An air-filled sac within the birds' lungs is believed to increase the force the birds use to power flight muscles while soaring.
An air-filled sac within the birds' lungs is believed to increase the force the birds use to power flight muscles while soaring.
Mammalian lungs are flexible and tidally ventilated -- that is, air flows in and out along the same path. In contrast, birds have a unique way of breathing: They have a stationary lung that gets air pumped through it in one constant direction by a series of balloon-like air pockets that expand and deflate. Branching off from these air pockets are many small, extensions called diverticula, which vary by number and size across avian species and whose functions remain poorly understood.
Their analyses were unequivocal: The SPD has evolved in soaring lineages at least seven different times, and is absent in all nonsoaring birds. The computer models suggest that inflation of the air sac increases the lever arm of the pectoralis muscle, much like using a screwdriver to open a paint can provides better leverage than using a coin.
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