Caruncle (bird anatomy) Caruncle (bird anatomy) A caruncle is defined as 'a small, fleshy excrescence that is a normal part of an animal's anatomy'. Within this definition, caruncles in birds include wattles (or dewlaps), snoods, and earlobes. The term caruncle is derived from Latin 'caruncula', the diminutive of 'carō', flesh. Caruncles are carnosities, often of bright colors such as red, blue, yellow or white. They can be present on the head, neck, throat, cheeks or around the eyes of some birds. They may be present as combs or crests and other structures near the beak, or, hanging from the throat or neck. Caruncles
Throat clamp windpipe is surrounded with less cartilage and is more malleable, while lower down, near the chest, the passageway would be increasingly harder to collapse, so the throat clamp is usually positioned high up on the animal's neck. If the prey is on the ground and pinned, most predators position themselves behind the animal to use their body's weight to help control the movements of the prey and reach around to grab the throat, usually twisting the head around, aiding in both their grasp and the blocking of the windpipe. If the prey is standing, a solitary predator can use a