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
Gular skin other prey while hunting. In cormorants, the gular skin is often colored, contrasting with the otherwise plain black or black-and-white appearance of the bird. This presumably serves some function in social signalling, since the colors become more pronounced in breeding adults. In frigatebirds, the gular skin (or gular sac or throat sac) is used dramatically. During courtship display, the male forces air into the sac, causing it to inflate over a period of 20 minutes into a startling huge red balloon. Because cormorants are closer relatives of gannets and anhingas (which have no prominent gular pouch) than of frigatebirds or