Habit And Habitat Of Birds

INTRODUCTION 

 

Their are numbers Of variety of birds and animals.

The study of birds which is called ornithology includes their habit, habitat, migration, nesting, feeding and breeding. 

Birds watching is a favourite pastime of not only naturalist and researchers, but also of amateurs.

                                          MIGRATION 

1) Speaking of long distances, the northern wheatear travels up to 9,000 miles each way between the Arctic and Africa, giving it one of the largest ranges of any songbird. What makes this an amazing feat is that the tiny bird weighs less than an ounce, on average.  

2)Even birds that don’t fly migrate. Emus, the large Australian birds, often travel for miles on foot to find food, and many populations of penguins migrate by swimming. 

                                                               HOUSE SPARROW

House Sparrow is a social (gregarious) bird. Average lifespan of House Sparrow is between 10 to 14 years. 

Nesting and breeding season varies according to climate and usually extends from March to September or throughout the year.  

Nest is placed in a hole in wall or ceiling, niche, gargoyle, inverted lamp shade, and in every conceivable situation within or on the outside of a tenanted building. 

MACAW BIRD 

With their large sickle-shaped beaks, macaws can crack open hard-shelled seeds and nuts, dislodging the nutmeat with their blunt muscular tongues. The beak also serves as a third foot as the macaw climbs about in trees searching for seeds, as well as fruits, flowers, and leaves. 

One species, the blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna), has been recorded eating at least 20 species of plants, including many toxic to humans. In Manú National Park in Peru, the members of five macaw species converge by the hundreds at mineral-rich riverbanks to eat the clay there, which may help them detoxify compounds in their diet. 

VULTURE 

A group of vultures perching together is called a “committee,” “venue,” or “volt.” When in flight they are called a “kettle,” and when feeding together at a carcass, they are referred to as a “wake.” 

The larger vulture species require a habitat that allows them to see or smell carrion while they soar in the sky. This means their habitats usually include plains or savannas, although some live in open mountain regions. Some smaller vulture species can be found in suburban areas.

NOCTURNAL OWL 

The type of food owls eat depends on the species of the owl. These birds feed entirely on living animals with the size of the prey proportional to the size of the bird, from insects to mammals as large as hares. 

A Barn Owl for instance may eat mice, rats and voles. A Barred Owl may also eat mice and voles but will also eat snakes, salamanders and frogs.

Let`s talk about rabbits

                                     So did you know

                                         There are more than 60 breeds of rabbits

Rabbits rang in size from the dwarf breeds, weighing around 1kg{2lbs} to the giant breeds, weighing around 6-7kg {13-16lbs}.

                     

                       

Life span

The smaller breeds are longer-lived, with almost dwarf and small rabbits, up to around 2.5kg {5lbs}, living on average 8-12years.

Medium sized breeds generally live around 6-8years and the large and giant breeds tend to have the shortest lifespan at around 5-6years.

Some netherland dwarfs reach 14-16years and some giants have been known to live 7-8years.

Phylum- Mollusca.... Animal- Nautilus

NAUTILUS

DESCRIPTION

It is a marine cephalopod found in sea-water in Indo-Pacific region, in shallow waters and between the coral walls. It belongs to sub-class Nautiloidea.

NAUTILUS.

The shell of Nautilus is external and spirally coiled. Its outer surface has yellow-brown stripes like ZEBRA. Internal layer of shell is shiny like bead. The cavity of shell is divided into many chambers by a septa. The outermost chamber is the largest and called body chamber which encloses the entire body of Nautilus.

Nautilus: (A) Animal with shell, (B) Shell in section.

Centre pore is present in each septa. From these pores emerge a mantle cord called siphuncle. It helps the animal to excrete gas into the empty chambers. It is differentiated into trunk, head is long and conical bearing a mouth, a pair of eyes and about 90 filiform tentacles without suckers.

Nautilus

Trunk is round and bag-like. Ink-gland is absent. Ospharidium is present. It is nocturnal and rests on the sea surface during day.

Phylum- Protozoa.... Animal- Nycotherus

NYCTOTHERUS

CLASSIFICATION

Phylum- Protozoa

Sub-phylum- Ciliophora

Class- Holotricha

Order- Trichostomatida

Genus- Nycotherus

DESCRIPTION

Nyctotherus is found as symbiont in the intestine of vertebrate and invertrbrate animals. Its body is dorsoventrally flattened and bean-shaped. Longitudinal rows of equal sized cilia are found all over the body.

Vestibule leading to cytostome is on lateral side and extended up to the middle of the body. Cytostome has dermal membrane and the cytopharynx is like spring of watch. There is one macronucleus. One micronucleus, one contractile vacuole, food vacuoles and glycogen granules in cytoplasm (endoplasm) cytopyge (anal aperture) in the form of a permanent pore. Asexual reproduction in nyctotherus takes place by binary fission.

It forms preconjuganṭs in the rectum of tadpole which conjugate during the metamorphosis of tadpole into adult frog. They assume normal size and shape in young frogs and pass out in the form of cyst with faeces. Infection takes place by consuming water and food contaminated with cysts.

Phylum- Porifera.... Animal- Chalina

CHALINA

CLASSIFICATION

Phylum- Porifera

     Class- Demospongiae

Sub-class- Ceractinomorpha

   Order- Haplosclerida

  Genus- Clalina

Chalina       

DESCRIPTION

This is found in deep water sea of Europe and America. Body is red, brown (burnt amber) or yellow brown in colour. It looks like a small plant. Several flat and finger-shaped branches arise from the body. Because if its resemblance with hand it is popularly known as Deadmans finger or Mermaids gloves.

Its skeleton is made up of monaxon spicules and spongin fibres. Asxeual reproduction takes place by budding and regeneration. Freely swimming larva is formed on sexual reproduction.

Phylum- Coelenterata.... Animal- Metridium

PHYLUM- COELENTERATA

ANIMAL- Metridium.

CLASSIFICATION

Phylum- Cnidaria or Coelenterata

     Class- Anthozoa

Sub-class- Hexacorallia

       Order- Actiniaria

Genus- Metridium

DESCRIPTION

Metridium is a common Sea anemone also referred as Sea flower. They are large, solitary, sessile, marine animals found along the coastal regions of Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The body is divided into an oral and basal disc. A large mouth is present in the centre of the oral disc and surrounded by a whorl of tentacles. The main body can be differentiated into a dorsal capitulum below the oral disc and a ventral or lower, thick-walled scapus or column. Both these portions are separated by a narrow collar. Basal disc is highly muscular and flattened, which remains attached to the substratum. They are unisexual, example,  the sexes are separate and gonads develop on the mesenteries.

Digestive system of sea star(Asterias)

Digestive system

The digestive system of Asterias can be divided into the following parts-

[1] Alimentary canal,

[2] Digestive glands.

[1] ALIMENTARY CANAL

In star fish, the alimentary canal is small, wider and complete and is situated in the center disc. This can be divide into the following parts-

[1] Mouth- This is situated as a pentagonal aperture in the center of central disc on its oral surfaces and is surrounded by a delicate perioral membrane called peristome. It is guarded by five groups of tubercles called mouth papillae or oral spines situated at interradial position. The mouth is surrounded by sphincter muscles which are capable of opening and closing the mouth aperture.

[2] Oesophagus- Mouth opens in a small and wide vertical tube situated in the central disc. This is called oesophagus. The basal parts of oesophagus expands to form a wide stomach.

[3] Stomach- This is in the form of aboard chamber acquiring most of the inner area of central disc. It is differentiated into the following two parts-

[1] Cardiac stomach- This part of stomach is large, oval and differentiated into five lobes. All the five lobes are situated straight forwards the five arms. Its wall are thin, muscular and highly folded. During feeding the cardiac stomach can be everted out through the mouth. This action occurs as a result of contradiction of muscles of body wall and pressure created by the coelomic fluid. Whereas the stomach is withdrawn inside the body as a result of contraction of five pairs of retractor muscles. These five muscles connect the cardiac stomach with the ambulacral ridges of all the five arms. These retractor muscles are largely composed of connective tissues and few muscles fibers which are commonly called as mesenteries or gastic filaments.

[2] Pyloric stomach- This is a small, flat and pentagonal part of stomach which opens in the intestine inside the aboral surface of the body. Each arm of this stomach is situated straight towards each arm of the star fish. In each arm of the pyloric stomach, pyloric duet of the concerned pyloric caeca or digestive gland opens.  

[4] Intestine- It is in the form of a small, narrow pentagonal tube which extend vertically towards the aboral surface and open out through the anus. Two or three branched brown-coloured processes called intestine or rectal caeca arise from the intestine in the inter-radial position. These caeca secrete a type of brown-coloured fluid which is probably excretory in nature. The portion of the intestine behind the caeca is called as rectum.

[5] Anus- This is in the form of a small, circular aperture situated on the aboral surface towards one side of central disc.

[2] DIGESTIVE GLANDS

In Asterias, the digestive gland is found in the form of five pairs of pyloric caeca whose every pair is situated inside each arm and remains extended upto its end. Inside the arm it is connected to the aboral body surface by a pair of longitudinal mesenteries. Each pyloric caecum consists of a hollow longitudinal axis or duct from which many green or almond-coloured sacs are connected. The longitudinal pyloric ducts of both the pyloric caeca of an arm open in a common pyloric duct whose terminal and opens into pyloric stomach.

                                     Asterias : Showing alimentary canal in aboral view.

       All the sacs of pyloric caeca are internally lined with epithelial layer containing four types of flagellated columnar cells-

[1] Secretory or granular cells- These cells secrete proteolytic, amylolytic and lipolytic enzymes that is why the pyloric caeca of these animals is considered to be equivalent to the pancreas of vertebrates.

                                  Asterias : V.S. of disc and an arm (digrammatic) 

[2] Mucous cells- These cells secrete mucus.

[3] Storage cells- These cells store reserve food like lipids, glycogen and protein polysaccharide complex etc.

                                  Asterias : Pyloric stomach and intestine.

[4] Current producing cells- The cells have long flagellae which drive secreted enzymes towards stomach.

FOOD AND FEEDING MECHANISM

Food- Sea star is carnivorous animal. It feeds upon marine sedentary animals such as clams, oysters, mussels, snails, crabs, barnacles, worms, etc. It also feeds upon small fishes.

Feeding Machanism- Star fish catches and feeds upon its prey by a peculiar method. It catches crawling shelled molluscs like oysters, clams etc. with the help of its arms and the tube feet and brings the free ends of shell near its mouth. Simultaneously it curves its body like an arch or umbrella and manages to pull apart both the valves of shell by holding the shell valves tightly with the help of tube feet. Meanwhile the tube feet present at the tips of its arm tightly attach with the substratum. The tube feet holding the valves of the prey maintain a continuous pressure over the valves so that the adductor muscles of the prey which close the valve and cannot remain in contraction phase for a longer period ultimately become relaxed resulting into opening of the valves. Now, the star fish everts out its cardiac stomach to engulf the prey.

                                                 

                                                  

DIGESTION, ABSORPTION AND EGESTION

The star fish while everting its cardiac stomach over its prey simultaneously ejaculates digestive enzymes secreted by the stomach and pyloric caeca over the prey. These enzymes are chiefly proteolytic, amylase and lipase which digest proteins into amino acids, carbohydrates into glucose and fats into fatty acids and glycerol respectively. Thus in the star fish, most of the digestion occurs outside the body. With the retraction of cardiac stomach the semi-digested food reaches into the alimentary canal. The retraction of cardiac stomach occurs as a result of contraction of gastric ligaments. Semi-digested food is completely digested in stomach and pyloric caeca.

Digested food is absorbed in pyloric caeca and is distributed throughout the body by the coelomic fluid. Additional food is stored in the storage cells of pyloric caeca.

As it has been described above that the star fish engulfs semi-digested food, the undigested residue is very less which is egested out through mouth itself but small amount of undigested food is egested out through the amus also.

Rotifera (description and main features of Rotifera)

ROTIFERA 

DESCRIPTION

Rotifera are found in abundance in freshwater. These are also known as wheel animalcule. These are the most minute animals of Metazoa. The body of these animals is transparent and inner body activities can be observed form outside in living state. 

These animals were discovered by Leeuwenhoek (1703). Initially, they were placed in protozoa groups. Ehrenberg, (1838) placed them separately in class infusoria. The word Rotifera has been originated from two Latin word rota(meaning: wheel) and ferre(meaning: to bear). Hence, Rotifera means wheel bearers. 

These animals were named because the cilia present on the disc-shaped lobes on their head move in sequence giving the impression that a wheel is moving on their head. 

Main features of Rotifera are-

(1) They are microscopic animals. 

(2) Body is unsegmented. 

(3) Bilateral symmetry is found. 

(4) These are free-floating animals in which a ciliary apparatus known as corona, is present at the anterior end which helps in locomotion and feeding. 

(5) There is a muscular pharynx which has movable jaws. 

(6) Excretion occurs through flame bulb nephridia which directly open in cloaca. 

(7) There is no any separate organ for respiration and fluid circulation is found. 

(8) Male and female sexes are separate and Structurally different. In this way they are dioecious and there is sexual dimorphism in them. 

Digestive system of Balanoglossus (Phylum- Hemichordates)

(i) Alimentary canal:

In alimentary canal of Balanoglossus is a straight pipe-like structure situated antero-posteriorly in the body. It is divided into four parts--

(1) Mouth:

It is a broad circular pore situated in between proboscis stalk and collarette on the ventral surface. It is permanently opened.

(2) Buccal tube and Buccal cavity:

The short buccal cavity lies in the collar region. It is lined with ciliated and glandular cells. From its roof arises a stiff, hollow buccal diverticulum extending into the proboscis coelom. Posteriorly it extends up to the collar-trunk septum and then extends into the trunk as pharynx.

(3) Pharynx:

It is situated in the bronchial region of the trunk. One both of the lateral sides of its wall lateral longitudinal constrictions are found. Each of these lateral longitudinal constriction protrudes one in the pharynx and are known as parabranchial ridges. These are lined by long columnar cells. These lateral longitudinal constrictions and parabranchial ridge divide the pharynx in an upper clome or branchial part and the second lower digestive part.

(i) Branchial part:

It is an upper part of pharynx related with respiration. A row of gill pores is situated on each of its dorsolateral surfaces. Each gill pore is U shaped and opens in a branchial sac. This has been well discribed in respiration process.

(ii) Digestive part:

It is lower part of pharynx which is concerned with digestion of food and its absorption. Its inner wall is lined by ciliated epithelial cells which contain glandular cells also.

(iii) Oesophagus:

Behind the last pair of gill-slits the pharynx continues into the oesophagus. The dorsal and ventral division of the pharynx continues for some distance into the oesophagus; in this region, the dorsal part of the oesophagus is called post-branchial canal which possesses thick, folded and glandular epithelium. The posterior part of the oesophagus reduces in diameter and has deeply furrowed epithelium.

(4) Intestine:

Behind the oesophagus is an intestine. It occupies the hepatic and post-hepatic regions of the trunk. The hepatic region of the intestine is highly vascular. Its epithelial cells are dark green or dark brown and its dorsal wall forms numerous prominent sacculations called hepatic caeca which push the body wall outwards and are, thus, visible externally.

The post- hepatic region of the intestine is connected with the ventral body wall by the pygochord. The intestine has the form of a simple tube and bears a pair of dorso-lateral grooves lined by tall epithelial cells bearing long cilia.

(5) Anus:

Posteriorly the intestine opens out through the anus situated at the extreme hind end of the body. The anus often possesses sphincter muscles.

(ii) Food and feeding mechanisms:

Balanoglossus is a ciliary feeder animal. Its main food are microscopic organisms and inorganic particles which are found on bed sand and in water around its burrow. Lateral cilia lining the gill pores produce water current which enters into mouth cavity through mouth opening and moves through pharynx, gill slits and gill sacs to come outward through gill pores. This water current is known as respiratory cum food water current. It helps both in food absorption and respiration.

Some food particles coming through the water current directly enter into mouth whereas some get entangled into mucous membrane after coming in contact with proboscis. This mucous is secreted by glandular cells present in proboscis epithelium. These cilia lining the proboscis, pass the food particles containing mucous membrane towards the pre-oral ciliary organ at the base of proboscis in the form a mucous chord. The pre-oral ciliary organ now pushes particles on mucous choro towards posterior part of mouth.

There are U shaped epidermal depressions at the base of the ventral layer of proboscis. These are surrounded by long epidermal cells containing long cilia. This Structure is known as pre-oral ciliary organ. These organ examine the food particles and water coming in the mouth. After testing the food particles not useful for entering into mouth are stopped to enter into mouth by lower part of collarette. This action is accomplished by shutting the mouth and the unwanted food particles do not enter and pass posteriorly through the upper collar region

(iii) Digestion:

Cilia present in the alimentary canal continously push the food backward inside this canal. Food moves through lower enzymatic region of pharynx where some enzymatic glandular cells present there secrete and mix the enzymes in the food. Such enzymes help in the digestion of the food. There is absorption of digested food in the intestine. Rest of the sand and silt particle coming through the water current are expelled outside with undigested food through the anus. 

Short information about ASTERIAS (star fish)

INTRODUCTION AND DEFINATION.

Radially symmetrical metazoans which have calcified ossicles and spicules in their leathery skin (Gr. Echinos = spiny, dermates = skin). Hence they are known as spiny skinned animals. Their 6750 living species and 20,000 extinct (fossilized) species have been reported so far. All are exclusively marine.

They have as endoskleton composed of calcareous paltes and spines. Some very beautiful animals like star fishes, sea-cucumbers, brittle stars, sea-urchins and sea-illies are included in this phylum.

Asterias which is familiar to everyone and which is commonly called as star fish comes under class Asteroides of this phylum. Its specific features is central disc from which five (or more) arms originate. These are not actual fishes therefore it will be more appropriate to call them sea star instead of star fish.

Luidia, Pentaceros, Solater, Heliaster and Asterias etc. Are common genera of sea stars.

Classification

Kingdom = Animalia 

Phylum = Ecinodermata 

Class = Asteroidea 

Order = Forcipulatida 

Family = Asteriidae 

Genus = Asterias.

EXTERNAL FEATURES

(1) Shape and size - sea stars have pentamerous radial symmetry which is originated from by the bilateral symmetry of its larva. These are star-shaped and are about 25cm in diameter. There is an indistinct central disc in the body of ASTERIAS from which arise five long and tapering arms. In few animals of this class the number of arms are even more than five; for example in SOLASTER there are 7 to 14 arms.

(2) Colour - It is pink, orange, jambolin-like or yellowish in colour. It's dorsal or abnormal surface is of dark colour.

(3) Structure - The body is flattened and is distinctly divided into oral and aboral surface.

ORAL SURFACE AND ABORAL SURFACE OF STAR FISH.

The madreporite is located on the aboral surface of the sea star, which is the side opposite the mouth. Most people would consider this the "top" of the sea star.

EXPLANATION. 

Sea stars have two surfaces: the oral and the aboral. The oral is the side with the sea star's mouth and most people would think of it as the "bottom." The aboral is the opposite side, and this is where the madreporite lies.

The madreporite is the opening to the water vascular system. It takes in water that passes through the system and allows the sea star to move using its tube feet.