SEXUAL DIMORPHISM

The occurrence of to different morphological forms in specie distinguishes males from females. In birds having domestic chicken as forexample. The to forms are the rooster and the hen .In wild birds, sexual dimorphism is well marked during the breeding season particularly in birds belonging to the order-Passeriformes most distinguishing cheracter is the primate normally in dull color. Two very bright color including exaggerated growth of certain parts of the plumage certain species of birds do not exhibited sexual dimorphism .This is particularly true with bad specie which is monogamous.
Mating system
It can be described as partners of sexual and social relationships resulting in mating between male and female individuals. In animals, they are three mating systems that have been recognized namely;
Monogamy
Polygamy
Promiscuity
In birds, they similarity is as follows;
Monogamy; This is a system in which males and females mate with one partner only during breeding season. This is the most common mating system among birds and 90% of bird’s species.
The existence of this behavior could be due to extensive care of chicks by both parents.
Eggs have to be consistently in incubated and defended against predators.
Chicks require warmth, protection, and continual feeding
In other birds e.g. some African hornbills, parental roles may be performed by different parents.
The nest is built in deep hole within a tree. The female Wales herself inside crevice living are small hole for male to pass food for her the situation persists until the chicks are hatched and grow. Some birds maintain stable pair bonds several years and sometimes for life forexample. crested crane and Egyptian gees. 
 Polygamy. Here an individual of one sex males with several members of opposite sex
Polygamy can also be divided in two different subsystem of mating
Polygny; is a system in which a male meets with several females but it is not widely exhibited in birds.
In birds ,good example are found in the situation .The Males acquire territories up on which many females came to mate with the terrestrials males forexample, the seed eating birds of Africa form territories during breeding season’s like;
Pin tailed whydah, paradise whydah and the bishop males demarked and defend territories in to which females are attracted to meet with the males.
Polyandry. This is the mating system in which a female meets with several males.
In birds the mating systems males
In birds the best sturdy is found in American jacana. A bird similar in morphology in African jacana both belonging to the family jacanae. Female defend large territories which are sub divided in two smaller territories .Each similar territory is in turn defended by a male. Female move from one territory to another for mating with males in these smaller territories and laying eggs. Eggs are entirely incubated by a male defending that smaller territory. Polyandry females are normally larger in size than their male counter parts.
Promiscuity. This occurs in these species which come together only for copulation and then  see no more of each other .Previously forexample, have been in relation family of trochilidae of recent, however, the term is now largely disused in refer ice to the animals except to it human connotation which is considered in a appropriate to other animals.
Note: Animals (man excluded) normally mate when females are reproductively respected to men i.e. during estrous/when in heat which is not the case with man and debit who breed thought the year.

CHIMPAZEE FACTS

CHIMPANZEE

Their scientific names is called Pan Troglodytes and are related to humans with about 98% (percent) DNA same as human living in the rainforest areas and woodland of West and Central Africa. The male chimpanzee weighs 35 to 70 kilograms, and a female weighs 26 to 50 kilograms. The height is up to 1.2 metres and the female is under a metre.

They are omnivores which means they eat plants and meat where they feed on leaves, roots, seeds, nuts, and fruit blossoms and sometimes they hunt monkeys for meet and need to drink water every day. They also have six sets of chewing teeth (molars) in their lifetime.

The alpha male is the leader of the family group and females have a baby at 12 year with a gestation period of nine (9) months. It has a life span of 40 years in the wild and up to 60 years in captivity.

They are the most intelligent Apes where sometimes they make Umbrella from large leaves whereby they cover themselves from heavy rains and sunshine. They do also make tools for example; they strip leaves off a thin branch, put the stick into a termite mound and after pull it out when it is covered with tasty termites; they use tools to crack nuts however this takes a lot of practice to use a rock to crack open a nut.

There intelligence explains how they do groom each other every day by carefully inspect each other’s hair and skin to keep it clean, carrying their young ones on their bucks, play and wrestle together and have great fun chasing each other, love to be tickled

There hearing, sight, smells, taste and touch are similar to humans. Chimpanzees make sleeping nests at night whereby they bend over branches and put leafy twigs under their heads to make a comfortable bed to sleep on. Communication in chimpazee is by soft grunts, barks, scream and paint hoots. They can be hard for a distance of three kilometers through the forest when there is danger and one can tell by their faces when they are happy, sad, surprised or even angry

 They are called knuckle-walkers because they use their knuckles for support when walking. And posses opposable big toes. Their arms are longer than the legs and can also walk upright.

They are threatened with extinction. 100 years ago there were about one million chimpanzees. Fewer than 200000 chimpanzees now survive in the wild.

UGANDA SAFARIS

Uganda known as the home of mountain gorillas is located in East Africa neighboring Kenya in the East and Tanzania in the South.Uganda is well known as one of the tourist destinations in the Africa and the whole world just because of its mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, Elephants, lions, Leopards, buffaloes,more than 1031 bird species with beautiful melodies in different habitats like the rare shoe bill, culture, water bodies, mountains, landscapes, hot springs. Its nature endowment and safari attractions has been awarded with a ‘The pearl of Africa' unlike other countries. Uganda is a beautiful country, only recently discovered as a top safari destination with mountain gorilla safaris as the leading attraction in the country.
Book a Uganda safari with East African Expeditions and find out the safari attraction the country has to offer.

Mountain Rwenzori the highest mountain-range of Africa, Lake Victoria the largest lake,the great savannas of Kenya and Tanzania and the vast tropical rainforests of  DR Congo and Rwanda. Uganda offers the best, right from the moment you land at the International Air port (Entebbe) with views of Lake Victoria.  Uganda is where the East Savannah meets the West African Jungle. Animals to observe in the impossibly lush country include, mountain gorilla safaris in Bwindi, Primates safaris, Birding safaris, Monkeys (Black and White Colobus Monkeys, Red-tailed Monkeys, Patas Monkeys, Blue Monkeys), Elephants, Lions, Buffaloes, Leopards, Giraffes, Zebras, Hyenas, Warthogs, Hippos Crocodiles and many more.
There is more to see in Uganda than wildlife and culture safaris: The source of the mighty Nile alluded to hazily in the ancient writing of Ptolemy with white water rafting as the leading safari adventure attraction in Jinja and bungee jumping.  The leading safari parks are:-Murchison falls as the largest protected area for wildlife and game viewing safaris with its palm –studded grass land supporting dense lion population, Uganda kob, giraffes, pattas Monkeys, chimpanzee and other wild animals. Queen Elizabeth National park safari offering prime grazing to buffalo, antelopes, elephants, bird species on Kazinga channel, and other mammals like the jiang hogs, tree climbing lion safaris. There are the snow-capped mountains of the Rwenzori, and the Virunga Volcanoes and Mount Elgon, both with a lot of hiking opportunities through beautiful scenery. Uganda has a few beautiful big lakes like Lake Victoria and Lake Bunyonyi. And apart from that, Uganda has the reputation as ‘Africa's Friendliest Country', with the tradition of hospitality and a remarkably low level of crime and hassle directed at tourists. The official language of Uganda is English and the currency is Ugandan Shilling (USh). The land is 236.580 sq. kilometers, with a population of 33 million.
Uganda is a tropical country and much of it lies on the African plateau between 900-1,500 meters above sea level. This gives Uganda a nice tropical climate, with temperatures averaging between 21 and 27 degrees Celsius during the day and between 12 and 18 degrees Celsius at night. The hottest months are from December to February, with 27 to 29 degrees Celsius. The rainy seasons are from April to May and October to November.
Uganda is well watered and fertile; almost 25% of the country is covered with water. Lake Victoria is shared by Uganda with Kenya and Tanzania. Lake Albert, Lake Edward and Lake George lie on the border with Congo (DRC). At Jinja, Owen Falls is regarded as the source of the Nile.
Uganda's reputation as the "Africa's Friendliest country" stems partly from the tradition of hospitality common to its culturally diverse populace, and partly from the remarkably low level of crime and hassle directed at tourists in Uganda.   

ANATOMY OF DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

The mouth (buccal cavity)

It is in the mouth or buccal cavity where food is tone, cut and nibbled & grind to smaller particles before being swallowed.

The soft part of the mouth or buccal cavity is also well supplied with relatively small mucus gland which helps to moistly and lubricate the food be4 swallowing.

Oesophagus It is more less a muscular tube w/c convey the flood from the mouth to the crop. Its size depends on the type of food eaten.

It is also provided mucus glands which affords the food to pass smoothly from the mouth to crop.

The crop In many birds, the posterior end of the oesophagus becomes enlarged into a storage chamber known as a crop. Here, food is stored until a stomach can accommodate.

In pigeons, the crop is very dev’d and it is here that “pigeon milk” is secreted to feed the young. Pigeon milk is a large substance rich in fats and proteins. The substance is mixed with food in the crop and then regurgitated into the mouth of the young bird. Crops are generally prominent in grain eaters like game birds and pigeons.

They permit the owner to gather and swallow food in a hurry way, thus shortening their exposure to their enemies.

The same thing is true with the ruminates where the rumen is the food storage chamber. The difference between crop and rumen is that; in the crop the food is not regurgitated back in the mouth fore recuing and reswallowing. Crop also permits hard seeds to be softened with mucus be4 further digestion in the stomach and intestines. No digestive gland is known exist in the walls of the crop.

Stomach The stomach of bird is divided into two distinct functional organs. There is the interior soft and glandular stomach also known as proventiculus and repostilier. Muscular stomach known as the gizzard

PROVENTRICULUS OR GLANDULAR STOMACH.

This is an organ which evolved after the evolution of birds. It is not found in reptiles. The stomach is well supplied with peptic enzymes that digest protein foods. The secretion is also highly acidic and therefore able to desolve large bones. The proventiculusare glandular stomach is more developed among meet esters that plant and seed eaters.

THE GIZZARD OR MOSCULAR STOMACH

It is a Rotarian trait. I.e. it is also found in reptiles. The gizzard is some time known as the “grinding stone”. It normally posses grits or small stones (swallowed by birds) which helps to crush or digest seeds and other plant materials and as would be expected the gizzard is more dev’d amongst seed and plant eater that meat eaters.

The following are figures which show considerable force generated by a compressive walls of gizzard as formed in different birds. Force is expressed in millimeters of mercury.

Hen has 100-150mm

Ducks has 180mm

Goose has 265-280mm

Turkey has been known to grind 12 steel niddles to pieces in 36hrs and 16 surgical linnets to pieces in 16 hrs.

A huge of sheet iron that could be only bent under a load of 36kg was flattened and partly rolled within 24hrs.

The gizzard is also found amongst carnivorous birds spp but here its function seems to act as a troupe that prevent sharp bones and undigestable things from proceeding down in digestive system such resist them may be rolled up into elongated pellet and rig agitated by mouth.

THE LIVER The liver of a bird is a to logged structure. It is the largest gland in the body and it is larger in birds than in mammals of comparable size and is also somewhat in lager in fish and insect eater than in meat and grain eaters.

Basically the liver in birds has the same function as in mammals such function are;

To store excess sugar

To manufacture bile

To synthesis certain proteins from amino acids

To excrete waste products

Stores vitamins and minerals

Dicrofy poison

Supplies quick energy to the body and by using sugar into the body

As regards the secretion of water products from the blood it is worthy to note that 60% of the uric acid, which is achieved nitrogenous pdts of birds, is found in the liver and excreted in kidney.

Together with other waste products, the kidneys pass on uric acid to the cloaca to final digestion outer the body.

PANCREAS like the liver, pancreas is larger in birds tan in mammals of comparable size. It’s also larger among fish, insects and grain eaters than meat eaters. The 1 degree function of pancreas is to produce or secrete digestive enzymes which act on all three types of food like fats, Cabohydrates and protein.

INTESTINE it is chief organ of digestion and absorption of food. In birds, the organ is not sharply differentiated into regions as in mammals.

A reptilian x-tic in intestines of birds is longitudinal muscle found on the outside walls of the intestines as opposed to mammals whose intestinal longitudinal muscles are found inside the walls of the intestines.

Among related spp, large birds are required to absorb more nutrients in order to survive and a longer intestine provides the necessary required volume for digestion and absorption of food. Doubling linear dimension of an object increases the volume by 8 times. Relatively the smaller intestines are found in grain eaters than in other birds. This is because grain eaters take more solid food and therefore need more space for its digestion and absorption.

CAECA The main function is absorption water and digested proteins, and particular the bacterial decomposition of crude fibrous. The undigested matter in the caeca is dark and moist and is discharged separately in a whitish dinner intestinal feeces. In domestic hen there is one caeca discharge for a bit a very intestinal defecation.

CLOACA A cavity in birds & reptiles in w/c the intestinal & urinary ducts in terminate. The cloaca is found at the end of the intestinal canal & its divided in2 3 regions.

·        Coprodacum Interior regions w/c receives excrements in the intestines.

·        Urodacum Middle region w/c receives discharges of the kidney through the ureters and of the gentle organs through the vas deferens/oviduct.

·        Proctolaeum Posterior or terminal regions and is suplied with powerful ejection muscles. It’s closed posterior by the muscular anus. Its main function is to store the excrements before final discharge.

ADAPTION OF BIRDS FOR FLIGHT

In order 2 conquer the air, birds have evolved features adapted 4 flight. The adaptations are not confined 2 birds a lone but also 2 bats, flying squirrels etc. however when it comes 2 sustained flying, birds are considered true flyers.

Features adapted 4 flight

Uniformity in body size plus architecture. In general birds have a union body size i.e. the difference btn the smallest the smallest the largest bird is considerably smaller than the difference btn the smallest & largest mammals. Example of body size uniformity.

Spp                                    wf/1                          Ratio (largest Vs smallest)

Ostrich                             144kg                              { 1:64.000}

Humming birds                2225g                            { 1:64.000}

Blue whale                        190000kg                      {1:82600000}

Plggmy shrew                   2.3g                               {1:82600000}

Weight reducing adaptation Compared the reptiles & mammals, bones, of birds are much higher. Some of the weight decreasing adaptation are as follows.

Skeleton Greatly reduced in weight compared 2 mammals or reptiles of comparable size e.g. the skeleton and all other bones of a 7kg pelican weighs 0.6kg or 9.3% of the total body weight of the bird.

A pigeon’s skeleton accounts for 4.4% body weight whereas compared to a rat, the skeleton accounts 4 5.6% of the total body weight. It reduced long tail 2 4m stunted pygostyle.

·        Bird’s hand (wings) finger bones are decreased both in size and No’s where by fingers are missing plus 2 of the remaining 3 fingers are fused.

·        Absence of teeth

·        Sternum is thin & keeled there by greatly decreased in weight.

·        Bones of birds are hollow hence greatly reduced the heavier.

Light feathers: presence of feathers has replaced the heavier scale and scutes found in reptiles.

Air sacs presence of air sacs which are branched all throughout the body& penetrating the hallow bones. The air sacs and the feathers are responsible for reducing the specific gravity of flying birds. The specific gravity of feathered duck is 0.6 compared 21.0in most vertebrates.

Excretory system Absence of urinary bladder & urethra 2 hold and discharge urine. The kidney exploit nitrogenous waste concentrated in 4m of uric acid w/c passes directly through the cloaca whose walls further absorb more H₂O. The wastes pass 2gether with those of the intestines in the form of conc white guano.

Reproductive system Birds don’t give birth to live young ones and not carry to unborn baby inside the body. Female spp of birds don’t contain one function ovary and oviduct (the left). The right ovary is normally atrophical and doesn’t develop for reproduction. Eggs are laid outside and the development of young occurs outside the body of the mother. Both ovaries and tests are atrophy during non breeding season. It has been found that sex organs of starlings weigh about 1500 times more during the breeding season compared 2 the non breeding season.

Body glands Except uropygial gland (oil gland), Glands are generally absent in birds.

Uganda biggest national park

Murchison Falls National Park

Murchison Falls is by far Uganda's largest national park, protecting a chunk of untamed African savannah bisected by the mighty river Nile. This vast national park (3840 sq km) is named for the dramatic Murchison Falls, where the world's longest river explodes violently through a narrow cleft in the Rift Valley escarpment to plunge into a frothing pool 43m below. Uganda Wildlife populations have largely recovered from the poaching of the 1980s. In the lush borassus grassland to the north of the Nile, elephant, buffalo, giraffe and a variety of antelope are regularly encountered on game drives, while lion are seen with increasing frequency. To the southeast, Rabongo Forest is home to chimps and other rainforest creatures. The Nile itself hosts one of Africa's densest hippo and crocodile populations, in addition to prolific bird life including the world’s most accessible and most sought after wild population of the rare shoebill stork.
What to do in Murchison falls
One can take Launch Trips to the base of the falls. On these Launch Trips, there are chances of fine game viewing and birding. One can also take boat trips to the Lake Albert delta where there are good chances of sighting the rare Shoebill. There is also chimpanzee tracking at Rabongo Forest, and en route from Masindi in the Budongo Forest. There are also game drives on a good network of roads to the delta where there are chances for fine game viewing and birding. 
Where to Stay:
For the up market tourist, there is Paraa Safari Lodge, Chobe Safari Lodge or Nile Safari Lodge. For the mid range tourist, there is Sambiya River Lodge or one can go to Masindi Hotel. For the budget tourist, there is Red Chilli Rest Camp or one can go to Masindi Court View Hotel. For the campers, there is affordable camping in Red Chilli.