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Most birds have approximately 175 different muscles, mainly controlling the wings, skin, and legs. Overall, the muscle mass of birds is concentrated ventrally. 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.
Bird ringing is the term used in the UK and in some other parts of Europe, while the term bird banding is more often used in the U.S. and Australia. [49] bird strike The impact of a bird or birds with an airplane in flight. [50] body down The layer of small, fluffy down feathers that lie underneath the outer contour feathers on a bird's body. [51]
Birds swallow food and store it in their crop if necessary. Then the food passes into their glandular stomach, also called the proventriculus, which is also sometimes referred to as the true stomach. This is the secretory part of the stomach. Then the food passes into the gizzard (also known as the muscular stomach or ventriculus).
The proventriculus is a standard part of avian anatomy, and is a rod shaped organ, located between the esophagus and the gizzard of most birds. [2] It is generally a glandular part of the stomach that may store and/or commence digestion of food before it progresses to the gizzard. [3]
The linea alba is a white, fibrous band that is made of the bilateral rectus sheaths that join at the anterior midline of the body. These enclose the rectus abdominis muscles (a pair of long, linear muscles, commonly called the “sit-up” muscles) that originate at the pubic crest and pubic symphysis, and extend the length of the body’s trunk.
The ribs are flattened and the sternum is keeled for the attachment of flight muscles except in the flightless bird orders. The forelimbs are modified into wings. [ 81 ] The wings are more or less developed depending on the species; the only known groups that lost their wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds .
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The pelvic limb muscles of emus contribute a similar proportion of the total body mass as do the flight muscles of flying birds. [35] When walking, the emu takes strides of about 100 cm (3.3 ft), but at full gallop, a stride can be as long as 275 cm (9 ft). [36] Its legs are devoid of feathers and underneath its feet are thick, cushioned pads. [36]