Instead, the air they breathe in flows through the lungs into big balloon-like air sacs that fill much of their lower abdomen, behind their center of gravity. When they breathe out, the air flows back through the lungs through different passages. Their lungs are VERY efficient at pulling out oxygen as streams of air go in and out. Lucky, because flying birds need a lot of oxygen even when they fly at high altitudes where the atmosphere is thin. One big difference is in how they fly.
Herons pull their neck into a crook while they fly, while cranes fly with their neck outstretched.
Their wings help them to accomplish all of these jobs. Getting up in the air Whooping Cranes taking off. Birds have many different ways of taking off. Some, like loons, run into the wind, and the rush of air beneath their wings lifts them up. Some, like puffins and Peregrine Falcons, jump off cliffs and other high perches.