SYLLABUS FOR ORNITHOLOGY BI 47, SUMMER 1998
SAINT ANSELM COLLEGE
Dr. Jay Pitocchelli, Office - 2316, Research Lab - 1317
Phone: 641-7397
e-mail: jpitocchATanselm.edu (change AT to @)
Home Page: http://www.anselm.edu/homepage/jpitocch/ornith.html
| WEEK | Lecture (Chapters in Gill) | Lab* |
| 18 May | Introduction (Chapter 1) | 18 May - Field trip |
| Evolution, Ancestry of Birds (Chapter 2) | 20 May - Field trip | |
| Phylogeny, Systematics and Taxonomy (Chapter 3) | 22 May - Field trip | |
| Topography (Chapter 1, Field Guide) | ||
| Feathers and Tracts (Chapter 4) | ||
| 25 May | Memorial Day - School Holiday, no classes | |
| Plumage and Coloration (Chapter 4) | 27 May - Field trip | |
| Anatomy and Physiology (Chapter 6, 7, 8, 15) | 29 May - Field trip | |
| Exam 1 | ||
| Flight (Chapter 5) | ||
| Migration (Chapter 12) | ||
| Orientation (Chapter 13) | ||
| 1 June | Behavior: Cycles (Chapter 11) | 1 June - Field trip |
| Behavior: Social Behavior, Territory (Chapter 14) | 3 June - Field trip | |
| Behavior: Mating (Chapter 17) | 5 June - Field trip | |
| Behavior: Visual Communication (Chapter 9) | ||
| Behavior: Vocal Communication (10) | ||
| Exam 2 | ||
| 8 June | Nesting (Chapter 16) | 8 June - Field trip |
| Eggs - Incubation (Chapter 16) | 10 June - Field trip | |
| Young and their Development (Chapter 18) | 12 June - Field Exam** | |
| Parental Care (Chapter 19) | ||
| Brood Parasitism (Chapter 19) | ||
| Longevity, Numbers and Conservation (Chapter 21, 24) | ||
| 12 June | Final Exam (Lecture) |
* - One of the labs will be dedicated to dissection or specimen preparation. We will dissect birds on a day that it rains. Depending on the schedule, during one week of the course we will not have lab during the week. Instead we will take an all day or overnight trip. Students will be expected to come in on their own to examine study skins and mounts from the department's teaching collection.
** - Field exam may be rescheduled earlier depending on weather conditions.
READINGS. Gill (1995, 2nd edition) - Ornithology. There will be additional readings assigned during the course. Copies of these articles will be held on reserve in the library. Students are encouraged to use the Field Guide to North American Birds by R. T. Peterson (1980). Other North American field guides are also acceptable (e.g., National Geographic, Robbins et al., Audubon series). Please bring the field guide to every laboratory.
ATTENDANCE: Attendance is mandatory. Final grades will be penalized due to unexcused absences.
GRADING: There will be four exams, short paper, field lab reports, an oral presentation and each student must find a nest (can not be European Starling, House Finch, House Sparrow!!!). The paper will be a summary of 4 hours of observations of one species of the student's choice. Each student must pick a different species. The point system is listed below.
| Exercises | Points |
| Exam 1 | 100 |
| Exam 2 | 100 |
| Exam 3 | 100 |
| Field Exam | 100 |
| Oral Presentation | 10 |
| Paper | 10 |
| Field Lab Reports | 45 (9 reports, 5 points each) |