Fowl are belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl (Galliformes) and the waterfowl (Anseriformes). Anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups are close relatives; together, they form the fowl clade which is scientifically known as Galloanserae or Galloanseres (initially termed Galloanseri) (Latin gallus ("rooster") + ānser ("goose")).[Sibley, C, Ahlquist, J. & Monroe, B. (1988)] This clade is also supported by morphological and DNA sequence data[Chubb, A. (2004)] as well as retrotransposon presence/absence data.[Kriegs et al. (2007)]
Terminology
As opposed to "fowl", "
poultry" is a term for any kind of
domesticated bird or bird captive-raised for meat, eggs, or feathers;
, for example, are sometimes kept as poultry, but are neither gamefowl nor waterfowl. In colloquial speech, however, the term "fowl" is often used near-synonymously with "poultry", and many languages do not distinguish between "poultry" and "fowl". Nonetheless, the fact that the Galliformes and Anseriformes most likely form a
monophyletic group makes a distinction between "fowl" and "poultry" warranted.
The historic difference in English is due to the Germanic/Latin split word pairs characteristic of Middle English; the word 'fowl' is of Germanic origin (cf. Old English "fugol", West Frisian fûgel, Dutch vogel, German Vogel, Swedish fågel, Danish/Norwegian fugl), whilst 'poultry' is of Latin pullus ("chicken") via Norman French origin poule ("chicken");
Many birds that are eaten by humans are fowl, including poultry such as or turkeys, such as or , other wildfowl like guineafowl or peafowl, and waterfowl such as or geese.
Characteristics
While they are quite diverse
and consequently, in an adaptation to their different lifestyles, also morphologically and
, some features still unite water- and landfowl. Many of these, however, are
for
Neornithes as a whole, and are also shared with
.
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Galloanserae are very prolific; they regularly produce clutches of more than five or even more than 10 eggs, which is a lot for such sizeable birds. By comparison, birds of prey and rarely lay more than two eggs.
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While most living birds are monogamous, at least for a breeding season, many Galloanserae are notoriously polygynous or polyandrous. To , this is particularly well known in , where the males band together occasionally to forcefully mate with unwilling females. The general public is probably most familiar with the polygynous habits of , where usually one or two are kept with a whole flock of females.
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Hybridization is extremely frequent in the Galloanserae, and genera, not usually known to produce viable hybrids in birds, can be brought to interbreed with comparative ease. Guineafowl have successfully produced hybrids with domestic fowl and Indian peafowl, to which they are not particularly closely related as Galliformes go. This is an important factor complicating mtDNA DNA sequence-based research on their relationships. The of North America, for example, are apparently mostly derived from some males which arrived from Siberia, settled down, and mated with American black duck ancestors.
[Kulikova, I. et al. (2005)] See also Gamebird hybrids.
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Galloanserae young are remarkably . Anseriform young are able to swim and dive a few hours after hatching, and the hatchlings of Megapodidae (megapodes) are fully feathered and even able to fly for prolonged distances as soon as they emerge from the nest mound.
Systematics and evolution
From the
that have been recovered, the conclusion that the Galloanserae were already widespread by the end of the
Cretaceous is generally accepted. A combination of fossils and
molecular clocks estimated the origin of Galloanserae at 85 million years ago.
Fossils such as
Vegavis indicate that essentially modern waterfowl, albeit belonging to a now-
extinct lineage, were contemporaries of the non-avian
. While the dominant
avialans of the
Mesozoic Era, the
Enantiornithes, died out with all other non-avian dinosaurs, the Galloanserae (fowl) survived to become the first successful group of modern birds after the other dinosaurs died out.
As opposed to the morphologically fairly conservative Galliformes, the Anseriformes have adapted to filter-feeding and are characterized by many related to this lifestyle. The extremely advanced feeding systems of the Anseriformes, together with similarities of the early anseriform Presbyornis to , had formerly prompted some scientists to ally Anseriformes with Charadriiformes, instead.[Benson, D. (1999)][Feduccia, A. (1999)] However, as strong support for the Galloanserae has emerged in subsequent studies, the fowl clade continues to be accepted as a genuine evolutionary lineage by the vast majority of scientists.
Relationship with humans
Spiritual meanings and representations
Fowl have deep spiritual meanings and roots in ancient cultures, such as Hinduism in India and in many Pagan cultures throughout the world. The peacock, for example, represents truth, beauty, honor, and strength and dreams of peacocks are referred to as good omens.
As food
Fowl are frequently kept for both meat and eggs.
, by far, are the most heavily consumed and farmed out of all of them. Other fowl commonly used in cooking include
Domestic duck,
Domestic goose,
Domestic turkey and
quail.
As game
Various species of fowl are hunted for both sport and food.
Common pheasant have been widely introduced and naturalized outside of their native range in Asia to Europe and North America for use as food and sport.
Further reading
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Benson, D. (1999): Presbyornis isoni and other late Paleocene birds from North Dakota. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology 69: 253–266.
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Chubb, A. (2004): New nuclear evidence for the oldest divergence among neognath birds: the phylogenetic utility of ZENK(i). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 30: 140–151
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Feduccia, A. (1999): The Origin and Evolution of Birds, Second Edition. Yale University Press, New Haven.
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Kriegs, Jan Ole; Matzke, Andreas; Churakov, Gennady; Kuritzin, Andrej; Mayr, Gerald; Brosius, Jürgen & Schmitz, Jürgen (2007): Waves of genomic hitchhikers shed light on the evolution of gamebirds (Aves: Galliformes). BMC Evolutionary Biology 7: 190 ( Fulltext).
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Kulikova, Irina V.; Drovetski, S.V.; Gibson, D.D.; Harrigan, R.J.; Rohwer, S.; Sorenson, Michael D.; Winker, K.; Zhuravlev, Yury N. & McCracken, Kevin G. (2005): Phylogeography of the Mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos): Hybridization, dispersal, and lineage sorting contribute to complex geographic structure. Auk 122 (3): 949–965. English DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2005)1220949:POTMAP2.0.CO;2 PDF fulltext. Erratum: Auk 122 (4): 1309. DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2005)1220949:POTMAP2.0.CO;2
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Sibley, C.G.; Ahlquist, J.E. & Monroe, B.L. (1988): A classification of the living birds of the world based on DNA-DNA hybridization studies. Auk 105: 409–423.
External links
