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The skeleton of a bird wing. Places of attachment of various groups of flight feathers are indicated. The mute swan with outstretched wings Wing of the white-tailed eagle. Bird wings are a paired forelimb in birds. The wings give the birds the ability to fly, creating lift. Terrestrial flightless birds have reduced wings or none at all (for ...
The largest muscles in the bird are the pectorals, or the pectoralis major, which control the wings and make up about 15–25% of a flighted bird's body weight. They provide the powerful wing stroke essential for flight. The muscle deep to (underneath) the pectorals is the supracoracoideus, or the pectoralis minor. It raises the wing between ...
A keel or carina (pl.: carinae) in bird anatomy is an extension of the sternum (breastbone) which runs axially along the midline of the sternum and extends outward, perpendicular to the plane of the ribs. The keel provides an anchor to which a bird's wing muscles attach, thereby providing adequate leverage for flight.
Red kite (Milvus milvus) in flight, showing remiges and rectrices. Flight feathers (Pennae volatus) [1] are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (/ ˈ r ɛ m ɪ dʒ iː z /), singular remex (/ ˈ r iː m ɛ k s /), while those on the tail are called rectrices (/ ˈ r ɛ k t r ...
The furcula works as a strut between a bird's shoulders, and articulates to each of the bird's scapulae. In conjunction with the coracoid and the scapula, it forms a unique structure called the triosseal canal, which houses a strong tendon that connects the supracoracoideus muscles to the humerus. This system is responsible for lifting the ...
When a bird flaps, as opposed to gliding, its wings continue to develop lift as before, but the lift is rotated forward by the flight muscles to provide thrust, which counteracts drag and increases its speed, which has the effect of also increasing lift to counteract its weight, allowing it to maintain height or to climb. Flapping involves two ...
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These functions depend on a precise balance of forces from the muscles, ligaments, and articular cartilages as well as inertial, gravitational, and aerodynamic loads on the wing. [4] Birds have two main muscles in their wing that are responsible for flight: the pectoralis and the supracoracoideus.