Some Recent Advances in Avian Physiology

Abstract

With primary attention to feral species, some important, recent trends in avian physiology have been selected and briefly described. Included are investigations of the exchanges of gases between embryo and external environment during incubation; structure and function of the lung-airsac system; avian energetics; control and energetic cost of molt; osmoregulation, ionoregulation and nitrogen excretion, including roles of kidney, lower gut, salt glands, and renin-angiotensin system; endocrinology; and orientation and navigation. Among these trends there has been an increase in the spectrum of species investigated, greater effort to make measurements under natural conditions and successes with experiments on feral species in the field. Physiological investigations have been facilitated by the great fund of information on the natural history and zoogeography of birds.