Wattle (anatomy)

A rooster's wattles hang from the throat

A wattle is a fleshy caruncle hanging from various parts of the head or neck in several groups of birds and mammals. Caruncles in birds include those found on the face, wattles, dewlaps, snoods, and earlobes. Wattles are generally paired structures but may occur as a single structure when it is sometimes known as a dewlap. Wattles are frequently organs of sexual dimorphism. In some birds, caruncles are erectile tissue and may or may not have a feather covering.[1][2]

Wattles are often such a striking morphological characteristic of animals that they feature in their common name. For example, the southern and northern cassowaries are known as the double-wattled and single-wattled cassowary, respectively, and a breed of domestic pig is known as the Red Wattle.

  1. ^ John James Audubon, Dean Amadon, John L Bull. 1967 The Birds of America
  2. ^ Richard Bowdler Sharpe. 1888. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum, British Natural History Museum, Department of Zoology