ArticleJournal of anatomy2016
Flight feather attachment in rock pigeons (Columba livia): covert feathers and smooth muscle coordinate a morphing wing.
Article in Journal of anatomy, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- Developing a Morphing Taxidermy of a Red-Tailed Hawk.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Theoretical morphospace reveals mixed optimisation of the avian wing planform for flight style.Nature communications · 2026Article
- What Factors Shape the Flyability in Bats?-The Perspective from Bat's Wing Development.Biology · 2025Review
- Forelimb feathering, soft tissues, and skeleton of the flying dromaeosaurid Microraptor.BMC ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Organizational principles of integumentary organs: Maximizing variations for effective adaptation.Developmental biology · 2025Review
- Wing extension-flexion coupled aeroelastic effects improve avian gliding performance.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2025Article
- Morphlight theory inspired by raptors: musculoskeletal modeling and muscle control in Falco peregrinus wing flapping.Biology open · 2025Article
- Quantitative analysis of the morphing wing mechanism of raptors: Analysis methods, folding motions, and bionic design ofFundamental research · 2024Article
- Quantitative analysis of the morphing wing mechanism of raptors: Bionic design of Falco Peregrinus wing skeleton.PloS one · 2024Article
- Lessons from natural flight for aviation: then, now and tomorrow.The Journal of experimental biology · 2023Review
- Clinical examination and necropsy findings of a mountain hawk-eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis) that died during rehabilitation.The Journal of veterinary medical science · 2023Article
- Forty new specimens ofPeerJ · 2022Article
- Raptor wing morphing with flight speed.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2021Article
- Cutaneous leiomyosarcoma with visceral metastases in a White Carneau pigeon and literature review.Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc · 2021Article
- Evidence corroborates identity of isolated fossil feather as a wing covert of Archaeopteryx.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Flight feather development: its early specialization during embryogenesis.Zoological letters · 2018Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Mechanisms for passively coordinating forelimb movements and flight feather abduction and adduction have been described separately from both in vivo and ex vivo studies. Skeletal coordination has been identified as a way for birds to simplify the neuromotor task of controlling flight stroke, but an understanding of the relationship between skeletal coordination and the coordination of the aerodynamic control surface (the flight feathers) has been slow to materialize. This break between the biomechanical and aerodynamic approaches - between skeletal kinematics and airfoil shape - has hindered the study of dynamic flight behaviors. Here I use dissection and histology to identify previously overlooked interconnections between musculoskeletal elements and flight feathers. Many of these structures are well-placed to directly link elements of the passive musculoskeletal coordination system with flight feather movements. Small bundles of smooth muscle form prominent connections between upper forearm coverts (deck feathers) and the ulna, as well as the majority of interconnections between major flight feathers of the hand. Abundant smooth muscle may play a role in efficient maintenance of folded wing posture, and may also provide an autonomically regulated means of tuning wing shape and aeroelastic behavior in flight. The pattern of muscular and ligamentous linkages of flight feathers to underlying muscle and bone may provide predictable passive guidance for the shape of the airfoil during flight stroke. The structures described here provide an anatomical touchstone for in vivo experimental tests of wing surface coordination in an extensively researched avian model species.
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