Birds and Birding's Guide to:

Watching THE ANATOMY OF BIRDS

Bird Vertibrae

The sacral vertebras, or those to which the pelvis is attached, are really but two, as in reptiles, or in rare cases three in number, but in front and behind are added vertebrae from the back and tail region, the result being a long series of vertebrae firmly united in one mass and furnishing ample attachment for the pelvis and a firm support for the legs. The number of bones in this synsacrum, as it is called, can only be clearly seen in young birds, but there may be from twelve to as many as twenty.

Finally comes the caudal series of free tail vertebrae, which may vary from five to as many as ten, the average number being about six, and in all the higher birds, or Neognathae, terminating in the flattened urostyle, to which the tail feathers are attached. This bone in turn comprises four to six modified sections.

The skull of a bird, roughly speaking, is divided into two parts, the beak and brain case. The beak portion, which is very directly concerned in the getting of food, is subject to many and great modifications; the rear portion, being away from direct modifying influences, is less altered, and here the palatal part of the skull is of the most importance for purposes of classification, for the less a part is subject to outside influences and the less a creature's habits have to do with any part of the body, the less, theoretically at least, should that part be subject to modification, and the more important it is for use in classification.

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