Variation of the Syrinx of the Fowl

THE purpose of this study was to determine if significant differences exist between breeds of domestic fowl and supposed ancestral species of jungle fowl with reference to the syrinx. The importance of the syrinx in determining degree of relationship in certain avian groups has been recognized for many years. The organ has been found to be highly variable in some species (Bronn, 1891), and sexual dimorphism has been shown to be marked in most song birds and in ducks and owls (Broman, 1942; Lewis and Domm, 1948; Miller, 1934; Biellier and Turner, 1950). The anatomy of the syrinx of the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) was studied and compared with the domestic fowl as early as 1813 by Temminck; Garrod (1879) did likewise in his extensive study of the syrinx in the Gallinae. The comparative anatomist, Wunderlich (1884), not only compared the syrinx of several avian species but also noticed differences …