Dichotomous Key/Neognathae

Key to Aves

• Phoenicopteridae: Large light pink to scarlet web-footed wading bird; Bill bent downward; Birds of brackish lakes. Flamingos.
• 2: Feet lobed or unlobed; small to large birds of various colors.

2

• 3: Legs are small; Feet covered with bare skin; Long wings, but short and stout humerus bones.
• 4: Legs small to large; Feet covered with scales called scutes.

3

• Trochilidae: Beak long and thin; Wings flap very rapidly, allowing it to hover; Generally feed on nectar. Hummingbirds.
• 5: Beak short; Does not generally flap wings very rapidly; Usually insectivorous.

4

• 6: Nocturnal and carnivorous, feeding mostly on insects and small rodents; generally fly almost silently; Feathers have few radiates and longer pennulum; Large, tubular shaped eyes unable to move; Ear placement asymmetrical. Owls.
• 7: Nocturnal or diurnal with various feeding habits; Generally make noise during flight; Small, round eyes.

5

• Apodidae: Not able to perch; Tail not deeply forked; Crest not present on head. Swifts.
• Hemiprocnidae: Able to perch; Tail deeply forked; Crest present on head. Treeswifts.

6

• Strigidae: Inner toe shorter than third toe, which has a smooth edge; Circular facial disk; Four notches present in sternum which is not fused to the furcula. True owls.
• Tytonidae: Inner toe is the same size as other toes and has a pectinate claw; Heart-shaped facial disk; Two notches present in sternum which is fused to the furcula. Barn owls.

7

• 8: Strong, curved bill; Two clawed toes face forward and two clawed toes face backward; Generally vividly multi-colored and eat seeds, nuts, fruit, buds, or other plant material.
• 9: Various bill shapes, but generally not strongly curved downward; Various dactyly, but generally not two claws forward and two backward.

8

incomplete

• Cacatuoidea (cockatoos), 21 species
• Psittacoidea (true parrots), 330 species
• Strigopoidea (New Zealand parrots), 9 species (excluding Kakapo- flightless)

9

• 10: Sharply hooked beak with a cere on the proximodorsal surface; Strong legs with talons, including an opposable hind claw; Generally carnivorous and relatively long-lived. Raptors
• 11: Beaks of various sizes, but generally don't have a cere (few exceptions including turkeys, skuas, and curassows).

10

incomplete

• Accipitridae (eagles, hawks, old world vultures)
• Pandion haliaetus (Osprey), 1 species
• Falconidae (Falcons & caracaras), ~60 species
• Sagittariius serpentarius (Secretarybird), 1 species
• Cathartidae (New World vulture), 7 species

11

• 12: Tubular nasal passage present, capable of smelling; Majority of food comes from the open ocean; Bill made up of seven to nine horny plates. Tubenoses.
• 13: Tubular nasal passage absent; Majority of food terrestrial or of smaller bodies of water; Bill not made up of horny plates.

12

incomplete

• Diomedeidae (albatrosses), 21 species (debated)
• Hydrobatidae (storm petrels), 7 species
• Pelecanoididae (diving petrels), 4 species
• Procellariidae, ~70 species

13

• Opisthocomus hoazin: spiky reddish-brown crest present on head; Unfeathered blue face and red eyes; Manure-like odor.
• 14: Crest absent or if present, not spiky and reddish-brown.

14

• Podicipedidae: Plumage is dense and waterproof; the underside the feathers are at right-angles to the skin, sticking straight out to begin with and curling at the tip. Grebes.
• 15: Plumage may or may not be waterproof, but if it is, feathers not at right angles to skin.

15

incomplete