Kevin Gunn, age 14, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, for his question:

HOW ARE BIRDS CLASSIFIED?

A vertebrate is an animal with a backbone and a cranium, or brain case. There are seven classes: 1) the lamprey and its relatives; 2) the shark and other cartilaginous fish;

3) the bony fish; 4) the frog and other amphibians; 5) reptiles; 6) birds; and 7) mammals. The scientific name for the bird classification is Aves.

Ornithologists, the scientists who study birds, group and classify birds on the basis of their anatomical similarities and differences.

All living birds are classified into 27 different orders, based largely on their internal features. Below this classification come 155 different families. All together, there are about 9,000 different species or kinds of birds living throughout the world.

Scientific names of birds, unfortunately, do not mean too much to the average person. But scientific names are the very foundation to taxonomy, the science of naming and classifying living things. The scientific names are identical in all languages throughout the world and are universally understood by men of science.

Here are the 27 orders into which all birds are classified: (Scientific name in parenthesis)

Flightless swimming birds such as penguins (Sphenisciformes); large flightless African birds such as the ostritch (Struthioniformes); large South American flightless birds such as rhea (Rheiformes); large flightless birds of Australia such as emu (Casuariiformes); large flightless birds of New Zealand such as kiwi (Apterygiformes).

Weak billed quaillike birds such as tinamou (Tinamiformes); water birds with three webbed toes such as loon (Gaviiformses); water birds with lobed toes such as grebe (Pedicipediformes); sea birds with tubelike nostrils such as albatross (Procellariiformes); water birds with four webbed toes such as pelican (Pelecaniformes); long legged wading birds such as flamingo (Ciconiiformes); water birds of the marshes such as duck (Anseriformes).

Daytime birds of prey such as falcon (Falconiformes); fowllike birds such as grouse (Galliformes); varied group of land dwelling birds including crane (Gruiformes); shore birds including auk (Charadriiformes); pigeonlike birds (Columbiformes); seed and fruit eating birds with hooked bills such as parrot (Psiitaciformes); varied group of tree birds (Cuculiformes); nighttime birds of prey including owl (Strigiformers); owllike birds with weak bills (Capimulgiformes).

Strong winged birds such as hummingbird (Apodiformes); long tailed African birds (Coliiformes); long tailed tropical birds (Trogoniformes); varied group with large bills such as kingfisher (Coraciiformes); tree dwelling birds (Piciformes) and perching birds (Passeriformes).