Look at the picture and label the parts of the bird.

Beak, breast, feathers, leg, wing, tail, cheek, moustache, thigh, feet, throat, rump.

Choose the correct word to complete the sentences.

insulated enormous rainforests radiate mates vessels bill

The toco toucan (Ramphastos toco), which hangs out in the canopies of tropical ................... in South America, has the largest .................... relative to the body size of any bird, making up about one-third of the toucan's body length of about 64 cm.

Researchers have puzzled for centuries over the bill's possible purpose, suggesting it might be used to attract...................... or to get fruit. The new study doesn't solve the case of the ........................... bill, but the results suggest one possible function — to regulate body temperature. The toucan`s bill is giant, meaning it has a large surface area over which to ..................... heat; it's not ......................... with feathers or other heat-trapping material; and it is equipped with a network of blood ............................ for dumping or absorbing heat.

Working with word combinations and sentences

Give English equivalents of the following word combinations.

Четырехкамерное сердце, измененные передние конечности, острое зрение, скорлупа яиц, обоняние, диапазон слуха, вымерший вид, ископаемые останки, неограниченное распространение, значительные различия, способность летать, врожденное поведение, уход за перьями, различимый звук, тревожные нотки, немузыкальные звуки, тщательно разработанный ритуал ухаживания, щелканье клювом, разлагающаяся растительность.

Match the verbs to the paragraphs.

Characteristics of living organisms

Аll living organisms, whether they are single-celled, many-celled, plants or animals, do the following things:

 

They may take in solid food as animals do, or digest it first and absorb it later like fungi do, or build it up for themselves like plants do.	respire
They take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide. This exchange of gases takes place between the organism and the air or between the organism and water. The oxygen is used for respiration.	reproduce
They break down food to obtain energy. Most organ­isms need oxygen for this.	grow
Respiration and other chemical changes in the cells produce waste products such as carbon dioxide. Living organisms expel these substances from their bodies in various ways.	feed
Bacteria and single-celled creatures increase in size. Many-celled organisms increase the numbers of cells in their bodies, become more complicated and change their shape as well as increasing in size.	breathe
Single-celled organisms and bacteria may simply keep dividing into two. Many-celled plants and animals may reproduce sexually or asexually.	respond
The whole animal or parts of plants respond to stimuli.	move
Most single-celled creatures and animals move about as a whole. Fungi and plants may make movements with parts of their bodies.	excrete

 

Read and translate the text.

Text 1

Birds

A

Birds are warm-blooded vertebrates of the class Aves, unique in having feathers, the one major characteristic that distinguishes them from all other animals. Birds have a four-chambered heart, forelimbs modified into wings, a calcareous-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 the auditory range is limited. Most birds are diurnal in habit. There are approximately 8, 700 living species, and more than 1, 000 extinct species have been identified from fossil remains. The ability to fly has permitted an almost unlimited spreading of birds, so that they are now found virtually everywhere on earth.

B

There are considerable differences in flying ability among various birds. Penguins cannot fly but spend much of their time in the water swimming with their paddlelike wings; such birds as ostriches and kiwis have rudimentary wings and are permanently afoot. At the other extreme are the long-winged frigate birds that move from their perches only to fly, never to walk. Most birds alternate some walking or swimming with their flying.

C

Auditory signals, like visual ones, are almost universal among birds. The most familiar vocalization of birds is that usually referred to as “song.” It is a conspicuous sound that is used, especially early in the breeding season, to attract a mate, to warn off another bird of the same sex, or both. As such it is usually associated with establishing and maintaining territories. Many other types of vocalizations are also known. Pairs or flocks may be kept together by series of soft location notes. Alarm notes alert other individuals to the presence of danger; in fact, the American robin (and probably many other species) uses one note when it sees a hawk overhead and another when it sees a predator on the ground. Begging calls are important in stimulating parents to feed their young. Other calls are associated with aggressive situations, courtship, and mating. Nonvocal sounds are not uncommon. Some snipe and hummingbirds have narrow tail feathers that produce loud sounds when the birds are in flight. The elaborate courtship displays of grouse include vocalizations as well as stamping of the feet and noises made with the wings. Bill clapping is a common part of courtship in storks.

D

Most birds build nests in which the eggs are laid. Nests vary widely: they may be a scrape in the sand, a deep burrow, a hole in a tree or rock or an elaborately woven hanging structure. The materials with which nests are made also vary widely. Some nests are lined with small stones, others are built of mud with or without plant material. Sticks, leaves, algae, rootlets, and other plant fibers are used alone or in combination. Some birds seek out animal materials such as feathers, horsehair, or snakeskin.

E

All birds incubate their eggs, except megapodes, which rely on the heat generated by decaying vegetation or other external sources, and brood parasites, which lay their eggs in the nests of other species.

Incubation takes from 11 to 80 days, depending at least in part on the size of the bird and the degree of development at hatching. Most songbirds and members of some other groups are hatched nearly naked and helpless and are brooded until well able to regulate their body temperature. They are fed by the parents until they are capable of flight. The young of numerous other birds, such as chickens, ducks, and shorebirds, are hatched with a heavy coat of down and are capable of foraging for themselves almost immediately.

 

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