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Information about Plumage

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The differences in plumage of a Blue Grosbeak, from top to bottom, between a breeding male (alternate plumage) a non-breeding male (basic plumage), a female and a related Indigo Bunting
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a number of different colour morphs. Differences in plumage are used by ornithologists and birdwatchers in order to distinguish between species and collect other species specific information.

Basic and alternate plumage

Almost all species of birds moult at least annually, usually after the breeding season. This resulting covering of feathers, which will last either until the next breeding season or until the next annual moult, is known as the basic plumage. Many species undertake another moult prior to the breeding season known as the pre-alternate moult, the resulting breeding plumage being known as the alternate plumage. The alternate plumage is often brighter than the basic plumage, for the purposes of sexual display, but may also be cryptic in order to hide incubating birds that might be vulnerable on the nest.[1]

Most nuptial male ducks have bright, colorful plumage, exhibiting strong sexual dimorphism to attract the females. However, they moult into a dull plumage in the non-breeding season. This drab female-like appearance is the eclipse plumage. When they shed feathers to go into eclipse, the ducks become flightless for a short period of time. Some duck species remain in eclipse for one to three months in the summer, while other would retain the cryptic plumage until the next spring when they undergo another moult to return to their fancy breeding garb.

Abnormal plumage

There are hereditary as well as non-hereditary variations in plumage that are rare and termed as abnormal plumages. These include excessive dark pigmentation or melanism, lack of pigmentation ranging from leucism to albinism, presence of excessive red or yellow pigmentation leading to, respectively, erythrism or xanthochroism. There can also be polymorphism in some birds particularly the owls and cuckoos where certain colour variations are more widespread and examples of these include the hepatic forms of cuckoos.

Such abnormalities can be present throughout the bird or restricted to specific feather tracts.

References

1. ^ Humphrey, P.S. and K.C. Parkes. 1959. An approach to the study of molts and plumages. Auk 76: 1-31 PDF


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Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds. They are the outstanding characteristic that distinguishes the Class Aves from all other living groups. Other Theropoda also had feathers (see Feathered dinosaurs).
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Aves
Linnaeus, 1758

Orders

About two dozen - see section below

Birds (class Aves) are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals.
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Ornithology (from Greek: ορνισ, ornis, "bird"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of birds.
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Birdwatching or birding is the observation and study of birds with the naked eye or through a visual enhancement device like binoculars. Most birders and birdwatchers pursue this activity for recreational or social reasons unlike ornithologists who are engaged in the
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In biology, moulting (or molting,[1] also known as shedding or for some species, ecdysis) signifies the manner in which an animal routinely casts off a part of its body (often but not always an outer layer or covering), either at specific times of
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Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. The ducks are divided between several subfamilies listed in full in the Anatidae article. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than their relatives the swans and geese, and may be found in
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Sexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species. Examples include size, color, and the presence or absence of parts of the body used in courtship displays or fights, such as ornamental feathers, horns, antlers or tusks.
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Aves
Linnaeus, 1758

Orders

About two dozen - see section below

Birds (class Aves) are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals.
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Bird anatomy, or the physiological structure of birds' bodies, shows many unique adaptations, mostly aiding flight. Birds have evolved a light skeletal system and light but powerful muculature which, along with circulatory and respiratory systems capable of very high metabolic
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Flight is the main mode of locomotion used by most of the world's bird species. It assists birds while feeding, breeding and avoiding predators.

Evolution and purpose of bird flight


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In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo.
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Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds. They are the outstanding characteristic that distinguishes the Class Aves from all other living groups. Other Theropoda also had feathers (see Feathered dinosaurs).
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evolution of birds is thought to have begun in the Jurassic Period, with the earliest birds derived from theropod dinosaurs. Birds are categorized as a biological class, Aves.
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Archaeopteryx
Meyer, 1861

Species

A. lithographica Meyer, 1861 (type)
Synonyms

See below Archaeopteryx (from Ancient Greek archaios
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Enantiornithes
Walker, 1981

Orders

see text
Synonyms

Enantiornithomorpha
Chiappe, 1999

Enantiornithes

Enantiornithes is an extinct group of flying Protobirds.
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bird hybrid is basically a bird that has two different species as parents. The resulting bird can present with any combination of characters from the parent species, from totally identical to completely different.
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Prehistoric birds are various taxa of birds that became extinct before recorded history, or more precisely, before they could be studied alive by bird scientists. They are known from subfossil remains and sometimes folk memory, as in the case of Haast's Eagle from New Zealand.
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Please be aware that taxonomic assignments, especially in the pygostylian to early neornithine genera, are still very provisional and subject to quite frequent change.

†"Proto-birds"


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The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy is a radical bird taxonomy proposed by Charles Sibley and Jon Edward Ahlquist. It is based on DNA-DNA hybridization studies conducted in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s (Sibley & Ahlquist 1990).
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birds have become extinct, and this rate of extinction seems to be increasing. The situation is exemplified by Hawai‘i, where 30% of all known recently extinct species originally lived.
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Bird songs are certain vocal sounds that birds make. In non-technical use, these are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology, bird 'songs' are often distinguished from shorter sounds, which may be termed 'calls'.
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Bird intelligence deals with the definition of intelligence and its measurement as it applies to birds. Traditionally, birds have been considered inferior in intelligence to mammals, and derogatory terms such as bird brains have been used colloquially in some cultures.
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Bird migration refers to the regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of birds. Migrations include movements of varied distances made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather.
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The word incubate in the context of birds refers to the development of the chick (embryo) within the egg and the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period.
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Brood parasites are organisms that use the strategy of brood-parasitism, a kind of kleptoparasitism found among birds, fish or insects, involving the manipulation and use of host individuals either of the same (intraspecific brood-parasitism) or different species
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Struthioniformes
Latham, 1790

Families

Struthionidae (ostriches)
Rheidae (rheas)
Casuariidae (emus etc.)
†Aepyornithidae (elephant birds)
†Dinornithidae (moa)
Apterygidae (kiwis)

A ratite
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Tinamiformes
Huxley, 1872

Family: Tinamidae
G.R. Gray, 1840

Genera

Tinamus
Nothocercus
Crypturellus
Rhynchotus
Nothoprocta
Nothura

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Anseriformes
Wagler, 1831

Families
  • Anhimidae
  • Anseranatidae
  • Anatidae
  • †Dromornithidae
  • †Presbyornithidae
  • †Gastornidae(?)


The order Anseriformes
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Galliformes
Temminck, 1820

Families

Megapodiidae
Numididae
Odontophoridae
Phasianidae
Meleagrididae
Tetraonidae
Cracidae
(?)Mesitornithidae
Galliformes
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