Graphic from Bird Guide Part 2, Chas. K. Reed, Public Domain
Have you ever wondered what a secondary feather is, what a wishbone or a gizzard is for, how an eggshell is made, or why birds don't have teeth? In this overview of bird anatomy, Dr. Kathleen Hunt (Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation) will explain how a bird's body is put together and how it all works. Dr. Hunt will go over the visible features that are useful for birding identification, and then take a peek inside at some ingenious internal features like the lightweight skeleton and the avian air sac system. By the end of the class you may be envious of the birds’ design!
Kathleen E. Hunt, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at George Mason University. She is a physiologist and endocrinologist with a strong interest in applied conservation physiology. Most of Dr. Hunt’s research interests center on impacts of environmental and anthropogenic stress on reproduction and health of free-ranging vertebrates, with an emphasis on applications for conservation. She has studied nest timing, nest success, and the effect of environmental change on Arctic tundra birds and avian malaria on native Hawaiian birds.
