Quick revision: every question with its correct answer. For the full explanation, open the relevant test and tap View Solution.
5.2 Aves — Test 1
Q1. The uropygial (preen) gland of a bird's skin functions to:✓ Make the feathers waterproof
Q2. The flight muscles of a bird are attached mainly to the:✓ Keel of the sternum
Q3. Birds have hollow, air-filled bones that are described as:✓ Pneumatic (lightweight)
Q4. The air sacs of birds are connected to the lungs and help in:✓ Efficient one-way air flow during respiration
Q5. The heart of birds is:✓ Four-chambered, fully separating oxygenated and deoxygenated blood
Q6. Birds are warm-blooded (endothermic), which means they:✓ Maintain a constant body temperature internally
Q7. Archaeopteryx is important because it shows features of both:✓ Reptiles and birds
Q8. The feathers used for flight, attached to the wings, are the:✓ Remiges
Q9. The foramen triosseum (triosseal canal) is found in:✓ Birds
Q10. The avian foot is covered by:✓ Epidermal scales (a reptilian feature)
Q11. The middle ear of birds contains how many ear ossicles?✓ One (the columella)
Q12. Which bird is famous for being able to fly backward?✓ Hummingbird
Q13. Ribs of birds bear backward-pointing projections called the:✓ Uncinate processes
Q14. The crop in a bird's digestive system functions to:✓ Store and soften food
Q15. The gizzard in a bird's digestive system is used to:✓ Grind food (often with swallowed grit)
5.2 Aves — Test 2
Q16. Birds lack teeth, which helps flight by:✓ Reducing the weight of the head
Q17. The most ancient among the living birds (a ratite) is the:✓ Ostrich
Q18. The flightless kiwi is native to:✓ New Zealand
Q19. Rheas, large flightless birds, are found in the:✓ Neotropical region (South America)
Q20. Birds use several cues for long-distance migration, including:✓ The sun, stars and Earth's magnetic field
Q21. Before migration, birds eat heavily to build up fat reserves; this is called:✓ Hyperphagia
Q22. Contour feathers give the bird its shape and:✓ A streamlined, aerodynamic surface
Q23. The wing of a bird and the wing of a bat are examples of:✓ Analogous structures (convergent evolution)
Q24. Birds excrete nitrogenous waste mainly as:✓ Uric acid (a white paste)
Q25. Penguins, although birds, cannot fly but use their wings for:✓ Swimming (as flippers)
Q26. Birds are often called 'glorified reptiles' because they share with reptiles:✓ Scales on the legs, uric-acid excretion and amniotic eggs
Q27. The keel (carina) of the sternum is reduced or absent in:✓ Flightless ratites such as the ostrich
Q28. Birds have a remarkably keen sense of:✓ Sight (vision)
Q29. The horny beak of a bird is an adaptation that:✓ Suits the bird's diet and reduces weight
Q30. Pneumatic bones, air sacs and the loss of teeth are all adaptations in birds for:✓ Reducing body weight for flight