BIRDS, MAMMALS and OTHER ANIMALS

Exciting pictures & detailed, specialized in-
formation on a wide variety of species and
their adaptations. Coverage includes birds,
primates,endangered, exotics,scavengers,
marine, nocturnal,aggression, learning,etc.

BIRDS: THEIR SCIENTIFIC STUDY
For the beginning ornithologist or biologist. Introduces special characteristics,anatomy, behavior, evolution and methods of study. 5 programs, 92 slides and guides.
EP #427X SLIDES
$149.95

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SAVE OVER $49.00 ON 5 SLIDE SET BUNDLE ORDER EP #427X.........$149.95
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INTRODUCTION TO BIRDS: THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND BEHAVIOR Order #427..$42.50

An introduction to the major characteristics of birds, for beginning biology and
ornithology students and those who wish to have a better conceptual grasp of what differ-
entiates birds from other classes of animals. Both physical characteristics (evolution,
morphology and anatomy) and behavioral characteristics (ability to fly, courtship, feeding
behavior and nest construction) are explained in detail. 20 slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 9896 Another large and widespread group of birds are the
shorebirds (order Charadriiformes), a highly varied order including plovers, lapwings, curlews,
snipe, woodcocks, sandpipers, avocets, stilts, gulls, terns and auks. Most of these birds are fast
and agile flyers with long, thin wings. Typically, they are inhabitants of coastal, lake or river
habitats where they nest on the ground or on cliffs. Most are gregarious and many are migratory.
They eat fish, insect larvae and crustaceans which they capture either by plucking the food from
the water or by probing for it in the substrate. The oystercatcher can even open the shells of
clams and oysters. Most shorebirds prefer rather open habitats. Many rely on their cryptic
coloration for protection. The eggs and young of shorebirds, too, are cryptically colored to avoid
detection by predators. Shorebird nests, such as that of the piping plover (Charadrius melodus)
shown here tend to be extremely simple, often just a depression in the sand, offering little
protection to the young.

REVIEWS: “...well-written text....This set should be particularly useful to those who
wish to build a collection of bird slides...” Previews.
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INTRODUCTION TO THE BIRDS Order #SS-0675S ..........$44.95

Skillful graphics present the birds, stressing diagnostic characteristics,
anatomy, systematics and several physiological adaptations. 22 slides and extensive
guide. (Filmstrip order SS-0675F........$15.00.)

CONTENT SAMPLE: 6. Adaptation to flight may best be represented by the nature
of the bird's skeleton. The skeleton's main function is to protect, to support the body and posture
and to articulate the wings and legs.

In order to concentrate the weight over the legs and under the wings, birds' bodies
are much shortened compared to reptiles. The powerful muscles of the wings need a solid
anchorage (the sternum and keel) and the pelvis must allow for balancing while the legs are in
use. Some bones found in other vertebrates are missing in the birds while others are fused. All
bones are very strong. Many are filled with air sacs (pneumatized). This is a great advantage for
flying. Yet gulls and kiwis do not have these hollow bones.

The skull is light; most bones are fused except in young, orbits for the eyes are large
and olfactory organs are limited to save weight in the skull. There are no teeth.

The vertebrae are very mobile in the neck but fused elsewhere. A rigid backbone is
necessary for stable flight and for an easy bipedal posture. The caudal (tail) vertebrae allow
limited motion and end in the pygostyle as a support for the tail feathers.

The wings are highly modified from the walking forelimbs of the reptiles. The hind legs
are more similar. Ribs are doubly articulated and extend from the fused thoracic vertebrae to the
large, shield-shaped sternum. In powerful fliers a large, thin keel on the sternum provides
attachment space for the wing muscles. Flightless birds have little or no keel.
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DARWIN'S FINCHES Order #SS-0445S .........$34.95

An evolutionary classic. A critical look at the Galapagos Islands' unique finches
and the mechanisms of their speciation. Detailed artwork. 15 slides and text. (Filmstrip
#SS-0445F......$15.00.)

CONTENT SAMPLE: 3. Eventually, as biological adaptations offer increasingly
better advantages, a niche may be “taken over” in its entirety. Hence, the presence of
well-adapted species in an area may actually preclude that area's colonization by other species.
Those invaders may be similar to the endemic species (for examples another species of Darwin's
finch) or a completely foreign species (such as some “new” arrival from the South American
coast). The ultimate result of such definite natural selection is speciation, the evolution of
reproductively isolated (usually geographically isolated as well) species. The mechanism of
speciation we have been underscoring is adaptive radiation, whereby organisms move (or are
forced to move) from their points of origin, and become successively more unlike their
predecessors as they become adapted to hitherto foreign environments.
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BIRD BANDING Order #473..........$42.50

Introduces this important research tool which has taught biologists so much
about the life cycle and migrations of birds. Includes information on North American
flyways, techniques of trapping, banding and record keeping, and details of bird
identification. 20 slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 24299 Once the bird has been banded and measured, it is
released unharmed, like this hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus). This is important because what
the bander wants to learn about is the living, wild bird. Most of the birds which a bander releases
will not be heard about again, but a few will be recaptured by the bander or by other ornithol-
ogists and some will be found dead. These birds may provide useful information about the
movement of birds and about longevity. The most frequent recaptures occur at the same place
where the bird was banded. The bird may stay in the same place, or it may leave and return. If
the bander works in the same spot for many years, he will probably recapture many birds he
banded earlier.

Sometimes a bander captures a bird with somebody else’s band on it. This is unusual
and it is very exciting. By sending the band number to the Fish and Wildlife Service, he can find
out who banded the bird, where, and when. The person who banded the bird will also be told that
it was recaptured by someone else.

Occasionally, when a banded bird dies, somebody finds the bird and notices the band. If
the person sends the band to the Fish and Wildlife Service, he will be told where the bird was
banded. The bander will also be notified where the bird died.

REVIEWS: “...well written and appropriate to a wide spectrum of audiences...well
done.... Recommended...” Journal of College Science Teaching. “Good materials for both
school and public library collections.”Booklist. “...high marks for thoroughness of
information.... Recommended.” Media Review.
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EVOLUTION OF THE HONEY CREEPERS:
A STUDY OF ADAPTIVE RADIATION Order #SS-0440S ......$34.95

The concept of environmental impact on the spatial proliferation of a species is
explored. An evolutionary classic. 15 frames & guide. (Filmstrip SS-0440F........$15.00.)

CONTENT SAMPLE: 1. The oceanic archipelago of Hawaii is of undisputed biological
interest, much of which is concerned with its abundant endemic fauna. The “oceanic island”
status, however, dictates significant limits for the animal immigrants: Each must arrive by air or
sea. With the exceptions of introduced species, then, Hawaii’s faunal complement is restricted
mostly to aerial animals such as birds and insects. A full 85% of the insect species are endemic,
as are most of their predators, the birds. The extreme variety of avian species on Hawaii is not
merely the result of several fortuitous bird landings. In many cases the variety of exquisitely
adapted birds is the result of adaptive radiation and speciation of one or a few ancestral species.
The implication here is that new arrivals find unoccupied ecological niches, and through processes
such as natural selection become specifically adapted to these niches.
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~0256-009~ Piping plover nest. photo by Educational Images Ltd.

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