to red psittacofulvins (found in some parrots ) and the red turacin and green turacoverdin ( porphyrin pigments found only in turacos ). Structural coloration is involved in the production of blue colors, iridescence , most ultraviolet reflectance and in the enhancement of pigmentary colors. Structural iridescence has been reported in fossil feathers dating back 40 million years. White feathers lack pigment and scatter light diffusely; albinism in birds

8835-418: Was adopted by Systema Naturae 2000 and others. In botany , the ranks of subclass and suborder are secondary ranks pre-defined as respectively above and below the rank of order. Any number of further ranks can be used as long as they are clearly defined. The superorder rank is commonly used, with the ending -anae that was initiated by Armen Takhtajan 's publications from 1966 onwards. The order as

8930-512: Was by assuming that primitive pterosaurs were scaly. A 2016 study analyzes the pulp morphology of the tail bristles of Psittacosaurus and finds they are similar to feathers but notes that they are also similar to the bristles on the head of the Congo peafowl , the beard of the turkey , and the spine on the head of the horned screamer . A reestimation of maximum likelihoods by paleontologist Thomas Holtz finds that filaments were more likely to be

9025-674: Was shown to be an artefact of the fossilization process, as beta-protein structures are readily altered to alpha-helices during thermal degradation. In 2019, scientists found that genes for the production of feathers evolved at the base of archosauria, supporting that feathers were present at early ornithodirans and is consistent with the fossil record. Several non-avian dinosaurs had feathers on their limbs that would not have functioned for flight. One theory suggests that feathers originally evolved on dinosaurs due to their insulation properties; then, small dinosaur species which grew longer feathers may have found them helpful in gliding, leading to

#398601