ZOOLOGY STUDY GUIDE - Ye. O. Nevedomska - 2013

LECTURE 17. CLASS BIRDS (Aves)

3. The Significance of Birds in Nature and Human Life

Birds are an essential component of any biogeocenosis. They regulate the populations of many invertebrates (worms, insects, arachnids) and small vertebrates.

Bird eggs are part of the food chains of many mammals and some reptiles.

Some birds act as pollinators and disperse fruits and seeds.

The significance of Birds in Human Life

Humans use domesticated birds to obtain meat, eggs, feathers, and down. Chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, guineafowl, and quail are of the greatest economic importance. Poultry farming is a well-developed branch of animal husbandry focused on breeding poultry to obtain eggs, meat, down, and feathers as industrial raw Materials.

Many birds destroy weed seeds.

By preying on small rodents, birds benefit humans.

Geese, ducks, woodcocks, snipes, and quail are subjects of sport hunting; hazel grouse, black grouse, and capercaillies are subjects of commercial hunting.

Birds can be vectors for pathogens of many parasitic and infectious diseases, particularly arboviruses—Viruses that cause encephalitis and hemorrhagic fever in humans. Migratory birds carry pathogens over long distances (avian Influenza).

Last update: 14/08/2026

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