Glossary
A
- amphibians
- - Cold-blooded animals with smooth skin - salamanders, newts, frogs, toads
- asymmetric
- - Not the same on each side of the body
- atmospheric pollution
- - Pollution of the air
- aves
- - the Latin word for birds; a special class of vertebrates
B
- binocular vision
- - seeing only one object at a time; both eyes focus on the same object
- bird of prey
- - a carnivorous bird (hawk, falcon, eagle, etc.) that kills and eats small mammals and other birds
- botulism
- - Poisoning from spoiled food
C
- carnivore
- - Meat eater
- carrion
- - decaying flesh of a dead body
- cere
- - fleshy area above the beak, where the nostrils of most birds are located
- cold-blooded
- - animals that can only control their body temperatures by moving into warmer or cooler areas
- concave
- - Wings that are flat or slightly curved on the bottom
- cones
- - Cells of the eye sensitive to color
- conserving energy
- - To keep from using energy by resting or gliding when possible
- contour feathers
- - stiff feathers designed to cover the wings and body of a bird
- convex
- - Wings that are curved on top
- crop
- - a large sac between the esophagus and stomach that stores food until the bird is ready to begin digestion
D
- diurnal
- - Daytime hunters
- domestic
- - Any animal used by man - not wild
- down feathers
- - fluffy feathers designed to help insulate and keep a bird warm
- drag
- - anything that hinders or hampers the speed; something that pulls you down
E
- electrocution
- - Injury or death from electricity
- environmental contamination
- - Pollution of the environment
- esophagus
- - Portion of the body that connects the mouth with the stomach
F
- falconiformes
- - Related to falcons; hawks, osprey, eagles, etc
- fledge
- - the rearing of a young bird until it has grown its feathers and is able to fly and leave the nest
- flight feathers
- - special contour feathers that help a bird get off the ground, move in the air, and land safely
- foragers
- - Scavenge for food - eats discarded food
- fovea
- - a rodless area of the retina enabling a bird of prey acute vision
G
- gizzard
- - a special muscle of the stomach that helps the digestive process by grinding and crushing hard-to-digest food; acts like teeth
I
- incubating
- - Keep eggs warm until hatching
- insects
- - Small air breathing animal with three body parts
- instinct
- - Comes by nature - not taught
K
- keratin
- - a tough, fibrous protein; the basic substance of hair, nails, horns, feathers, shafts, etc
M
- mammals
- - animals that give milk to young and have hair
- migration
- - The seasonal movement from one region to another
- molt
- - to shed feathers, skin, horns, etc. before replacement with new growth
- monocular vision
- - seeing two different objects at the same time; a different object per eye
N
- nictitating membrane
- - a transparent third eyelid hinged at the lower lid of the eye of raptors, and closes laterally across the eye
- nocturnal
- - Nighttime hunters
O
- ornithologist
- - an individual that studies birds
P
- parasites
- - Any living thing that lives in or on another for food
- pectoral
- - Chest muscles attached to the wings
- pellet
- - the unusable and undigested material that a bird cannot process for nutrients, and is regurgitated in the form of a pellet
- pesticides
- - A chemical for the use of killing plant or animal pests
- physique
- - Physical or body structure
- predators
- - Any animal that hunts for its food
- preening
- - a process that most birds do with an oil secreted from a special gland; involves rubbing the oil over its feathers to protect them
R
- rapere
- - To seize or capture
- raptor
- - of or belonging to a group of birds of prey, such as hawks, eagles, falcons, vultures, owls, etc.; Latin word meaning to seize or capture
- regulations
- - laws
- regurgitated
- - To vomit
- reptiles
- - Animals that are cold blooded have scaly skin - snakes, lizards, turtles
- rodents
- - Small nibbling animals; rats, mice, squirrels
S
- shaft
- - the stem of a feather; the hollow tube that holds the feathers together and in place
- sockets
- - Also called the orbit; the space in the skull in which the eye rests
- stamina
- - The ability to endure
- strigiformes
- - Scientific name for owls
- symmetric
- - Found on both sides of the body
T
- talons
- - the lethal weapons of raptors; powerful feet with toes (usually three or four) having sharp ends
- tomial
- - The cutting edge of a bird's beak
- transparent
- - Allows light through
V
- vertebrates
- - an animal with a backbone or spinal column
W
- warm-blooded
- - being able to control and maintain a constant body temperature even when the temperature of the environment changes
- wings
- - either of the paired organs of flight of a bird, bat, insect, etc
