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Population Dynamics - http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Population_Dynamics.html
Essay discussing the factors behind the variation in the number of individuals in a bird population over time. |
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Territoriality - http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Territoriality.html
Article describing how birds try to exclude others of the same species from their home range. |
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Bird Skull Collection - http://www.skullsite.co.uk/
Images and data about skulls of western Palearctic and Tropical species, with complete skeletons of some species. |
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Index of Lectures - http://www.ornithology.com/lectures/Introduction.html
A series of articles on different aspects of bird biology such as feathers, flight, respiration, territoriality, reproduction and metabolism. |
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Vocal Dialects - http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Vocal_Dialects.html
Article describing how the songs of many avian species show geographic variation. |
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Vocal Functions - http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Vocal_Functions.html
Songs identify the species of the singing bird. The territorial song of males serves the dual purpose of territorial proclamation directed at other males and of mate attraction directed toward females. |
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Sexual Selection - http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Sexual_Selection.html
Female birds of some species tend to choose as mates those males holding the most desirable territories, but there is little evidence that females preferentially select males with different degrees of ornamentation. |
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Parental Care - http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Parental_Care.html
The young of passerines when first hatched are naked, blind, and helpless and require much care which involves feeding, training and protection from predators. |
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Site Tenacity - http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Site_Tenacity.html
Many birds return to the same nesting site each season. This essay discusses why this should be so. |
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Polygyny - http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Polygyny.html
Most birds are monogamous, but in some species the occurrence of polygyny, where one male mates with more than one female, is related to high-quality territories with an abundance of resources. |
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Creches - http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Creches.html
Article describing how some birds adopt the strategy of grouping their young, leaving them with a guardian while both parents go off to forage. |
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Incubation: Heating the Egg - http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Incubation.html
Most birds create the required temperature by sitting on their eggs but some transfer heat through their webbed feet, and the megapodes of Australia bury them in a mound of decaying vegetation. |
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The Mystery of Migration - http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/migration.htm
Article that tries to answer the question of how and why birds migrate. |
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ABCD: Avian Brain Circuitry Database - http://www.behav.org/abcd/abcd.php?proc=ares
Searchable database of the regions of a bird’s brain. |
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Avian Reproduction: Clutch Size, Incubation and Hatching - http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/avianreproduction2.html
Notes on clutch size optimization in birds, reproductive success, embryo development, incubation and the hatching process, with links to other similar articles. |
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A Qualitative and Quantitative Study of the Lung of an Ostrich - http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/full/204/13/2313
The colossal body size, the relinquishment of flight and the extreme thermal stresses on the ground make the examination of an ostrich’s lungs rewarding. |
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Flight in Birds - http://www.earthlife.net/birds/flight.html
How do birds fly? An introduction to flight in birds examining wing shape, airflows, flapping flight and gliding. |
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Bird Feathers - http://petcaretips.net/bird-feather.html
This article discusses the features of feathers and the different types of feathers found on different parts of the bird. |
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Flapping Flight: Inertial Studies - http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/198/8/1655
Technical article by researchers at Bristol University who measured the wings of bats and birds and calculated their efficiency in flight. |
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When and How do Birds Migrate - http://www.earthlife.net/birds/migration2.html
Article discussing the varying strategies adopted by birds in finding their way when taking part in their long distance journeys. |
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The Structure of Avian Skin and Feathers - http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~timn/THE%20STRUCTURE%20OF%20AVIAN%20SKIN%20AND%20FEATHERS.doc
Technical article describing a bird's skin and associated structures, its feathers, beak, claws and spurs. |
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Chicken Embryo - http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artnov04macro/mlchicken.html
A number of fine photographs of the development of a chick inside the egg. |
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Birdcall synthesis - http://www.obiwannabe.co.uk/tutorials/html/tutorial_birds.html
Article describing how birds use their syrinx, throat and beak to make a wide range of tones without the sophisticated muscle structure possessed by humans. |
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Mechanics of Respiration in Birds - http://education.vetmed.vt.edu/Curriculum/VM8054/Labs/Lab26/Notes/birdresp.htm
Notes and diagrams explaining how birds ventilate their lungs. |
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Development and Uses of Avian Skeleton Collections - http://www.boc-online.org/PDF/vol124/Storrs%20Olson.pdf
Skeletons are essential for the identification of fossils, bones from archaeological sites and food items taken by predators as well as histological and physiological studies. |
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Beak - http://www.ipedia.net/information/Beak
Article describing the anatomy of this distinctive feature of birds which, in addition to eating, can be used for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, probing for food, courtship, and feeding the young. |
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The Normal Moulting Process in Birds - http://www.parrotpassionsuk.com/Advice/Moulting.htm
Talk given by Avian Vet A. K. Jones to a conference of the Association of Avian Veterinarians in August 1998. |
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The Atlas of Bird Migration - http://www.brownreference.com/php/PDFS/AN_Title_Information/457---Sample_Spreads.pdf
Comprehensive article on the great challenge faced by long distance migrants which have to find their way to winter quarters and return to their breeding grounds in the spring. |
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Bird Respiratory System - http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/RITCHISO/birdrespiration.html
Article explaining how air sacs play an important part in the gaseous exchange in birds, with many diagrams. |
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The Making of an Egg - http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0021.html
Describes the development of the egg of a bird from the release of a mature ovum to the completed egg with shell being laid. |