Question

How respiratory systems of birds is efficient than others animals

Answer 1

Are bird lungs 'more efficient' than mammal lungs? What makes them different?

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1 ANSWER



Cade Rodgers, studied at Carson High School

Answered Jun 1, 2017

Yes! Birds do in fact have more effiecnt respiratory systems than mammals. The reason is quite simple: flying burns a ton of calories, so they require a high amount of oxygen in order to sustain the work output of flying.

So, you might ask what makes their breathing so much different than ours? The answer lies in the organ most commonly used for breathing: the lungs!

You see, bird lungs are very different than the lungs of mammals. Imagine human lungs like a pair of balloons: you inflate them, and then realease the air right back out. You know, when you inhale and exhale. The oxygen is stored in tiny sacs called alveoli, and from there the oxygen is transported to your blood stream through tiny blood vessels called capillaries

Birds on the other hand, don't have any of that. Instead, they have what we call a one way flow of air. Which means air only flows one way: in. So, they don't exhale like humans and other mammals do. Well, they do “exhale”, but not in the way mammals do. Mammals exhale to empty their lungs and get rid of carbon dioxide. Birds exhale simply so they can inhale again. This allows for a constant stream of oxygen-rich fresh air coming in at all times, and is what makes their respiratory system so much more effiecent than ours!