Avian disaster

As I was walking home tonight I spotted this bird carcass, or rather lack of! I don't know what type of creature disembodies a bird and leaves only the wings and pectoral girdle. I hope it's a panther - although that's pretty unlikely!

So as a result I've been looking up bird anatomy and I've learnt quite a lot! Apparently a bird wing contains the same bones as we do - with a few modifications.:

1. The humerus is rather short compared to the total length of the wing, as it must withstand the pulling of the flight muscles.
2. The radius and ulna form the support for the mid-wing.
3. The outer wing (hand) bones are fused for strength and feather support.

I love that you can see all of this in the photo. You can also see the pectoral girdle in the picture (although slightly mangled). This made up of the sternum, clavicle, coracoid and scapula. The clavicles come together to form the furcula (wishbone). You can see this at the centre of the shot.

The furcula provides a flexible attachment site for the breast muscles and resists pressure created by the wing stroke during flight. Flight muscles running from the sternum to the relatively short and stiff humerus elevate and depress the wing. And thus, the power of flight!

I never thought that a bird's sternum needed to be so strong, but it makes sense with the amount of pressure that flying must bring.

Impressive, although I do feel sorry for the little guy that died!

(thank you to http://fsc.fernbank.edu/Birding/skeleton.htm for the anatomy lesson)