Anatomical Descriptions of The Nasal Cavity of The Aquatic and Non-Aquatic Birds

Abstract

This study attested the anatomical and morphometrical descriptions of the nasal cavity in duck, goose as the aquatic birds and quail, dove as the non-aquatic birds. This study elucidated in the aquatic birds that the nasal cavity remarkable increased in width caudally and had relatively larger nasal conchae and greater of the middle nasal concha than the non-aquatic birds. The nostrils without operculum in the aquatic birds and with horny operculum in the non-aquatic birds, it located at the base of the upper beak by variable distances but in quail, it located punctually at the base of the beak. In all examined birds, the nasal cavity consisted of three nasal conchae except dove consisted of two conchae. The middle nasal concha length constituted the highest percentage to that of the nasal cavity which was recorded 63.91%, 55.18%, and 58.88% in duck, goose and quail respectively except in dove the caudal one recorded the highest percentage 42.16%. In transverse sections, the rostral nasal concha projected from the lateral wall of the nasal cavity as a shelf-like in duck, T-shape in goose and appeared as very small bulla in dove as well as it was C shape enclosed vertical lamella of the nostril in quail. The middle one scroll one and one-half turns in duck, two turns in goose, one-half turn in quail and absent in dove. The caudal nasal concha in duck, goose, and quail was bulla-like and hollow pear-shaped in dove. The infra-orbit sinus was well developed in the aquatic birds than that of the non-aquatic birds.

Keywords

• aquatic birds
• concha
• nasal cavity
• non-aquatic birds.