Aves is – Kingdom animalia or animals is so vast that those who study it will never run out of learning topics and can get something new in it. There are so many animal species from various classes in this kingdom that are interesting to study.
Aves is a class that has its own uniqueness and characteristics compared to a number of other classes. In this article, Sinaumed’s will learn about the Aves class, starting from its definition, anatomical structure, how to reproduce, to a number of examples of Aves species.
What Are Aves?
Aves, as previously discussed above, are basically birds. These animals have hard backbones or also known as “vertebrates”, like the other two classes of animals in the animal classification, namely Mammalia and Reptiles.
Aves also have a number of characteristics that resemble mammals and reptiles. Aves have the same warm blood as Mammals, and reproduce by laying eggs like Reptilia. This way of breeding will be discussed later in another session in the same article.
Despite having a number of characteristics in common with the two classes of animals, Aves has a quite striking difference, namely the presence of hair all over its body. The presence of these furs is something that neither Mammals, which usually have hair, nor Reptiles, with their scales, lack.
Another thing that makes them unique is their ability to fly and hover. This is because Aves have a pair of wings on the sides of their bodies, which can be stretched and used to fly. The feathers all over their bodies are also very light, allowing them to float.
Their ability to fly is one of the reasons why Aves can be found in various parts of the world. They can live in a wide variety of temperatures, climates, and environments. Until now, there have been recorded 10,400 species of Aves that have been discovered and studied.
Another interesting fact about Aves is that they are the descendants of a number of giant reptiles that once ruled the earth: dinosaurs. A number of Dinosaurs are known to have similar body postures and bone shapes to the Aves in the modern era, making these Dinosaurs considered the ancestors of the Aves.
The topic of dinosaurs is always interesting to discuss. As one of the prehistoric animals in the past, this animal has many uniqueness that we cannot find in animals at this time. If Sinaumed’s is included in the category of people who like to know about dinosaurs, you can try reading the book “ Wow! 4D Encyclopedia: Dinosaurs” .
Aves Anatomy
Each animal class has its own unique anatomical structure and makes them different from other classes. And of course this also applies to Aves, who have an anatomical structure with a focus on making it easier for them to fly.
The shape of an Aves’ body, from bones, organs, to body hair, is all designed so that they can fly longer. Aves’ body shape also makes them unique in hunting and defending themselves.
If we talk more specifically about Aves anatomy, we can spend quite a long time. Therefore, this time, Sinaumed’s will study Aves anatomy in outline, and what differentiates it from other classes.
1. Bone Structure
Aves bones can be said to be quite sturdy like animal bones in general. However, what distinguishes the Aves bone from other classes is that there are cavities inside the Aves bone. This made their bones much lighter than normal bones, and helped them to fly more easily.
2. Blood Circulation
Because they spend a long time in the air, Aves’ blood circulation is fairly fast. Aves heart is actually similar to other classes, which has 4 cavities. The difference is, their heart is able to beat and pump blood as much as 1000 times per minute when flying, or about 16 times per second.
3. Sensory
Aves’ sensory systems are so sharp, that many of them are able to feel things much more sensitively than other classes. In comparison, Aves’ sense of sight can be up to 5 times farther than humans, and they can hear sounds that we cannot hear.
4. Skin
Aves’ skin is covered with light hair all over their bodies. In a number of parts, one of which is the legs, their bodies have hard skin resembling scales, which serves to protect these parts as well as a weapon for hunting. Aves also have a hard beak that is used to peck at prey or opponents.
Of course, there are more things that Sinaumed’s can know more about Aves anatomy. You just need to read a lot of Aves books and references if you are interested in this topic. One of the recommended books that you can read about Aves is the book “Aves Invertebrates – Exploring the Animal World”.
How to breed
As previously mentioned in the definition of Aves, this class reproduces by laying eggs. And not much different from Reptilia, Aves eggs are covered in a hard shell, so that the children inside can be well protected from predators.
There is no animal from the Aves class that does not lay eggs. Nonetheless, there are a number of differences that can be found in the way they lay their eggs. Starting from the location where the eggs are placed, the number of eggs released after they give birth, to how long it takes before the children can finally hatch.
1. Location to Place Eggs
The location for laying eggs for each Aves is different from one another. One thing that Sinaumed’s probably already knew was that Aves always lay their eggs in the nest. But the nests you know about may be different from the nests in which Aves lay their eggs.
This difference is partly due to the fact that each Aves has a different habitat. There are some Aves that may nest in trees, if they live in forested or urban areas. However, for those who live in mountainous areas, like it or not they have to nest around the mountain.
Not only that, anatomical differences are also quite influential. Aves who have the ability to fly can certainly lay their eggs in high places. However, flightless Aves do not have this ability, and inevitably have to nest in the lowlands.
2. Number of Eggs When Giving Birth
Again, there are quite striking differences in the number of eggs laid by each Aves species when giving birth. This difference makes it impossible for us to generalize one Aves species with another Aves species when discussing the number of eggs.
One of the factors that affect the number of eggs when Aves give birth is their body size. Generally, the larger the Aves species, the fewer eggs they will lay. The number of eggs usually ranges from 1 egg to 2 or a maximum of 3 eggs.
Smaller Ave species are usually able to lay more eggs than larger Ave species. Some species can lay anywhere from 7 to 8 eggs at a time. There are also Aves species that can release 14 eggs when they give birth.
3. Time Required for Hatching
Like the number of eggs produced when giving birth, the time it takes before the eggs can hatch is also usually influenced by the body size of the Aves species. It should also be noted that generally, the larger an animal is, the longer it will take them to carry a fetus before their time of delivery.
Smaller Aves species usually only take about 10 to 14 days for their eggs to hatch. Usually, the growth and development period they go through is also shorter than that of large Aves, ranging from 19 days to 21 days.
While a number of large Aves species require longer time for their babies to hatch, which is around 20 days to 35 days. The babies that hatch are of course larger than the babies of the small Aves species. This makes their growth and development period longer, which can be up to 2 months to 3.5 months.
Aves example
In this session, Sinaumed’s will be given a number of examples of Aves species. As previously explained, there are at least 10,400 species of Aves in this world. Of course, we cannot discuss all of these species in this article.
Therefore, the Aves species that will be discussed below are representative of similar Aves species. These species have many differences from one another, showing how varied the class Aves is. Check out the following explanation.
1. Eagle
Eagles are carnivores that can be found on the continent of North America, such as the United States and Canada. Adult eagles have a body size of up to 2.3 meters if you count the length of the wings, and their body weight can reach 3.3 kilograms.
The eagle’s main prey is fish, although it is not uncommon for these birds to prey on other small mammals such as rabbits. They are usually found in forest areas or on the edge of lakes, and often nest in nearby trees. The speed of an eagle when flying can reach 100 kilometers per hour.
2. The Canary
Canaries are a type of bird that is usually kept as a pet in many households. Canaries were originally native birds from the Micronesian Islands, before being brought by sailors from Spain, and bred as pets.
Although they are more often kept in cages and kept as pets, canaries are apparently often taken by miners underground when they work. It is known that Canaries have the ability to detect carbon monoxide gas, which is harmful to humans, and is often found in mines.
3. Bird of Paradise
Birds of Paradise or also known as “Birds of Heaven” in English, are a type of bird commonly found around Southeast Asia to Australia. Birds of Paradise live in trees in the forest, and usually have nests there.
Birds of Paradise fall into the omnivore category. They usually eat fruits or insects they find in the forest. Because of their beautiful feathers, Birds of Paradise are often hunted by humans, making their status slowly becoming increasingly rare.
4. Ostriches
Ostriches are one of the few types of Aves that do not have the ability to fly. Instead, they are blessed with strong legs for running and defending themselves. Ostriches are often found in desert areas or savanna plains on the African Continent, from Egypt, Somalia to Tanzania.
Ostrich eggs are known as the largest bird eggs in the world, reaching a weight of 1.5 kilograms and having a diameter of up to 12.5 centimeters. Ostriches are widely distributed to various parts of the world, to be raised and used for their feathers as decorations.
5. Penguins
Penguins are another type of Aves that don’t have the ability to fly like Ostriches. Even though they both can’t fly, penguins have quite striking differences compared to ostriches, ranging from habitat, food, to other abilities.
This type of Aves is commonly found in cold regions such as Antarctica, Greenland Island and Iceland. Penguins do not have the ability to run or walk fast, but are able to swim well, and can reach up to 8 kilometers per hour. This speed allows them to easily hunt fish in the sea and avoid predators.
6. Flamingoes
The Flamingo is a unique Aves known for its characteristic pink coat color . These animals are usually scattered around lakes, rivers, and sometimes the coasts of the African continent, the Asian continent and the South American continent. They live in colonies, where there can be up to 50 flamingos.
Even though it is known to have a pink color all over its body, it seems that the original color of the Flamingo is white. The pink color apparently comes from the food they eat, one of which is crustaceans. The flamingo’s body absorbs nutrients from the shrimp, and changes their pigment.
7. Chicken
Chickens are the last type of Aves to be discussed in this article. Sinaumed’s may already know that this species is an animal that is usually used as livestock, and its eggs and meat are used as food throughout the world.
Due to their status as livestock, chickens can be found in various locations around the world, regardless of climate and environment. Chicken is also one of the animals that can eat anything. What the chicken eats will affect the nutrition and content in the meat and eggs when eaten by humans.
The Aves species above are enough to represent tens of thousands of other Aves species that exist in the world. And if you are really interested in learning more about the various Aves species, all you need to do is read on. The book “Britannica Educational Series: Birds” is one of the reading materials that can increase your knowledge about Aves.
Thus ends the article which discusses Aves, starting with its definition, then a brief explanation of the anatomy of Aves, how they reproduce, as well as a number of examples of species from Aves that are scattered in various parts of the world.
Hopefully this article can add to Sinaumed’s’ knowledge about the Aves class, and can trigger your curiosity about the Animalia kingdom in general, so that you can gain new knowledge.
Apart from aves or birds, Sinaumed’s can also increase their knowledge on many things by visiting the www.sinaumedia.com site . sinaumedia, always provides books and articles for your reading intake, so that Sinaumed’s can get #MoreWithReading information and knowledge.
Author: M. Adrianto S.