Before revision: Wingspan of flying animals To measure the wingspan of a bird, a live or freshly-dead specimen is placed flat on its back, the wings are grasped at the wrist joints , ankles and the distance is measured between the tips of the longest primary feathers on each wing.
After revision: Wingspan of flying animals To measure the wingspan of a bird, a live or freshly-dead specimen is placed flat on its back, the wings are grasped at the wrist joints and the distance is measured between the tips of the longest primary feathers on each wing.