Nicolae Sfetcu

Birds are bipedal, warm-blooded, oviparous vertebrate animals characterized primarily by feathers, forelimbs modified as wings, and (in most) hollow bones.

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The typical image of migration is of northern landbirds such as swallows and birds of prey making long flights to the tropics. Many northern-breeding ducks, geese and swans are also long-distance migrants, but need only to move from their arctic breeding grounds far enough south to escape frozen waters.

Long-distance land bird migration

Many species of birds undertake seasonal journeys of various lengths, a phenomenon known as Bird migration.

Study techniques

Bird migration has been studied by a variety of techniques of which ringing is the oldest. Color marking, use of radar, satellite tracking and stable hydrogen isotopes are some of the other techniques being used to study the migration of birds.

Aviculture is the practice of keeping and often breeding pet birds, generally companion parrots, and the culture that forms around it. Aviculture is generally focused not just on the raising and breeding of birds, but also on preserving avian habitat, and public awareness campaigns.

Types of aviculture

There are various reasons that people get involved in aviculture. Some people breed birds to preserve a species, some breed parrots as companion birds, and some breed birds to make a profit.

Birds have a body plan that shows so many unusual adaptations (mostly aiding flight) that birds have earned their own unique class in the vertebrate phylum.

Anatomy of a typical bird