Avian Muscle System - Page 2

Other muscles that play a critical role in flight are the skin muscles. The involuntary skin muscles, for example, which are attached to almost every feather follicle, can raise, lower, or move feathers sideways to assist a bird in its flight maneuvers.

The trunk and tail muscles are few, but extremely mobile and complex. One of these muscles, the pygostyle, supports the tail feathers and controls their entire range of movement.

"The thin, stringy muscles of the vertebral column control the elaborate lateral and ventral movements of the head and neck. Some of these muscles extend only from one vertebra to the next, and others link the movements of long series of vertebrae.