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Although the term "bird of prey" could theoretically be taken to include all birds that actively hunt and eat other animals, [4] ornithologists typically use the narrower definition followed in this page, [5] excluding many piscivorous predators such as storks, cranes, herons, gulls, skuas, penguins, and kingfishers, as well as many primarily ...
Warm-blooded is a term referring to animal species whose bodies maintain a temperature higher than that of their environment. In particular, homeothermic species (including birds and mammals ) maintain a stable body temperature by regulating metabolic processes.
Warm-blooded animals could have gained an advantage by creating an inhospitable environment for many disease-causing organisms, thus reducing the risk of infections. Insulation and Thermoregulation : Homeothermy could have originated as a response to the development of insulating structures like fur, feathers, or other coverings.
Some birds, like the ruby-crowned kinglet, use a combination of these tactics. "Crevice-gleaning" is a niche particular to dry and rocky habitats. Gleaning birds are typically small with compact bodies and have small, sharply pointed beaks. Birds often specialize in a particular niche, such as a particular stratum of forest or type of ...
Birds of prey specialise in hunting mammals or other birds, while vultures are specialised scavengers. Birds are also preyed upon by a range of mammals including a few avivorous bats. [ 267 ] A wide range of endo- and ectoparasites depend on birds and some parasites that are transmitted from parent to young have co-evolved and show host ...
Among them is the family Cathartidae (New World vultures) which the American Ornithological Society (AOS), the Clements taxonomy, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World place in its own order, Cathartiformes.
[14] [15] The bee hummingbird – only 6 centimetres (2.4 in) long and weighing about 2 grams (0.071 oz) – is the world's smallest bird and smallest warm-blooded vertebrate. [ 14 ] [ 16 ] Hummingbirds have compact bodies with relatively long, bladelike wings having anatomical structure enabling helicopter -like flight in any direction ...
The Dinosaur Heresies: New Theories Unlocking the Mystery of the Dinosaurs and Their Extinction is a 1986 book written by Robert T. Bakker [1] [2] exploring extant evidence indicating that dinosaurs, rather than being cold-blooded and wholly lizard-like, were warm-blooded, agile creatures more similar to modern birds than to lizards or other reptiles.