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arabsandals t1_j43fve3 wrote

Reply to comment by dzhastin in How do giraffes breathe? by NimishApte

Yeah. That's not the same thing. You were simply using your cheeks to store air, not genuinely continuously breathing like some birds can.

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Kittelsen t1_j43u05c wrote

So, where does it exit. It would be so awesome to be able to do this, I could be a human fan...

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Sharlinator t1_j4422kh wrote

The avian respiratory system is very different from the mammalian system. Bird lungs don't expand and contract like mammals' do; rather birds have several air sacs that expand and contract in an alternating fashion and push air unidirectionally through the lungs; the lungs have millions of narrow "tubes" where gas exchange occurs, whereas the alveoli in mammalian lungs are "bags" with only one opening.

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Kevin_Uxbridge t1_j45zdp4 wrote

Which is also why they can fly and do just fine at high altitudes where the oxygen gets thin. Amazing creatures, birds.

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thuhrowawa t1_j608oig wrote

It can also serve as an affiliative signal when done in a certain way. You might benefit from giving it a try.

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