First flying birds known to have solid wing bones

Cornell researchers first reported in 2005 on the ability of the male club-winged manakin, a sparrow-sized bird from the forests of Ecuador and Colombia, to rub specialized wing feathers together to produce a high hum.

Now they report in the June 13 edition of the Royal Society journal Biology Letters that these are the first flying birds known to have solid wing-bones. This is what allows these birds to produce their courtship sounds.

(Credit: Timothy G. Laman/Courtesy of Macaulay Library, CLO)

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