Anatomy of bristles on the nares and rictus of western barn owls (Tyto alba)

Mariane G. Delaunay, Motti Charter, Robyn A. Grant

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Many nocturnal avian species, such as Strigiformes, Caprimulgiformes and Apterygiformes, have sensitive vibrotactile bristles on their upper bill, especially on their rictus. The anatomy of these bristles can vary, especially in terms of sensitivity (Herbst corpuscle number), bristle length and bristle number. This variation is thought to be associated with foraging – such that diurnal, open foragers have smaller and less-sensitive bristles. Here, we describe bristle morphology and follicle anatomy in the western barn owl (Tyto alba) for the first time, using both live and roadkill wild owls. We show that T. alba have both narial and rictal bristles that are likely to be vibrotactile, since they have Herbst corpuscles around their follicles. We observed more numerous (~8) and longer bristles (~16 mm) on the nares of T. alba, than on the rictal region (~4 and ~13 mm respectively). However, the narial bristle follicles contained fewer Herbst corpuscles in their surroundings (~5) than the rictal bristles (~7); indicating that bristle length is not indicative of sensitivity. As well as bristle length and number varying between different facial regions, they also varied between individuals, although the cause of this variation remains unclear. Despite this variation, the gross anatomy of facial bristle follicles appears to be conserved between nocturnal Strigiformes, Caprimulgiformes and Apterygiformes. Understanding more about how T. alba use their bristles would, therefore, give us greater insights into the function of avian bristles in general.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)527-534
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Anatomy
Volume241
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Anatomy published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Anatomical Society.

Keywords

  • Strigiformes
  • feather morphology
  • foraging
  • narial
  • rictal
  • somatosensation
  • touch sensing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Anatomy
  • Histology
  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Molecular Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Cell Biology

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