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Are birds mammals? Why, or why not?

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Hint: All birds belong to the Kingdom Animalia, the Phylum Chordata, and the Class Aves. While this classification may appear to be arbitrary and unnatural, it emphasises that birds are related by many of the qualities they share. Birds are warm-blooded animals that belong to the Aves class.


Although there are some parallels between birds and mammals, they are not identical. Birds are not classified as mammals, but rather as members of the Aves family of animals. Because birds and mammals have some similarities, it's no surprise that some people are perplexed; yet, there are numerous distinctions between the two groups.

Mammals and Aves are both animal classes that are further divided into subgroups. These subclasses are even more similar to one another. Physical traits are the primary way we classify animals, and creatures in the Aves class differ greatly from mammals in this regard.We'll look at some of the distinctions and similarities between birds and mammals in this article.

The similarities between birds and mammals might cause some confusion, which is why many people mistakenly believe that birds are mammals. To begin with, both birds and mammals are warm-blooded creatures. They can keep a steady body temperature and do not require any additional heat sources to stay warm. As a result of this resemblance, both birds and mammals have similar calorie requirements based on their weight and may maintain an active lifestyle even in cooler weather.

Another thing that birds and mammals have in common is that they are both vertebrates. They have a backbone and skeletal systems formed of bone, hence they have a backbone. However, there is a significant difference: birds' bones are hollow, which makes them lighter and allows them to fly. Birds and mammals' hearts are also very similar.

Birds require a lot of energy to fly, thus their hearts have developed into four-chambered hearts similar to those seen in mammals. Both of these animal classes have blood that contains red and white blood cells, which is related to the heart. These cells also have comparable functions.

Note:
Reptiles belong to the Class: Reptilia while birds belong to the Class: Aves. Reptiles have scales all over the body, whereas birds have scales on the legs and the rest of the skin is covered with fluffy feathers. All the present-day reptiles are carnivores, but birds have many different types of food habits.