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Glite Dictionary
🐦 Bird voice organ 🎶 Panpipes
syrinx

syrinx

9.9
The part at the base of a bird's windpipe that makes its sounds
  • noun
  • /ˈsɪrɪŋks/
  • Specialized
translation icon : siringe
  • The syrinx, the vocal organ of birds, is essential for producing their unique sounds.
  • syrinx—a vocal organ

Examples

  • The first pathway (from nucleus HVC to RA to nXII) directly controls muscles of the syrinx (the avian vocal organ), and it is considered the motor pathway.

    Academic text (1994)

  • According to the Metamorphoses, the randy god had chased a nymph named Syrinx, famous for her song.

    Academic text (1998)

  • SYRINX

    Fiction book (1994)

  • In adult chaffinches, section of the left hypoglossal nerve (the nerve for the syrinx, the bird's vocal organ) leads to the loss of most components of the song, but section of the right hypoglossal nerve has only minor effects.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Many species of birds have a syrinx that allows them to create complex melodies.

  • The syrinx is located at the base of a bird's trachea and plays a vital role in sound production.

Surface Forms

syrinx singular
syrinxes plural

Etymology

Syrinx comes from the Greek word syrinx, meaning 'pipe' or 'tube'. In birds the syrinx is the small 'pipe' at the base of the throat that makes their sounds, so the name fits its tube-like shape.