Birds have evolved to come in a variety of shapes and sizes that allow them to exploit niches in different ecosystems. Certain species may have developed different shaped wings for faster flight or sharper talons with a locking mechanism that allows them to firmly grasp their prey as they soar through the air. However birds have also adapted different visual abilities and color schemes that allow for more birds to exist within an ecosystem. Field marks are distinctive spots, colors, shapes, patterns birds have developed in a variety of forms. It is believed that they developed these in order to identify different species from one another, and recognize members of their own species. They are also used today as a means for humans to identify birds of different species. They can be found on the head in the form of an eyebrow stripe (striper over the eye), eyeline (line through the eye), a crown stripe (stripe along the midline of the head), an eyering (ring of color around the eye), and a throat patch. Field marks can also be identified on the wings of a bird through the various feather patterns, as well as in the shapes of wings (long and slender, rounded and short). Field marks then allow us to be certain of identification.
Recent comments