Author: Clive Roots
Publisher: Greenwood
ISBN: 9780313335457
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
We share the earth with a wide variety of animal species, each of which brings something special to the diversity of the planet. By knowing more about how animals behave and live, we gain a greater understanding of how life evolved and the importance of biodiversity. This volume provides a complete guide to those birds that have evolved a trait that would seem to harm their ability to survive - flightlessness. Flight has its advantages - why would some birds be flightless? Flightless Birds covers the loss of flight in birds, both permanently after years of evolution, and temporarily as a result of unusual molting behavior, and those species that are in various stages of losing their flight. The book provides a thorough guide, perfect for research papers in biology classes, for understanding the behavior and biodiversity of a fascinating and unusual group of animals. Flightless Birds includes sections on the major groups of flightless birds: Rarities whose ancient ancestors were on the continents when they broke away millions of years ago, and who survived despite competing with mammals; birds that were marooned on islands in the ocean, where food was plentiful and predators absent; penguins, which evolved alongside seas teeming with food and had no need to fly, and the special case of New Zealand's many flightless species which evolved in a predator-free paradise but could not cope with the settlers and their alien animals; and the many species which have become extinct within historic times. Beautifully illustrated, with numerous color photos, Flightless Birds provides copious material for understanding these unusual animals.
Author: Delphine Angst
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0081011431
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296
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Book Description
The fossil record of giant flightless birds extends back to the Late Cretaceous, more than 70 million years ago, but our understanding of these extinct birds is still incomplete. This is partly because the number of specimens available is sometimes limited, but also because widely different approaches have been used to study them, with sometimes contradictory results. This book summarizes the current knowledge of the paleobiology of seven groups of giant flightless birds: Dinornithiformes, Aepyornithiformes, Dromornithidae, Phorusrhacidae, Brontornithidae, Gastornithidae and Gargantuavis. The first chapter presents the global diversity of these birds and reviews the tools and methods used to study their paleobiology. Chapters 2 to 8 are each dedicated to one of the seven groups of extinct birds. Finally, a conclusion offers a global synthesis of the information presented in the book in an attempt to define a common evolutionary model. Focuses on the giant flightless birds that evolved independently in different parts of the world since the Cretaceous period Covers a number of different families with different evolutionary histories, providing a source of interesting comparisons Provides emphasis on the palaeobiology of these birds, including their evolution, adaptations, mode of life, ecology and extinction
Author: Kelly McCaughrain
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781406375657
Category : Acrobats
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
"Witty and clever. This novel really does sparkle." Roddy DoyleFrom debut author Kelly McCaughrain comes a sweet and kooky romcom for fans of R. J. Palacio's Wonder, Sarah Crossan, and Susin Nielsen's We Are All Made of Molecules. Twins Finch and Birdie Franconi are stars of the flying trapeze. But when Birdie suffers a terrifying accident, Finch must team up with the geeky new kid, Hector Hazzard, to form an all-boys double act and save the family circus school. Together they learn to walk the high-wire of teen life and juggle the demands of friends, family, first love and facing up to who they are - all served up with a dash of circus-showbiz magic.
Author: Peter F. Murray
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 9780253342829
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 428
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Book Description
Over millions of years, Australia's unique biodiversity has produced a large cabinet of curiosities. Among the weirder members of this group were the Mihirungs, members of the now extinct family Dromornithidae. Made up of several genera of flightless birds—among them one of the very largest birds that ever lived—the dromornithids ranged from 60-kilogram beasts, 1.5 meters tall, to giants twice that size, weighing nearly half a metric ton. They were, by orders of magnitude, the largest "geese" that ever lived. One species was comparable in size to the Ele-phantbird of Madagascar and the Giant Moa of New Zealand. This book is the first major study of this unique and highly diverse group. It aims to present as complete a synthesis as possible of current information about this fascinating family of birds.
Author: Laura Hamilton Waxman
Publisher:
ISBN: 1467796336
Category : Ostriches
Languages : en
Pages : 36
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Book Description
"This book covers information (life cycle, appearance, habitat) about the ostrich. Each chapter discusses an aspect of the ostrich's life, comparing the bird to a similar bird and to a very different bird."--
Author: David R Morgan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781946908391
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 52
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Book Description
A charming 32 page children's picture book about flightless birds with colorful pictures and fun facts about these birds.
Author: Caroline Arnold
Publisher: Lerner Publications
ISBN: 9780876143773
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 56
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Book Description
An introduction to the physical characteristics, habits, and natural environment of ostriches and a variety of other birds that do not fly including the rhea, emu, cassowary, kiwi, and tinamou.
Author: Alan Feduccia
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300078619
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 490
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Book Description
An exploration of all that is known about the origin of birds and of avian flight. It draws on fossil evidence and studies of the structure and biochemistry of living birds to present knowledge and data on avian evolution and to propose a new model of this evolutionary process.
Author: Kelly Calhoun
Publisher: Cherry Lake
ISBN: 1633628078
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 24
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Book Description
Young children are natural problem solvers and always looking for answers, especially when it involves animals. Guess What: Fast and Flightless provides young curious readers with striking visual clues and simply written hints. Using the photos and text, readers rely on visual literacy skills, reading, and reasoning as they solve the animal mystery. Clearly written facts give readers a deeper understanding of how the animal lives. Additional text features, including a glossary and an index, help students locate information and learn new words.
Author: Nicolae Sfetcu
Publisher: MultiMedia Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Pets
Languages : en
Pages : 1478
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Book Description
Birds are among the most extensively studied of all animal groups. Hundreds of academic journals and thousands of scientists are devoted to bird research, while amateur enthusiasts (called birdwatchers or, more commonly, birders) probably number in the millions. Birds are categorised as a biological class, Aves. The earliest known species of this class is Archaeopteryx lithographica, from the Late Jurassic period. According to the most recent consensus, Aves and a sister group, the order Crocodilia, together form a group of unnamed rank, the Archosauria. Phylogenetically, Aves is usually defined as all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of modern birds (or of a specific modern bird species like Passer domesticus), and Archaeopteryx. Modern phylogenies place birds in the dinosaur clade Theropoda. Modern birds are divided into two superorders, the Paleognathae (mostly flightless birds like ostriches), and the wildly diverse Neognathae, containing all other birds.
