Myology of the Leg in Swallows

Abstract

studying the functional morphology of swallows, I noted that the gross myology of their legs differed in a number of features from the pattern usually described for passerines. A review of the literature revealed that, although there are no myological studies devoted exclusively or even primarily to the swallows, various authors have mentioned one or another oddity in hirundinid leg musculature. Some of these, such as the much reduced M. iliotibialis, are noted in recent review literature (e.g. George and Berger, 1966); some, perhaps because the references are obscure, have been overlooked or, perhaps pending confirmation, ignored; others are undescribed. In view of this and inasmuch as I had on hand a considerable collection of assorted swallows, including the rare and taxonomically suspect Pseudochelidon, it seemed appropriate to undertake an examination of leg myology in the family Hirundinidae as a whole.