Iris bird
| Iris bird | |
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| Drawing of an Iris bird, Done by miss Alexandra Rosa | |
| Scientific classification | |
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| Range of the Iris bird |
Etymology
The English name Iris bird is derived from the Latin name of the bird Iris Avis Dentibus, which roughly translated means ‘’Flying Rainbow with Teeth’’. However, the bird is known by the local Spanish-speaking community as pájaro arcoiris con dientes which translates to ‘’Rainbow Bird with Teeth’’. The name Iris bird is sometimes confused with the term ‘’Irish bird’’, which is a false, because the Iris bird has no origins in Ireland and the name is not an indication of the history of the bird.
History and Evolution
Iris bird has evolved from the piranhas that were living in the Amazon basin. Due to the climate change, the rivers were drying out, in order to survive piranhas had to adapt to a life outside the water. Hereby originated the new specie, Iris bird.
Adaptations
First, piranhas had to find a way to breathe outside the water, their evolution for this started when they were still in water. Since the water levels had been decreased due to the water evaporation, piranhas needed to develop spiracles to adapt to shallow water life. By developing spiracles, piranhas were able to breath while their head remained underwater. This was advantageous at first, but with the further decrease in the water levels, piranhas had to adapt to the land. Their spiracle-aided aspiration helped with the occurrence of the transformation from water conduits to the gills, to air conduits to the lungs.
Further, it had to adapt itself to be able to move on the land that meant that it didn't need his fins anymore. His ventral and pectoral fins which were responsible for its movements in the water evolved into arms and legs that it could use on the land. The dorsal and anal fins used to act as the backbone and kept the fish in balance and upright. But because the fish didn't need the help of these fins to stay in balance on land, these fins have evolved into wings so that the animal could escape the threats in its new habitat more easily. And the tail fin has eventually got the shape of a bird's tail.
Characteristics/attributes:
- Piranhas have always been famous for their teeth, so throughout their evolution they preserved their teeth, which helped become one of the biggest threats in their ecosystem.
- Iris is the first bird with scales instead of feathers.
Habitat and Population
Ecosystem
This ecosystem is a tropical rainforest with rivers. But because of humans most of the forest has been destroyed a lot of trees has been cut and due to the climate change temperature has risen extremely. Because of the high temperature an extensive amount of water has evaporated, therefore the amount of water in the area has decreased. Evaporation of the water also affects the cloud formation, which then leads to less reflection of sunlight and consequently less light in the ecosystem. As a consequence of all these changes in the abiotic factors, biotic factors of this ecosystem have also faced a drastic change. Many animal and plant sorts have extinct or evolved.
Familial structure
The Iris lives in a group together with around 25 others of its specie. The members of the group are from the same family. During the mating season, several groups meet each other to find a partner to mate with. When a couple is formed, the male bird leaves his family and is taken into the family of his female partner. Usually, the birds only have to find a partner once in their life, and they mate with the same partner every year. In each group there are three leaders, when moving as a group there is always one of them in front, one in the middle and one in the end. To decide who the leaders should be a dance battle is held, only male birds participate in the dance battle. The female birds watch the dance battle and make a lot of noise to decide who wins the battle, the winner receives the most and loudest noise. The dance battle is held every two years. The group works together, in the past they lived together to protect each other against predators, now they are provided with poison to protect themselves, but they still live together because they are very social.
Location in the food web
The bird is an omnivore, and it is in the middle of the food web. The bird eats fruits, insects, and small frogs. The bird is a striking animal because of its colours. Since the animals are provided with poison, they are not very often in real danger. However, the poison doesn’t kill, it paralyses the predator for only a short time. The animal sometimes already is badly hurt before it can use its poison, and the poison doesn’t really have an effect on big predators.
Some of the predators who eat our animal are:
- harpy eagle
- jaguar
Biology
Anatomy and physiology
The Iris bird has inherited a really strong jaw and sharp teeth from its ancestors, and because its saliva is poisonous, it makes the bird’s bite even more dangerous. Iris also has large eyes, which helps it with its predatory lifestyle. The Iris bird has very tiny arms and legs, and it also has wings. Its lightweight bones and small body helps it to fly with less effort and faster. And the body of the Iris bird is covered with very small scales. Lungs of the Iris isn’t really big because the Iris bird evolved from a fish and didn’t have lungs before.
Life cycle
The birds mate in the period between December and March, this used to be the rainy season in the past. To find a partner to mate with, the birds meet with other families. The birds that don’t have a partner yet and are ready to mate turn a lighter colour, while their bellies become redder. This way it is easy to see who is searching for a partner to mate with and who not. To form a couple, a male bird will fly in circles around a female and provide a show. The female bird then decides whether she is going to take the chance with this male or with another, when she starts flying up and down it means a couple is formed. Between 3 and 8 eggs are laid by the female bird in a hole in the ground, which is dug out by the male bird. The eggs are incubated by both parents. After about two weeks' time, the embryo inside the egg has developed into a chick, which is ready to hatch. The hatchlings who have just broken out of their egg are born blind, naked and their wings still need to develop. The naked skin of the bird has a bright blue colour. Both parents take care of the hatchling by providing food and warmth. A few days after hatching, the birds open their eyes, but they are not able to leave the nest yet, and they still depend on their parents. After a week inside the nest, the birds can go outside for the first time. It will take time for the scales and wings to develop. For at least six months, the birds live exclusively on the ground. The parents will stay close to their children until they are able to fly to protect them. When the birds are one month old, they will learn from their parents how to find food. When the bird is at least six months old, it has developed wings and takes it first short flight. The wings are still growing, but the bird can use them for short flights. After a year time the bird becomes an adult, the wings and scales have completely developed, and the animal becomes sexually mature and able to reproduce.
Diet
In the wild, Iris birds usually feed on fruits (mango’s,figs, banana’s and oranges), insects (varies species of butterflies, small beetles and spiders), berries (maracuja, acai, capuacu and bacaba), seeds and small frogs. This varied diet makes the Iris an omnivore. The most important of these are seeds and small frogs.
The Iris bird opens the seeds by crushing the shell with their strong jaws, whereafter the bird peels the husk off with their nails, rotating the seed with the lower jaw. Lots of seeds are covered in poison, so they are protected from other animals, but because the Iris bird is poisonous itself it can eat the seed without any repercussions and eating different kinds op poison will even make the Iris bird stronger.
The small frogs are included in the Iris bird’s diet because they contain high amounts of protein. The Iris bird uses up much energy during the day. Their wing-muscles are also quite big, and to maintain that strength and the quality of the muscles, the Iris bird must eat a lot of protein. When hunting frogs, the Iris prefers to bite off the head first and use their sharp claws to pin the frog to the ground. When the head is bitten off, the body of the frog will, most of the time, display spasm and has to be hold tight, so it won’t get away. When the spasms have ended, the Iris will pick up its prey and find a tree where they eat the frog, ripping it apart limb for limb.
Impact on the Earth
Because of its poisonous, sharp teeth, the Iris has developed itself into one of the most dangerous predatory birds in the Amazon. They are viscous hunters who rarely feel satisfied. Because of their viciousness, they have caused the near extinction of various species of frogs and butterflies, which now need to be bred and kept in zoos to make sure they do not go extinct. But the iris also has a good impact on the earth, they excrete lots of seeds from the fruits they eat because they do not digest these. When they excrete these seeds, they will settle in the ground and new plants will grow, making the forest green and filled with trees again. In this way, they also help restore their own habitat of life.