Kibibi's - Greys Anatomy

Internal Bird Anatomy

This is a very basic diagram that shows the Internal anatomy of a bird.

Use the flash object below to explore the major internal avian organs of Kibibi. Just move your mouse over the list of body parts next to the picture and the corresponding body part on Kibibi will be indicated.

Most of the basic anatomy of your pet bird or parrot is similar to humans but some of it isn't. There are a lot of avian anatomy terms associated with birds and parrots that are unfamiliar to a lot of bird owners. The list below shows some of the basic parts of the bird anatomy.

• Anterior Air Sac - The group of air sacs (interclavicular, cervicals, and anterior thoracics) used in respiration.
• Cloaca - The posterior opening that serves as the only such opening for the intestinal, urinary, and (usually) genital tracts of certain animal species. Did you know the word comes from Latin, and means "sewer"?
• Crop - A thin-walled expanded portion of the alimentary tract used for the storage of food prior to digestion.
• Esophagus - A narrow tube that transports food from the mouth to the crop.
• Gizzard - The second chamber of the stomach made of tough muscle that is used to grind up a bird's food so that it can be digested. Did you know the first chamber of the stomach is the proventriculus?
• Heart - Did you know the bird heart also has 4 chambers like the human heart but it is much larger in proportion to the total size of the bird's body.
• Intestines - Did you know that intestines are short in birds because they eat easily absorbed food, such as fruit, flesh, and insects.
• Kidney - Similar to the human kidney, it is an organ that filters out any waste from fluids to be expelled from the bird later.
• Liver - Much like the human liver, it aids in digestion and removes waste products and worn-out cells from the blood among other functions.
• Lungs - The lungs in a bird are very different from that of humans. Bird lungs have an opening on each end to allow air flow. This is much more efficient and enables the lungs to remain inflated. This is critical due to the birds high demand for oxygen during flight.
• Posterior Air Sac - The group of air sacs (posterior thoracics and abdominals) used in respiration.
• Stomach - The bird stomach actually consists of two chambers: proventriculus and gizzard. In this diagram and most basic bird references, the "stomach" usually refers to the proventriculus. This is where food is broken down by digestive enzymes.
• Trachea - A thin-walled, cartilaginous tube descending from the larynx to the bronchi and carrying air to the lungs. Commonly referred to as the windpipe.