Skeletal
Anatomy
A bird's skeleton is highly adapted for flight. For example, birds have many bones that are hollow which makes their bodies more lightweight. The hollow bones are honeycombed with air spaces and strengthened by crisscrossing struts (supporting materials). This, combined with the fact that many of a bird's bones are fused and can't bend, make its skeletal system strong enough to withstand the stresses of taking off, flying, and landing.
Hollow bones not only lighten a bird's body weight but they also help to facilitate cooling. Respiratory air sacs often form air pockets within the semi-hollow bones of the bird's skeleton.
A bird's skull is extremely light in proportion to the rest of its body because birds don't have heavy jaws, jaw muscles, and teeth that are common to other animals.
In contrast to the rigidity of a bird's skeleton, the neck is extremely mobile. This allows a bird to see danger from any direction, as well as allow it to preen its own feathers. Flexibility is increased by the large number of neck vertebrae. A parrot has ten neck vertebrae compared to a human's seven. Because of this, a parrot can turn its head almost 180 degrees!
Feathers and
Wings
Wings
The bone structure in a bird's wing is very similar to the arm and the hand of a human. Wings are constructed from several types of feathers. The primary feathers are the ones connected to the skin over the "hand" bones, while the secondaries are connected to the skin surrounding the "forearm" bones. Both sets of feathers also have a layer of coverts on top of them, followed by another layer of marginal coverts. On the inside of the wing, there are the scapular feathers, sometimes also called the tertiaries.
Feathers
Feathers are unique to birds and they are elegant masterpieces of design. Feathers are made out of keratin, just like our hair and fingernails. Parrots have between 2000 to 3000 feathers! The three most prevalent categories of feathers, each of which serves a distinct purpose, are:
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The flight feathers, which are located on the wing and tail are long, strong and flexible to provide power for flight
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the contour or body feathers which provide for a bird's smooth shape and color. The contour feathers overlap each other like roof shingles to protect the skin from injury, the weather (wind and rain) and sunlight
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the down feathers, which are soft and fluffy, and help to insulate birds by trapping air and preventing their skin from getting wet.
