Fowl are

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s 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 evolutionary relatives; together, they form the fowl

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

which is scientifically known as Galloanserae or Galloanseres (initially termed Galloanseri) (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''gallus'' ("rooster") + ''ānser'' ("goose")). This clade is also supported by morphological and DNA sequence data as well as retrotransposon presence/absence data.

Terminology

As opposed to "fowl", " poultry" is a term for any kind of domesticated bird or bird captive-raised for meat, eggs, or feathers; ostriches, 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 In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

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 Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

; the word 'fowl' is of Germanic origin (cf. Old English "", West Frisian , Dutch , German , Swedish , Danish/Norwegian ), whilst 'poultry' is of Latin ''pullus'' ("chicken") via Norman French origin ''poule'' ("chicken"); the presence of an initial /p/ in ''poultry'' and an initial /f/ in ''fowl'' is due to Grimm's Law. Many birds that are eaten by humans are fowl, including poultry such as chickens or

turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

s, game birds such as pheasants or partridges, other wildfowl like guineafowl or peafowl, and waterfowl such as ducks or geese.

Characteristics

While they are quite diverse ecologically and consequently, in an adaptation to their different lifestyles, also morphologically and ethologically, some features still unite water- and landfowl. Many of these, however, are plesiomorphic for Neornithes as a whole, and are also shared with paleognaths. *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 pigeons rarely lay more than two eggs. *While most living birds are monogamous, at least for a breeding season, many Galloanserae are notoriously polygynous or polyandrous. To ornithologists, this is particularly well known in dabbling ducks, where the males band together occasionally to forcefully mate with unwilling females. The general public is probably most familiar with the polygynous habits of domestic chickens, where usually one or two roosters are kept with a whole flock of females. * 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 sequence-based research on their relationships. The mallards of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, for example, are apparently mostly derived from some males which arrived from Siberia, settled down, and mated with American black duck ancestors. ''See also'' Gamebird hybrids. *Galloanserae young are remarkably precocious. Anseriform young are able to swim and dive a few hours after hatching, and the hatchlings of mound-builders (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

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

s 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

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

s. 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 autapomorphies related to this lifestyle. The extremely advanced feeding systems of the Anseriformes, together with similarities of the early anseriform '' Presbyornis'' to shorebirds, had formerly prompted some scientists to ally Anseriformes with Charadriiformes, instead. 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. Chickens, by far, are the most heavily consumed and farmed out of all of them. Other fowl commonly used in cooking include ducks, geese,

s and quail.

As game

Various species of fowl are hunted for both sport and food. Pheasants have been widely introduced and naturalized outside of their native range in Asia to Europe and North America for use as food and sport.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q853058 * Extant Maastrichtian first appearances Birds