BIRDS

Bird, (class Aves), any of the more than 10,400 living species unique in having feathers, the major characteristic that distinguishes them from all other animals. A more-elaborate definition would note that they are warm-blooded vertebrates more related to reptiles than to mammals and that they have a four-chambered heart (as do mammals), forelimbs modified into wings (a trait shared with bats), a hard-shelled egg, and keen vision, the major sense they rely on for information about the environment.

Their sense of smell is not highly developed, and auditory range is limited. Most birds are diurnal in habit. More than 1,000 extinct species have been identified from fossil remains. Since earliest times birds have been not only a material but also a cultural resource. Bird figures were created by prehistoric humans in the Lascaux Grotto of France and have featured prominently in the mythology and literature of societies throughout the world.

Long before ornithology was practiced as a science, interest in birds and the knowledge of them found expression in conversation and stories, which then crystallized into the records of general culture. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and paintings, for example, include bird figures. The Bible refers to Noah’s use of the raven and dove to bring him information about the proverbial Flood.

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