A chicken's wattle hangs from the throat

A Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) with a bright red facial wattle

A wattle is a fleshy dewlap or caruncle hanging from various parts of the head or neck in several groups of birds, goats and other animals. In some birds the caruncle is erectile tissue.^[1]

The wattle is frequently an organ of sexual dimorphism. In some cases within the bird world the caruncle has a feather covering, whilst in other cases the feathers are sparse or absent.^[2]

[edit] Birds

Birds with wattles include:

• From the neck or throat
  • Birds of the family Casuarius: the Northern, Southern, and Dwarf cassowaries
  • Galliformes (e.g. Wild turkeys,^[3] chickens)
  • Some vultures
  • Some lapwings
  • Some^[4] Australian wattlebirds (Anthochaera spp.)
  • The New Zealand wattlebirds (Callaeidae), which include the Kokako, Tieke or Saddleback, and the Huia
• From below the eyes
  • The African Wattle-eye or Puffback Flycatcher
  • Many male pheasants
  • Spectacled Tyrant

[edit] Mammals

Mammals with wattles include:

• Many domestic goats, as a fleshy protuberance hanging either side of the throat
• Some domestic pigs (such as most kunekunes), as a fleshy protuberance hanging either side of the throat

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

• John White. 1790. Voyage to New South Wales
• Richard Bowdler Sharpe. 1888. Catalogue of the birds in the British Museum‎, British Natural History Museum Department of Zoology