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The archosaurian shift from larynx to syrinx must have conferred a selective advantage for crown birds, but the causes for this shift remain unknown. [10] To complicate matters, the syrinx falls into an unusual category of functional evolution: arising from ancestors with a larynx-based sound source, the syrinx contains significant functional overlap with the structure it replaced.
Lateral dominance of the hypoglossal nerve conveying messages from the brain to the syrinx was first observed in the 1970s. [3] [4] This lateral dominance was determined in a breed of canary, the waterschlager canary, bred for its long and complex song, by lesioning the ipsilateral tracheosyringeal branch of the hypoglossal nerve, disabling either the left or right syrinx.
The avian vocal organ is called the syrinx; [12] it is a bony structure at the bottom of the trachea (unlike the larynx at the top of the mammalian trachea). The syrinx and sometimes a surrounding air sac resonate to sound waves that are made by membranes past which the bird forces air.
Bird anatomy, or the physiological structure of birds' bodies, shows many unique adaptations, mostly aiding flight.Birds have a light skeletal system and light but powerful musculature which, along with circulatory and respiratory systems capable of very high metabolic rates and oxygen supply, permit the bird to fly.
The vocal tract is the cavity in human bodies and in animals where the sound produced at the sound source (larynx in mammals; syrinx in birds) is filtered.. In birds, it consists of the trachea, the syrinx, the oral cavity, the upper part of the esophagus, and the beak.
The avian syrinx is the primary vocal organ in most birds, [45] with the trachea being the primary resonator in the system. In some birds, the trachea is grossly elongated, coiling or looping within the thorax; the trumpet manucode's trachea is 20 times longer than is predicted for birds of a comparable size. This condition of tracheal ...
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, with his hair partially shaved off, arrives at the medal ceremony for a men's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria ...
The most important role of the larynx is its protective function, the prevention of foreign objects from entering the lungs by coughing and other reflexive actions. A cough is initiated by a deep inhalation through the vocal cords, followed by the elevation of the larynx and the tight adduction (closing) of the vocal cords.