Ear covers

As ear ceiling or ear coverts a feathering portion at the most is birds referred obliquely on the head side, behind, or located below the eye. These are reshaped contour springs that surround the external auditory canal . They protect the ear, reduce air resistance and wind noise during flight, but also improve the absorption of sound. In some groups of birds, such as vultures or ratites , they may be absent or reduced.

• 

  View of the ear-coverts of a golden eagle

• 

  For comparison: the exposed ear of a rhea

• 

  Orange-brown ear-coverts in a zebra finch

literature

• Gerhard Hummel: anatomy and physiology of birds. (= UTB 2144). Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-8252-2144-X .

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Gerhard Hummel: Anatomy and Physiology of Birds. (= UTB 2144). Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-8252-2144-X , p. 198.
2. ^ ^{A b} Gerhard Hummel: Anatomy and Physiology of Birds. (= UTB 2144). Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-8252-2144-X , p. 277.