Ornithology Distance Learning CourseAC607

Course Info

Distance Learning Support

At Start Learning we pride ourselves on our friendly and supportive tutors. Your tutor support will start as soon as you receive your course and will be valid for 12 months. All our tutors are highly qualified with extensive experience in supporting distance learning students. You contact your tutor via email and they are responsible for marking assignments answering your questions and guiding you through the course.

Home Study Entry Requirements

There are no entry requirements for this course, the students just need to be committed to follow the guidelines of the course.
At Start Learning we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and study further, so we try to keep our entry requirements to a minimum.

Recommended Hours of Study

It is recommended that approximately 100 hours of your time should be allocated towards study for the Ornithology Course.

Distance Learning Course Contents

Unit 1 - Wings and Thermal Soaring: The technique of thermal soaring, its relevance to the lifestyles of certain birds, and to appreciate the types of birds that might utilise the technique - Environmental factors required for thermal soaring to occur - The phenomena of slope soaring and the environmental factors required for it to occur - Dynamic soaring and an appreciation of the importance this has to seabird life - The selection pressures behind feather development - Basic wing structure - The ‘aspect ratio’ and how it can relate to lifestyle - The role of brood patch’s, and the relevance of feathers in insulation - The component types of avian muscle and their relevance to lifestyle

Unit 2 - Sight: The principles behind binocular and monocular vision - The requirements of predatory and prey birds in respect to monocular and binocular vision - The anatomical differences between mammalian and avian eyes - The role of the pecten and the nictitating membrane in avian vision - The adaptations that have enabled owls to sense prey nocturnally - The role of the elongated fovea in certain aspects of seabird navigation

Unit 3 - Flight: ‘Bernoulli’s Principle as applied to avian flight and wing structure - Engineering principles that do not necessarily apply to birds - The technique of ‘clapping’ in order to initiate flight - The presence of the two types of vortices in avian flight and their relevance to different to different flight speeds.

Unit 4 - Instinct and Play: The term instinct - Social releaser and sign stimuli in relation to instinct - Associative and none associative learning - The roles of filial and sexual imprinting in regards to avian survival - The role of cultural behaviour in the avian class - The relevance of imitation in bird song - How play can be important to more intelligent bird species

Unit 5 - Evolution: Archeopteryx in the development of the evolutionary theories - The selection pressures that gave rise to feather development - The biological time scales involved with speciation - The role of speciation in creating diversity on earth - The key feature of avian classification and binomial nomenclature

Unit 6 - Conservation: The components of conservation, and how they help in developing an approach to conservation problems - The consequences and reasons behind direct persecution - The challenges facing the conservation of the golden eagle - The reasons behind indirect persecution - How the approach’s to indirect persecution that are developing - The relevance of pesticide usage in the realm of avian conservation - How the Aves that inhabit the higher realms of the food chain are particularly effected by pesticide pollution - How DDT has taken such a marked effect on certain avian populations - How habitat destruction can effect conservation - The basic principles behind the different approach’s of autoecology and synecology

Unit 7 - Hunting: The basic categories of hunting techniques utilised by the raptors - How the peregrine falcon utilises speed and power in its hunting - Ambush strategy with reference to the sparrowhawks techniques -The strategies involved in hovering as a hunting technique and how tail length can reflect the development of such techniques - Low level attack as a form of hunting - How birds use different techniques and adaptations in hunting snakes and fish - The adaptations (anatomically and behaviourally) of the vultures for soaring and eating

Unit 8 - Divers: The three broad categories of wildfowl and seabird feeders - The reasons and principles behind surface feeding - The different feeding methods used in the surface feeders at sea - The differing feeding depths and consequential co-existence of the underwater feeders - The skills and techniques of the wildfowl divers - The techniques used in the marine divers - The skills and adaptations required in the varying types of feeding - The foraging techniques of the land feeders - The principles of social facilitation and local enhancement, and their place in avian feeding

Unit 9 - Sexual Selection and Courtship: The term sexual selection and recognise how it can impact upon bird populations - Gamete production and the differences between sex’s - Dipohism as a consequence of sexual selection - Intersexual rivalry and the theories behind the phenomena - Bird song as a means of mate selection - The relevance of flight displays in courtship.

Unit 10 - The four primary methods used in avian navigation: The relevance of magnetic sense and the experiments that aided its discovery - The limitations of using the earth’s magnetic field as a navigational aid - The principles of sun navigation, and intention movement - The development and use of the star compass in avian migration - The importance of landmark navigation in the birds.

Unit 11 - Polygyny and Polyandry: Polygamy and the subheadings of polygyny and polyandry - The term monogamy and appreciate the circumstances underwhich it becomes the most viable method of reproductionn - Why co-operative breeding occurs and to appreciate why some birds have helpers at the nest, and some exhibit communal nesting - The phenomena of brood parasitism and egg recognition 

Unit 12 - Rhythmic Indicators: Animals are influenced by rhythmic indicators - The circadian rhythm as an influential marker of the seasons - Differing levels of the hormone melatonin can influence reproductive behaviour - Birds are often long day breeders, and appreciate what this means - The presence of a circannual rhythm in birds and appreciate its place in avian lifestyle - The pineal gland as an integral part of the reproductive process - The term zietgeber and understand its relevance.

Easy Payment Plan

Full Price is £425

50% Deposit + Postage = This is paid when signing up for the course

25% First Instalment = This is paid 1 month after signing up for the course

25% Second Instalment = This is paid 2 months after signing up for the course

Call us on 0800 074 1222 or email us at info@start-learning.co.uk

If you would like to set up a payment plan.

The deposit is paid at time of enrolment with a fee for postage and packaging.

For postage costs click here: HYPERLINK "http://www.start-learning.co.uk/about/postage"HYPERLINK "http://www.start-learning.co.uk/about/postage"Postage & Packaging

 

Qualification

Qualifications

Upon successful completion of this course, you will receive a Start Learning certificate in Ornithology.

Language of Course

English

Assesment

This course is marked through a process of continuous assessment guided by your tutor. This means that your qualification will be awarded according to your performance on assessments rather than by taking an exam.

FAQ's

Q: How do I send in my work?
A: You can post or email your assignments for marking. It is best to send your assignments one at a time so the tutor can mark one and give you the feedback.

Q: If I fail an assignment can I retake it?
A: Yes, your tutor will ask you to resubmit your assignment and give you some pointers as to where you could improve.

Q: What do I receive once I order the course?
A: We will send you ALL the course materials. You can start your studies straight away.

Q: Is there a time limit or any deadlines?
A: We do like you to complete the course within 12 months but we can extend this if you check with your tutor. If you allow 100 study hours, this will give you a good guide. There are no deadlines to meet.

Q: Is there a word count for my assignments?
A: No, there is no specific word count but you have to prove to the tutor that you have fully understood the questions. One sentence answers will not be accepted. Your tutor will send them back to you and ask you to re-do them.

Q: What if I don’t like the course? Can I send it back?
A: Yes, if you are not happy with the course and feel it is not for you, you can return it within 7 days as per the terms and conditions on our web site www.start-learning.co.uk.

Q: Is this course paper-based or on a CD Rom?
A: All our courses are paper based and come in attractive folders.