From the Outside In

Bird bones are considered to be very strong for their weight and size, and they are also hollow. Review the following images to learn more about bird body parts, bones, and wing anatomy.

Figure 6.35: The image above illustrates standard bird body parts.
Image from URL: http://rafeeuslovebirds.com/Pictures/Bird%20diagram.JPG

Figure 6.36: The image above illustrates the parts of the bird skeleton.
Image from URL: http://feistyhome.phpwebhosting.com/anatomy.htm

Figure 6.37: The image above illustrates the parts of the bird skeleton in relation to bird body-shape.
Image from URL: http://www.exoticbird.com/image/birdskel.gif

Figure 6.38: The image above illustrates bird body parts.
Image from URL: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/netcommunity/page.aspx?pid=1058

Figure 6.39: The image above illustrates the wing anatomy of various birds.
Image from URL: http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/554images/Avian_wing_anatomy.jpg

Bird bones are hollow, and it might be hard to understand how a hollow bone can be strong enough to support a bird’s muscles for the rigors of flying. This How Strong are a Bird’s Bones activity from education.com demonstrates how strong a hollow structure can be using pennies and hollow paper bones.

REVIEW the short article The Bearable Density of Bird Bones to learn more about the science of bird bone density. For more, refer to the optional accompanying podcast from scientificamerican.com.