Attention birders! Can you guess the species in this x-ray image, taken in our Animal Health Lab? Hint: You can see him now, in our Aviary!
Answer: This is a marbled godwit (Limosa fedoa). Godwits can be seen in California coastal areas, predominantly in the fall. The bird wasn’t sick, but the image was taken as an important reference in examining other, healthy birds.
Some fun facts from our own Dr. Mike Murray:
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Note the sigmoid or S-shaped neck.
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The very faint whitish circle around the place where the eyes should be are the sclera ossicles, a set of bones that are in the bird’s “white of the eye.” Remember you are seeing them for both the left and right eye somewhat superimposed.
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The wind pipe (trachea) can be seen extending from the area under the jaw down to where it enters the bird’s body. Looking closely, you see the cartilage rings that make up the trachea. In mammals, they are ‘C’ shaped. In birds, they are complete rings.
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The arch-shaped bones at the bottom of the neck are the bird’s clavicles (we call them collarbone in humans). In poultry, they are affectionately referred to as the “wishbone.”
Notes
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Birds have bones in their eyes?!
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Birds are fantastic.
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The inside of humans is something I get to...often… But not animals.
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