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dzhastin t1_j42yrme wrote

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

I learned how to circular breathe when I was in band. I once played the same note on my French horn for 5 straight minutes without stopping

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arabsandals t1_j43fve3 wrote

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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